Ampang Medikal

Ampang Medikal is a Malaysian based medical drama series, currently in the pre-production phase. The brainchild of Abdul Rahman Ahmad (CEO of Media Prima Sdn Bhd and Keith Chong (CEO of Niche Films Sdn Bhd), the series is a first in Malaysian TV for medical dramas.

Focusing on the raw drama of human emotions and needs, the series revolves around Dr. Siti Ayeesah (Diana Rusdi) who begins her work as a medical intern at a fictional hospital in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.

Production began on May 5, 2008 and the series is scheduled to debut on NTV7 on August 21, 2008.

Cast and characters

The characters of the series comprise the medical interns and their residents who act as their mentor throughout the show. Penang-born Siti Ayeesah (Diana Rusdi) is the protagonist of the series who moves to Kuala Lumpur to work in Ampang Medikal to pursue her dream of training with her idol, renowned cardiologist Maznah Alwi (Nor Aliyah Lee) - against the wishes of her fiancee Khairuddin Arshad (Fikhree Bakar). There, she meets fellow interns like herself - Melinda Wong Sui Chen (Chelsia Ng), Rajesh Sothiwala (Jagdave Singh) and Melissa Rahman-Wilson (Julia Ziegler), with whom she is put to work. As well as meeting her new colleagues, Siti soon gets to know the playboy Dr Jeffrey Dato' Sulaiman (Mohd Fazlie Abdul Rahim), brooding Dr Idris Mansor (Nasrizal Ngasri) and the new Dr Amir Shah Stephens (Azhar Sulaiman) who has returned from the United Kingdom with a startling dark secret.

Initial reception and criticisms

Bloggers have criticized Ampang Medikal for being a "painful rip-off of sorts" from its Cliché lines, unconvincing acting, and most notably its glaring similarities to Grey's Anatomy. For example the lead role being an intern. Also the failed attempt to re-create McDreamy + Alex Karev by casting Mohd Fazlie Abdul Rahim (as Dr Jeffrey Dato' Sulaiman ) which in turn ends up disastrously, Dr Jeffery was nicknamed McRempit by a blogger for his interest in motorcycles (and him constantly holding a helmet by his side) and his aggressive attitude in pursuing women.

There has also been surprise for Ampang Medikal has been actually been renewed for its second season even though it's barely through its second episode at this time.