First
off, I should mention that this series is listed as Donovan on IMDb, but the actual episode I watched uses DNA.
Not sure where the name change comes from, if the series was renamed or
called different things in different markets or what. Either way, I’ll give you both in case
anyone’s interested in seeking it out.
DNA is yet another crime show, heavy on the
forensics with a medical bent. This
episode finds the team, led by the sometimes-eponymous Donovan, investigating
the sick crew and passengers of a plane recently returned from Sudan. It’s up to them to determine if the sickness
is due to a virus (known or unknown,) some sort of biological weapon, or another
source. That the plane was transporting
a war criminal on an extremely hush-hush basis further complicates matters.
PC
plays Dr. Angus Baldwin, one of the plane’s passengers. He, his wife, and another colleague have
spent the last six months doing Doctors-Without-Borders-like work. At the start of the episode, Angus is the one
feverishly trying to tend to the crew and other passengers. Once Donovan’s team is brought in, Angus is
the most uncooperative of the quarantined, demanding to know what’s going on
and urging Donovan to let them convalesce in a hospital instead of being held
in an airplane hangar.
I’ll
file this one under “fine performance in an unremarkable part.” PC’s had many of these. There’s some interesting background stuff for
Angus – he’s been genuinely haunted by what he’s seen as a doctor in Sudan, and
his best scenes address that. The plot
gets rather over-the-top at times, though, and Angus isn’t immune to the
eye-rolling nature of it.
Lastly,
I can’t quite fathom how freaky it
would be to be in a biohazard suit. To
think that it’s the only thing separating you from a possible unknown contagion…
yeesh. Talk about spooky.
Accent Watch
Come on
– have you ever encountered a character named Angus who wasn’t Scottish?
Recommend?
In
General
– I wouldn’t. Granted, that’s my
distaste for deadly-illness plots coming through, but it’s also a fairly
middling investigative drama.
PC-wise – A mild “possibly.” A few good scenes, a little questionable
writing, and lots of shots in the middle of PC sweating in a hospital bed.
Warnings
Thematic
elements and sexual references. Also, be
advised of some vomiting.
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