THE KNICK
NEW HISTORICAL MEDICAL SHOW
Well, what better way to mark the holiday over in America than with something morbidly dark and deeply gritty? And I'm not even kidding... 
Have you noticed the avalanche of sinister and bizarre shows on the small screens? From PENNY DREADFUL and GAME OF THRONES (which has long time ago gone from epic fantasy to torture porn) to SALEM and AMERICAN HORROR STORY ... to name just a few. As you know your sweet innocent (giggles) spy doesn't do such shows, so the fact that another one is waiting to join the list doesn't thrill me, but it might thrill others: Cinemax has scheduled the premiere of their new grim show THE KNICK for August 8th and today you can check out the character posters for 
this unusual historical series which describes the beginnings of modern medicine at the beginning of the 20th century.
Have you noticed the avalanche of sinister and bizarre shows on the small screens? From PENNY DREADFUL and GAME OF THRONES (which has long time ago gone from epic fantasy to torture porn) to SALEM and AMERICAN HORROR STORY ... to name just a few. As you know your sweet innocent (giggles) spy doesn't do such shows, so the fact that another one is waiting to join the list doesn't thrill me, but it might thrill others: Cinemax has scheduled the premiere of their new grim show THE KNICK for August 8th and today you can check out the character posters for this unusual historical series which describes the beginnings of modern medicine at the beginning of the 20th century.
THE STORY OF THE KNICK
CLIVE OWEN LEADS THE CAST
Set in downtown New York in 1900, THE KNICK is a new Cinemax drama series from Academy Award and Emmy winning director Steven 
Soderbergh. It is centred on the Knickerbocker Hospital and the ground breaking surgeons, nurses and staff who work there, pushing the bounds of medicine in a time of astonishingly high mortality rates and zero antibiotics. Soderbergh directs all 10 episodes of the series' first season.
Academy Award and Emmy nominee Clive Owen stars as Doctor John Thackery, a brilliant surgeon pioneering new methods in the field, despite his secret addiction to cocaine. He leads a team of doctors including his protégé Dr. Everett Gallinger (Eric Johnson); the young Dr. Bertie Chickering Jr. (Michael Angarano) and Dr. Algernon Edwards (Andre Holland), a promising 
surgeon who's been recently thrust upon him. The lively cast of characters at the hospital also includes Cornelia Robertson (Juliet Rylance), the daughter of its benefactor, Captain August Robertson (Grainger Hines); surly ambulance driver Tom Cleary (Chris 
Sullivan); Lucy Elkins (Eva Hewson), a fresh-faced nurse from the country; the crooked hospital administrator Herman Barrow (Jeremy Bobb); and Sister Harriet (Cara Seymour), a nun who isn't afraid to speak her mind.
Soderbergh. It is centred on the Knickerbocker Hospital and the ground breaking surgeons, nurses and staff who work there, pushing the bounds of medicine in a time of astonishingly high mortality rates and zero antibiotics. Soderbergh directs all 10 episodes of the series' first season.
Academy Award and Emmy nominee Clive Owen stars as Doctor John Thackery, a brilliant surgeon pioneering new methods in the field, despite his secret addiction to cocaine. He leads a team of doctors including his protégé Dr. Everett Gallinger (Eric Johnson); the young Dr. Bertie Chickering Jr. (Michael Angarano) and Dr. Algernon Edwards (Andre Holland), a promising surgeon who's been recently thrust upon him. The lively cast of characters at the hospital also includes Cornelia Robertson (Juliet Rylance), the daughter of its benefactor, Captain August Robertson (Grainger Hines); surly ambulance driver Tom Cleary (Chris Sullivan); Lucy Elkins (Eva Hewson), a fresh-faced nurse from the country; the crooked hospital administrator Herman Barrow (Jeremy Bobb); and Sister Harriet (Cara Seymour), a nun who isn't afraid to speak her mind.
DEZZY'S HISTORY LESSON
THE WONDERS OF MEDICINE
Although there were some highly unexpected and profound forms of surgeries and medical treatments even in Ancient Egypt (they even had brain
surgeries) and Rome and
Greece, the Modern Medicine was born with the industrial revolution in
the 19th century (in the medieval times the surgeries were left to barbers and even butchers). That is when the old ideas of infectious disease
epidemiology made way to virology and bacteriology. That is when people
started being good in identifying and even preventing illnesses but they
still didn't know how to cure infections. Before the mid 19th century
most surgeons and doctors didn't even wash their hands (even for
childbirth and treating wounds), and in the medieval times doctors even
thought that spreading pig poop over their patients might save them from
infections. First successful blood transfusion was done only in 
1818,
and first vaccines were invented in 1879. X-rays were invented about the
same time THE KNICK is set in. Blood types were discovered only in
1901. and, believe it or not, vitamins were discovered only in 1906! The
discovery of penicillin in 1928 changed the course of history and saved
hundreds of millions of lives.
Although there were some highly unexpected and profound forms of surgeries and medical treatments even in Ancient Egypt (they even had brain
surgeries) and Rome and
Greece, the Modern Medicine was born with the industrial revolution in
the 19th century (in the medieval times the surgeries were left to barbers and even butchers). That is when the old ideas of infectious disease
epidemiology made way to virology and bacteriology. That is when people
started being good in identifying and even preventing illnesses but they
still didn't know how to cure infections. Before the mid 19th century
most surgeons and doctors didn't even wash their hands (even for
childbirth and treating wounds), and in the medieval times doctors even
thought that spreading pig poop over their patients might save them from
infections. First successful blood transfusion was done only in 1818,
and first vaccines were invented in 1879. X-rays were invented about the
same time THE KNICK is set in. Blood types were discovered only in
1901. and, believe it or not, vitamins were discovered only in 1906! The
discovery of penicillin in 1928 changed the course of history and saved
hundreds of millions of lives.
I have to say that The Knick is kind of scaring me.
ReplyDeleteMe too, the trailer was too intense for my poor lil' ticky ticker.....
DeleteIt was an interesting trailer. I like to give shows a fair shot, usually watching one or two before deciding to keep or delete it off my dvr. If I subscribed to Cinemax, I would add that one to the list. My morbid curiosity would compel me to tune in. Alas, no Cinemax here, so I won't be catching that one.
ReplyDeleteit will be an interesting show only if they really focus on the development of medicine and the situation that they had back in those days. If they do it morbid just for the sake of being morbid it will be disgusting
DeleteI'm surprised no one has done a series on this before. It seems to have a lot of promise if done right, as you've noted.
ReplyDeletethere are so many periods and events and topics that nobody has ever done a movie or show on.... and yet we have so many remakes and reboots....
DeleteFigures. I'd probably love this show, but we don't have Cinemax. (Or any other premium channels.)
ReplyDeletethat is why we have Torrents, dear, sweet Torrents :)
DeleteI am so in for the KNICK... looks crazy and then it will be!
ReplyDeletecrazy show for crazy viewers :)
DeleteI tried both Penny Dreadful and American Horror Story and was repulsed by both. Some people like that stuff though.
ReplyDeleteI swear I couldn't believe my eyes when I watched the first episode of AMERICAN HORROR STORY... it was bizzare and repulsive with no depth or meaning... just horror for the sake of horror... the same goes for SALEM and for GAME OF THRONES ...I hate the direction in which the world is moving to with such programmes....
DeleteYou're right about the freak shows. Penny Dreadful is just dreadful!
ReplyDeleteThat's weird about the pig poop. Glad doctors don't do that anymore!
they did so many weird things to patients throughout history. It is interesting that the doctors haven't done much in the past, their role was to be metaphysic and religious and philosophical even esoteric... while barbers, herbalists, druids and healers were doing the job of curing people....
DeletePig poop was shown in BORGIAS too, in one of the episodes there is plague in the city and some witch cures the pope's family by covering them in pigsty shit :)
medical breakthroughs ran like light speed in the 20th century
ReplyDeletetoo bad it's not the same today - thanks to the ebil pharmaceutical industry which would lose tones of money if cures for many illnesses were given to the people
DeleteThis one, not so much for me.
ReplyDeleteyep, brain soup and sorted intestines aren't our thing....
DeleteAgreed.
Deletetotally
DeleteDon't think this will be one show I'll be watching.
ReplyDeletethe same here, Masy
Delete