Setyembre 15, 2025

"This show has become a sort of lighthouse show for people who want to believe that there are people in these hospitals who are dedicated, intelligent, compassionate, doing this kind of angelic work."

Said Noah Wyle, quoted in "'The Pitt' Defied Odds by Going Back to the Future/On Sunday, Emmy voters made a loud statement that there is an appetite for the kind of shows that used to dominate TV" (NYT).

I had never heard of this show, but apparently it's what people want these days. I'd watched "The White Lotus," which had a lot of nominations but won nothing. 

It seems that people are worn out and done with snark and irony. They want to be reassured that there are sincere, competent, hard-working people ready to help. (Note: Everything seems to relate to Charlie Kirk.)


Reminds me of "Hill Street Blues." Or... more on the subject matter: "St. Elsewhere."

65 komento:

wendybar ayon kay ...

Hollyweird is done. Participation trophies for the most woke!!!

Left Bank of the Charles ayon kay ...

ER meets 24.

Wince ayon kay ...

Reminds me of "Hill Street Blues."

Or NYPD Blue? I used to call David Caruso the Oracle of Delphi because everyone came to him for answers to the imponderable.

rehajm ayon kay ...

Is it essentially Noah’s character from ER? They had a ready made audience..

Mike (MJB Wolf) ayon kay ...

My wife still occasionally watches him on ER. She pronounced that one the "best" of the med-dramas.

mryan ayon kay ...

I don’t think it has anything to do with any of those things. It has excellent writing and acting. If a show has those two things it will, more often than not, be successful.

Narr ayon kay ...

"Everything seems to relate to Charlie Kirk."

How long before FOX renames itself the "Charlie Kirk Memorial Channel"?

Achilles ayon kay ...

It seems that people are worn out and done with snark and irony. They want to be reassured that there are sincere, competent, hard-working people ready to help. (Note: Everything seems to relate to Charlie Kirk.)

The fundamental issue is the conflict between people who love the United States and feel patriotic about it vs the shitheads that hate this country and freedom and capitalism.

The killing of Charlie can just be viewed as the last straw.

If you really don like this country and you don’t like the people in it you really should just leave.

n.n ayon kay ...

Damage control.

Anne in Rockwall, TX ayon kay ...

Reminds me of "Hill Street Blues." Or... more on the subject matter: "St. Elsewhere."

Two shows i enjoyed immensely. I was sorry when the genre died.

Sydney ayon kay ...

Is it essentially Noah’s character from ER? They had a ready made audience.
It is exactly this. He's an attending now in an ER in Pittsburgh. I don't know if they blatantly made him the same character with the same name, but it is basically an ER retread.

Readering ayon kay ...

Don't have HBO but I've heard tremendous things about Wylie.

Achilles ayon kay ...

mryan said...
I don’t think it has anything to do with any of those things. It has excellent writing and acting. If a show has those two things it will, more often than not, be successful.

That is the underlying issue though. If the writing is good and the show is good that is great.

But most of our culture is dominated by people who hate the country and the people in it. They support censorship and then they demand the right to trash the country that gives them the freedom to trash it.

We are tired of the hate and people who think it’s ok to shoot and censor us.

WWPaulKlee ayon kay ...

I trained in medicine for seven years, in Chicago and the South. First episode I got through half. Second episode I broke down sobbing 10 minutes in. Yes, did therapy. Lots better. Still..,

Leland ayon kay ...

I’ve seen the show. I think it is fairly well done. I watched with my wife, who has worked in a level 1 trauma facility like that depicted. I’m trying to recognize that quote with either my experience with the show or reality.

They are definitely dedicated. You wouldn’t last much more than a week if you didn’t have the dedication to see it through. Intelligent can be debatable. Healthcare no longer attracts the best and brightest. Standards may be higher in trauma care than other areas. Compassionate is interesting considering the setting, and the show does explore the levels of it and how it is expressed.

I think it is the angelic part that threw me off. I guess it is like the spiritual debate on thinking of Charlie’s death and what people make of it. Doctors and nurses in an ER can be seen to “play god” in who they prioritize for treatment, leave for dead so to speak, and seem to miraculously heal. The show does explore this, but I didn’t see it as angelic. It is a matter of resource management, and I don’t think it is fair to put that burden on healthcare workers that they “play god” in those decisions.

Similar to White Lotus, that explores the events of a single week, The Pitt explores the events of a single shift in a trauma center. The seasonal climax is handling a mass casualty event that was based heavily on the Las Vegas mass shooting.

In any event, I hope they get a second season.

Jake ayon kay ...

The White Lotus. Barf. Does it get more low brow?

Lazarus ayon kay ...

Wyle basically reprising his role from ER? This time he's older and wiser and doesn't have to play second (or third) banana to George Clooney or Anthony Edwards.

Michael Crichton and Steven Spielberg were behind ER, but I guess they left the dinosaurs at home for that one.

Leland ayon kay ...

I finally watched season 1 of The White Lotus. I didn’t finish it because I found it too hard to relate to any of the characters. The setting worked for me, because I was recently in Maui. But the characters were just too extreme to feel real, so there actions kept putting me out of the story.

TML ayon kay ...

100% St. Elsewhere.

Leora ayon kay ...

There's a reason NCIS has been renewed for its 23rd season.

RCOCEAN II ayon kay ...

A dark and gritty medical show. Wow, never saw that before.

One problem with being 60. I've been watching TV for at least 55 years. Every new show seems like a retread of some old show that I either disliked or got tired of.

I never get tired of good comedies. Or (assuming they exist) good musicals. But dramas? Hard to watch now.

Narr ayon kay ...

The doctor and hospital shows are one genre I've never paid any attention to.

One of several.

Lem Vibe Bandit ayon kay ...

I remember being puzzled by Howie Mandel's character. And then he was vanished.

RCOCEAN II ayon kay ...

Last year I went back and tried to watch some of the old stuff. Hill Streets Blues, Kojak, Police Story, NYPD Blue, X files. God, is that crap dated. Some good actors and good scripts here and there, but anything good gets loss in the morrass of mediocre, grind-it-out weekly TV.

And I love Dennis Franz and Tele.

RCOCEAN II ayon kay ...

Perfect 2025. The co-star of some emmy winning comedy had to tell us "As a Jew" she had X opinion on Israel-Gaza about some other actor wearing some Arab clothing.

Why these people can't ever shut up sing is beyond me. Imagine reading the paper in 1952 and reading Marilyn Monroe popping off about the Korean War.

Wa St Blogger ayon kay ...

Last year I went back and tried to watch some of the old stuff. Hill Streets Blues, Kojak, Police Story, NYPD Blue, X files. God, is that crap dated. Some good actors and good scripts here and there, but anything good gets loss in the morrass of mediocre, grind-it-out weekly TV.

Rockford Files seemed to have held up well.

Marcus Bressler ayon kay ...

The only medical show I watched since 2000 is "House".

Richard Dolan ayon kay ...

Same theme as "the Resident," which I watched for a while. Entertaining, but life is always more complicated than the narrative (whichever one the the show happens to be into).

Immanuel Rant ayon kay ...

Blair General Hospital - where life begins, where life ends, where life goes on . . . .

Ted ayon kay ...

"The Pitt" was originally going to be a follow-up to "ER," made by the same people, with Noah Wyle reprising his character. But then some of them decided that wouldn't work, so they made it a show that was separate from "ER," even though it was still very similar. So the estate of novelist-filmmaker Michael Crichton, who had created "ER," filed a lawsuit saying the show had become an unauthorized reboot with multiple aspects in common with the original, plus the same executive producers and star. That lawsuit is ongoing.

Old and slow ayon kay ...

Rockford Files did hold up well. So did the original Hawaii 5-O.

Wa St Blogger ayon kay ...

Rockford Files did hold up well. So did the original Hawaii 5-O.

Nice family TV time with our 13 YO watching the old 5-0. Watching Monk now. Speaking of Wylie, Librarians is next on our watch list.

tommyesq ayon kay ...

Last year I went back and tried to watch some of the old stuff. Hill Streets Blues, Kojak, Police Story, NYPD Blue, X files. God, is that crap dated. Some good actors and good scripts here and there, but anything good gets loss in the morrass of mediocre, grind-it-out weekly TV.

It is pretty amazing how theatrical most TV was through the 80's and early 90's - deliver a line, hold for applause, deliver another line, hold for applause, and most everyone kinda faces the "audience" rather than each other when they talk. I remember a Dennis Leary show called "The Job" where Leary acted in a modern, realistic fashion and the rest of the cast in an 80's sitcom fashion, Leary's acting put them all to shame.

RCOCEAN II ayon kay ...

"Rockford Files did hold up well. So did the original Hawaii 5-O."

Never watched Rockford. Had to watch Hawaii 5-0 when in the hospital years ago. The TV there was limited. But I Liked it. Probably because the guest stars were pretty good. The FBI (with effram Zimbalist junior) was part of the rotation. Thought it was mediocre.

Sweetie ayon kay ...

You know the age of television is over when they're touting a show for being a 'retread'. And it's probably only that because the people that own the St Elsewhere intellectual property couldn't get enough show credits and cash.

Temujin ayon kay ...

Yes. It is St. Elsewhere (or ER), but in a 2025 world view. Grittier, leaving nothing to the imagination. Hitting on trendy social topics while not doing too much preaching. The acting is very good, the action is non-stop. And, though it almost lost me early on, as I kept with the episodes, it made more sense of the earlier episodes that seemed so...Hollywoodish. They were all building toward something. In the end I thought it was very good.

PM ayon kay ...

I watch whatever Eddie Muller's got in the queue.

tim maguire ayon kay ...

My wife and I loved The PITT, but it's too frenetic, too intense--the time on the show is "real time"--the 60-minute episode is 60 minutes of the story--the season is one shift in a hospital emergency room. But it was such an unrealistic shift. Nobody could get through a day like that.

Wa St Blogger ayon kay ...

Nobody could get through a day like that.

Jack Bauer could.

Smilin' Jack ayon kay ...

The British mini-series “This is Going to Hurt” is a recent and very good take on medical dramas. It’s more about the drama than the medicine.

narciso ayon kay ...

it seems ok, why can't it air on regular tv, it's a wasteland, another more selective show hacks seem to distinguish itself for the virtue signalling of one of it's supporting characters, hannah einbeinders?

narciso ayon kay ...

I liked House until the last season,

Wa St Blogger ayon kay ...

I liked House until the last season,

Is that the one where House was waterskiing and there was this shark in the water?

I agree the last season was not good.

Leland ayon kay ...

The media empires have realized that their streaming services get them more money than broadcast, so they don’t put their good shows on the networks. Unfortunately, they also know they only need one, maybe two, hits to get subscribers. Everything else is garbage for niches.

That’s why I’m more into YouTube. Those content creators have to keep delivering to their audience.

narciso ayon kay ...

yeah it was nearly think that, after they killed off anne dudek's character, like the 3rd season of veronica mars,

narciso ayon kay ...

why do you want timely shoes, like law and order, where turn every story inside out,

narciso ayon kay ...

thats where denzel harmon, david morse, and mandel all got their start,

rhhardin ayon kay ...

Needs a show on iatrogenic medicine.

rhhardin ayon kay ...

The Brit show Twenty Twelve was good. Followup W1A not quite as good but they never are.

Gospace ayon kay ...

RCOCEAN II said...
...
I never get tired of good comedies. Or (assuming they exist) good musicals. But dramas? Hard to watch now.


If you introduce any young person to The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show they will understand and enjoy it. Timeless comedy.

The Richard Pryor Show not so timeless. And IMHO, Mork and Mindy doesn't hold up so well. You may, of course, hold different opinions.

narciso ayon kay ...

the Carole Burnett Show, certainly All in the Family not so much,

tommyesq ayon kay ...

why do you want timely shows [sic], like law and order, where turn every story inside out,

Wasn't Law and Order the show that had an episode that was basically stolen by E. Jean Carroll and used as her rape allegation against Trump?

Gerda Sprinchorn ayon kay ...

"there is an appetite for the kind of shows that used to dominate TV"

Sounds like a headline in The Daily Duh.

narciso ayon kay ...

yeah but that when they had gone into the soup, most recently they joined the hamas and mangione fanclubs,

Megthered ayon kay ...

I don't usually watch TV at all. Tge last show i watched on tv was Breaking Bad. I saw a preview for The Pitt and was intrigued. I managed to binge watch all the episodes. It was great. After 20 years of working in medicine, it comes closest to a really busy day.

Jim at ayon kay ...

Reminds me of "Hill Street Blues." Or... more on the subject matter: "St. Elsewhere."

Never got into St. Elsewhere. Anything after Hill Street paled in comparison.

Tom C writes ayon kay ...

This show is off the charts good

Wa St Blogger ayon kay ...

Anything after Hill Street paled in comparison.

I was in High school when Hill Street premiered. That first episode was burned into my conscience when Hill and Renko got shot. Ground breaking intensity for it's day.

Lazarus ayon kay ...

St. Elsewhere? Wasn't that a farcically bad hospital? Sure, Ed Flanders and Norman Lloyd were on the saintly side, but they had to be to put up with everything that was going on.

There actually are shows about dedicated cops, firemen, doctors, and EMTs. Isn't there a whole night of Chicago policemen, firefighters, and doctors on CBS? And yet people are more cynical than ever. Noah is doing his best to sell his series -- which is likely to make people more, rather than less cynical.

"This Is Going To Hurt." Isn't that British show on the cynical side? Ben Wishaw is dedicated and had idealistic ideas about medicine, but the NHS wears him so down that he's kind of a jerk.

Ampersand ayon kay ...

The Pitt wouldn't have won without the necessary race/gender/anti right story beats. Lots of compelling stories and performances, though.

Tina Trent ayon kay ...

Noah Wylie is a nightmare morally preening actor. He is pretty repulsively narcissistic. An Alan Alda in training. Terrible show.

gadfly ayon kay ...

I tried to watch theThe Pitt because I have relatives in the Pittsburgh area. The accents are wrong and the infamous views of Mount Washington and the bridges are not helpful. As a kid, I spent many Saturdays watching the Pirates at Forbes Field, visited Carnegie Museum and ate Isaly ice cream.

But I decided that I wasn;t ready for another old-timey Doc show and shut it down.

Cappy ayon kay ...

Dick Wolf agrees.

Lazarus ayon kay ...
Naalis ng may-ari ang komentong ito.
Lazarus ayon kay ...

Does that sum up today's Hollywood: recycle the old genres but throw in enough of the trendy woke stuff so that people will think you are doing something new and praise you for it? It doesn't seem to be working out. The woke stuff isn't new and people, whether they wish to admit it publicly or not, can smell that everything is long past its 'sell-by date.'

I haven't watched the Emmys in years. I do wish they'd clear out some of the zombie categories. There aren't that many "mini-series" being made any more. "Limited series" may be making a comeback on streaming, but does anybody need or deserve a "miniseries or limited series" category. That's also the case for talk shows. You know that the Emmys just get shuffled around the same 4 or 5 hosts and shows and none of them really deserve it.

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