by Jesus Ibarra

Dana Delany stars in ABC’s Body of Proof as Megan Hunt, a former brilliant neurosurgeon who is now a brilliant medical examiner after a car accident left her unable to perform surgeries on live patients.

The premise is solid, and as with most procedurals, you have to have a level of belief suspension, that an ME is allowed to do the things beyond autopsies that she does, but Dana Delany pulls it off fantastically. Megan is sort of a House mixed with Brennan from Bones character in that she is brilliant yet comes off as arrogant, condescending, and abrasive sometimes. Yet, after an uneven pilot that is full of clichés, even with Delany’s awesome deliveries, the show finds the balance from the third episode on, allowing Delany to showcase her acting range other than just kicking ass in heels, not that that isn’t great.

For me it’s a great vehicle for Dana to show how bad-ass she can be. The show is rounded out by several good supporting cast members that provide some comic relief, including Jeri Ryan. But Dana Delany is the star and draw of this show.

My only complaint is when the show focuses on Megan’s personal problems it stumbles a bit, making her a little out of character because she seems to lose her kick-ass mentality. Her character’s daughter is also miscast. But, again, Dana Delany manages to rise above the material she is given. From all the procedurals to watch, I will gladly continue to watch this one because Dana makes the show her own.

Body of Proof premiered on March 29, 2011 and is on ABC Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. To catch up on the 7 episodes that have already aired, go the their ABC page or find them on Hulu or On Demand Catchup.

Jesus Ibarra is 18 years old and an ongoing contributor to our Teen Talk section; with a love of all media, he’s always on the lookout for the best finds.