Honesty and regrets at the hospital
By Jerrison Oracion, Senior Columnist
Compared to the other medical shows that are airing right now, this show does not go over the top
The new season of Kim’s Convenience begins this week, and I cannot wait to see what the Kim family has been doing during the coronavirus pandemic. A lot happened in the show last season, and I recommend people catch up on it before watching the new season. The actor who plays Mr. Mehta, Sugith Varughese, is not only in the number one comedy in Canada right now—he also stars in the number one drama for both Canada and America: Transplant.
Varughese is seen in a few episodes playing a surgeon, Grace Lynn Kung (who is seen in almost every Canadian show) plays a social worker in the hospital, and Kim’s Convenience’s Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll will be a patient in a later episode. The show recently aired in the United States on NBC and will be back this winter. It is more than an immigrant story as it also shows how important facts can lead to important decisions. The show begins with Bashir Hamed (Hamza Haq) a man who immigrated to Canada when fleeing the civil war in Syria, who now works in a Toronto donair shop. After rescuing a chief doctor at York Memorial Hospital named Jed Bishop (John Hannah) when a truck crashes through the donair place, Bashir gets a job opportunity at the hospital. Earlier in the show, Bishop did not hire Bashir despite him being a doctor in his home country.
Along the way, Bashir must go through hurdles to prove his medical credentials and Bishop pushes Bashir to be better than all the other doctors in the hospital. Compared to the other medical shows that are airing right now, this show does not go over the top. Bashir gets along with all his co-workers including Magalie Leblanc (Laurence Leboeuf). Magalie has problems of her own, as do the rest of the doctors in the hospital—even Jed in the case of his son.
An interesting episode in the first season is the third episode where a patient has an illness that they would not have if they were vaccinated. It happened because the patient’s father did not like his children to be vaccinated and Bashir and the rest of the staff do everything they can to save the patient’s life. The episode aired a few weeks before the coronavirus pandemic began, and it shows that vaccines are important. The patient’s father regrets the decision to not get his children the vaccines and throughout the show patients regret the decisions that have led to them to the hospital.
The show being presented in 2:1 aspect ratio makes it more cinematic and it gives the feel that I am watching a high-quality streaming service instead of a CTV show. Transplant is a fictional example of why healthcare workers are essential. When next season of the show begins, Bashir and the staff at York Memorial Hospital might even tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
