Most period shows suffer from the temptation to show ancient times through a modern lens. Writers seem to believe "Bah! life was dull back then, nothing new here, let's improvise some!" Anacronism and political correctness abound in period shows and such; not even Game of THrones dares to call Tyrion "a midget", it's always "dwarf" or "little people". Cut to The Knick. Yes, this was America in 1900. Corruption, racism, arrogance. No, the hero is not a nice guy and he's a cocaine addict. No, the director of the hospital is not an asshole, he's quite a nice chap, though he tends to steal money from the hospital's budget. No, the rich people are not arrogant, they are quite condescending to those poor little blackies. And the Negroes, no, they are not brave and indomitable people making the best of a racist society, they tend to be rough, stupid and weak. The nurses? White and dumb. The surgeons? Ignoramuses! The state authorities? Corrupt. THe patients? Doing quite well, considering they know that 'disease', in 1900, is synonymous to 'death sentence'. Three episodes down, zero survivors. Not bad! That's what I like in this show: they don't wash down the late 19th century cultural arrogance, they don't make racism look pretty, they don't fall into stereotyping the rich and powerful. Everybody here is a nice person, everybody has a moral fault, everybody is human. THe Knick is possibly the best show in decades. And Clive Owen rocks! Give that guy an Emmy already!
Review of The Knick
