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| McDonough Leads
an Intense 'Investigation' Zap2it.com - 9/06/04 Neal McDonough isn't an intense man, but he plays one on TV. That's what McDonough claims, at least, and are you going to argue with the man who has created such tightly wound characters 1st Lt. Buck Compton in HBO's "Band of Brothers" and David McNorris on NBC's "Boomtown." "The characters I like to play are really intense in either direction, whether it's a comedy or drama," says McDonough who, improbably, got into acting to do comedy and wanted little more than the chance to be on "Saturday Night Live. "I'm not really the most intense guy in the world. I'm pretty much your regular, run-of-the-mill guy from Cape Cod. When it comes to acting, I really just love to jump into these intense guys for some reason. I think it's kinda fun." As calm, cool and collected as McDonough might want to declare himself, the actor's passion for his new gig on NBC's "Medical Investigation" is striking in its, well, intensity. On the drama, McDonough plays Stephen Connor, a tightly wound doctor who leads a mobile National Institute of Heath strike force, fighting disaster and disease wherever it may strike. Thus far, what the actor has learned from the experience is that the world is just oozing with things that can kill you. "I used to just skate through life and figure 'Oh, nothing's going to hurt me,' but there are so many things out there that are just within arm length that can kill you or kill thousands or millions of people," McDonough declares. No, "Medical Investigation" will not offer a happy-go-lucky dose of Friday night fun. Still, the "Walking Tall" co-star insists that even if his new show opens viewers eyes to the fact that they have microbes under our fingertips that can become deadly with the wrong catalyst, it's still a peppy, optimistic series. "At the end of the show you're feeling hope for things in the face of despair," McDonough says. "I think that's what separates our show from other forensic dramas. I think people are going to gravitate towards it, because at the end they're going to feel better about life and safer knowing that there are people like our team that really do go around the country and around the world trying to stop these things." McDonough finds himself back on NBC at 10 p.m. ET on Friday nights, a time slot that didn't work out well last time around. Despite critical adulation and the support of then-NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker, "Boomtown" only aired twice last season, averaging 7.2 million viewers. "The ratings just weren't there," the resigned actor explains. "I think it's just that simple fact. That Jeff [Zucker] let it run as long as it did run, he loved the show. He was such a huge fan of it and he's apologized profusely to people that he had to let it go. It wasn't linear enough for most of the population, I think." Despite the speed with which Zucker pulled the plug on "Boomtown" last year, McDonough didn't hesitate when the opportunity came along to work with the network again. He expects that this show will strike a more accessible chord. "Monday morning around the watercooler, they're going to be talking about these nasty bugs and viruses and everyone's going to pretend to be a surgeon on Monday and be all, 'Oh, I solved that in the first five minutes.'" "Medical Investigation" has a special premiere on Thursday, Sept. 9 before moving to its regular Friday night home. |