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Digital HD Review: THE KNICK Season 2

Jan 31, 2016 Posted by in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | 2 comments

When the first season of The Knick, Cinemax’s turn-of-the-century medical drama, ended, Dr. John W. Thackery (Clive Owen) had just killed a young patient while trying to transfuse her with his own blood, and so he checked into a center for his opium addiction, where they were going to treat him using a new miracle drug from the Bayer company, Heroin!

The second season picks up right where the first season left off, with perennial slimeball Herman Barrow (Jeremy Bobb) preparing for the groundbreaking of The Knick’s new uptown location, and of course he already has plans on how he will personally profit from the construction. Dr. Bertie Chickering Jr. (Michael Angarano) still holds a grudge with Nurse Lucy (Eve Hewson), but she continues to assist him in the operating room. Meanwhile, Dr. Algernon Edwards (André Holland) hopes to become the permanent head of surgery when the new hospital opens; Sister Harriett (Cara Seymour) awaits her trial for performing of abortions; and Cornelia (Juliet Rylance) headed back to San Francisco to run away from her own abortion and her love for Algernon.

The Knick is one of the few shows that I always made sure I watched the night it aired. I thoroughly enjoyed this second season and it was great to re-visit the episodes via this Digital HD release. The second season brings a lot of interesting storylines and character developments. We continue to see Thackary struggle with his addictions and the fact that his genius is fueled by them. Also, Lucy learns to be more independent; Barrow gets even more despicable than ever; Bertie must deal with his mother’s ailing condition; and Dr. Edwards must deal with race politics at the hospital. Also, Dr. Gallinger (Eric Johnson) must deal with his very unstable wife, and also delves into the controversial field of Eugenics. We also see an unexpected entrepreneurial venture between odd couple Sister Harriet and Tom Cleary (Chris Sullivan), and there’s an ongoing mystery as to the spread of a new plague and whether or not it is being done intentionally. Some of the medical case we see this season include a pair of conjoined twins, the fallout from a big disaster, and open-brain surgery on an addict.

The series is beautifully shot by director Steven Soderbergh, who makes use of a handheld camera to bring the viewer right into the action—whether it be in the surgical theater, a carnival, a deadly underground explosion or fire, or even a beautiful ball. The series holds nothing back during the surgical scenes, which look so realistic that you often you want to avert your eyes, but it is also so fascinating to see the barbaric (by today’s standards) nature of the cutting-edge procedures being performed.

This second season of The Knick made my list of my top ten shows of 2015. I found the stories and characters interesting, and the show itself so visually appealing. The hospital set is one continuous structure, which allows the filmmakers to move from one location to the next, down corridors, etc. without cutting. This adds such a realism to the events on screen. There is an absolutely beautiful three-and-a-half minute tracking scene in the seventh episode that traverses the dance floor and conversations at a charity ball.

The video quality of the Digital HD release looks and sounds spectacular. The 1080p picture captures every detail of the beautiful sets and New York streets with a crisp, clear picture that shows no sign of grain. And the audio track provides clear dialogue while also enhancing the show’s unique techno soundtrack. The Digital HD Season Pass also comes with over 80 minutes of bonus features, including all ten episode Post-Ops, four Inside the Body Shop surgical behind-the-scenes features, and ten other featurettes.



What’s Included:
Episodes: (5:42:35)

  • All 10 Episodes of the Second Season:
    “Ten Knots”, “You’re No Rose”, “The Best with the Best to Get the Best”, “Wonderful Surprises”, “Whiplash”, “There Are Rules”, “Williams and Walker”, “Not Well at All”, “Do You Remember Moon Flower?”, “This Is All We Are”
  • Digital Copy (iTunes or Google Play)
  • Ultraviolet Copy (Vudu or Flixster)
  • 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
  • Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
  • Subtitles: English

Extras:

  • Post-Ops
    Writers/executive producers Michael Beger and Jack Amiel and other members of the cast and crew discuss the major happenings of each episode and the real-life historical events that served as inspiration. Each featurette also includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew, who talk about what it was like making the episode and working with Steven Soderbergh.

    Those interviewed include co-producer/writer Steven Katz, medical/historical/technical advisor Stanley Burns MD, make-up effects supervisor Justin Raleigh, and actors Juliet Rylance (“Cornelia Robertson”), Eric Johnson (“Dr. Everett Gallinger”), Clive Owen (“Dr. John W. Thackery”), David Fierro (“Inspector Jacob Speight”), Michael Angarano (“Bertie Chickering Jr.”), André Holland (“Dr. Algernon Edwards”), Zaraah Abrahams (“Opal Edwards”), Eve Hewson (“Lucy Elkins”), Jeremy Bobb (“Herman Barrow”), Jennifer Ferrin (“Abigail Alford”), Chris Sullivan (“Tom Cleary”), Michael Nathanson (“Dr. Levi Zinberg”), Charles Aitken (“Henry Robertson”), Cara Seymour (“Sister Harriet”), Grainger Hines (“Capt. August Robertson”) and Arielle Goldman (“Genevieve”).

    • Post-Op: Episode 1: Ten Knots (3:07)
    • Post-Op: Episode 2: You’re No Rose (3:07)
    • Post-Op: Episode 3: The Best with the Best to Get the Best (3:37)
    • Post-Op: Episode 4: Wonderful Surprises (2:19)
    • Post-Op: Episode 5: Whiplash (2:46)
    • Post-Op: Episode 6: There Are Rules (4:37)
    • Post-Op: Episode 7: Williams and Walker (2:04)
    • Post-Op: Episode 8: Not Well at All (3:50)
    • Post-Op: Episode 9: Do You Remember Moon Flower? (4:13)
    • Post-Op: Episode 10: This Is All We Are (7:28)
    • Inside the Body Shop
      Make-up effects supervisor Justin Raleigh takes viewers behind-the-scenes to see how some of the season’s more graphic scenes were achieved.

      • Inside the Body Shop: Episode 1: Ten Knots (1:17)
        Actor Michael Angarano talks about filming the scene involving a bloody leg abscess.
      • Inside the Body Shop: Episode 2: You’re No Rose (1:20)
        Actors André Holland and Clive Owen talk about filming Algernon’s ocular surgery.
      • Inside the Body Shop: Episode 4: Wonderful Surprises (1:43)
        Actor Clive Owen talks about filming Dr. Thackery’s autopsy of a heroin addict.
      • Inside the Body Shop: Episode 5: Whiplash (2:00)
        Actors Clive Owen and Eric Johnson and medical/historical/technical advisor Stanley Burns MD talk about the open brain surgery sequence.
    • Season 2: Trailer (1:29)
    • Inside The Costume Shop (5:42)
      Actors André Holland and Juliet Rylance join costume designer Ellen Mirojnick backstage in her costume shop to talk about how the looks for their characters came about.
    • Examination (4:52)
      The writers and cast preview what’s in store for their characters in the second season.
    • Addiction: 1901 (1:40)
      The writers and cast talk about drug addition in the era of the series.
    • Feminism: 1901 (1:33)
      The writers and cast talk about women’s role in society at the time of the series.
    • Eugenics (1:39)
      The writers and cast talk about eugenics, one of this season’s controversial, but historically accurate, storylines.
    • Race (2:44)
      The writers and cast talk about the topic of race during the early 20th century setting of the series.
    • Corruption (2:29)
      The writers and cast talk about various levels of corruption the characters are involved in.
    • Knicktoids (2:08)
      A collection of the various historical factoids that aired before the episodes on Cinemax.
    • The Knick Under Construction (10:27)
      Production designer Howard Cummings gives a walking tour of the Knickerbocker and Mount Sinai hospital sets—the surgical theaters, scrub room, hallways, and ward. He shows off these beautifully-detailed sets while explaining his design choices and inspirations.
    • Invitation to the Ball (5:30)
      The cast and creators talk about the extravagant location and costumes used for the charity ball scene in episode 7. They also discuss the black-face sequence, dancing, and shooting the amazing three-and-a-half minute single tracking shot.

     


    Final Thoughts:

    My Rating
    Episodes:
    Video:
    Audio:
    Extras:
    Highly Recommended

    I can’t recommend The Knick Season 2 highly enough. The series is beautifully shot and the audio and video presentation of this Digital HD release helps to showcase this. The second season gives all of the characters a chance to grow, and explores some interesting storylines. This was a show I couldn’t wait to watch each week when it aired, and I enjoyed it even more checking it out again on this release. This Digital HD release also contains over 80 minutes of bonus material. I hope that we will get a third season of this series, but either way, this second season comes highly recommended.