User reviews

This is a thoroughly entertaining medical drama. I don't know what the negative posters expected. I suspect they are just negative people who like to find fault with everything.

The character development is superb. Stand out performances by VingRhames, Keoung Sim and Alfred Molina. There's really not a weak cast member. Story lines are good. It's not frenetic like ER, nor as bizarre as House. It's closer to Grey's anatomy with a strong focus on the medical issues and less on the soap opera aspects.

My family members in the health field agree this show is pretty much on target.

Check it out.

This program has become my new Sopranos... that's the one I eagerly looked forward to the new episode all week long! I did some Google searching on the series only to find out that it has begun with sort of a "ho-hum" from viewers and critics.

I think the chemistry between the characters is in line with the likes of Seinfeld or, again, the Sopranos... and it hasn't really even had the chance to mature yet. The casting is great and the varied personalities and 'ethics' of the characters captivating. The M&M sessions (Morbidity and Mortality) are well done and I find myself thinking what I would do in the situation.

When I listen to what most Americans are talking about on TV (Idol, Housewives, etc) I realize this isn't going to appeal to the masses. I hope it can survive!!

I should clarify that this review is written at the very beginning of the series. So far, only the pilot has been released, so this will be obsolete soon. However, I saw that the show is already getting more negative reviews than it deserves, so I thought I should do my best to do it some justice.

Now, if you're a David E. Kelley Fan, you'll soon find familiar elements in this show, the easiest to spot being the abnormally high number of main characters with different personalities. You will probably come to love some of them and hate others. Personally, I love this aspect of Mr. Kelley's writing. Sure, shows with all insanely cool characters fighting insanely unlikeable villains are...cool. But, through creating an array of very different characters, the writer has you constantly questioning values, and as a result, gets you more emotionally involved.

One of the most disappointing things about the Pilot was the lack of Comedy. Now, obviously this is meant to be a drama, but again, Mr. Kelley has shown a lot of strength in intertwining drama and comedy in various dosages: The practice had lots of Drama and some comedy. Boston Legal had both equally. Harry's Law had perhaps the most comedy of all. But so far, I've seen lots of Drama and no Comedy, which can get boring, preachy, and resembling shows like Grey's Anatomy.

In short, this show does have a bit of promise, but some flaws too. However, being a David E. Kelley fan, one should know that all his shows start slow and work their way up. One should also know that the cast may change without notice, and one should also be sure of the fact that a lot of strength is bound to arise from the guest appearances.

In conclusion, if you are the kind of person who follows a show a week-by-week (as opposed to those who'd rather wait for the DVD to come out), then it's only fair to have some patience, and let the show grow. Granted, I won't lie and say it's the best pilot ever, but I see some promise in this show, enough to give it a chance to properly impress me.

Absolutely brilliant. The hour just flew by. Based on CNN's Chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta's book of the same name, the show revolves around the Monday morning M&M (morbidity and mortality) conferences held at all major hospitals. The goal of these meetings, chaired by the Chief of Medicine, is to review cases where a death occurred and hold doctors accountable for their actions. By doing so, it is hoped the entire staff learns something.

I completely disagree with the previous two posts about this show. The premise here is fresh and new, and is much more realistic than other "feel good" shows where physicians are never made to answer to their superiors for their mistakes and everything is tied up with a nice pink bow at the end of 60 minutes. The M&M conferences are REAL, they happen every week in real hospitals. Monday Mornings has been compared to House and ER, but in my view, it more closely resembles Chicago Hope (another David E. Kelley production) and St. Elsewhere in style and content. This show is not directed at the same crowd as ER, and ER fans may not like it. It's more philosophical and deals more with the psychological and ethical side of medicine than just "fixing people". Yes folks, people DIE in this show - otherwise there would be no mortality cases to pick apart and find fault with at the Monday morning M&M conferences.

Unfortunately, what makes this show great and sets it apart may end up being its downfall. Smart, philosophical shows sometimes have difficulty finding an audience (how else can you explain hits like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and Keeping Up With the Kardashians????), but if the right people find the show and tune in, it should succeed. And I hope it does.

I was very skeptical of this show to say the least. That's because I can't remember a single hospital show that I liked, ever. Monday Mornings ended up being a pleasant surprise. Maybe pleasant is the wrong word—the show is neither for the squeamish on the visual nor the emotional side.

One preview I read stated that Monday Mornings was special because it showed us a side of the medical system that we haven't really seen before in other hospital shows. I rolled my eyes a bit at that, because what it usually means is coating the topical parts of the show with some completely unrelated melodrama elements to show the "human side" of it all. Well, Monday Mornings does show the human side alright, but not in the way I would have expected.

The focus and unique element of the series are the eponymous Monday morning meetings of surgeons. The main topics discussed are cases of patients who died while in the hospital's care—namely those where the decisions or conduct of the surgeons might have been a factor in the patient's death. These meetings are highly dramatized for the sake of television, but they drive home the point of what immense pressure lies on a medical professional's almost every decision. And how hard these situations are for them personally, even before they have to take professional responsibility, and justify their decisions.

It's a part of the medical system we don't very much like to think about. With all the research, high-tech equipment and drugs marketed as miracles, a good deal of eyewash makes us want to believe that in our day and age, no one needs to die if we just have the technical means to heal them. But when we first decide to seek medical assistance, when we are diagnosed, how accurate the diagnosis is, if the doctors make the right calls at the right time, and whether they react correctly to the way we are responding to treatment—at any imaginable stage, the human element is a huge factor and source of error. Portrayed in other shows as the "gods in white", Monday Mornings makes it a point to show that, for doctors, mistakes being a matter of life and death doesn't change the fact that they are human beings who occasionally will make them. It's an uncomfortable truth that who treats you can make a crucial difference in your life. But medical science so far wasn't able to make us clairvoyant. Judgement calls, and bad judgement, are an everyday part of it.

While there are some stereotypical characters, they're less cringe-inducing than on most shows. There's the workplace sweethearts, but their relationship (so far) hasn't overshadowed the actual plots. There's the tyrannical supervisor who, just barely, manages to not turn into a caricature. And the Asian overachiever is actually funny ("What's the worst that could happen?" – "Dead. Worst is always dead." – "Have you done this before?" – "Once." – "How did it go?" – "Dead.") The first episodes averted more cliché lines than they gave in to, opting instead for more honest and realistic conversations. Going by genre alone I expected it to be painful to watch, but it really wasn't.

There is only so much you can do to keep hospital routine, even from such a different perspective, fresh enough for a television show. Monday Mornings has yet to show if and how it will manage to do that. Most other shows just add so many personal and relationship plot lines for the medical staff, that the entire show essentially ends up being a random soap opera in front of a hospital backdrop. Others... well, actually, the only other one I can think of is House, M.D., who borrowed from crime shows to become more of a thriller. I'm curious to see whether Monday Mornings will carve its own path. But so far, my verdict is that it's definitely worth having a look at.

We don't need a lot more comedy or what passes for comedy on network TV. There are not a lot of shows that take a serious subject and dramatize it so that people who do not just watch CNN and other news can be educated about what has usually been kept 'quiet'. Sanjay Gupta, MD has impressed me all through his CNN career and now he has written a book and collaborated on this TV series so that the general TV watching public can be educated without being 'lectured'. Its entertainment! I too miss ER but this promises to continue in the genre and its a sad statement on North Americans to see such negative responses. Maybe these people should mention the names of shows they DO think worth watching? what .. Survivor?? Anger Management?? Those of us who appreciate really intelligent scripts that for once are not from the BBC need to applaud the producers for serving up what I just told my husband I thought was now the best new thing on TV..and its not even about lawyers and cops! (we like those too). But Gray's Anatomy is more like a soap opera than a drama. Patients need this kind of wake-up lesson about not necessarily trusting the first doctor or opinion. I thought the acting was just fine and appropriate. Please please don't pan this promising new series!!

This show is about shedding some light on a process that is hitherto unknown or little known to public. As Sanjay Gupta, the author of the original novel by the same name (and a NYT bestseller) pointed out in one of his interviews, "As surgeons, we spend a lot of our time educating patients. If the show is authentic, then people may learn stuff from it and become more empowered patients. They may see what happens after something goes wrong and how the hospital and the doctors deal with it. It can be very humanizing. Often times when something goes awry in a hospital, the communication completely breaks down. (Read @: http://entertainment.time.com/2013/02/04/

We all visit doctors at one time or another in our lives, and most of the time, do not know what questions to raise. At least I did not. In the past 30 years, I have seen lot of changes in the medical profession. Now we have doctor's assistants, nurses, nurse's assistants and a host of others to whom we keep repeating our medical history before we actually sit down with the doctor. Dr. Wilson says the boy's father is out of the picture, which indicates that he has spoken to the mother about him. Between the two of them, the question of his medical records got lost. The point here is it is a slip up and it can happen. That is what the story is about. We need to know what all matters.

Dr. Gupta said that he originally intended it to be nonfiction, but later changed it to fiction. Naturally, fiction means creating tension, some drama. This is serious stuff. I have seen comments on other sites that seem to agree with me. I for one am looking forward to other episodes. One thing I could say is the length of commercials. The breaks are too long and hurt the flow of storyline. Cutting it to half will certainly improve the flow.

I go along with pennymaui: Patients need this kind of wake-up lesson about not necessarily trusting the first doctor or opinion.

I've already learned a lot of things I didn't know just watching the show, especially tonight. (I DVR shows) I hope this show has a lot more then 10 episodes. I really think people can learn a lot just from the Monday morning parts of the show. I love what they do there. Especially about the feelings of the patients and their families. Please, please keep this show going, it's great. I'm so sick of all the stupid comedy and reality shows that are on now. They have canceled sooo many good shows after just one season.

Besides all the negative appointments and the low rating, i find this show amazing! Against all odds, it's almost cool as House MD, witch i really loved. Each doctor is amazing, completely different from each other, with very strong personalities. The stories are cool and well made, and the medicine part is so realistic.

There's some negative points, indeed, like the small cast. Will be a very difficult job to the writers to make more than twelve episodes, in my opinion. Each episode revolves around one or two specific cases. We could have one case for each doctor, for example. I think they should cover the personal life of the doctors, too. It's like if nobody got a family, kids, almost unreal.

But overall, it's very enjoyable show. Give it a try before believing in the negative reviews done here.

I really like this series. Reminds me of my own residency days and those grilling M&M conferences. It actually throws light on the " not so familiar" side of doctors' lives. The show besides having all the essence of an interesting drama also is very realistic.The human,vulnerable and emotional side of doctors is shown very well. Entire cast is amazing.Sarayu Rao fits the role of a very passionate,workaholic surgeon Sydney Nupur so effortlessly. Ving Rhames, Alfred Molina are superb as usual. Jamie Bamber ,Jennifer Finnigan and Keong Sim all are very impressive in their roles . Congratulations to the entire cast! It certainly is one of the most interesting TV shows. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

A superb medical drama that is beautifully written and produced, it is indeed one of the finest ever made for television. Alfred Molina is superb as the head of the hospital and he is not alone in that distinction. Ving Rhames is equally impressive as the emergency room surgical chief and this may be his most outstanding work to date. Bill Irwin is also featured in an excellent portrayal of the doctor in charge of harvesting donated organs and his performance is both funny, moving, and complex. Everything and everyone in this program shines. It is a truly intelligent and emotionally challenging hour that is unique in the history of television. Producer David E. Kelley can be proud of what he achieved with Monday Mornings. Sadly, it was too intelligent for the medium and only lasted one short season. It won't be forgotten by anyone who experienced that time.

Great show! Great characters! Great plots! I am a physician and have been through "Monday Morning"-type scenarios but not as dramatic. Alfred Molina was superb as the Chief of Staff. I found myself laughing out loud at Dr. Park's character. What a pity indeed that this only lasted 1 season. I wish David Kelley read these reviews because this show was universally loved.

Superb writing and uniformly excellent performances make this one of the best medical shows on television. The characters have depth and the situations have a sense of reality. It is especially well done regarding casting and Molina and Irwin are wonderful in their respective parts. The idea of putting Ving Rhames in the role of a respected doctor is simply brilliant and works incredibly well. However, it seems as if a great deal of what is intelligent on television is canceled before an audience can be found for it. That is the case here and it is extremely disappointing. In the past year, far too many programs have left viewers hanging after they have invested themselves in them because some executives decided a moronic reality show is cheap and easier to produce. The powers that be have little respect for the viewers and they are probably correct because the reality junk will actually get people to gather 'round the glowing box, stare thoughtlessly at the light, and buy the latest cell phone offered.

Why should this show need a "save" like American Idol ? Are there any savvy TV executives that will gamble and go for a "steal" ? Works for "The Voice". I was immediately drawn into the premise of this drama. It feels so real. I don't like some of the characters, then I do, just like life. Seldom does a show capture the viewpoints of all involved. David Kelly has been very inventive in the past and continues to do so. Please give viewers an option in our weekly viewing than countless, mindless reality shows. Stellar cast, well written, thoughtful subject material and they have only broken the surface. surely there is room for this series on the traditional schedule. If not more and more viewers will abandon cable subscriptions and eventually all that will remain is YOUTUBE ...

I have been watching this show from the very beginning and it hooked me straight away, Greys Anatomy did the same thing and I have religiously watched every episode. While this is not as soapy as GA, but there are similarities that appeal to me and I would rate them both very closely.

For me this is a brilliant show and I look forward to watching it each week.

It seems to me to be very realistic and does not sugar coat the unfortunate side of medicine as some shows do, it is also for me very educational. I am a bit anti doctors and will question them on everything if I have the misfortune of being in a hospital, and this show seems to encourage that line of thinking.

Finally I am and have been a big fan of Alfred Molina, so this may seem a biased review. He, Ving Rhames and Keoung Sim are outstanding and make me smile whenever they are on screen. The whole cast is amazing really and all put in very good performances, right down to the tiresome Lawyer played by Anthony Heald. I was so happy his character got eaten by Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs.

8/10 for me, some episodes get 10/10

I find Monday Mornings to be an exceptional medical drama, that is very realistic, has grit, and is also intelligent & entertaining. It is a series I certainly hope is continued.

Like other posters, I too am so tired of what's on TV these days, especially the reality shows. I prefer a well written scripted show any day.

This show, Monday Mornings, is a well written show, plus a real factual show, It has great story, & excellent character development.

It is about time there is an adult show on TV in Prime Time. I am so tired of the networks that want to aim TV at 18 to 49 year old people only.

I truly look forward to more seasons of this show!!

With the exception of Jethro Gibbs, Harding Hooten is the only real man in a current TV series (at least, that I've seen). He is an anachronism, sorry to say, in a feminized, P.C. world that features characters who struggle with relatively unimportant character flaws and never have to be grown-ups. Hooten is relentlessly truthful and unapologetically portrays the guy at the head of the table that used to be a normal feature of American life, making the hard decisions and not worrying over how well he will be received. (It is not at all surprising that he is called "Hardly Human" behind his back, since his peers have been raised in the play-pens of public education and mainstream media where anything difficult is dismissed as "mean-spirited). For me, Dr. Hooten IS the reason to savor this show.

Sorry to those who find Dr. Park to be a condescending caricature. One of the deficits in the show is a shortage of comic relief, but Dr. Park's verbal shorthand is not only damn funny, but it is not in the least condescending-His meaning is always understood, begging the question of whether all those pesky articles and adjectives are really necessary to effective communication.

I had a little trouble with Gato at first, but have come to find him believable and engaging as the show progressed. Also, the requisite workplace romance scenario. But that too has been handled well and is at least not distracting.

My concern is that the TV viewership is not ready or willing to enjoy the Monday Morning routine, and may reject a good show for it's lack of "compassion" when there is no shortage of genuine warm feeling.

This program is one of the very best medical series I've ever seen on American TV for a very long time, An absolute 10 out of 10 of pure excellence, drama, suspense, reward, accountability I could go on. It's absolutely realistic and genuine heartfelt television. It contains everything you need in an emotional but rewarding drama. I'm sure, if kept going next season, this type of stimulating television will reap the rewards, not only for the viewers but the makers of such a talented program. If there are any intentions to cancel Monday Mornings, as often happens to good new shows, would prove, in my opinion to be a mistake. This could if managed correctly has the potential to continue for many seasons to come. It also makes a pleasant change to the common crime, reality and action shows. This program gives hope and confidence to all walks of life, without harm or persecution. Well done writers and producers, keep it up and keep Monday mornings.

I think this show is brilliant. Well-written, well-planned, and very well acted. Since it is so good, it will probably not be renewed. It seems that every new show that has substance and value gets cancelled, and replaced by some mindless drivel.

I, too, am sick of "reality TV". Just because it is cheap to produce does not make it worth my viewing time. The popularity of these "reality" shows just emphasizes the dumbness of the American public. I personally do not care what happens on Honey Boo Boo, the Kardashians, Wife Swaps, or Jersey Shore. I admit I have never watched these shows, but the ads and promos I see do not peak my interest.

Please keep Monday Mornings for the excellence of the script, and informative value of the show.

This show is like a train wreck. You have former DA from Law & Order: LA(Molina, who was awesome in that role) playing the head of the hospital. The bow-tie and accent makes him like a total dweeb. You have a former firefighter (Rhames) in I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry(which I also LOVE), not pulling off the Dr. role. Okay, so Finnigan is a closer match with her former role on Crossing Jordan. (By the way, Hennessy totally pulled off her role as a Dr. even after playing an attorney in Law & Order; which I also LOVE.----Same thing with Harmon playing a Detective after playing an attorney in Law & Order) But, this entire show just seems like a bunch of arguing like it's a Housewives show. Very disappointed due to all of the 'disclaimers' by the network. Greatest hospital show since Grey's Anatomy. Uh, hint......that show wasn't that good. How about ER? Let's get a show like that back on!

Oh, and the camera work makes me dizzy. What is with that crazy music here and there. AWFUL!!!!!!!! Also, Silverman and Finnegan are married, that is just weird to have them on the same show like that.