Zachary Quinto shot to fame in the sci-fi series Heroes before going on to star as Mr Spock in the reboot movies of the Star Trek franchise. Now he’s the leading man in a new medical drama Brilliant Minds.
He stars as Doctor Oliver Wolf, a gay, oddball, psychiatrist who has an unwavering commitment to his patients. Challenged by face-blindness Dr Wolf struggled to make connections with those around him, and he’s constantly thinking back to key moments in his youth.
Each episode he and his team of medical interns try and work out the medical maladies and mysteries that their patients face.
The show also features multiple Tony Award winning Broadway star Donna Murphy as the hospital administrator, and Mandy Patinkin plays Dr Wolf’s father Noah, who is also a doctor.
The show is very reminiscent of the much-loved series House. You can watch the entire first series now on Foxtel / Binge.
New series ‘Watson’ also explores medical mysteries
New on Paramount+ is Watson, a series that is set in the modern day but focused on Dr John Watson from the world of Sherlock Holmes.
After Holmes is killed by arch-rival Moriarty, Watson has to work out what he does now, he opts to return to the world of medicine and solve mysteries faced by patients. He returns to the USA and opens the Holmes Clinic and fills it with talented young doctors ready to take on any challenge.
Morris Chesnutt plays John Watson. He previously appeared in The Resident and first came to prominence in Boyz n the Hood. Eve Harlow who played Moll in Star Trek Discovery plays a talented neuroscientist Ingrid Devian. While Peter Mark Kendall plays the dual roles of twins Stephens and Adam Croft.
Rochelle Aytes, who previously appeared in S.W.A.T. and Hawaii Five-O, plays Watson’s ex-wife Mary Morstan who serves as the clinic medical Director. While Ritchie Coster plays Shinwell Johnson a former aide to Sherlock Holmes and Watson who looks after the clinic’s admin.
This one also sounds like the setup for House, but it’s more like watching episodes C.S.I.
Section 31 is the latest story from the Star trek universe
The latest offering from the world of Star Trek has arrived. The film Star Trek: Section 31 starring Michelle Yeoh has arrived on Paramount+.
If you haven’t watched five seasons of Star Trek: Discovery he’s a quick spoiler filled catch up. Phillipa Georgiou was a brilliant captain in Starfleet, but she’s killed in the first episode of the series. Later the crew of Discovery travel to an alternate universe where they discover a parallel world where everyone lives under a brutal tyrant – Phillipa Georgiou.
Circumstances force Georgiou to move across to the regular universe but people are never sure if they can trust her. She ends up working for Starfleet’s Section 31, they’re s covert ops group, it’s Mission Impossible in space.
This was originally envisaged as a new series for the Star Trek world but was reconfigured to be a movie instead. While it’s awesome to see a story that centres around Yeoh as an action star, the movie faces several challenges. Principally Georgiou is an interesting character, but not entirely a likeable character for the audience to follow, and by the time we get to know all the characters half the film has passed.
If you’re a Star Trek fan it’s lovely to see another slice of the world, if you’re not a Star Trek fan there’s little to see here.
Doco on Madonna’s rise to fame comes to Channel Nine
On Thursday 30th January Channel Nine will screen a 2024 UK documentary on the rise of Madonna.
The documentary features a wide range of previously unheard tapes, footage and interviews with those who knew the singer in the early days of her career. The film also looks into Madonna’s long support for the LGBTIQA+ communities and how she lost many friends to HIV/AIDS. Catch the documentary at 9pm.
