Saw A Young Doctor’s Notebook over the weekend. It is a BBC TV series based on the short stories of Mikhail Bulgakov, of The Master and Margarita fame. Allegedly, it is partly autobiographical.
The setting is this: a young just-graduated medical student is sent, in 1917, to the most remote possible medical clinic - the ass-end of nowhere. He has exactly zero practical experience. Then the Revolution breaks out. Twenty years later, the same doctor is reminicing on these experiences while being busted by the KGB for morphine addiction.
The results are difficult to describe - imagine the blackest of black comedies, like a Russian MASH mixed with Fawltey Towers. I think it may well be the most gruesomely funny thing I’ve ever seen, as well as the saddest depiction of opiate addiction and moral degeneration. The actors are all incredible (the young doc is portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe, of Harry Potter, and the old doctor by Jon Hamm of Mad Men). Highly recommended. Not for the squeamish!
There are 2 seasons, and it appears that the the makers intentionally made it so that it would only have the two. It comes to a very definite end in the last episode.
I stumbled across this while flipping through netflix, it is one of the darkest comedies I’ve seen. I haven’t seen them all yet, and I’m not normally squeamish but I had to look away for some parts of it. I’ve recommended it but only to some people, if you don’t like black humor then you’re really not going to go for this. I’ve loved it so far.
You would be amazed at what’s allowed on British TV! This was shown on Sky Arts which is not mainstream network television so there’s quite a bit of freedom.
Loved the first series. I’d forgotten about the second so thx for the reminder.
That sucks - the secod season is as good as the first … maybe more depressing though (not to spoiler, the young doctor goes through a real moral degeneration).