Combat Hospital has the look, feel and pacing of an old "M*A*S*H" episode--minus the humor and preachiness--and the soapy elements of fellow ABC hospital drama "Grey's Anatomy" (a smarmy British doctor, nervous newbies and the no-nonsense unit chief--with the heart of gold, of course). But these aren't necessarily drawbacks. This is an episodic TV drama, after all.
Still, for a show chronicling this modern conflict, Combat Hospital seems painfully old-fashioned, as the script by Petrie, who shares story credit with creators Jinder Oujla-Chalmers and Douglas Steinberg, recycles any number of hospital-show cliches in the pilot alone.
Imagine any "M• A• S• H"-style cliche and odds are good it will turn up in Combat Hospital whose predictability makes it a dull summer entry that may encourage viewers of this week's premiere to become deserters before next week's episode.