Review of a TV series

Dr. Oliver Wolf may be suffering from face blindness. But he sees his patients better than anyone else.

While his disability makes it difficult for him to fully connect with his colleagues, it allows him to connect with his patients on deeper levels. He is the only neurologist at Bronx General Hospital. And compared to other doctors, he is known for being somewhat… eccentric in his methodology. Other doctors follow the rules; Wolf delves deeper – much to the legal annoyance of his hospital.

“You want to change the way your patients see the world,” says an angry doctor in a meeting.

“I want to change how that World sees mine patients“, corrects Wolf.

Of course, there is a personal reason why Wolf continues where others would leave off: he was told (by his own mother) that no one could help his father be mental struggles. That’s why Wolf lasts much longer than other hospital employees to understand what Really lies the cause of his patients’ psychological problems – and how he can possibly alleviate them.

The doctor sees you

Brilliant minds feels familiar and different.

It’s familiar in that it’s about a brilliant but socially inept doctor who simply understands what makes his patients tick better than anyone else around him. But it also feels different in that way than this show – or at least its main show character– is loosely based on the work of the late Dr. Oliver Wolf Sacks. The famous neurologist worked in the Bronx and wrote many books about the unique case studies in which he was involved.

Like his real-life counterpart, the fictional Dr. Wolf spends his free time swimming in the cool waters of New York. They are both gay men. And both are working to understand unusual mental illnesses.

The show also deals with the problems one might expect from a hospital: bloody procedures and emergencies; violent or disturbing mental illness; Drug use and abuse. And while hospitals try to create sterile environments, it’s obvious that some big-mouthed mouths need washing with soap. (Aside from a brief mention of Wolf’s homosexuality and a nurse taking off her dirty scrubs, we still saw a lot of sexual content.)

Brilliant minds In terms of content, it is in line with its medical counterparts. It is full of noble intentions: we see doctors and nurses striving to provide the best possible care for their patients. But like a hospital visit, it’s a show that may require hand-washing afterward.