06:17 – Wow. I seldom manage to choose anything really bad from Netflix, but the latest disc was an exception. The series is called Off the Map. I decided to sample disc 1 because it stars the delightful Caroline Dhavernas, late of Wonderfalls. (What is it about the Canadians? They consistently come up with adorable young actresses like Dhavernas and Emily Van Camp. Come to think of it, they’re both native French speakers as well. And I guess New Zealand isn’t far behind, with young actresses like Lisa Chappell and Jessica Napier.)
At any rate, Off the Map had a usable premise, basically Young Doctors Without Borders. There’s a great setting–medicine in the jungle–and all of the technical parts, such as cinematography and sound, are well done. The cast seems decent, although of course Dhavernas stands out. In the hands of competent writers, this could have been a really good series. Unfortunately the writing is as bad as I’ve seen. Sappy garbage, with every cliche in the book. The music is ham-handed and intrusive.
I got through the first 20 minutes or so of the first episode before I decided the series was hopeless. And I really wanted to like this series, because I like Dhavernas and enjoy watching her. Still, enough was enough. My first hint should have been the fact that IMDB rates this series 6.2 stars, which is truly terrible. Netflix let me down. The average of 3,000+ ratings on Netflix is 3.9 stars, although admittedly they did estimate I’d give it only 2.9 stars. I gave it one star, but only because that was the worst rating I could give it. Don’t even think about renting this stinker.