Trauma (American TV series)

Cast and characters

Cliff Curtis portrayed Reuben "Rabbit" Palchuck, a paramedic nicknamed at age 13 for his speed and endurance as a runner. Rabbit survives a fatal helicopter crash that kills EMT Terry Banner and pilot Asher "Rotor" Reynolds. He employs sardonic humor and a free-thinking, rule-bending approach, which his new pilot Marisa Benez disapproves of. When Rabbit attempts to demonstrate his "not dying" gift by driving recklessly, inspired by the film Bullitt, he clips a car door and severs a man's finger; Rabbit then convinces the intoxicated man he caused the accident, a lack of ethics Marisa strongly objects to.

Rabbit's PTSD from the helicopter crash manifests as a fear of flying, which he confronts by flying in an intense storm with support from friends and colleagues. In "Blue Balloon", it is revealed that Nancy and Rabbit are a couple, keeping their relationship secret from the crew; it began at "Thank You" when Rabbit visited Nancy's parents' home for Thanksgiving. Derek Luke played Cameron Boone, a paramedic paired with Tyler Briggs. They often argue over trivial matters but maintain a good working relationship.

Boone is married with two young children and struggles to keep job horrors from his home life, feeling frustrated by an inability to vent pressures even to his wife. He has been unfaithful to his wife Sela, who discovers the infidelity. They agree to marriage counseling, but soon after Boone responds to a shooting rampage in a lawyer's office and finds Sela held hostage; after saving her, he learns she was consulting a divorce lawyer. During Halloween, Boone expresses disapproval of the homosexual community, prompting Tyler to reveal he is gay.

When Tyler and Boone respond to an ambulance crash injuring Nancy and Glenn, Boone insists Tyler follow triage protocol to treat the most injured first, feeling guilty but receiving praise from superiors.

Production

NBC initially planned to air only the 13 episodes of Trauma it had ordered, announcing that decision a month after the series premiered. But on November 19, 2009, the network reversed itself and added three more episodes, bringing the total to 16. That order was later increased to 20 on January 20, 2010, as part of a batch of episode pickups following the cancellation of The Jay Leno Show.

The show returned on March 8, 2010, with a season finale originally set for May 10, 2010. In early April 2010, NBC cut the order back to 18 episodes and moved the finale to April 26, 2010. The series was canceled on May 14, 2010, after one season.

Filming

The pilot episode featured a multi-vehicle crash and a large fireball, filmed in March 2009 on Interstate 280 in the Mission Bay area south of downtown San Francisco. Every episode included an air ambulance base at San Francisco Fire Department Station 4.

In later episodes, that base was a converted warehouse (Building 180) on California Avenue and US Naval Station Way on Treasure Island, which still displays "Angel Rescue Services" and SFFD logos. Earlier episodes used a helipad at Naval Airship Square, near an abandoned naval firehouse (Building 111) on Pan American World Airways Esplanade and Avenue I, also on Treasure Island. Interior scenes were shot on a converted sound stage in Hangar/Building 3 at 600 California Avenue on Treasure Island.

The production used 2008 MedTec Type III ambulances, which were later sold to the Franklin Park Fire Department and Hamilton County Ambulance. Four Type II ambulances were returned to their leasing company. Filming also took place at Alameda Point, where one destroyed jet remains visible in Google imagery. The show took part in San Francisco's "Scene in San Francisco Incentive Program," run by the San Francisco Film Commission.