Marc Anthony breathes life into 'HawthoRNe'

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Jada Pinkett Smith's uber-earnest nurse Christina Hawthorne tries to save the world, starting with an urban hospital.

MY SAY

Unlike its dedicated protagonist, "HawthoRNe" is a show in search of a purpose. Is it a crusading social drama? Could be, when story elements deal with job loss, homelessness and hospital budget cuts. Or maybe it's a soap opera. Sure seems so, with all those goo-goo eyes between doctors, nurses and anybody else who walks through James River Hospital doors. Or is it mostly a star vehicle, since Pinkett Smith poses more than she emotes? (Someone should tell her that, unlike movies, TV series require more than looking fine.)

There's no reason TNT's second-season drama couldn't be all three, except that its makers exhibit no command of any genre. The pace is erratic, the writing banal, the music overbearing and the cast way too prettified to seem anything but plastic. Worst of all, a female-lead show that's supposedly about strong women is actually filled with their catfight jealousies, sulking and undermining each other, until men advise them how to behave.

So why watch? See reason above. Recording star, J.Lo hubby and Brookville resident Anthony blows fresh energy into "HawthoRNe" this week and next as the cop who lands on the scene after a baby is snatched from its foster parents by the disturbed birth mother that Christina has been trying to help. Anthony's wiry edginess makes the rest of the cast look like slo-mo replays. Amid all the mopey melodrama, he's a hard-edged presence who's seen it all and sees things pragmatically. "Not everybody makes it," he warns Christina as they hit the streets seeking mom and baby. "That's the business I'm in."

BOTTOM LINE

Too bad Anthony isn't permanently in the "HawthoRNe" business. The show needs something to shake it out of its soapy stupor. But I suspect his taut two-week guest arc might get him his own gig.

GRADES

"HawthoRNe": C

Anthony: B+