I don't know what happens when we die. I am intrigued by it, given my own experiences and after having seen the series Beyond and Back..., where real people told their stories, which were breathtaking. It really wasn't about NDEs because all the people in it had been pronounced dead and flatlined. It was an amazing show.
Proof takes a slightly different stance. A wealthy man, Ivan Turing (Matthew Modine), who has terminal cancer, wants to know what happens when we die, and asks a brilliant doctor, Carolyn Tyler (Jennifer Beals), to investigate the phenomenon. Tyler herself had an NDE when her son died, but has pushed it away and doesn't talk about it. Tyler asks a young doctor, Zed (Edi Gathegi) to join her, and she works with him and with members of Turing's staff.
Carolyn remains skeptical and attempts to handle things in a scientific manner, which is good, and because of that, the show doesn't go into la-la land. I wouldn't mind it, but I'm sure some would.
I have always liked the beautiful, intelligent Jennifer Beals, but she was misguided initially. Her character was unlikeable and annoying. An actress playing this kind of role can choose parts of a script where she can show some vulnerability or warmth -- and it was up to the director to guide her in that, which he obviously didn't do.
It sort of reminded me of Vivien Leigh begging that a line remain in the Gone with the Wind script where Scarlet says she wanted to be kind like her mother etc. -- because she felt without that line, Scarlet was an impossibly awful character. The character of Dr Tyler was in the same boat but with no paddle.
I noticed a change in her personality around the fourth episode and realized the director was different. The change was enough to make her a nicer character.
The story veers out of the hospital covering Carolyn's home life - she has a teenage daughter and is separated from her husband. Also, Zed has his own problems -- he's expected back in his home country, and a marriage has been arranged for him. It isn't what he wants.
The subject of NDEs is a fascinating one but in order for it to play to the masses, it has to be presented in a clinical way, and the episodes have been solid. I hope it continues with Beals' adjustment in character.
