'Royal Pains': Hamptons doctor's a treat

THE SHOW "Royal Pains"

WHEN | WHERE Wednesday at 9 on USA

CATCHING UP/WHAT IT'S ABOUT Last we saw HankMed -- that unique medical establishment of the Hamptons -- the clouds had rolled in. Hank's (Mark Feuerstein) golfer buddy Jack O'Malley (Tom Cavanaugh) had died, and the HankMed team was ready to split. Partner and brother Evan Lawson (Paulo Costanzo) had bought Divya Katdare's (Reshma Shetty) shares in the company, which effectively makes him majority owner of the firm. That, as you'll see, doesn't sit particularly well with Hank. (Reasons for the pre-emptive move against Hank are explored tonight.)

Divya tries to patch things up -- again, you'll have to wait to see what happens there -- while a new crisis presents itself. Foremost, Evan needs to find some new replacement doctors, while a certain eccentric Dr. Jeremiah Sacani (Ben Shenkman, who joins the show for multiple episodes this season) seems like he'll do. Also, a series of ailments befall contestants who are preparing for a big-money eating contest at the Harbor Fest; one of them is Jill's (Jill Flint) bro (Donal Logue, also sticking around for a few episodes).

MY SAY During its first three seasons, "Royal Pains" established that the rich and famous are really just like you and me after all -- they get sick and desire nothing more than the services of an affable charmer of a doctor who has nothing to do with HMOs and never even bills the patient. In fact, who knew the Hamptons was such a hotbed of disease and pestilence; tonight, among other maladies, we find out about some sort of blood-clotting mechanism that makes the victim speak with an accent, in this case Russian. Besides being among the most congenial 44 minutes on USA's air, fans can actually learn a lot of stuff watching this.

BOTTOM LINE As always, a sunny, laid-back pleasure.

GRADE B+

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