This drama series revolves around the life of Dr. Alexandra Panttiere, a successful and smart heart surgeon, who has a successful career, but struggles against balancing between her personal and professional life.
The rest of us aren't likely to last much past the scene in which Alex pounds on the glass walls in her boss' office and shrieks, "I'm not leaving without my heart!" Whatever. Just go.
NBC's Heartbeat is an annoying anachronism of a show, a program that openly steals ideas from better shows like Grey's Anatomy, ER and House, but has no idea what to do with them.
One wishes the series would fixate less on the chaos of [Dr.] Panttiere's love life. For all the longing gazes and hasty workplace hookups, Heartbeat is at its most pulse-pounding when it simply steps back to let her do her job.
Given the fact that Heartbeat tries to present Alex as a feminist role-model, it's unfortunate that she is defined almost entirely by the men around her.
While the likable cast - which includes D.L. Hughley, Jamie Kennedy and Maya Erskine - is easy to root for, there is little else to distinguish "Heartbeat" from numerous other medical shows.
The good news is that after the precarious beginning, when you fall into the rhythm of the series -- tight, barbed, fast-cut but full of heart, literally and figuratively -- it's an enjoyable night in.
