Body & Soul

This drama about the battles of a few hospital doctors to pursue more spiritual and holistic healing methods along with traditional methods was too squishy even for the PAX Network. It was cancelled after only a couple of months. Strauss and Laskin were clearly the main characters, but the starring cast was perhaps a bit too large for a consistent focus. The conflicts on each episode grew tiresomely repetitive, as the courageous doctors butted heads with the intransigent and unimaginative authorities again and again to use their maverick treatments (which weren't really all that wild) on their patient of the week. The predictability of it all at least prevented the show from bathing the viewer in pathos, which is usually the problem with this kind of show.

Body and Soul wasn't actually that bad of a series. It was kinda of dissapointing that is only lasted two months. It had some good plot lines and even had some stuff that was kinda "racey" for the PAX channel. Peter Strauss had the best role I think. But since it was on the PAX channel it wasn't like ER. ER has some serious storylines, having some gross stuff and some pretty good cliff hangers. This show showed the ER as "soft" place and that wasn't realistic, so that is probably how the show failed. Another reason is they didn't have any other well known actors, expect Peter Strauss, on the show. There was one actor that was familiar and that was Brian McNamara who was in the crummy, B-Movie Caddyshack sequel, be most likely nobody even knows he exists, even I didn't till now. This show had unrealistic patients, storylines and characters. Sure it was okay, but not good enough to keep me from changing the channel after 15 minutes of viewing.

The "cigarette-smoking man" from the X-files is the mortuary guy on this series! The episode I caught was about the merging of conventional western medicine and eastern practices such as biofeedback, acupuncture, positive thinking, etc. It must be an early episode. I was actually intrigued to see where things would go, even though I was rather dismayed to learn that it was a PAX program, which in my experience puts out extremely sappy series. It looks like the show is worthy of a second viewing...if only to see what they are up to or trying to say. I like the fact that they seem to be advocating a multi-level approach to medicine as well as a more humanistic, holistic approach. With regard to cast, I caught a number of other recognizable actors on the screen and was pleased to see their familiar faces. Has the potential to be pretty sappy - but worth a second episode.