UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The Knick

One of my favorite TV shows is The Knick. It's about a group of surgeons who worker at the Knickerbocker in 1900, New York. A lot of new advances in medicine and the like are being discovered. But there's also a lot of personal drama going on as well. The Knick primarily serves poor people who can't afford medical care, so the place is always struggling to get funding and donations. There's storylines and drama involving that too.

It's, overall, a dark show that deals with dark topics. There's racism, sexism, a suicide, so many deaths. And a lot of graphic close ups of all the surgical procedures. They did a good job of making those look realistic, and I do not recommend watching while eating. I flinched a lot at those scenes. So, it might be hard to watch for the squeamish. But it's still a really good show. Some people think the only reason it didn't become huge is because HBO threw it onto Cinemax for more content to try to get more people to subscribe but no one did. I'm inclined to agree.

It only got two seasons with ten episodes each, and ended up cancelled. But I hear they're trying to make season three and a spin-off happen, so it'll be cool if any of that does. Season 1 came out in 2014, season 2 in 2015.

I love it because the progressive era is my favorite point in history. (I actually found out about it because I was working on writing a historical romance that takes place in this time period, so wanted to watch something that could give me more understanding on the world then. [Even if it might not be 100% accurate. Some idea is better than no idea!]) So it was nice to see something that takes place then. I loved seeing what the early inventions of things today looked like. The aesthetics were good. The storylines drew me in. I loved some of the characters.

But my favorite part of the show was John Thackery. He is one of my top favorite characters of all time. So much so, I"m giving him a special section on this page.

There are spoilers on the rest of this page (mainly for season one), so read on at your own risk.

John Thackery

I love this man so fucking much. After the head surgeon died in the first episode, he was promoted to head surgeon. He's always coming up with new, crazy ideas- while being a cocaine addict. I loved a lot of his lines, and how snarky he'd get when someone would annoy him. I didn't like his racism in the earlier episodes, when the hospital hired a black man to help with the surgeries. But that thankfully stopped once they became friends, and that's around the time he went from "one of my favorite characters on the show" to "one of my favorite characters of all time."

Will add more here later.

Other Characters

Algernon Edwards

He was a black surgeon who got hired after Thackery became head surgeon. Mainly because he had connections to the people who ran the hospital, but literally no one was happy about that decision because, it's the early 1900's and everyone else there is white. After seeing the hospital turn away a black patient, Edwards opens a secret clinic in the basement of the hospital where he makes his own discoveries and inventions. (And gets to actually perform surgeries because no one's been letting him do anything during them.) Eventually, Thackery stumbles upon it and loses his shit, until he finds out all the cool and exciting things Edwards had learned from it. Edwards offers to share some of that information, even co-author a book on them (since he'd otherwise be unable to publish it, because racism in the 1900's). Thack agrees, and they slowly over the course of all their shared discoveries become good friends.

Bertram Chickering Jr.

Prefers being called Bertie. He's the nicest person on this show. (Probably the only nice one tbh.) His father doesn't approve of him working at the Knick, and wants him to work at a better hospital. But Bertie loves working with Thackery and seeing all the exciting things he comes up with and I ship it. At one point, does end up at a "better hospital" but it makes him miserable and he eventually returns to The Knick. (They wouldn't even call him Bertie!)

Cornelia Robertson

A childhood friend of Edwards who works with the higher ups at The Knick. Part of how Edwards was even able to get a job there. Ends up in a secret relationship with him at one point. Also is part of storylines involving investigations. There was one involving Typhoid Mary that I particularly enjoyed.

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Everett Gallinger

I hate this guy as much as I love Thackery. He's one of the surgeons. Although everyone is a dick towards Edwards at first, Gillinger is the worst with it. He ended up having to take time off from The Knick because, long story short, his baby died and his wife was going through a mental breakdown over it. I started hating him a little less since he seemed to at least care about his wife. But then he returned to The Knick more racist then ever before. He eventually makes friends with a group of pro-eugenic people after Thack kept choosing Edwards over him. Gillinger not only adopts those views, but goes off and gives vasectomies to young teenage boys at an institution for the mentally challenged (aka an "Idiot House") because, eugenics. It gets found out at one point but he only ever defends his actions and then faces no consequences for it because, racism in the 1900's. I can't stand this asshole and wanted to punch him in the face so many times...

Herman Barrows

Works with getting funding for the hospital. Constantly in debt and gets into trouble with loan sharks. Is in love with a prositute he's always paying to see. Is convinced she loves him back but it's most likely an act on her part. He's a dumbass who buys her, buys a house for her, and leaves his wife and kids for her. Not the worst person on this show, but he's a bit of an ass.

Levi Zinberg

Chief surgeon at a hospital Bertie goes on to temporarily work for. He relegated Bertie to boring routine roles and won't entertain any of his ideas. He's kind of the opposite of Thackery in that way. Thackery himself hates him, ever since he met him at a Surgical Society conference where doctors were sharing their research and inventions. Zinberg came off as a bit of a showoff and Thackery (struggling through coke withdrawls due to a coke shortage) becomes convinced he's stealing people's work.

Lucy Elkin

A nurse at the hospital who Bertie falls in love with. She doesn't share his feelings, and falls for Thackery instead. Their already-questionable relationship becomes even more questionable when there's a major cocaine shortage and she's the only one able to get the drug for him. Then it became a case of her loving him, but him loving that she's able to get him cocaine. (Thankfully Thack realizes the unhealthiness of it all once he returns from rehab, and breaks it off.) Her father's a preacher.

Sister Harriet

Catholic nun who runs an orphanage. Goes on to give illegal abortions to those who need it, with the help of Tom Cleary (ambulance driver- not much else to say about him). I loved their friendship but then, without getting into major spoilers, events happened that I wish hadn't, and now I hate it.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

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