By S. T. Karnick
Although other program providers garner more awards, critical accolades, and media hype, the USA Network has most effectively mastered the art of providing entertaining programming that conveys positive values and ideas. From shows such as Monk to Burn Notice, the USA Network formula has been the same, and quite engaging: interesting, slightly quirky but likeable central characters, recognizable but appealing locations, a focus on interesting occupations, and a concern for helping those less fortunate than oneself or assisting people in crisis.
The new series Necessary Roughness (Wednesdays, 10 p.m. EDT) fulfills all the requirements. The central character, Dr. Danielle (Dani) Santino (Callie Thorne, Homicide: Life on the Street, Rescue Me), is a Long Island-based psychologist engaged by a New York City professional football team to help wrangle some of its less-dependable players in line. Struggling to cope with a recent divorce while raising two smart and independent teenagers, Santino is thrust into a demanding new work routine as the players, coaches, and management of the organization continually treat her as being on call at all times. In addition, Santino’s success with the Hawks players causes other equally troubled and troublesome high-achievers to call upon her services, such as a TV news anchor and a NASCAR driver.
Though strong, courageous, sympathetic to others, and determined to do her best for her clients, Dr. Santino is no saint, to be sure. She runs a rather raffish household (and rather typically American in that regard), and her lust for a coworker—on which she cannot act because of conflict-of-interest concerns—is handled with comic understanding though a rather out-of-place explicitness; she is occasionally shown engaged in intense sexual relations with him, which is then revealed to be a dream. Such scenes don’t fit well with the rest of the show, but fortunately they don’t constitute much of the any episode’s running time.
In any case, such wrinkles to the characters add interest to the show. Nico Careles (Scott Cohen, Gilmore Girls, Law and Order: Trial by Jury), is a particularly interesting case. A former Navy SEAL, Careles is the team owner’s “fixer,” and he initially appears strictly tough, hard-nosed, sinister, and amoral, a one-dimensional hired thug doing a wealthy man’s dirty work. As the series has progressed, however, Dr. Santino has come to know more about him, and Careles is revealed as a far more complex person than Santino or the viewer was first given to think. Similar revelations are occasionally made about other characters, and they fit well with the show’s psychological subject matter.
The stories and Santino’s way of handling her clients are, for me, the real selling point of the series. The football players and other individuals she counsels are typically in the throes of self-indulgence or unfounded career fears or both, and Santino works diligently to identify what they really want out of life and to confront the behavioral and attitude problems that stand in the way of their happiness. In so doing, she conveys a tough-minded attitude that doesn’t allow for any nonsense or denial. She can be sensitive and subtle when necessary, but she stands for common sense and self-reliance, and her therapy is always in the service of ensuring that her clients develop the right attitudes and act accordingly.
In particular, Hawks wide receiver Terrence “T.K.” King begins the series as a disastrously self-destructive individual whose irresponsibility and public misbehavior are driving him out of pro football despite his high talent level. He remains something of a high-maintenance goofball in subsequent episodes, but he shows a sincere respect for Dr. Santino and even concern for her and her family when they run into trouble.
The attitude conveyed by both Dr. Santino and the show’s story lines—that personal problems are to be solved, not indulged or used as excuses—is a salutary one. It’s pleasing to see a TV program that stands for personal responsibility and good behavior, and Necessary Roughness is excellent entertainment.
Necessary Roughness: Recommended