SERIES PREMIERE: This new series has been widely, and accurately, described as The Breakfast Club in the children’s wing of a hospital. Octavia Spencer stars as an autocratic nurse who seems frightening but has a warm heart underneath, the character who guides viewers through the show’s story (Griffin Gluck) is narrating from a coma, and the various young patients, with their various illnesses, include such identifiable stereotypes as the haughty cheerleader, the brooding loner and the untamed troublemaker. The problem, with this series opener, is that bonds between these disparate types are forged even before the opening episode is over. The commendable thing, though, is that Red Band Society contains many helpful aphorisms and understated teaching moments – and should be applauded, at least, for introducing teen characters with something more significant to confront than self-absorption and an obsession with popularity. For a review, read Uncle Barky's Bytes.