My favorite medical series of all time was NYMed--all real life medical, no soap opera from the writers' room. That should tell you why I like this show and am regretting I just discovered it.
Was casting around--pun intended--for a series whose season begins about now to fill a hole in my viewing schedule left by cancellations. Stumbled into "Code Black". Had ignored it when it premiered a couple of years ago on the premise that, like so many other medical dramas, the soap opera predominated over the medical. Quite the opposite, it turns out. Watched its Season 3's 2nd episode on a lark, watched the season premiere on demand, and then set my DVR for the series. Decided I needed to catch up on the previous two seasons and ordered the DVDs. I then figured I'd use a rainy weekend alone with the dogs to binge watch through as much of the two years as time allowed. Note to self: Do NOT try this at home. The medical and related emotional issues are way too high octane for binge watching, and I had to stop for some processing time. The other choice was turning whichever dog was on my lap into a crying towel. Having learned my lesson, will be enjoying the past seasons at a slower pace while I follow the current season at the usual weekly pace. Ratings have been drifting down, so I may be setting myself up for another teeth clenching reaction to a cancellation announcement, but can't let that stop me now even if deciding I like a series is a kiss of eventual death about half the time. Watch it while you can, stat!
BTW, the opening scene of the "Better Angels" was about as innovative as any TV scene I can remember. It was an amazing way both to portray the patient's medical condition (visions) and to make the very real point that the profound professionalism and intense training of ER professionals makes for a genuine and intricate choreography inside the chaos that the uninformed eye sees. On top of this, it was complete fun seeing the cast perform in ways that are highly unusual in this genre. You could sort of tell by body language and facial expressions which ones were enjoying it and which were, shall we say, more challenged by the novelty of it. But they pulled it off, and it was fun to see. Have watched that scene close to ten times and am still not tired of it.
