I’ve started watching The Pitt on Max. It’s basically Real Stories of the ER, though with fictional characters. One difference is that unlike Real Stories, the outcome is not always good. Another conceit is that each episode is one hour in the ER, so it’s showing things in the equivalent of real time.
It doesn’t dumb down the medical terminology. I was impressed when they mentioned one number and I knew what it meant (from, alas, personal experience – I knew at once it was way too high).
It also hit me in the gut with the portrayal of one medical issue, since it’s something I’m dealing with. Other scenes were extremely powerful dramatically.
I tried to watch it, and while it’s medically accurate, it was just too intense for me and I never even finished the first episode. I can understand why other people would like it, though.
Since season two of Severance wrapped, The Pitt is the best thing on TV, right now. One thing that really sets it apart from previous hospital shows is how the streaming platform allows it to be so visceral (in both meanings of the word). Not just the blood and gore, but the non-sensual nudity make it seem so real. Broadcast TV medical shows could never bring that sense of the human body in true danger.
Another conceit I’ll note is ignoring surgical masks, scrubbing, and such. It was a little distracting during the first episode, but the drama and flow works a lot better once you acknowledge the artistic license they are taking.
I’m not sure I want to do it, but I’m curious about what the experience would be to binge the whole season because there are so few breaks in the intensity.
I really enjoy this show. One interesting aspect is the portrayal of current medical technology. Some things I was familiar with but others were new to me.
And for anyone who is up-to-date on the show, in this week’s episode (episode 13, “7:00 P.M.”), the IO device that was mentioned is this thing. It’s called an Arrow EZ-IO Intraosseous Vascular Access System. So if it’s not possible to access a vein during an emergency, this drill-like device penetrates directly in bone marrow. That is why it was so painful when Dennis Whitaker used it on a fully conscious patient.
That device was new to me, though I had heard of the LUCAS device, a mechanical chest compression system, featured in an earlier episode.
AND… it’s the first hospital show I can watch with my medical wife. Every other show she’s tsk’ing and saying things like “They would never… no, no, NO, you CAN’T do that! Oh, they’d get SO sued for that…”
With The Pitt I can turn to her and ask what a medical term means, and she’ll answer quickly without taking her eyes from the screen.
Or, if she’s too focused, I’ll google the acronym/device/procedure. I do watch it with my laptop open…
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eta: Just found out that my medical daughter also loves it!
The New York Times ran an article about how some doctors appreciate the show for its accuracy.
It’s a really good show that I recommend highly but note that the twelfth and thirteenth episodes show the staff responding to a mass casualty incident. This is very intense and bloody.
I started watching the show after the first four weeks had aired and it’s now something I’ve begun looking forward to. One thing that has been really great these last couple of episodes, in depicting the mass shooting, is showing how much the new kids have collectively grown over the course of one day in the ER. Most of them are handling the situation like seasoned pros.
A big debate I’ve been seeing in the comments section at Vulture on the show’s recaps and in other places concerns Trinity Santos. The show has been overdue for her to get a pretty harsh reality check. Langdon shouldn’t have dressed her down in front of everybody in the way that he did… but the guy wasn’t wrong in his criticisms of her either. She has displayed a huge hatred of authority, stubbornness, and a lack of respect for her coworkers. In this environment, that is a recipe for disaster.
(Trinity isn’t a totally unsympathetic character, of course. The show all but telegraphed that she is a sexual abuse survivor during her confrontation with that father who was suspected of molesting his daughter. Still, that’s no excuse to treat other people in the manner that she has been).
One cool real thing I learned from the show: the history of Freedom House Ambulance Service, one of the first pioneering EMT services in the country. Founded in Pittsburgh in the late 1960s by Dr. Peter Safar, who also pioneered CPR. I watched a half hour PBS documentary that is available on YouTube for free that told the history of Freedom House Ambulance; they noted that, prior to its advent, a soldier wounded in Vietnam stood a better chance of survival than the victim of a severe car accident in Pittsburgh. Incredibly sad ending though; the city government ended the service, with the clear implication being that it was providing a good and useful service predominantly to people of color; we just couldn’t have that, now could we?
After that video of a fellow dancing in an airport went viral a week ago, a link came up of the actress who plays the front desk nurse on The Pitt, Katharine LaNasa, former ballet dancer, dancing around in her scrubs between takes.
You’re not far off. The first time I saw it used was when I was doing CPR on someone. It was quite a shock. That was at least 10 years ago. The LUCAS device is a lot more violent in real life.
In case anyone is interested, Taylor Dearden who plays Mel is Bryan Cranston’s daughter. She’s worked before but this is the first thing I’ve seen her in.
Fiona Dourif plays Cassie. She is Brad Dourif’s daughter. I’ve seen her in a lot of things but she always manages to look completely different in each role.
I agree that the introduction of a Freedom House volunteer was a great way of mentioning something that I hadn’t heard of but was incredibly interesting.
Still working my way through. Finished episode 8. I do have to disagree that they weren’t required to report the suspected sexual assault. Actually it’s a pretty clear case of when they would need to report
This most recent episode seemed like the weakest so far. Maybe just because it is coming off the shooting deluge. It just seems like there were no surprises and a lot of expected outcomes. It did give me warm fuzzies seeing all the newbies getting well deserved compliments from the old guard.
I liked the most recent episode (episode 14,“8:00 P.M.”). I don’t agree that it was weak, though coming after the intensity of the previous two episodes, it might seem so. It’s been less than three hours since they started the mass casualty incident response. Looking forward to next week’s episode though I’ll be sad that it’s the last one of this season.