Three Rivers on CBS

By Ally Matteodo

The new medical drama Three Rivers gives viewers an in-depth look at the most advanced transplant hospital in the U.S.  Airing at 9:00 p.m. ET October 4 on CBS, the first episode of this program has been chosen as Best TV Show of the Week.  The premiere episode introduced viewers to the team of surgeons at Three Rivers Regional.  Dr. Andy Yablonski leads the team, and his sweet disposition, in combination with his impressive skill and intelligence, earn him many friends among his co-workers and patients.  In this episode, the foreman on a construction job suffers a fatal fall.  Although he is still breathing at the hospital, he has been diagnosed as brain dead, and is kept alive only with a machine.  Dr. David Lee, a surgical resident, and Ryan Abbott, the new transplant coordinator, arrive at the hospital prepared to transplant the construction worker’s heart to a young pregnant woman in dire need at Three Rivers.  However, Dr. Lee and Abbott must cool their heels when the foreman’s daughter wants a second opinion.  Meanwhile, Dr. Miranda Foster works to figure out why a young boy has been ingesting metal.  At first, Dr. Foster believes the boy eats metal as a cry for attention, since his mother works long hours.  However, it turns out that the boy is zinc deficient, and his body was urging him to eat metal in a desperate effort to compensate for the deficiency. In a moment of realization Dr. Foster learns that her own family’s inadequacies should not be projected onto others.  And ultimately, the foreman’s daughter decides to donate her father’s heart, as his organs will help seven people live.  The pregnant woman is saved, and her baby is delivered safely.

At a time when many medical dramas grace the airwaves, it is refreshing to see one without the graphic scenes common in most other such programs.  For those who enjoy watching talented and kind-hearted doctors work to save people, Three Rivers is a treasure, without the blood and gore which many cannot stomach.  Some may argue that graphic scenes focusing on the surgery are necessary to make the show more credible and more realistic, but these scenes can also alienate audiences.  In addition, Three Rivers truly focuses on the transplant and surgical team’s work.  Without the usual complex sexual backstories common to medical dramas, the teams appear more proficient and actually seem to enjoy their work rather than battered down by it.  It is also rewarding to experience the transplant process from the different angles of the organ donors and recipients.  Yet the lead character, Andy Yablonski, is perhaps arguably the best aspect of this show.  Compassionate, caring, and deeply gifted, Dr. Yablonski’s reassuring voice and masterful touch make us all yearn for a doctor with the same level of adroitness and sympathy.    

Best TV Show of the Week

The Parents Television Council - www.parentstv.org