Now, cable's
done the same thing with the perfectly fine ’70s sci-fi thriller Coma, which was directed by Crichton. Both updates come from director Mikael Salomon.
It's nice to see the lovely and talented Lauren Ambrose (Sleepwalk with Me) headlining the project as an idealistic med student who uncovers a conspiracy involving a remarkable number of post-surgical comas, and has many Bad Things happen to her as a result. In her rote but sizable role, Ambrose runs rings around co-stars Ellen Burstyn, Geena Davis and Richard Dreyfuss — Oscar winners all.
That's the fault of a middling, shoe-shuffling script that spends too much time setting up too weak of a payoff. The two-episode miniseries boasts the slickness of a feature film, yet none of the narrative pizazz. Medical thrillers shouldn’t register such a low pulse. —Rod Lott
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