I came home after the meeting and immediately noticed something was wrong. The TV—my TV, in my bedroom (that I also graciously allow Hubby to use)—was on. And it wasn’t on ABC. Hubby swore he had just turned it on and he hadn’t touched it before.
MFD is very fortunate the show was re-broadcast. Unfortunately, Lovi had already told me Mama Grey dies.
I don’t watch a lot of TV anymore, but since I was young, medical shows have tended to be my favorite, followed closely by cop shows. It was probably Johnny Gage that did it to me. But there was also Medical Center with Chad Everett, The FBI with Ephrem Zimblist, Jr., the Streets of San Francisco, Adam 12, The Rookies, Marcus Welby, St. Elmo, Chicago Hope, ER, and the original CSI.
The only problem with medical shows is that I can get a touch grouchy about technicalities.
If you saw the second episode of the special Grey’s Anatomy, McDreamy was pounding and puffing away on Meredith as they arrive at the hospital. Well, the trauma scene was surely more than a few moments from the hospital. Why hadn’t he at least intubated her? I don’t care if millions of women were dreaming that they were Meredith and McDreamy was breathing life into their bodies. It was wrong.
You know, if Ambulance Driver had been in charge, she’d have been tubed, two IVs going, meds pushed, shocked a couple of times, and back to Normal Sinus Rhythm by the time they got to the hospital.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, so that’s not as romantic as what they did on the show. If they’d given AD the opportunity to blog about it, he’d have written it up even better than what they did. In fact, McDreamy probably would have heroically saved the day by single handedly bringing Meredith back to life.
Unrealistic? So what, she did mention miracles in the last episode, and it would have been technically correct.
A few years back, there was a movie out—I can’t remember the name…it had Denzel Washington in it, portraying a father fighting for his son’s life. I heard it was a pretty good movie, but I wouldn’t know, because I got irritated right off the bat.
Accident scene, young woman in a smooshed up vehicle, obviously dead, and they close in on her Medic Alert bracelet. The intent was to let the viewer know the young woman was an organ donor.
Problem 1. Most people I know sign the back of their driver’s license to indicate he/she is an organ donor. Medic Alert bracelets/necklaces let the medical people know if you have special conditions, i.e. you’re allergic to penicillin, you’re diabetic, you have a pacemaker, you’re on certain medications, etc. Not too many people run around with a Medic Alert bracelet that says I AM AN ORGAN DONOR in case they are in an accident and die.
Problem 2. She was dead. You can’t transplant the kidneys, lungs, liver, heart, etc. if she’s dead. You could use her eyes. But I don’t think that was what the little kid needed because I seem to recall he was tubed. Mm hm, yep. Because I believe he talked around the tube.
[sigh] Is it so hard to put a little more thought into something that isn’t as easy or romantic doing it the proper way, so that it can look easy or romantic AND technically correct? C’mon, you’re supposed to have expert technical assistance, make them earn that money. Don’t just tell them “oh, that’s not nearly as dramatic as doing it this way,” and watch them cringe and close their eyes as you film it your way.
Flo
6 comments:
The movie was "John Q". Maybe you should write to ABC and tell them to hire people who actually know their stuff, or just send them a copy of your blog.
Otherwise you have no choice but to let it pass since I know you love Grey's so much. I see fopaws in movies all the time so it's not just the one's you like. That's the Biz industry for you.
>>Problem 2. She was dead. You can’t transplant the kidneys, lungs, liver, heart, etc. if she’s dead. You could use her eyes. But I don’t think that was what the little kid needed because I seem to recall he was tubed. Mm hm, yep. Because I believe he talked around the tube.<<
Oooooh, that one REALLY torqued me, too. Surely they had SOMEONE on staff to inform them that it is impossible to phonate with a chunk of PVC between your vocal cords.
That was what I really liked about the first few seasons of ER - most of the medical stuff was technically correct, even if the time factor was compressed times ten for dramatic effect. How quickly their patients turned around was nothing short of miraculous. I also hated the way they portrayed medics (Shep, the tortured medic) in that show. I quit watching ER several years ago.
Ever notice that when the medics bring in a cardiac arrest victim, he was never intubated? It was MUCH more dramatic to watch the doctors do it in the ER...sheez...
Hi Flo,
You ever notice how clean those people stay, patients and Doc's.
One good spew or defecation and that bunch would fall out.
The bottom line it's entertainment, and the average Joe or Jane Wouldn't stop heaving, bad for ratings.
Flo,
We didn't get to go, the daughter in law cancelled on us at the last second, we were about to walk out the door. This happens every time. This side of the family has to make an appointment, her side just has to grunt. Unless she needs a baby sitter and the kids are sick. It has happened so often it's a bad joke.
She left us with Walker as sick as any human I've ever seen, and went to NYC to party. You can only imagine how that made us feel. Maybe someday, we haven't seen any of them for nine months.
Brava, Darlin'!
I, too, detest the talking intubated patient. Either give them a nasal canula, make them sign or give them a pad and pencil.
I think one of the reasons Er got it right in the early years was that Michael Crighton, an MD, was the creator. But, like AD, I stopped watching when the quality started slipping.
Thanks for filling in the title, Lainy.
You're right, DW. And even if they do get bluts on them, it's all very neat.
AD, Holly, I'm with you on ER--haven't watched it in years. Hey AD, can I be your Assistant Technical Expert when they do a TV series based on your books and blog? ;-)
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