2249 жылғы ғарыш ауруханасы: Mercy Point

American television series (1998–1999)

Mercy Point is an American science fiction medical drama, created by Trey Callaway, David Simkins, and Milo Frank, which originally aired for one season on United Paramount Network (UPN) from October 6, 1998, to July 15, 1999. With an ensemble cast led by Joe Morton, Maria del Mar, Alexandra Wilson, Brian McNamara, Salli Richardson, Julia Pennington, Gay Thomas, Jordan Lund, and Joe Spano, the series focuses on the doctors and nurses in a 23rd century hospital space station located in deep space. The executive producers were Trey Callaway, Michael Katleman, Lee David Zlotoff, Joe Voci, and Scott Sanders. Callaway adapted Mercy Point from his original screenplay, "Nightingale One". It was picked up by Mandalay Television, and the concept was eventually revised as a television project and renamed Mercy Point; production on the film project had ended due to the poor commercial performance of the 1997 film Starship Troopers. The television show was part of a three million dollar deal between Mandalay and Columbia TriStar Television to produce 200 hours of material. It was filmed in Vancouver to reduce production costs, the hospital sets being constructed on a series of sound stages. Director Joe Napolitano has praised the show for its use of a complete set to allow for more intricate directing. Despite Callaway envisioning Mercy Point as a companion to Star Trek: Voyager, it was paired with Moesha and Clueless as its lead in on Tuesday nights. Initially focused on ethical and medical cases, the show's storylines gradually shifted toward relating the characters' personal relationships, to better fit UPN's primarily teen viewership. Mercy Point was placed on hiatus after only three episodes were aired, and was replaced by the reality television series America's Greatest Pets and the sitcom Reunited. The show suffered from low ratings, with an average of two million viewers. The final four episodes of the series were broadcast in two 2 hour blocks on Thursday nights in July 1999. It has never been released on DVD or Blu ray, but was made available to stream on Crackle. Critical response to Mercy Point was mixed; some commentators praised its characterization and use of science fiction elements, while others found it to be uninteresting and unoriginal. Callaway stated that he had the potential story arcs for the full first season already planned before the show's cancellation.

Set in the year 2249, Mercy Point revolves around doctors and nurses working in a hospital space station in deep space. The "state of the art hospital" is described as "the last stop for anything going out, the first stop for anything coming back" by one of the show's characters. The facility includes advanced medical equipment, such as "artificial wombs, holographic three dimensional X ray projections [and] zero gravity operating tables". A talking computer known as Hippocrates, voiced by series co creator Trey Callaway, is shown as the primary method to monitor a patient's status. The doctors and nurses work on both human and extraterrestrial patients over the course of the series. Despite the futuristic setting, the characters' clothing and hairstyles adhere to 1990s fashion trends. Mercy Point's setting and filming style also received comparisons to the television medical drama ER; the series itself was promoted as "ER in space".

According to a press release from UPN, the series features the characters' attempts to "balanc[e] complicated personal lives with the demands of working in a cutting edge hospital". Dru Breslaur (Alexandra Wilson) begins working at the hospital in the pilot episode, creating tension because of her strained relationship with her older sister Haylen, and her past romance with Dr. C. J. Jurado (Brian McNamara). Callaway drew his primary inspiration for the original screenplay from a concept by Frank, entitled "Nightingale One". And while pitching the idea to film executives, Callaway said in his closing comments that he could also envision it as the framework for a successful television series. The show's production was part of a three million dollar deal with Columbia TriStar Television to produce 200 hours of material; a majority of the content created from this agreement was commercially unsuccessful.