Recap by RCR’s Entertainment Writer, Laura Sirikul
Follow her on Twitter @lsirikul
ABC’s Dr. Ken is no stranger to sharing creator Ken Jeong’s real-life story of being a doctor-turned-comedian. Like his onscreen character Dr. Park, Jeong went to Duke; has two beautiful kids; was a doctor at an established HMO alongside his fellow doctor wife; and, he performed for the first time at the Laugh Factory. The series isn’t a far stretch into the comedian’s real-life experiences as a doctor. Tomorrow’s episode ‘Allison finds a Lump’ is no different as it reflects another chapter in Jeong’s life.
Jeong, who has been very open about his wife’s battle with cancer, gives audiences a little glimpse of his emotions during that period as his character’s wife Allison (Suzy Nakamura) finds a lump in her breast. Cancer isn’t something to laugh at and the Dr. Ken writers do the difficult subject justice.
Through the small funny quips and side stories, there is a bit of seriousness as the Park family and friends wait for Allison’s diagnosis. Jeong and Nakamura’s performance in this episode is wonderful. Ken and Allison try to be strong for each other without losing touch of their sitcom personalities. Krista Marie Yu, who plays their daughter Molly, also got to show off an emotional side that we rarely get to see.
The series itself has been writing up emotional episodes recently and have been slowly evolving its characters to be more than just one-dimensional sitcom characters. The show keeps up their slapstick humor (I’m looking at you, Dave Foley and Albert Tsai), but are able to showcase how deep these characters and stories can become.
Overall, the episode is an important reminder of family and health, which many shows sadly don’t do so much anymore. The best comedies tend to reflect real life problems and Dr. Ken is no different. Keep it up, doctor.
Dr. Ken ‘Allison Finds A Lump’ official synopsis:
During a self-exam, Allison finds a suspicious lump in her breast, causing Ken and the HMO gang to rally around her for support while she anxiously waits for the doctor’s diagnosis. Meanwhile, Dave has questions for how he will portray the character he’s playing in the school play, and Pat and Damona share an unexpected moment.
Dr. Ken airs on Fridays at 8:30/7:30 C on ABC.
