The Knick
released in 2014
www.ink2quill.com

”The Knick” is an American TV, medical period drama series partially based on the historical figure of William Stewart Halsted. A surgeon who championed aseptic techniques during surgery and the use of newly discovered anesthetics. The story takes place around the Knickerbocker Hospital in the New York City of the late 19th century early 20th century. It was created and written by Jack Amiel, Michael Begler. It was also written by Steven Katz. It was also produced by Steven Katz, Clive Owen, Gregory Jacobs, Michael Sugar, Michael Polaire and David Kirchner. The cast of talented actors include Clive Owen, Andre Holland, Jeremy Bobb, Juliet Rylance, Eve Hewson, Michael Angarano, Chris Sullivan, Cara Seymour, Eric Johnson, David Fierro, Maya Kazan, Grainger Hines, Matt Frewer, Zaraah Abrahams, Charles Aitken, LaTonya Borsay, Rachel Korine, Tom Lipinsky, Leon Addison Brown, Ying Ying Li, Perry Yung, Happy Anderson, Suzanne Savoy, Jennifer Ferrin, Richard James Porter, ZuZanna Szadkowski, Ylfa Edelstein, Frank Wood, Lucas Papaelias and Michael Nathanson. The score was composed by Cliff Martinez. It has won and been nominated for many awards and is a really good watch. Steven Soderbergh directed it.

”The Knick” is an unromanticized look at a hospital at the turn of the century in New York City. The story centers around a group of surgeons who try to keep down the high mortality rates in their profession, as best they can. They deal with problems like medieval technology, racism, budget constraints and ignorance of all kinds. They also have to manage their messed up private lives and that´s no simple task. These highly talented surgeons and nurses are plagued by a host of problems from the benign to the severe. Problems like severe addiction, death of a child, mental illness in the family, racism, creepy father in-laws and the occasional race riot because of the neighborhood they´re in.

Here is some historical setting. In the story the Knickerbocker hospital is located on 8th street and 2nd Ave. in Manhattan, New York City. To this day it still is a somewhat shady neighborhood with a lot of homelessness and illegal drug dealing but continues to improve over the years. The neighborhood is called ”The Bowery” after the Dutch word for farm ”Bouwerij” because of the farms that were there in the 17th century. Today there are talks of connecting the unused underground tunnel system of the bowery to create a second avenue subway and construction is underway right now, in spite of the objections from Rockefeller University near New York Hospital on 68th Street and 1st Ave. This should speed up the neighborhoods progress toward modernization and a healthier economic future. At the end of the 1800s and beginning of the 1900s the Bowery was a very shady place that rivaled the Tenderloin neighborhood. It had street prostitution, brothels, beer gardens, pawn shops, flophouses, gambling dens, gangs and slums. Hence, the reason in the story for the board of directors wanting to move the hospital to where the money was. So the Knickerbocker is basically a good hospital in a bad neighborhood run by talented but deeply flawed people. It has to be said that African Americans and Native Americans could not access the services of the Knickerbocker.

The story centers around a group of surgeons more particularly Dr. John W. Thackery (played by Clive Owen) who is the Chief surgeon at the Knickerbocker hospital. He is talented but impulsive and he is also highly addicted to cocaine and opium. His evenings are spent in the opium dens of China Town. The owner of his favorite opium den is named Ping Wu (played by Perry Yung)  and keeps him high in the comfort he is used to. The most talented surgeon, innovator and inventor in the hospital is Dr. Algernon Edwards (played by Andre Holland) but because he is African American his talent is hardly ever recognized and his work environment is a hostile one. Some characters have their foibles others are seriously flawed but all are interesting.

Even though some of the scenes are obviously shot in Boston, MA this is a very good recreation of the New York City from 100 years ago. They capture the day to day lives of New Yorkers from the whole spectrum of society. From the wealthy upper class to the poor and destitute. It´s not a pretty picture of life in New York at that time. Drugs, racism and injustices of all kinds plague the city and as the series progresses the lives of the characters seem to spin more and more out of control. Corruption was a part of daily life, like today, but the Tammany Hall (also called Columbian Order or Sons of St. Tammany) of days past was just so brazen about it. That mentality permeates the city right through the Knickerbocker. They definitely don´t take out the grimy side of New York in days past. I wonder if the character of William Meager “Boss” Tweed will turn up in the story, if he hasn´t already.

“The Knick” is a very good series and is worth the watch. As with all good series I recommend a viewing marathon, of say, an entire Saturday, even if you have to leave your phone in the other room and lock yourself in your study. Don´t worry your significant other will manage just fine without you.

(Commentary by  www.ink2quill.com )
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