Transplant

Bashir Hamed's status as a Syrian refugee and shadowy background add some juice to these proceedings, but otherwise this is a fairly rote medical drama. Viewers who just can't get enough of scrubs, dense medical-gobbledygook dialogue, and sudden plot complications announced by the arrival of a gurney piloted by running doctors may be pleased with Transplant, because there is wheat within the chaff. With his expressive face and natural gravitas, Hamza Haq makes a creditable leading man, and it's certainly delightful to see a character of Middle Eastern extraction who's playing a hero instead of a terrorist. Hamed's relationship with his young sister Amira (Sirena Gulamgaus) feels touchingly authentic, and we're definitely interested in learning who this guy is, and what exactly drove him and Amira to emigrate.

However, between the moments of intrigue are dull spots that will remind you of every other medical drama you've ever watched. There are elements of House (with doctors intuitively and instantly grasping the root of a patient's mysterious ailment), of ER (with shameless drama milked from the suffering of sympathetic sick people), and of Grey's Anatomy (hot young doctors looking for love). And none of that is bad, it's just been done before, so to make this type of drama work, it has to shake things up somehow. Leaning on Bash's background just isn't enough, no matter how appealing Haq is as an actor. This drama needs a shot of adreneline; otherwise, the prognosis is meh.