January 17, 2025 • 5 mins
The Pitt
A realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in America as seen through the lens of the frontline heroes working in a modern-day hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Neon).
American Primeval
A mother and son fleeing from their past form a found family while confronting a harsh landscape of freedom and cruelty in the American West (Netflix).
The Hardacres
In this 1890s rags-to-riches saga, the working-class Hardacre family are catapulted into the world of aristocratic snobbery, when a radical business idea makes them rich beyond their wildest dreams (TVNZ+).
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Teams podcast
from News Talks at.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
B screen Time now and Tara Ward joins me. Happy
New Year, Tara, welcome.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
Back, Oh thank you, Happy New Year to YouTube fantasca.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hey, I had a bit of dayja voo when I
started watching The Pit. We've got Noel While, who I
remember you're probably a bit too young from Er, but
he is back in the emergency room. But like, hang
on a minute, what wait, what's happening?
Speaker 3 (00:31):
I know it feels very familiar to see him back
on the screen playing a doctor in this new medical
drama which has just landed on Neon. And Yeah, if
you are a fan of Er or you love a
bit of an intense, fast paced medical show, you will
enjoy this. It's set in a busy hospital in Pittsburgh
in the States, and it's about a doctor, doctor Robbie.
He's played by no While, who's leading a team of
(00:53):
medical staff and overloaded emergency department. Now, the twist with
the Pit and what I really like about it is
that the series plays out in real time, so each
hour long episode covers one hour in the and all
fifteen episodes covers the length of one medical shift, so
the entire season takes place over one day and you
(01:14):
never really leave the hospital. Most of the scenes are
inside and it all just adds to the intensity of
the show, and that builds as the season goes on.
You know, the staff for battling with bureaucracy, there's not
enough money, the waiting room is always full. There's no
kind of quiet downtime here because they're always busy, and
Robbie is overseeing all this chaos. Now, of course, you
(01:36):
can't not compare this to Er, mostly because Noah while
start in that show as well, it's made by some
of the same team. It's another similar hospital drama with
lots of compelling characters. But this does feel quite current.
The legacy and trauma of the pandemic is running through
this as well. Probably not one to watch if you're squeamish.
(01:56):
You know, there's some realistic scenes in here that sort
of maybe want to go, oh, I'm not sure about this,
but yeah, Otherwise, a very compelling, very slick medical drama.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Now I'm very much enjoying it, and I do like
the way, as you say, it's playing out in real
time because a lot of these you know, a lot
of the issues they're dealing with they don't resolve really quickly.
They don't resolve in one hour of drama. So it's
quite nice they're taking the season right. American primeval of
the Worker director Peter Berg And look, I know of
him as a director who loves a bit of gory,
(02:26):
raw violence, but he shoots it really well. And would
it be fair to say that he's.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
In form here, Yes, exactly. That's exactly how to describe
this show. This is a beautifully shot Western that's just
come on to Netflix, but it is pretty brutal and
pretty violent. This is currently the number one show on
Netflix and New Zealand. And it's a six part Western
set in eighteen fifty seven in Utah Territory. So it's
(02:52):
a fictional story, but it takes place against real events
that actually happened. And it follows a woman called Sarah
who is trying to get from Philadelphia to a place
called Crooked Springs, which is so remote and such a
risky journey that nobody wants to take her. There is
war everywhere. It's a very hostile, hostile time, particularly for
(03:13):
a woman traveling along with her son. Sarah is not
who she sings. She's been tracked by a bounty hunter
for a crime that she committed back east, and that
crime is the real reason that she's escaping West. And
so this all comes out to play as Sarah tries
to find someone who can take her on this risky journey,
and the show does not shy away from the risk.
(03:33):
It is pretty it is pretty brutal. It's violent and
ruthless and unrelenting. It really wants to show how hard
life was in Utah in the eighteen fifties. But the
storytelling pulls you in despite that. You know, it's fast paced,
there's lots of different threads being pulled, it's beautifully shot.
You know, it's a prestige drama for Netflix. So I'm
(03:54):
really curious to see what happens with us. But again,
not a show for the faint hearted. I did skip
through Ford through one very long battle scene in episode one.
But you know, if you're a Western fan, or you
really love a pretty realistic show that is just pulling
every punch, then this is a must watch.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
And because I know you like to provide us with
a little bit of variety, You've also got a bit
of an old fashioned sort of period drama on the
list to you today?
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Yeah, yeah, a definite change of pace. This is The
Heart Acres. This is a new British drama which started
on TVNZ one earlier this week and it's also on
Tvings Plus. And it's made by the team behind the
reboot of All Creatures, Great and Small And if you
like shows like Call the Midwife or Pole Dark, I
think you'll enjoy The heart Acres. It's set in the
late eighteen hundreds. It's a rag to riches story about
(04:42):
a working class Yorkshire family who work on the docks.
They are a bit down on their luck, but they
make a couple of savvy business decisions and suddenly have
enough money to buy the local manner. You shouldn't think
too hard about the details in the show, and I
think you'll be okay. But the show is about the
how they adapt to the sudden rise and status and
(05:04):
how their experience of how finding out how the other
have lives. You know, it's a bit far fetched. Everyone's
got lovely teeth. You know, they're not going for gritty
realism here. But I think a lot of people will
still enjoy this. I think this kind of gentle more
old fashioned comforting TV still has its place. You know,
it's light, it's easy to watch, it's you know, sort
(05:26):
of wonderfully soapy. But it's just a bit of romantic escapism,
and I think sometimes we will need a bit of that.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Thank you so much, Tara. A great range of shows
there for you. The Pit is on Neon, American Primeval
is on Netflix, and The heartachres on TV and Z Plus.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to newstalk zed B from nine am Saturday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Teams podcast
from News Talks at.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
B screen Time now and Tara Ward joins me. Happy
New Year, Tara, welcome.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
Back, Oh thank you, Happy New Year to YouTube fantasca.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hey, I had a bit of dayja voo when I
started watching The Pit. We've got Noel While, who I
remember you're probably a bit too young from Er, but
he is back in the emergency room. But like, hang
on a minute, what wait, what's happening?
Speaker 3 (00:31):
I know it feels very familiar to see him back
on the screen playing a doctor in this new medical
drama which has just landed on Neon. And Yeah, if
you are a fan of Er or you love a
bit of an intense, fast paced medical show, you will
enjoy this. It's set in a busy hospital in Pittsburgh
in the States, and it's about a doctor, doctor Robbie.
He's played by no While, who's leading a team of
(00:53):
medical staff and overloaded emergency department. Now, the twist with
the Pit and what I really like about it is
that the series plays out in real time, so each
hour long episode covers one hour in the and all
fifteen episodes covers the length of one medical shift, so
the entire season takes place over one day and you
(01:14):
never really leave the hospital. Most of the scenes are
inside and it all just adds to the intensity of
the show, and that builds as the season goes on.
You know, the staff for battling with bureaucracy, there's not
enough money, the waiting room is always full. There's no
kind of quiet downtime here because they're always busy, and
Robbie is overseeing all this chaos. Now, of course, you
(01:36):
can't not compare this to Er, mostly because Noah while
start in that show as well, it's made by some
of the same team. It's another similar hospital drama with
lots of compelling characters. But this does feel quite current.
The legacy and trauma of the pandemic is running through
this as well. Probably not one to watch if you're squeamish.
(01:56):
You know, there's some realistic scenes in here that sort
of maybe want to go, oh, I'm not sure about this,
but yeah, Otherwise, a very compelling, very slick medical drama.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Now I'm very much enjoying it, and I do like
the way, as you say, it's playing out in real
time because a lot of these you know, a lot
of the issues they're dealing with they don't resolve really quickly.
They don't resolve in one hour of drama. So it's
quite nice they're taking the season right. American primeval of
the Worker director Peter Berg And look, I know of
him as a director who loves a bit of gory,
(02:26):
raw violence, but he shoots it really well. And would
it be fair to say that he's.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
In form here, Yes, exactly. That's exactly how to describe
this show. This is a beautifully shot Western that's just
come on to Netflix, but it is pretty brutal and
pretty violent. This is currently the number one show on
Netflix and New Zealand. And it's a six part Western
set in eighteen fifty seven in Utah Territory. So it's
(02:52):
a fictional story, but it takes place against real events
that actually happened. And it follows a woman called Sarah
who is trying to get from Philadelphia to a place
called Crooked Springs, which is so remote and such a
risky journey that nobody wants to take her. There is
war everywhere. It's a very hostile, hostile time, particularly for
(03:13):
a woman traveling along with her son. Sarah is not
who she sings. She's been tracked by a bounty hunter
for a crime that she committed back east, and that
crime is the real reason that she's escaping West. And
so this all comes out to play as Sarah tries
to find someone who can take her on this risky journey,
and the show does not shy away from the risk.
(03:33):
It is pretty it is pretty brutal. It's violent and
ruthless and unrelenting. It really wants to show how hard
life was in Utah in the eighteen fifties. But the
storytelling pulls you in despite that. You know, it's fast paced,
there's lots of different threads being pulled, it's beautifully shot.
You know, it's a prestige drama for Netflix. So I'm
(03:54):
really curious to see what happens with us. But again,
not a show for the faint hearted. I did skip
through Ford through one very long battle scene in episode one.
But you know, if you're a Western fan, or you
really love a pretty realistic show that is just pulling
every punch, then this is a must watch.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
And because I know you like to provide us with
a little bit of variety, You've also got a bit
of an old fashioned sort of period drama on the
list to you today?
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Yeah, yeah, a definite change of pace. This is The
Heart Acres. This is a new British drama which started
on TVNZ one earlier this week and it's also on
Tvings Plus. And it's made by the team behind the
reboot of All Creatures, Great and Small And if you
like shows like Call the Midwife or Pole Dark, I
think you'll enjoy The heart Acres. It's set in the
late eighteen hundreds. It's a rag to riches story about
(04:42):
a working class Yorkshire family who work on the docks.
They are a bit down on their luck, but they
make a couple of savvy business decisions and suddenly have
enough money to buy the local manner. You shouldn't think
too hard about the details in the show, and I
think you'll be okay. But the show is about the
how they adapt to the sudden rise and status and
(05:04):
how their experience of how finding out how the other
have lives. You know, it's a bit far fetched. Everyone's
got lovely teeth. You know, they're not going for gritty
realism here. But I think a lot of people will
still enjoy this. I think this kind of gentle more
old fashioned comforting TV still has its place. You know,
it's light, it's easy to watch, it's you know, sort
(05:26):
of wonderfully soapy. But it's just a bit of romantic escapism,
and I think sometimes we will need a bit of that.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Thank you so much, Tara. A great range of shows
there for you. The Pit is on Neon, American Primeval
is on Netflix, and The heartachres on TV and Z Plus.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to newstalk zed B from nine am Saturday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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