When I saw the preview for a new Rachel Bilson show on the CW about a young New York City doctor who is forced (by whatever circumstances the writers invented) to move to Alabama, I rolled my eyes and gagged a little. I mean, it was called "Hart of Dixie." But then on the night it premiered, I was flipping channels (because no matter how many times Ashton Kutcher gets naked, Two & a Half Men cannot hold my attention that long) and stopped, just to check it out.
Before we continue and I confess to enjoying this cheesy new show far more than I should, I need to tell you two things. First, I love the movie Sweet Home Alabama. A sassy Reese Witherspoon gets to choose between New York with the dreamy politician's son Patrick Dempsey, and Alabama with the ruggedly adorable Josh Lucas. It's a win-win. Plus the supporting cast, especially Candice Bergen, is fantastic. I can't actually listen to the song Sweet Home Alabama anymore without thinking, "show some respect y'all," which is a little ridiculous for this Pacific NW native. So there's that. And, I love Rachel Bilson. While I could take or leave (well, mostly leave) the Ryan & Marissa part of the storyline on the O.C., I kept on watching for Seth & Summer. I've already covered my love of Seth Cohen (nerds are so hot, and so is Adam Brody), but I'll just add here that Rachel Bilson managed to make what could have been an annoying and ditzy character, absolutely lovable, so that we were able to approve of her having won over our favorite nerd. I have been a little disappointed with some post-O.C. efforts from Bilson, namely I thought her first guest appearance on HIMYM was overhyped and the episode underdelivered (not really her fault, and her follow up appearance was much improved), and that horrid ice cream commercial where she steps on the cars for a Magnum ice cream bar (seriously, who names an ice cream bar Magnum?). Okay, that explanation got a little long, but to sum up, 1) love Sweet Home Alabama, 2) love Rachel Bilson.
So I start watching, and I'm hooked. Bilson's Dr. Zoe Hart is awkward, doesn't fit in with the town, but we can see that she is a good person and a good doctor, just completely unfamiliar with small town life and country issues. The supporting cast of characters is solid. There's the nemesis: Lemon, the girl you hate (and who despises Zoe), and her father Brick, the doctor who owns the other half of the practice that Bilson has inherited, both of whom make you cheer a little harder for Zoe than you might have otherwise. Then the ever important potential love interests: Lemon's fiance/Zoe's crush, George, the golden boy who has returned home to marry his high school sweetheart after a stint at a big law firm in the NYC, Wade, the somewhat attractive, slightly redneck, obnoxious jackass who rents the place next to Zoe on the mayor's property, and the mayor, Lavon Hayes - former NFL player and more importantly to the people of Bluebell, former Crimson Tide star player (on the latter, they seem to be keeping Lavon & Zoe as friends, and I hope that continues because I like that dynamic between them). The helpful new friends, aka my favorite characters: Rose & Mrs. H, the latter being the nurse at the clinic and the former her daughter. It seems that Mrs. H, played with a great deal of charm by Nancy Travis, may have been a guest spot, but I am hoping they find a way for the big city, podcast and comic book loving Rose to stick around. Her interactions with Zoe are my favorite, and on episode two, her interactions with Wade made for one of my favorite moments. The best part of episode two, however, was the ladies on the bench gossiping, which I hope they will continue in the coming weeks because it is hilarious.
So we've got our big city doctor trying to make it in a small town, which sounds just about as cheesy as the title, Hart of Dixie, implies. But for some reason, it works for me. In both episodes they've managed to make me root for our heroine, as she learns a little more about the town and how to be a good doctor. Each episode (well, both episodes) combines the drama of the small town and her trying to fit in it with her extra efforts to help those few patients who are willing to see her instead of Brick, from the pregnant girl with the awful mother to Brick's own niece who hasn't told any of her family & friends in Bluebell that she has MS. So I think I'll keep watching it, I've got to stick around at least until George breaks up with Lemon. She really is awful.
But the name is ridiculous, so I'm just going to call it the new Rachel Bilson show. At least for now.
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