Though considerably different in the minutia they have one aspect in common, they intrinsically proved ample sources of tension, conflict and intrigue. Among them are police procedurals, lawyers/courtroom and medical dramas. There are several genres that have stood the test of time and have been elevated to the status of perennial standards for television. This brings out the best in the actors' performances and Soderbergh's direction, but makes the show feel unbalanced. The last few episodes of the season take a sharp turn away from the medical side of the story and focus more on the characters' personal lives. Despite the many season-long plot arcs, the show feels frustratingly episodic, with subplots introduced to shock and then dropped. Character development is uneven characters change overnight with only meager explanation. Instead the show focuses on the doctors and medical staff. The Knickerbocker Hospital was located in an immigrant community where the doctors experimented on their poor patients, and in the show the ethical side of this is ignored, with most patients treated as disposable. House" style antihero who has nonetheless been seen before. (In real life, most of these procedures were invented by many different doctors over the course of a few decades.) The characters lean toward bland, with Thackery as the most interesting, a "Dr. John Thackery and Algernon Edwards invent new procedures and devices nearly every episode to miraculously cure their patients. However, every episode seems to suffer from one subplot too many, and it defies belief as main characters Drs. As a period drama it is lovely to look at, with lavish sets and costumes, and provides insight into the world of medicine in the early 20th century. Season 1 of The Knick mixes a lot of ingredients together that do not always cohere.