An uneven, understated medical drama that highlights friendship and teamwork.

Thanks to streaming, I was recently able to re-watch Combat Hospital, a Canadian medical drama from 2011. I remember seeing the trailers when it first came out and thinking: a military version of ER? Sign me up! It lasted only a single season and got mediocre ratings, but I remember thinking it was pretty decent. Not in the same league as ER or MASH, but still enjoyable. Upon a second viewing, my overall opinion hasn't changed, but I was able to appreciate some nuances that I didn't the first time around.

As the on-the-nose name suggests, Combat Hospital is set in a military hospital—specifically, the Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit (MMU) in Kandahar, Afghanistan during the height of the war. In military medicine, a Role 3 unit is a hospital in a forward area that handles everything from outpatient sick visits to post-op patients in the ICU. This gave the show a breadth of stories that you don't often get to see in civilian medical dramas, which tend to focus on a particular department. One week they might be dealing with trauma victims from a battle; the next week it's a general with a clogged tear duct from the desert dust.

The cast does a good job, but the characters are a little thin. I think if the show had lasted longer, we could have gone deeper with them, but there's only so much you can do in 13 episodes with a half-dozen main characters. And unfortunately, the two that get the most airtime are also the two most annoying: newcomer Major Rebecca Gordon (played by Michelle Borth) and civilian contractor Simon Hill (played by Luke Mably). Simon is the stereotypical arrogant surgeon, irresponsible and insufferable. Rebecca is meant to have some growth learning the ropes as she first arrives in Kandahar, but she's self-centered and prone to making dumb decisions (like collecting/donating reading material for a local school without checking for offensive material.) It is honestly quite baffling how she ended up a military physician.

While the main protagonists may be a little rocky, the supporting characters really make the show worth watching. Chief among them is the no-nonsense commander, Colonel Xavier Marks (Elias Koteas). This character was based on Dr. Marc Dauphin, who commanded the real-life MMU in Kandahar and whose book, Combat Doctor: Life and Death Stories from Kandahar's Military Hospital, may have helped inspire the show. Base psychiatrist Major Grace Pederson (Deborah Kara Unger) is another interesting character, highlighting the importance of mental health in a combat zone. I would have liked to see more stories with her.

The thing I appreciated most about the show was its emphasis on friendships and teamwork over love triangles. (Don't get me wrong—there's still romance. It's just not as all-consuming as it is on many other medical dramas.) The core relationships are the supportive friendships between Rebecca and fellow new arrival Bobby (Terry Chen), as they adapt to practicing medicine in a combat zone; and between roommates Rebecca and Grace, who volunteer at a women's clinic for the locals. Colonel Marks is a great mentor for both Rebecca and Bobby, as well as friend of Grace's.

Being a Canadian-produced series, it's refreshingly not US-centric. The mix of nationalities reflects the reality of the NATO hospital. The show also gets props for its positive portrayals of its Afghan characters. The unit's interpreter, Vans, is a wholesomely earnest and helpful teenager. His aunt works with the local police fighting corruption. Other local characters feature in various stories, including the women's clinic.

The plots can be cheesy and over-the-top at times, and the tone varies wildly from episode to episode. Sometimes it aims for the hijinks of MASH (invariably falling short), while other times it veers into serious commentary on the war. This inconsistency makes it hard to get into, but it's still an entertaining spin on the usual medical procedural.

Ratings

• Princess Power:
• Overall:
• Bechdel Test: Pass

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