What I’m Watching: Royal Pains

Royal Pains: Season 2, Episode 3 “Keeping the Faith” (B+)

Most often on this show, Hank is a known quantity contacted by people who have been referred to him by previous patients. In this case, it’s a nice treat to have the Lawson brothers just stumble upon a medical emergency simply by being in the right place at the right time. The fact that said patient is a B-movie actor famous for playing the Garbage Collector makes it all the more fun. It’s entertaining to see the polarized reactions to the Garbage Collector from the Hank Med team. Evan and Jill being so enamored with the delight of getting to meet the star contrasted so sharply with Hank and Divya not having a clue as to who he was. Clearly this Garbage Collector series is quite fantastic, however, given how the two nonbelievers ultimately became enthralled with the fourth installment, which apparently is much better than the third. Evan’s hesitation in making a move on the Garbage Collector’s sister was amusing, and Hank’s lack of any desire to help him out was fun too. It seemed obvious from the start that there was a problem with the sister’s memory because she was frequently repeating conversations, and it’s a bit hard to believe that Evan can be so ignorant of those signals given the amount of time he spends around Hank. On a more serious note, Hank’s stern talking-to with his father was much more dramatic and effective than I had expected. Commendations are due to Henry Winkler for his fine work as Hank’s surprisingly stern father.