ssih

This show is obviously aiming to copy some of the past mockumentary comedies such as The Office and Parks & Rec. But what made those shows so great (aside from exceptional writing) is the proper mix of cringy characters with honorable/likable ones. The Office Had Dwight (cringy/unlikable), Michael (cringy/likable), but they also had Jim and Pam (honorable/likable) and several other decent people (Oscar, Stanley, Phyllis, Ryan) to round things out.

St. Denis Medical has one likable/honorable person and the rest are all buffoons. How did any of them graduate high school, never mind get employed at a medical facility?

I made it through eight episodes because I like so many of the actors, but now I'm done. It's sad because there are so few sitcoms these days.

I really wanted to like this show because I've loved Elizabeth Moss in everything I've seen her in. This seemed like a borderline spy thriller, so it had that going for it as well.

There are a few things that I find odd and I don't see what purpose they can have with the plot. Why is she always so giddy? In each scene, she looks like she was kissed by her big crush for the first time just a moment before. Will we ultimately discover she has some emotional disorder that prevents her from being serious?

And WHAT is with all of the smoking? Not just smoking, but ultra-close-ups of the characters lighting up. It's gross. I get the impression that writer Steven Knight is just sick to death of people telling him where he can and can't smoke and this is just a big "screw you!" to them.

It's off-putting enough to me that I don't think I'll be finishing the serious.

After the first episode, I was planning on skipping the rest. But the second one was sitting there and I was kinda bored. I played hockey in my mis-spent youth, so I had that going for me.

They have a handful of gags that they repeat a lot. The first episode seems dedicated to getting you *completely* familiar with these, ad nauseum. However, as the series progressed, they actually developed a plot and used these repeated gags as spice, rather than as the entire main course. By the end of the series, most of the characters are less moronic and more quirky.

I don't love the series, but I'll watch more of it if it gets produced.