I spent 20 years in medicine. 14 years as medic in the military, then 6 as a paramedic doing 911 in the city where I live. I LOATHE medical shows...but I've been thoroughly enjoying The Pitt. The...
I spent 20 years in medicine. 14 years as medic in the military, then 6 as a paramedic doing 911 in the city where I live.
I LOATHE medical shows...but I've been thoroughly enjoying The Pitt. The medical scenarios are high acuity, but believable (nobody is having to remove a live grenade from a rectum or something stupid a la every other medical drama). Most importantly though, they get the medicine right. Not just the terms and procedures, but the mannerisms of the support staff who aren't doctors. It's very obvious they put a lot of effort into getting it right and it's very much appreciated.
Yes, most medical shows are essentially fantasy. On Chicago Hope the doctor operated on a panda. I used to love ER and The Pitt goes even further in their commitment to realism. I have no...
Yes, most medical shows are essentially fantasy. On Chicago Hope the doctor operated on a panda. I used to love ER and The Pitt goes even further in their commitment to realism. I have no experience in healthcare but I find realism highly engaging. It is also difficult to watch some parts because situations of end of life care closely reflect occasions in which I had watch my relatives go.
I wonder if this, besides being an established formula, is also a response to severe anxiety over medical procedures from the COVID pandemic, and a deliberate attempt to counter conspiracy...
Audiences love watching people be good at their job. That doesn’t mean these stories can’t include interpersonal conflicts and flawed characters. But the gestalt of almost any long-running drama about professionals such as detectives, lawyers, and doctors is the mega-satisfaction that comes with observing core competence. Crimes will be solved, cases closed, and maladies healed; yes, sometimes things will go wrong, but only rarely—so that the program can emphasize how often things go right instead.
I wonder if this, besides being an established formula, is also a response to severe anxiety over medical procedures from the COVID pandemic, and a deliberate attempt to counter conspiracy theories without having to directly address them.
I don't know about anything that sophisticated, but the main character has occasional flashbacks of working during COVID as a doctor and that trauma is very relevant to the show.
I don't know about anything that sophisticated, but the main character has occasional flashbacks of working during COVID as a doctor and that trauma is very relevant to the show.
On various interviews, Noah Wyle (star and executive producer) has mentioned that the intent of this show is mainly to reflect the challenges and circumstances of working in medicine today, so it...
On various interviews, Noah Wyle (star and executive producer) has mentioned that the intent of this show is mainly to reflect the challenges and circumstances of working in medicine today, so it deals as much with frustrated and misled patients as it does the doctors themselves and modern medical practices. The realism of the show is a (happy) byproduct of that goal.
I've almost posted about The Pitt multiple times but never felt like I had enough of the proper words to say about it to kick off a post. I think it's probably become the #1 overall must-watch...
I've almost posted about The Pitt multiple times but never felt like I had enough of the proper words to say about it to kick off a post. I think it's probably become the #1 overall must-watch medical show. I wasn't the biggest fan for the first few episodes and I thought they valued the illusion or feeling of accuracy over actual accuracy (being selective with what they show and what happens so that they can be more accurate with less effort) but it's really ratcheted up the tension.
Something really interesting to me is that it's chronological so of course the characters can't really grow, but we've gotten character revelation instead. We've learned that the characters aren't who we first judged them to be, rather than them actually growing into different people like they would be able to do in a standard-format show. I'll admit that I was disappointed at first that the characters wouldn't be able to grow this season, but I've been very satisfied the last couple episodes with this approach.
That said, I'm disappointed that it seems season 2 will be chronological again. I really would like to watch them grow rather than to just see how they've grown, but maybe I'll be wrong again.
Can you explain what you mean by "chronological" in this comment? The usual definition of that word is just "in order based on time" but that describes the vast majority of shows, so I assume...
Can you explain what you mean by "chronological" in this comment? The usual definition of that word is just "in order based on time" but that describes the vast majority of shows, so I assume you're using it to mean something different? I don't really understand how you're using it to describe the show's structure here (and as someone who hasn't seen any of it, I can't make an educated guess based on my knowledge of it).
The Pitt is has an odd format in which each episode is actually one hour in the show. The whole season is a 15 hour shift in the enegency room in a hospital, set over 15 episodes. I admit that...
The Pitt is has an odd format in which each episode is actually one hour in the show. The whole season is a 15 hour shift in the enegency room in a hospital, set over 15 episodes. I admit that @updawg 's usage of chronological isn't the best here, but I understand what they meant from reading their comment since I know the show format.
ahhh okay that makes sense! I don't know of an obvious word to describe that off the top of my head to be fair, but your description makes it clear to me.
ahhh okay that makes sense! I don't know of an obvious word to describe that off the top of my head to be fair, but your description makes it clear to me.
I'm pretty sure "diurnal" just means either "daily" or "active mostly during the day", which don't really fit either... I feel there must be a word for this, but I can't seem to find it....
I'm pretty sure "diurnal" just means either "daily" or "active mostly during the day", which don't really fit either... I feel there must be a word for this, but I can't seem to find it. "Real-time" is the closest I can muster but it doesn't quite match either.
yeah, real-time is the best by a long shot --- but when was the last time you got to say 'diurnal'? :) real-time is the best, though. Its just what its called. I love this show and I hope they get...
yeah, real-time is the best by a long shot --- but when was the last time you got to say 'diurnal'? :)
real-time is the best, though. Its just what its called. I love this show and I hope they get an order for more episodes so we can get a full 24hr turnover.
I spent 20 years in medicine. 14 years as medic in the military, then 6 as a paramedic doing 911 in the city where I live.
I LOATHE medical shows...but I've been thoroughly enjoying The Pitt. The medical scenarios are high acuity, but believable (nobody is having to remove a live grenade from a rectum or something stupid a la every other medical drama). Most importantly though, they get the medicine right. Not just the terms and procedures, but the mannerisms of the support staff who aren't doctors. It's very obvious they put a lot of effort into getting it right and it's very much appreciated.
I have lots of family and friends in the medical field. The only universally-appreciated medical show so far has been Scrubs.
100%. Scrubs is definitely the gold standard.
Yes, most medical shows are essentially fantasy. On Chicago Hope the doctor operated on a panda. I used to love ER and The Pitt goes even further in their commitment to realism. I have no experience in healthcare but I find realism highly engaging. It is also difficult to watch some parts because situations of end of life care closely reflect occasions in which I had watch my relatives go.
I wonder if this, besides being an established formula, is also a response to severe anxiety over medical procedures from the COVID pandemic, and a deliberate attempt to counter conspiracy theories without having to directly address them.
I don't know about anything that sophisticated, but the main character has occasional flashbacks of working during COVID as a doctor and that trauma is very relevant to the show.
They do address masks in one episode.
and vaccines and 'Dr Google'
On various interviews, Noah Wyle (star and executive producer) has mentioned that the intent of this show is mainly to reflect the challenges and circumstances of working in medicine today, so it deals as much with frustrated and misled patients as it does the doctors themselves and modern medical practices. The realism of the show is a (happy) byproduct of that goal.
I've almost posted about The Pitt multiple times but never felt like I had enough of the proper words to say about it to kick off a post. I think it's probably become the #1 overall must-watch medical show. I wasn't the biggest fan for the first few episodes and I thought they valued the illusion or feeling of accuracy over actual accuracy (being selective with what they show and what happens so that they can be more accurate with less effort) but it's really ratcheted up the tension.
Something really interesting to me is that it's chronological so of course the characters can't really grow, but we've gotten character revelation instead. We've learned that the characters aren't who we first judged them to be, rather than them actually growing into different people like they would be able to do in a standard-format show. I'll admit that I was disappointed at first that the characters wouldn't be able to grow this season, but I've been very satisfied the last couple episodes with this approach.
That said, I'm disappointed that it seems season 2 will be chronological again. I really would like to watch them grow rather than to just see how they've grown, but maybe I'll be wrong again.
Can you explain what you mean by "chronological" in this comment? The usual definition of that word is just "in order based on time" but that describes the vast majority of shows, so I assume you're using it to mean something different? I don't really understand how you're using it to describe the show's structure here (and as someone who hasn't seen any of it, I can't make an educated guess based on my knowledge of it).
The Pitt is has an odd format in which each episode is actually one hour in the show. The whole season is a 15 hour shift in the enegency room in a hospital, set over 15 episodes. I admit that @updawg 's usage of chronological isn't the best here, but I understand what they meant from reading their comment since I know the show format.
"In real time" maybe
Except episodes aren't an hour long despite not needing commercial breaks lol
They gotta cut out all the bathroom breaks somewhere!
Notably, they've included probably at least four bathroom breaks lol
I actually assumed they probably did lol, but i think generally there's always some invisible time in "real time" shows
ahhh okay that makes sense! I don't know of an obvious word to describe that off the top of my head to be fair, but your description makes it clear to me.
diurnal!
I'm pretty sure "diurnal" just means either "daily" or "active mostly during the day", which don't really fit either... I feel there must be a word for this, but I can't seem to find it. "Real-time" is the closest I can muster but it doesn't quite match either.
yeah, real-time is the best by a long shot --- but when was the last time you got to say 'diurnal'? :)
real-time is the best, though. Its just what its called. I love this show and I hope they get an order for more episodes so we can get a full 24hr turnover.
The Pitt is like 24. They show every hour of a time period. There are no time jumps.
No time jumps except that episodes have been as short as forty minutes. And that was one of the more intense episodes.
I think it's a funny coincidence that there's The Knick, and now The Pitt, both medical dramas.
Archived version: https://archive.ph/QTA5g.