MovieChat Forums > The Mob Doctor (2012) Discussion > Rip Off of 'Royal Pains'

Rip Off of 'Royal Pains'

posted 11 years ago by GreenInkBrigade
8 replies | jump to latest

This show is just a rip off of "Royal Pains."

They tried to add the mafia to make it edgier than RP, but instead made it even less credible than a bubble gum show about an oh-so virtuous doctor, unfairly dismissed from his big city ER job, who now practices concierge medicine among the rich and vapid of the Hamptons.

The networks are out of ideas.

Cable needs to start charging royalties.

House = Monk
Mentalist = Monk (and Psych)
Elementary = Monk (with a little House thrown in)
Mob Doctor = Royal Pains (with a little Sopranos thrown in)

[–] Smug_Grinch 11 years ago

I think you're missing the point. In Royal Pains, Hank is just a concierge doctor. But Grace is having to live a double-life. No one can know she works for the mob. Everyone knows Hank is a concierge doctor.

And I don't see the comparison between House and Monk at all. Monk put the pieces together and solved crimes. House diagnosed illnesses. Doesn't really compare.

---
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[–] GreenInkBrigade 11 years ago

I think you're missing the point. In Royal Pains, Hank is just a concierge doctor. But Grace is having to live a double-life. No one can know she works for the mob. Everyone knows Hank is a concierge doctor.

Of course there's a difference. You can get sued if your show is nothing more than a carbon copy of another one.

Without "Royal Pains," there is no "Mob Doctor."

Both provide on-call medical services for a clientele that eschews normal channels.

And I don't see the comparison between House and Monk at all. Monk put the pieces together and solved crimes. House diagnosed illnesses. Doesn't really compare.

"House" is actually a detective show - with a doctor as detective and disease as the crime/criminal. It follows all the detective show conventions and only a few medical show conventions.

The creators have said they based the character on Sherlock Holmes. The show uses many references to the Holmesian universe: House lives at 221B Baker Street, Wilson = Watson, the first patient was named Adler, the man who shot House was named Moriarty, House uses deductive logic to diagnose disease.

Both House and Monk were "defective detectives." "House" was a grittier show, so the writers could include drug addiction and other issues that a lightweight show like "Monk" would have to avoid.

[–] Ithilfaen 11 years ago

Because you think Royal Pains is original?

I guess it's easy to see ripoffs everywhere when you simplify so much that every procedural is "Monk" and every medical drama is "Royal Pains". maybe you should watch a little more tv that's not 4 years old and you'd see that there was a lot of tv before too that these shows ripped.

For every lie I unlearn I learn something new - Ani Difranco

[–] GreenInkBrigade 11 years ago

Almost nothing on television is original anymore.

And I never wrote that "Royal Pains" was original.

One could even argue that "Royal Pains" is an updated "The Love Boat" or "Fantasy Island" archetype show - in that it takes on a new guest (or guests) each week and resolves each guest's issues (both medical and personal), all in an idyllic setting.

And, no, I'm not going to argue that either of those shows was the originator of the archetype.

[–] gbeach 11 years ago

Another example of "this show is a rip off of X" with absolutely no examples of how it's a rip off. Eventually one or two vague similarities (eg. both involve doctors) are trotted out ignoring the dozens of ways they're different.

Hint: For it to be a rip off they have to have more in common than not.

[–] silverr8c 11 years ago

One difference is that "Mob Doctor" is based on (Not off of) a book about a real person titled IL DOTTORE: The Double Life of a Mafia Doctor.

The doctor a Jewish respected thoracic surgeon and also a Mafia confidant, Elliot Litner was a self-described "nerdy, Jewish kid from the Bronx" who'd witnessed a slaying as a boy yet kept mum, impressing local hoodlums; later, his acquaintance with mobsters' sons provided entree to New York's Cosa Nostra during its heyday. In 1971, while a surgical resident, Litner helped Gambino family associates establish clandestine abortion clinics. Soon, Litner was the Gambinos' go-to for sensitive medical emergencies and even served as a courier for the family

The book was published in 2004 long before the USA show.

[–] gambles-2 11 years ago

Thanks for that info. It was interesting and clearly made the point that Mob Doctor isn't ripped off of Royal Pains. I don't see the comparisons anyway - other than doctors with brothers. Again, thanks for the Il Dottore info. I'll look into that as I really loved the show.

[–] wldsthrnboy 11 years ago

You're a *beep* moronic troll. I don't care for the show all that much. But it was infinitely more watchable than another dumbass reality show that only gets watched because the people on it are disgusting trainwrecks of human beings.

The only thing alike about The Mob Doctor and Royal Pains is that they both have doctors on them.

The Mob Doctor is a crime Drama with some medical plot points.

Royal Pains is a comedic melodrama with some McGyver doctoring thrown in.

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