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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, February 5, 2021 4 By Rachel Jones TV Media A s is the case with just about everything it seems, the novel corona- virus has made its way to ABC's hit drama "The Good Doctor." The cast of characters is returning to battle this dead- ly virus from the front lines and we're already hooked. The lat- est episode of Season 4 is set to air Monday, Feb. 8, on the al- phabet network. "The Good Doctor" follows Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore, "August Rush," 2007), a surgeon in the San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital in San Jose, California. An au- tistic savant, Murphy often ex- periences trouble connecting with patients and faculty in a meaningful way. The perk to his spectrum disorder, howev- er, is that he has saved many lives. Working double time to prove to the other doctors at the hospital that he's capable of the high-intensity routine, Murphy frequently has to make sacrifices in his life to save others and continue prov- ing his — otherwise undeni- able — worth. David Shore ("House") takes the lead behind the scenes as the series creator, while Daniel Dae Kim ("Lost") agreed to help produce after a South Korean show of the same name caught his atten- tion. The first season of the American "Good Doctor" se- ries aired in September 2017, and the subsequent two sea- sons followed suit with Sep- tember premieres. Unfortu- nately, due to delays from CO- VID-19, the Season 4 premiere aired later (in November 2020) and seems likely to have a shorter season than normal. Season 4 takes place in a post-outbreak world and ad- dresses the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, rife with all its loss and hardships. Ev- eryone is affected in some way, and each of the characters must find their own solution to deal with the new and very unique set of struggles. Adding to the stress (and beware of spoilers beginning now for those not up to date), the hos- pital staff is also dealing with the loss of Dr. Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez, "Resurrec- tion Blvd."), who died at the end of Season 3. One very real pandemic challenge faced by most of the characters early in the season was that of self-isolating to protect those they care about most. From working at home to sleeping in the garage, these hospital workers were isolated to keep their loved ones safe. As cases began to lessen, how- ever, they have been able to find ways to spend more time with those close to them until they can physically be together once more. Dr. Morgan Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann, "Wilfred") has a personal change of her own to navigate as she moves to a new hospital wing. Having damaged her hand at the end of Season 3, Reznick was trans- ferred from surgery to internal medicine where her services rely less on her dexterity. This season, Reznick faces yet an- other massive struggle as she tests positive for COVID-19. Will she recover? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, Dr. Audrey Lim (Christina Chang, "Nashville") faces post-traumatic stress dis- order in the wake of treating a seemingly endless stream of COVID-19 patients. Due to her PTSD, Lim ends up in a motor- cycle accident but refuses tell anyone about it. Naturally, it isn't long before her secret is uncovered by Dr. Claire Browne (Antonia Thomas, "Lovesick"), who sees the wrecked bike. At this point, we are starting to see more of how Murphy's struggle to connect with others spills over into his romantic re- lationships. In Season 3, he dated the head pathologist, Dr. Carly Lever (Jasika Nicole, "Fringe"), but their relation- ship came to an end when she realized that Murphy had deeper feelings for Lea Dilallo (Paige Spara, "Home Again," 2017), who, in Season 1, was quite literally "the girl next door." This season, Murphy and Di- lallo, the head of the hospital IT department, have been work- ing on their relationship and they're finally dating. Fans pa- tiently (or perhaps impatiently) wait to find out whether they'll stay together or if the strain of the pandemic will tear them apart. Despite Murphy's tireless quest for acceptance among the staff, he does still have a strong friend group. Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff, "The West Wing"), president of San Jose St. Bonaventure and somewhat of mentor to Mur- phy, is the closest thing Mur- phy has to a true friend, believ- ing in him from the beginning rather than focusing on his dif- ferences. This makes Glassman someone Murphy can respect, and the young doctor often benefits from that support by way of seeking out Glassman's help and advice with all man- ner of life questions – not just medical queries. Dr. Claire Browne is another good friend of Murphy's. Her ability to connect well with others and empathize makes her a unique balance to Mur- phy and this leads to their be- coming good friends (especial- ly since she's also a patient now). Browne's bedside man- ner and charity to staff and pa- tients alike provides a model for Murphy as he navigates his own ability to connect. coverstory Antonia Thomas as seen in "The Good Doctor" Healing despite hardships: Season 4 of 'The Good Doctor' continues By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Can Johnny Galecki really play the cello like his character on "The Big Bang Theory"? A: For a show about scientists, the characters on "The Big Bang Theory" were all pretty artistic. Of course, the actors are artists first — they just play scientists on TV (with the excep- tion of Mayim Bialik, who actually has a PhD in neuroscience), so it's not that surprising that they all actually know how to play their instruments, Johnny Galecki included. Galecki, who starred on the show as Leonard, has been playing the cello since he was very young. He has, of course, been acting since he was very young as well — he was just 12 when he appeared in his first screen role (a 1987 NBC telefilm called "Time Out for Dad") — but it hasn't always been easy. According to CBS, he once had to sell his cello to pay bills (though he's since bought a new one with all that "Big Bang Theory" money). But Galecki's cello skills aren't even the most impressive musical accomplishment on the show. That honor goes to Jim Parsons, whose character, Sheldon, plays the theremin on the show. Parsons actually learned it himself specifically for the role. That's pretty impressive given that the theremin is known as one of the most difficult instruments to learn. Bialik gets a close second, though. She already knew how to play the piano, bass and trumpet, but for her role as Amy she learned to play another famously difficult instrument: the harp. Simon Helberg (who plays Howard) is also a pretty strong piano player — as we see on the show when he forms the band Footprints on the Moon with Raj (played by Kunal Nayyar). That leaves us with Penny (played by Kaley Cuoco). At a me- dia event, when the other cast members were talking about these musical accomplishments, she offered a comment that almost sounded in-character: "And when Penny drinks, she's really drinking!" Q: Do we know who will play James Bond next? A: At time of writing, that's still a mystery, but this is a hot one that could change at any minute. For example, a previously unknown actor is now the betting person's fourth favorite to take on the iconic role. Regé-Jean Page of the popular new Netflix hit "Bridgerton" entered the race out of nowhere and is suddenly a top contender. I refer to betting because people are, in fact, doing just that. Ladbroke's, the U.K.-based betting firm, runs a book with odds for who will take the role, and it's pretty closely followed by the industry and news media. The current favorite is Tom Hardy (the chameleonic star of 2012's "The Dark Knight Rises" among many others). There are a lot of things going in his favor, including the fact that he's a dapper British white guy, just like all the previous James Bonds. However, Page is suddenly getting good odds to shake that up as the first Black Bond (though Idris Elba is actually ahead of him on the list at No. 3). Page leapt into the conversation in December when he tweeted a teaser for "Bridgerton" with the text "Regency, royalty. Shaken and stirred" (a reference, of course, to Bond's preferred martini technique). Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A

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