The Best TV Series Of The Decade (That You Didn't Watch)
2. The Tone Is Perfect
The clean, clinical sci-fi stylings of The Knick blend perfectly with its story arcs and overarching tone. Scenes in the operating theatre are paced slowly and deliberately, with a distinct lack of music and frequently in real-time.
As the series progresses, new technological progress is made - an experimental epidural procedure is trialled as a bold new local anaesthetic, and clumsy hand-cranked suction machines give way to electric-powered vacuum cleaners doctored, if you'll excuse the pun, for use in the medical field. All of this is presented with a great degree of authenticity, and even though the techniques pioneered in the show are comparatively outdated, the sense of wonder at such inventions affects the audience as it does its characters.
The lead characters' fixation on progress and pushing the limits of their knowledge, however, is not entirely altruistic in nature. Thack, whilst having a genuine investment in improving medical practices for the betterment of people's lives, is also driven by arrogance and a desire for recognition and glory.
His determination leads him at times to abandon all sense of ethics and neglect the wellbeing of his patients in pursuit of success and recognition. When one of his new procedures is overlooked in favour of the work of Levi Zinberg, a doctor he sees as a rival, Thack goes to worrying lengths to surpass him. His tireless research and experimentation at the total expense of the safety of himself and those around him threatens to result in ruin for all involved.
The entire show is rife with death, loss and failure, as no matter how brilliant these doctors may be, they are exploring a frontier not yet fully understood. Death is simply a certainty in the world of The Knick, as much a part of the day as getting out of bed in the morning. Yet it is rarely portrayed with much ceremony. In fact, barely anything is.
The Knick's tone remains, for the most part, understated throughout its 20 episodes. It is spooky and elegiac, rather than being dramatic and overwrought. Its atmosphere is so hypnotic one can't help but feel enraptured by its every moment.
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