Gorgeous camera work, exhilarating scenes and compelling acting make The Knick one of the best new series to hit the small screen for quite some time, and we've got Steven Soderbergh to thank - a man who made the jump to television but refused to bend to the usual dynamics that this would usually bring about.
To many, the idea of watching a fictional series rooted in facts from the morbid and gory medicinal practices of the turn of the 20th century doesn't sound all that inviting, but the style in which this show presents itself ensures that even the doubters will be onboard by the end of the first episode.
Not just Soderbergh should be thanked for The Knick, however, with strong performances from the cast including Clive Owen and Juliet Rylance allowing stories to be given a life it's hard to imagine they'd take on with any other actors in the roles.
Then there's the strange and unique but beautiful synth score by Cliff Martinez, who allows the viewer to become encapsulated within the world they're seeing on-screen. You'll feel the chilly intensity of the operating theater and allow the warm blanket of the Chinatown opium parlour to cover you up after bearing witness to some incredible surgeries.
Cons to the series come through foreshadowing with story threads being wrapped up by the viewer long before their time is up on-screen, meaning there are some slow moments in a show that needs to really rely on being quick and off the cuff. But we can allow those fleeting moments to slide, especially with the huge hospital riot at the end of the season that provides some brilliantly engaging TV.
Dr. Thackery - played by Clive Owen - is one of the biggest stars the show has to offer, and a character so interesting that viewers would be forgiven for allowing him his many, many mistakes. He is the perfect representation of a proud man in an era sometimes based on ignorance - and when you look at the world today and all the 'big' men in it, has society really changed all that much? It's quite the commentary on social standings.
Sometimes depressing but always impressive, The Knick's first season made sure that we'd all be coming back for its second season. It's a hard-to-watch but rewarding 10 hour slog that challenges the viewer to really think, and in the world of television which is so bogged down with faux-reality and the like, that's one of the most important things a new series can do.
The Knick: The Complete First Season is out now on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD.