A Different View

#FirstCoffeeThoughts

The new show Doc is a remake based on the original Italian show Doc – Nelle tue man (Doc – In your hands). Doc – the Italian version – is based on the true story of Dr Pierdante Piccioni, former chief of the emergency room of Lodi and Codogno, who forgot the previous 12 years of his life following a car accident. It was a soap opera style drama that went on for 3 seasons.

The U.S. remake is just … uninspired, unoriginal (obviously), and yet another medical drama borrowing on the same tropes over and over again. It is also … just television.

I can see why people don’t like this show. I don’t like it either but I understand what it is and what they are creating as well. It’s a drama. If you don’t watch soaps or Kdrama I am not sure this particular kind of drama would appeal to you and based on reviews I’ve read that seems to be the case.

It’s supposed to be a soap opera. It IS a soap opera.

Soap operas are contrived and a bit cringe and aren’t supposed to be taken that seriously. They’re heavy melodramas. They’re all about plots with sub plots and sub plots to those sub plots. They’re filled with relatively non-complex characters with simple motivations that are supposed to allow you to be able to understand them but not always agree with them. They are not high art but they are an art form.

Maybe we are hitting a place in time where no one remembers what soap operas are or doesn’t remember them as fun, disposable entertainment.

Or maybe … and this is most likely the cause … people just simply take television WAY too seriously. The lack of television media literacy is what causes people to invest far too much time and energy into what is basically FILLER for commercials, not the other way around. Television isn’t that serious. It was never meant to be but people tend to treat it like some holy grail of art. It is art … but it’s art designed to entertain you while you are sold products. Don’t get it twisted.

This isn’t Game Of Thrones. This isn’t Euphoria. This isn’t the Sopranos. This isn’t Nurse Jackie. This is Riverdale. This is Pretty Little Liars. Both of which were BRILLIANTLY written soaps. This is evening unwind popcorn and wine. This is simple, empty, drama. This is Jersey Shore in a hospital.

If you think all television should be Arcane or River or Dem som draeber etc then fine go watch those types of shows. If you use TV to pull emotions from yourself because you’re dead inside 90% of the time … this show MIGHT WORK for you because of the melodrama but you should probably seek therapy instead of using television as an escape or a way to establish some emotional baseline.

People who write 4 page reviews about how bad shows are really don’t understand what television is and they are telling you about themselves more than talking about the show. They don’t care about the show, they don’t understand the show, they only know they don’t like it.

Not every piece of entertainment or art is made for you. Not everyone is the same. Not everyone wants the same kind of entertainment at the end of the day.

That doesn’t make it bad. It just makes it NOT FOR YOU.

Doc is a show where actors get to act. It’s a show where you get to play a character, recite some lines, and get a pay check. That’s technically what ALL television is … just some of the actors are of higher quality, some of the writers are at a higher level, and some of the lines are less cringe. Believe it or not … some television shows are soap operas. In fact soap operas used to be some of the best long term employment for actors and the best way to develop your craft as a new actor on a day to day basis.

I think there is still room for those kinds of platforms and I’m glad they exist.

Why shouldn’t there be television that is designed just so people get paid a steady check for 3 or 4 seasons? Why shouldn’t there be television designed for actors, who don’t get much opportunity on more “prestigious” shows, to also get a chance to practice their craft and enjoy their craft?

Why does all television have to be only what YOU want it to be?

Seriously, get over yourself.

Doc is a show where you get to watch Molly Parker act which is a privilege indeed.

… where you will be introduced to the work of Anya Banerjee who may be relatively unknown except for her work on The Blacklist. She’s a Kiwi actress and also a playwright.

… where you can see Amirah Vann, an insanely talented Afro-Latina actress and singer.

… where you can see Charlotte Fountain-Jardim, another relatively new actress for many people, get to shine and further improve her craft.

Learn to see things differently.

Learn appreciation for art.

Is Doc good?

It’s WORK. It’s work for an entire cast and crew of people whose job it is to create art.

It’s a paycheck.

It’s people fulfilling their dreams in front and behind the camera.

Watch them, appreciate them, or don’t.

Television is art but it is also employment. It is also filler. It is also experimental. It is also just fun.

It’s not bad simply because you don’t like it. You’re not the center of anyone’s universe but your own.