‘Body of Proof’ Review: Can ABC Revive Their Dying Line Up?

Tuesday night, ABC premiered a new medical drama series, Body of Proof, starring ­­­Dana Delany.  The show takes place in Philadelphia and follows the life of main character Dr. Megan Hunt, played by Delany.  Hunt, formerly a top neurosurgeon, had to give up her career after being in an accident which caused her to lose feeling in her hands.  In the pilot episode, the audience discovers that Hunt ran a red light on her way into surgery, causing the accident.  After losing her career as a neurosurgeon, Hunt became a medical examiner, where she amassed a highly successful career.  The audience soon discovers that Hunt is divorced and has no legal rights to her 11-year-old daughter anymore.  As a work-obsessed woman, she was deemed an absentee mother and currently struggles to win back her daughter’s affection.  She is also portrayed as a cut-off woman with no friends.

Megan Hunt is presented as an overly self-assured woman who isn’t afraid to make outrageous accusations regarding the cases she is involved in.  Her wild behavior has co-workers seeking her advice, and others, like detectives, furious at her audacity.  Despite her brilliance in cases, Delany’s character is difficult to believe.  Constantly spouting off medical information which is ultimately correct, Megan Hunt is a largely unbelievable character.  Paired with stereotyped co-stars, and blatant resentment of female success, the effect isn’t all that pleasing.  In one scene, the detective tells another medical examiner to “put a muzzle on that woman”, referring to Megan Hunt.  She’s later referred to as a “ball cutter”, furthering the idea that a woman can’t have a successful professional career and maintain her feminine qualities.

The writers of Body of Proof attempt to bring traditional human qualities to Delany’s character, but it ultimately falls flat.  Her character is presented as somewhat aloof and even unsympathetic at times.  The pilot episode has very little that is unique about it.  Like many other medical dramas, a murder case is solved and an arrest made within the hour, all while probing the personal life of the main character.

In the past year, ABC has struggled to produce new hit series. Many of the shows that they premiered were canceled after just one season, including The Deep End, Defying Gravity, Eastwick, Flash Forward, Happy Town, and Romantically Challenged. For many of these shows, the plug was pulled earlier than the end of the season, leaving un-aired episodes and frustrated fans. After a string of failed television shows, will ABC viewers remain loyal to this new program and bring in enough ratings to keep it airing for more than a season, or at least more than a couple of episodes? Or will it be another poorly received show deemed sub-par to ABC’s much more acclaimed medical drama Grey’s Anatomy? Is it possible for ABC to still produce a hit in the wake of Lost? Can this new series revive ABC’s dying line up? Only time and ratings will tell.

Look for a new episode at a special time on Sunday night and again on Tuesday at 10pm.  The pilot episode will also be available online.