Critic Reviews

All told, it's a fantastic collection of talent that keeps the show moving, even when the case-of-the-week is something of a clunker.

All those greens and blues--and I'm just talking about the trousers and jackets--make you almost forget how well-written and acted this show is; even the medical jargon seems (ummm) un-jargony and informative. The mini dramas are mostly, however, just a light summer breeze, as befitting unpretentious Pains.

As always, a sunny, laid-back pleasure.

As always, a welcome summer visitor.

In summer, we feel less guilty about guilty pleasures. And Royal Pains is just what the doctor ordered for a shameless seasonal fling.

Perfect, mindless, summer fun.

No one's ever going to say Royal Pains, with its pun title (although Scott is the only royalty around, most of the upper-class patients prove to be real pains), is a classic addition to the medical genre, but it certainly is zippy fun.

The introduction of high-strung Dr. Sacani (Ben Shenkman) as the new lead physician at HankMed is a confident first step in another summer of Hamptons high jinks.

The one-liners are broad, the plots preposterous. And yet it all works in a lighthearted-summer-fare kind of way, helped along with almost pornographic images of Hamptons wealth.

Royal Pains has some moments of genuine wit--a lot more of them after Costanzo shows up.