No opinion yet on new Fox medical drama Mental

Mental, which began airing on Fox the last week of May, will air new episodes Tuesdays throughout the summer. The show, to me, seems very House. According to the show's website, here is the premise: "MENTAL is a medical mystery drama featuring Dr. Jack Gallagher, a radically unorthodox psychiatrist who becomes Director of Mental Health Services at a Los Angeles hospital where he takes on patients battling unknown, misunderstood and often misdiagnosed psychiatric conditions. Gallagher delves inside their minds to gain a true understanding of who his patients are, allowing him to uncover what might be the key to their long-term recovery." While, on the outside, this seems like a very interesting premise, the episode I watched tonight was less than memorable.

I should also mention that curiosity caused me to watch tonight's episode. The recently deceased David Carradine was the episode's guest patient and though he did not speak a single word the entire episode, his performance was memorable. I am glad I took the time to watch this, as it is one of his last performances. Overall, the episode had a simple plot: Man awakes from coma but continues to live in a catatonic state, not responding to stimuli or talking, etc.; doctors try to reconnect him to the real world; doctors realize there is no real problem with him, but instead he is faking and choosing to hide within himself; Gallagher literally forces him out of where he retreated.

Maybe I caught the show on an off night. Has anyone else been watching? What are your opinions of the show? I have to admit that I hate the head zipping thing before every commercial; once at the top of the show is plenty. I also didn't like that going into the first commercial, the audience had not yet been given any hints about the path the episode was going to take - we were not introduced to the guest patient or any such dilemma that would be discussed during the show. At that point I could have easily walked away from the episode, but there was nothing else on so I stuck with it. I'm not sure I will ever again watch, but if you are a fan I would love to hear what it is about the show that makes you want to see more. Leave it here.