Does 3 Lbs Have Enough Weight to Make a Splash?

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Whatever else you might think about it, you have to admit 3 Lbs is an extremely cool title for a TV series. It's utilitarian, it's ambiguous and it's mysterious enough to pique your curiosity. And when you find out that the title refers to the average weight of the human brain, you're hooked, and all the producers of this series have to do is reel you in.

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Or maybe not.

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Actually, 3 Lbs was pitched to the networks for the 2005-06 season, but didn't make the cut. Apparently, it was a darker, more cynical pilot with Dylan McDermott in the lead role. That's not unusual. Producers frequently rework pilots to get the concept on the air. It worked for Star Trek, after all. 3 Lbs was re-written and recast, with Stanley Tucci replacing McDermott in the role of iconoclastic neurologist, and it was in the wings to be a midseason replacement.

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That was before the fiasco that was Smith left CBS scrambling for for a viable property to fill that prime time real estate. And so it is that 3 Lbs has been bumped up to a 14 November premiere.

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If this premiere episode is any indication, 3 Lbs may sneak in to become a sleeper hit. The set-up is simple: an idealistic neurosurgeon, Dr. Jonathan Seger (Mark Feuerstein), landing a job at a renowned neurological center, finds himself at odds with the hospital's chief, Dr. Douglas Hansen (Stanley Tucci). Hansen has a nuts and bolts approach to his work, often referring to the brain as "wires in a box." Seger, on the other hand, sees the brain in a more spiritual way.As a balancing point, Dr. Adrianne Holland (Indira Varma), who may or may not have been physically involved with Hansson, makes it clear that she finds Seger. . . intriguing.

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The plot of this episode, involving a teenage violinist with a brain tumor, is secondary to the dialogue between the three principals. This is a story that hinges more on the cerebral than the visual, more concerned with questions of ethics than splashy storytelling. It moves at a leisurely pace, unconcerned with the cliffhanger before the commercial break.

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Viewers expecting something akin to House will be surprised when they view 3 Lbs. Where the former takes a cavalier approach to the medical mystery, 3 Lbs focuses more on the frailty of the human element. It's more character driven than plot driven, and as such, it raises more than a few questions about motivations.

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If 3Lbs doesn't get bogged down in proseletizing, it has the potential to be a provocative series. The pilot sets it up nicely, and one can only hope it remains true to its principles.