It's funny how much things can change in a year... or, in this particular case, how much things can remain frightenly the same.

Everything was in place for a severe deja-vu attack -- I was on the phone with actor Christopher Gorham, asking questions about a show I have yet to even see while Gorham talked excitedly about his upcoming pilot. Sure, elements of this scenario were different -- back in 2003, Gorham was happily plugging his UPN starring vehicle Jake 2.0 and now he was promoting the NBC drama Medical Investigation -- but overall things were basically the same. Except for one minor detail.

Back in 2003 when Gorham was talking about Jake 2.0, the actor -- although happy -- almost sounded like he was convincing himself that the show was "must see" material. Was it fun? Of course. Was it a great opportunity? Naturally. Was it worth missing Angel over? Maybe.

Now, however, as we sit down to discuss NBC's new Friday night medical drama Medical Investigation, Gorham sounds confident that he's found a show worthy of staying on the air. He's happy, excited and truly believes that he won't be sitting down with me again next September to talk about his latest fall pilot. In fact, he has so much faith in Medical Investigation that, for his sake, I would truly feel disappointed if the show didn't last.

Starring Neal McDonough (NBC's Boomtown) and Kelli Williams (The Practice), Medical Investigation follows a mobile medical team from the National Institutes of Health who are called upon to investigate outbreaks of unexplained diseases. Think ER meets CSI. Airing Friday nights at 10 p.m., the weekly one-hour drama marks the return of the character-driven procedure drama in Gorham's eyes, a mix of McDonough's short-lived Boomtown and the hugely successful Law & Order.

In the show Gorham plays Dr. Miles McCabe, the newest and youngest member of the team who tries to prove his young wonder kid reputation is deserved, but struggles to mature and keep pace with his colleagues in the big leagues. The role may seem fitting for the young actor, who is constantly given opportunity after opportunity to have his own television show, but has yet to prove he can bring in the ratings needed to stay on the air. Even Gorham himself can see the similarities.

"Sure there's a restlessness both of us share in looking for a home," Gorham says with a laugh. "But with Miles he's having all these growing pains and keeps questioning if things will work out. He's not 100% sure which direction his career will go, or if he even wants to be a part of this team. With me I've always wanted to act -- that's never been a question."

Ironically, for a role that seems to hit so close to home for Gorham, when the 30-year-old actor auditioned for the series Dr. Miles McCabe wasn't even part of the original script. In fact, the role Gorham originally came in to read for was a part described as "a bald male nurse with tattoos." Gorham was eager to join the cast in whatever form possible though, particularly for the chance to work once again with McDonough, who Gorham worked briefly with when he did a guest spot on Boomtown. Before Gorham knew it, Dr. Miles McCabe was born.

However, if there's one thing Gorham has learned over the years it's that getting cast in a fall pilot is really just a tenth of the battle. Finding an audience and earning high enough ratings to keep you on the air is really the toughest battle of all, but Gorham doesn't seem too worried about either factor.

"The writing on this show is 90% better than most movies out there today," Gorham states. "The characters are interesting, we have five experienced actors that bring 100% to the table everyday... I'm confident this show will make it through the year."

Even a Friday night time slot -- often thought of as the time slot of death since most Americans are out and about on Friday nights -- doesn't have Gorham shaken. One might find this a bit odd since Gorham feels one of the major factors that led to Jake 2.0's demise was its time slot against Angel and The O.C.

"Maybe I'm naive, but I'm happy with our time slot, in part because of the success Third Watch has found there" Gorham states. "If anything, Friday night gives us room to grow since the expectations might be so low. I don't feel like the network is abandoning us by placing us on Friday nights, though. In fact, I've never seen a network support a show like this. Our pilot airs in ER's time slot and then the very next night our second episode airs in our regular time slot. You couldn't escape our commercials during the Olympics... I had friends going, 'all right already! I'll watch your show, just stop with the commercials!'"

"Plus if Friday nights don't work out, NBC can easily move Medical Investigation to another time slot," Gorham continues. "With Jake 2.0, UPN was very limited with where they could place us because they weren't ready then to open up Friday nights to original programming like they did this year. NBC doesn't have that problem. Plus, our show is going to be very competitive in its time slot. Jake definitely had more competition."

If there's one element of security Jake 2.0 had that Medical Investigation doesn't it's the fact that, unlike Medical Investigation, Gorham was the star of the series. If there was no Gorham there was no Jake 2.0. With Medical Investigation though, Gorham's just another ensemble player. Very few ensemble casts feature irreplaceable cast members (just look at ER or NYPD Blue), and the few shows that would collapse without each member of its original cast tend to be sitcoms (see Friends or Seinfeld) and not dramas. But even this factor doesn't seem to stress out Gorham too much.

"You can always find something to worry about," Gorham says with a laugh. "Sure with Jake I didn't have to worry about getting fired, but everything is going so great now on Medical Investigation that I wouldn't recommend changing anything."

Probably the most important factor riding on Medical Investigation's success for Gorham though isn't the steady paychecks, the fame or even the fact that award shows tend to eat up dramas like Medical Investigation, but the actor's ability to work at home. Having recently started a family, working close to his wife and son is an important factor for Gorham when taking a job, and since Medical Investigation films nearby, Gorham couldn't be happier.

"When my wife and I first started out in this business, we didn't understand how frequently our work would take us away from home. I'm perfectly happy working on this series cause it's steady work and it's close to home. I can raise my kids and do a film a year while we're on hiatus... it's perfect for me. I don't know how movie actors do it, because so few films shoot in Los Angeles anymore. Sure it's great to travel to the other side of the world, but it's so hard both physically and emotionally. If Medical Investigation stayed on the air for 20 years I'd be happy. In fact, I'll do anything I can to make sure it sticks around... they'll have to kick me out the door if they ever want to get rid of me! It's just been such a fulfilling experience artistically. Sure Jake 2.0 was more fun and I got to do more comedy and a lot of stunts, but really it was a young person's show. Medical Investigation is targeted towards grown-ups and I just turned 30, so I am a grown-up. It just makes sense."

With Medical Investigation premiering this week, the only thing Gorham can do now is wait: wait to see if an audience tunes in, wait to see if an audience keeps tuning in and wait to see if the show gets picked up for season two. It's a scenario he's found himself in before, but this time he's keeping his fingers crossed that his own case of deja-vu will have a different ending.

"It's a never ending nerve-wracking experience, really," Gorham says with a nervous laugh. "It's just one nerve-wracking experience after another. But this time it's going to be different. This is my fourth series. The longest any series has gone that I've been on is two years with Popular, but I'm confident that's going to change. I'm not looking for another TV show just yet. No matter what though, I have to just keep going and hope for the best. Sure there's that fear that you're never going to work again when your show gets canceled, but I have a pretty good track record. Looking back at Jake 2.0, its cancellation worked out for the best for me cause now I'm working from home, on the number one network and on the type of show that could win me some type of red carpet award. Just so long as I don't move stupidly and proceed with a cautious optimism, I'm confident everything will work out in the end."

MEDICAL INVESTIGATION PREMIERES ON NBC THURSDAY NIGHT, SEPTEMBER 9, AT 10 PM, BEFORE MOVING INTO ITS REGULAR TIME SLOT ON FRIDAY NIGHTS AT 10 PM.