Year 4 medical student, Luke O’Kane offers his top picks for Netflix to get you through isolation, offer a welcome break from work and an appealing alternative from yet another Zoom quiz.
Ah yes, the slog of two weeks of just you, your flatmates and four walls. Perhaps it was you who got it or maybe your flatmates, perhaps even none of you and this is all the result of a coffee catch up gone wrong. Whatever, the reason the Gods that be contact tracing have asked you to stay inside to save lives and here you are. What are you going to do?
Learn the piano? Unlikely in two weeks and you haven’t played a note since your failed lessons in primary school all those years ago. Catch up on all of that work that has insidiously piled up since the start of the semester? Diamonds are made under pressure but unfortunately that pressure just isn’t high enough yet. Another zoom quiz? Next.
That leaves the one thing that greets us back like Thanos to the Avengers, our lord and saviour of dark winter nights, Netflix. “You couldn’t live with your failure, and where did that bring you? Back to me”
To help you siphon of the multitude of truly rubbish tv/movies on Netflix I have put together my own heavily biased and personally predilected list of my top five Netflix programmes. I would love to say in no particular order but alas I’m a sucker for a chess board apparently.
1. Best in Show- The Queen’s Gambit
Somebody clearly forgot to tell me growing up that chess was cool. The Queen’s Gambit follows the story of Beth Harmon, an orphan who through a mixture of her astounding intellect, knowledge of the game and the kindness of strangers along the way, fights her way up the ladder in the world of chess. Without spoiling too much, it sees her learn basic chess openings in the first episode, to going toe to toe with the best grandmasters in the world by the end of the show. However, this show is not simply an impressive showcase of the intricacy and complexity of chess. It also tackles issues of substance abuse as Beth struggles to put her alcohol and drug abuse into check whilst playing world-class chess under a fierce media spotlight. The show also tackles themes of sex inequality with Beth being repeatedly labelled an excellent “female player”, a designation which Beth challenges throughout the show and exposes for contempt as she proves time after time that she is a Grandmaster, end of. Along the way to the top (?) there are tears, love and the occasional laugh too. It’s my show of the year and if it doesn’t have you googling the difference between an open and closed Sicilian by the end then I’ll respectfully resign.
2. Drama/Action- Peaky Blinders
I’m not sure this show needs talked about any more than it already has been but here we are. Set in a post WWI Birmingham, Peaky Blinders follows the Shelby gangster dynasty lead by Thomas Shelby, as they make enemies and allies through their exploits in a gloomy 1919 criminal underworld. The good news is that there are a whole 5 seasons out already on Netflix for you to binge on. Should do for at least a couple of days in isolation, right? The Shelby brothers, in the form of Arthur, John and Tom, are ex-servicemen who fought in the trenches in WWI as tunnelers, soldiers who would tunnel beneath enemy lines, set explosives and repeat. Disillusioned with the government and world that sent them “to France”, the brothers form Shelby Brothers Ltd, a legitimate front for their razor gang the Peaky Blinders which battles for territory and capital with rival gangs. The show touches on themes of mental illness as both Arthur and Tom particularly struggle with their post-war PTSD, often manifesting in violent acts and substance abuse. The show is also a wider social commentary on class division within British society, where although the brothers have enough money to buy a small county, they are still not welcomed into the fold by “old money”. In truth Peaky Blinders is a story of social “advancement” by any means necessary. At the very least it will teach you how horrible your Brummie accent really is.
3. Sports- The Playbook: A Coach’s Rules for Life
I can already hear my phone filling with angry “Do YOu KnOw WhO MIChaEl JoRDaN iS?” messages. As superb as the Last Dance is, I have to give my sports recommendation to The Playbook. This is for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it gives an amazing insight to sports psychology at the highest level. This is best exemplified in the first episode which follows Doc Rivers, the ex-Boston Celtics head coach as he dragged them almost single handily to winning championship rings in 2008. In a series of candid interviews, Coach Rivers describes how the Celtics won that year. Again, without spoiling anything, Coach Rivers explains how he taught himself and his players that their team is one entity, and by using this approach on and off the field they can improve their game. The show also follows the USA football team coach Jill Ellis, Serena William’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou and more. Each team/player faced different challenges on their way to the top. Therefore, in each episode the coach gives out around 3 lessons that they learnt from these challenges, that are applicable to life in general. These challenges ranged from individual faults in player’s games/ the coaches own coaching, to social issues of racism and sexism. This show is great in its variety and will keep your mouse hovering over that “Next Episode” button for hours.
4. Comedy- Daniel Sloss: Dark & Jigsaw
Where to start. Firstly, Daniel Sloss is a homegrown Scottish comedian hailing from the kingdom of Fife. He has two specials on Netflix in the form of Dark and Jigsaw (both of which I recommend). With his own brand of observational and dark comedy Sloss chats about his family life growing up with a sister with cerebral palsy and how his father’s metaphor for life both terrifies him and fills him with hope. All the while poking fun at every aspect of life in between. His style of comedy is certainly not for everyone and will at times have you wondering if he wants you to laugh or cry. For instance, he can lay claim to the fact that his shows are responsible for several divorces and more innumerable break ups… maybe watch Jigsaw without your significant other… or do? Despite the comedic tone of his specials Sloss also offers commentary on how as a society we view disability, relationships and more. For comedic specials that will have you howling with laughter one moment and rethinking your life choices in the next, look no further than (Sir) Daniel Sloss.
5. Medicine- Diagnosis
For all of you out there who take a break from medicine to do yet more medicine look no further than Diagnosis. This show makes the most complicated PBL cases look like child’s play. The premise of the show is that New York Times column writer and physician Dr Lisa Sanders, explores medical cases which have so far baffled every doctor, nurse, physio and God that has seen it. These range from a young athlete crippled by unknown muscle pains which threaten her future in sport, to a young child who without warning goes completely limp hundreds of times a day. Dr Sanders publicises their stories and by doing so employs a global network of specialists and clinics to help diagnose these patients. In most episodes they succeed, and the resulting diagnosis often brings profound closure and reassurance to the patient and families who have waited years for such a moment. Good luck diagnosing these cases before the end of the episode, they truly are the definition of rare. If you miss PBL or want to see the real-life version of Dr House, then look no further than Diagnosis.
