The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, October 6, 2017 — 5A
Arts

ABC

‘The Good Doctor’ fails to 
stand out among the pack

MEGAN MITCHELL

Daily Arts Writer

David 
Shore, 
the 
creator 

of the long-running medical-
drama “House,” fails to outlive 
the trope of his past series in his 
newest conception, “The Good 
Doctor.” Focusing on Dr. Shaun 
Murphy (Freddie Highmore, 
“Bates Motel”), a 
brilliant 
surgeon 

diagnosed 
with 

autism and savant 
syndrome, 
which 

give him genius-
like abilities, “The 
Good 
Doctor” 

raises 
moral 

questions 
unlike 

other 
medical 

dramas 
currently 

on air.

Though 
the 

series’ main focus 
is to push boundaries, the show 
does suffer from a bitter lack of 
originality. There’s too much 
going on. While Dr. Shaun’s 
characteristics are somewhat 
reminiscent 
of 
Dr. 
House’s 

attitudes 
on 
“House,” 
the 

model-esque doctors dragging 
one another into on-call rooms 
and supply closets is a perfect 
parallel to “Grey’s Anatomy.” 
It’s understandable for series 
in the medical-drama genre to 
overlap in certain aspects, but 
“The Good Doctor” feels like 
too much of the same thing 
with one completely new thing 
thrown into the mix. Coupled 
with Shore’s past work leaking 
into the present and Highmore’s 
attitudes 
as 
Dr. 
Murphy 

somewhat reflecting that of his 
previous role as Norman Bates, 
it seems like the two are sticking 
to what they know best, opting 
for success over originality.

However, though there are 

clear issues with borrowing 
— it’s hard not to be charmed 
by the series. Through the use 
of on-screen aids similar to 
those used in the popular BBC 
television 
series, 
“Sherlock,” 

Highmore conveys a lot with just 
his demeanor. Viewers think 
alongside Dr. Murphy, watching 
as 
his 
brain 
files 
through 

hundreds upon thousands of 
remembered material to catch 

up with his own 
thought process. 
You can’t help 
but feel charmed 
by 
the 
doctor 

who, as someone 
that claims to be 
bad with people, 
jokes 
around 

with colleagues 
at 
work, 
and 

feels emotions so 
deep that tears 
are brought forth 
from our eyes. 

On that same note, there are 
instances in which the series 
seems to be trying too hard to 
focus on Shaun’s deficits. Is this 
not a series about not focusing 
on deficits?

It’s hard not to laugh when 

Shaun, unceremoniously, strides 
up to TSA and asks for a knife, 
only to grab one and run through 
the airport. Immediately after, 
you have that feeling of “did I 
just laugh at that? I am so going 
to hell.” In a way, they could 
have done without this scene 
and the premiere would not 
have suffered in any way from 
its loss. It almost takes away 
from the brilliance of Shaun’s 
mind to see him suddenly 
chased throughout an airport 
for a misunderstanding. But 
perhaps that was what the 
creators 
had 
intended: 
The 

dualism that autistic individuals 
face, constantly walking the 
line between the crowd which 

“oohs” and “awws” around a 
high-functioning 
individual, 

yet chases down that same 
individual 
for 
simply 
being 

“different.”

After all, this is not the first 

time this has happened. Later 
on in the episode, Shaun, despite 
having saved a life and present 
for a job interview, is chased 
out of the hospital by security 
staff under the direction of him 
coming off as too “weird.” It’s a 
distressing image that I believe 
Highmore portrays rather well, 
especially so as he is turned away 
again and again without any 
prior explanation as to why he 
is being denied building access. 
It’s an opportunity for Shore to 
showcase the prejudices that 
autistic individuals often face. 
Would you have been denied 
entry simply for being different, 
as Shaun was?

Overall, “The Good Doctor” 

is a heartwarming series that 
shows promise typical of its 
genre. However, it must learn to 
present itself as an opportunity 
to see through the eyes of a high-
functioning autistic individual 
— not solely as another medical 
drama with a twist. It is vital 
that 
“The 
Good 
Doctor” 

differentiate itself from both 
Shore’s past projects as well as 
current series on the air such as 
“Young Sheldon.” On that same 
note, Shore must also learn that 
the fastest path to originality is 
by taking chances and stepping 
outside of boundaries, not just 
in one tiny aspect of the show, 
but in the entire essence of the 
series itself. It’s a delicate line 
that is drawn on a delicate topic. 
So far, “The Good Doctor” has 
proven itself the potential to 
become more than just a shiny 
new series, so long as it can 
continue to evolve in a way that 
keeps the heart of the show 
alive. 

TV REVIEW

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com

“The Good 

Doctor”

ABC

Season Premiere

Mondays at 10:00 

p.m.

NO FILTER
Jen Kirkman isn’t one to 
be compartmentalized

Don’t 
have 
a 
ticket 
to 

Saturday’s game? No worries. 
Comedian 
Jen 
Kirkman 
— 

who you may know from her 
appearances 
on 
“Chelsea 

Lately” and “Drunk History” 
or her podcast “I Seem Fun” 
— is bringing her “All New 
Material, Girl” Tour to the 
Majestic 
Theater 
Saturday 

night.

“I want to be as clear as 

possible that people are seeing 
material that is new to them 
and this isn’t me charging them 
to see some greatest hits of 
my two Netflix specials. So, I 
called it the “All New Material, 
Girl” Tour - to drive home that 
point and make a Madonna pun 
because why not?” Kirkman 
wrote in an email interview 
with The Michigan Daily. “It 
backfired in New York City 
recently when a man at the 
door wanted a refund for thirty 
tickets because he thought that 
he and his office friends were 
seeing Madonna perform her 
old hits like Material Girl. I am 
completely serious. So, there’s 
a lot of confusion apparently. 
Oh, America.”

Her most recent special, “Just 

Keep Living,” a non-ironic nod 
to Matthew McConaughey’s 
catch phrase, premiered in 
January on Netflix and is the 
latest product of the veteran 
comedian. After two comedy 
albums, two hour specials, two 
books, Kirkman has no plans of 
slowing down.

“Yeah 
there’s 
always 

something cooking with me, 
but I don’t tell until there is 
something to tell. I’ve got a 
necklace line going right now 
that I’m super excited about. 
Totally serious. It’s with a 
company called Bauble Bar and 
they actually partnered with 
a comedian and I’m selling 
necklaces that say things like 
‘Over Forty’ and ‘Childfree’ 
and ‘FeministAF.’ I’m loving 
it. I think everyone should buy 
some. It’s a limited edition that 
ends on Dec. 31,” she wrote. 
“This is what happens to 
female comedians over forty. 

It’s the law that we start selling 
jewelry 
and 
clothing. 
And 

that’s the only time I’ll make 
a joke about female comedians 
or 
say 
the 
words 
‘female 

comedians.’ ”

Alongside 
plugs 
for 
her 

necklace 
line, 
Kirkman’s 

Twitter 
is 
a 
mix 
of 

observational 
humour 
and 

scathing details on harassment 
from Bernie Bros and Russian 
Bots, but the balance comes 
naturally to her.

“I’m just a person flowing 

through life. I have a thought, 
I pull out the phone while I’m 
in line at CVS and I tweet. I’m a 
citizen on Twitter except when 
I’m promoting my shows. I 
don’t find the balance difficult 
or frustrating because if people 
want to compartmentalize me, 
that’s their problem. I don’t 
care what people think. I just 
want them to come to my shows 
and laugh. I couldn’t be more 
simple in that regard. I’m not 
worried about my “brand” or 
my message or my whatever,” 
she wrote.

But despite her politics on 

Twitter, she’s not looking to be 
labelled a “political comedian.”

“I have a strict definition 

of what it is to be a political 
comedian. I say that title 
literally means someone who 
does topical jokes every night 
about the news of the day, 
almost late night monologue 
style. So, no I’m not a political 
comedian in that sense. The 
way the country is going - 
does influence my comedy but 
it always has. My comedy is 
about my life, and my reaction 
to my life, and since I’ve always 
been a woman, and people 
have always hated women, 
I’ve always had a politically 
personal bent to my comedy, 
like talking about cat-calling 
or not wanting children. But, 
everyone seems to be asking 
me this question and I was 
never asked this question when 
other people were President 
so it seems like we are really 
in extraordinary times and I 
mean extra-ordinary in the 
bad way,” she wrote. “So, yes, 
people coming to the show 
will for sure get a sense that 
I live in the same world they 
do. As Jimmy Kimmel recently 

described it, ‘It feels like a 
portal to Hell has been opened.’ 
I’m in that portal too and so I’m 
hoping people find my show 
cathartic and comforting but 
if they’re looking for a Trump 
impersonation, 
they 
won’t 

get that from me. Although I 
will be wearing a toupee,” she 
wrote.

Although 
someone 
is 

probably 
angrily 
tweeting 

about Kirkman’s liberal or 
“feminazi” 
comedy 
at 
this 

very moment, she’s over the 
discussion on the acceptability 
of “rape jokes.”

“I don’t really sit around 

analyzing 
comedy. 
If 
men 

wanna talk about rape culture 
they better have a good fucking 
reason and they better be 
preaching on the right side of 
it. Otherwise, I’m so tired of 
this debate and it’s the least 
fun question on earth because 
whatever my answer will be 
won’t make someone be like, 
‘She’s so funny I have to see her 
show,’ ” she wrote. “I know you 
journos want deep conversation 
but people reading this stuff 
are like, ‘OMG shut up already.’ 
I should know. They tweet me 
when these pieces come out. 
I’d rather talk about aliens or 
something.”

However, if you are reading 

this thinking “She is so funny I 
have to see her show,” there are 
still tickets left for Saturday’s 
show.

“My comedy isn’t interactive 

unless I need have a question 
answered 
during 
my 
set. 

Comedy gets so little respect 
and people seem angry that 
you don’t want to talk to them. 
Folks, it’s like a play. I know 
the words I’m going to say 
and I’m excited to say them. I 
flew here to say them. If you 
interrupt me, you’re basically 
an asshole who wants more 
from a performer than the 
performance. Not cool. And it 
ruins the fun for the audience. 
They didn’t pay to see Jerry in 
the third row yell shit out.”

Don’t be Jerry.

CHRISTIAN KENNEDY

Online Arts Editor

SINGLE REVIEW

Originally cut from their 2016 
debut, Light Upon the Lake, 
“You and Me” was released 
to the world on September 29, 
along with the announcement 
of an upcoming record of early 
recordings, and a cover of Allen 
Toussaint’s “Southern Nights.” 

The song opens with a delight-
fully fast guitar riff akin to that 
of “No Matter Where We Go,” 
punctuated by an uncharacter-
istically synth-y keyboard. It’s 
bouncy enough to induce the 
delusion that maybe, just maybe, 
the Chicago-based, six-piece, 
self-described country-soul 
Whitney have written a purely 
happy song.

Within a minute that delusion 

is shattered. Electric guitar and 
keyboard drop out, replaced 
by a singular acoustic guitar 
and drummer-vocalist Julien 
Ehrlich’s familiar croon chimes 
in, wistfully: “Oh, darling / 
Remember, you and me, darling 
/ Remember, you and me, dar-
ling.” Bare and plaintive at first, 
the chorus slowly grows. First, 
the keyboard reenters, then 
drums and electric, transition-
ing directly back into the origi-
nal guitar melody, which then 
sounds decidedly melancholic.

Though familiar in melodic 
style, “You and Me” feels like a 
step forward for Whitney, even 
if it was written in late 2014, 
early 2015. Though it lacks Will 
Miller’s trumpet — one of Whit-

ney’s most alluring aspects — it 
sounds and feels more layered 
than any of the band’s previous 
releases. A string section, two 
different keyboard tones and 
almost every other instrument 
on the track are featured front-
and-center for at least a moment 
or two over the course of just-
under-three-minutes. Though 
many fans may find themselves 
growing impatient for Whitney’s 
second proper full-length, “You 
and Me” is as clear a sign as ever 
that Light Upon the Lake: Demo 
Recordings should be able to 
hold us over until the summer, 
when the next LP is due. 

- SEAN LANG

SECRETLY CANADIAN

ACROSS
1 Best-selling book
generally not on
best-seller lists
6 Benchmark:
Abbr.
9 Early automaker
13 Won’t go near
15 Back again
16 Heist haul
17 Magoo’s malady
18 Ended up off the
mark
20 Agricultural
college facility?
22 Polling abbr.
25 Arrive at hastily,
as a conclusion
26 Sundial marking
27 Content of little
substance
30 Madrid-to-Paris
dir.
31 Rose in a field
32 One who got in
before a crash?
36 Achilles __
37 Take turns
40 Lancelot
bragging about
his exploits?
44 “The BFG” author
46 Intelligence org.
47 Dutch genre
painter
48 Juillet’s season
49 KFC option
52 Red __
53 What theater
districts offer?
57 Financial workers
58 Like merciless
opponents
62 Gospel travelers
63 Get
64 Not nice at all
65 Urgent request
66 Decline, with
“out”
67 They traditionally
appear in red ...
and in another
form in 20-, 32-,
40- and 53-
Across

DOWN
1 Loud sound
2 Columbia, e.g.
3 “That’s lousy!”

4 Enlarged Revlon
ad image
5 Reduce a
sentence, say
6 MLBer at AT&T
Park
7 Highway pursuer
8 Bakery item with
some shortening?
9 “Frozen”
snowman
10 What most
pitchers have, as
batters
11 “Little” Dickens
title character
12 Obstruct
14 Author Bellow
19 What that is in
Spain
21 Scout groups
22 [It just vanished!]
23 Answer guide?
24 Get on with one’s
life
28 Revolutionary
first name
29 Child subject
31 It’s not big in
France
33 Verse lead-in
34 Prize for Indy

35 Oxford figures
38 Fare-well link
39 Italian peak
41 Like the simplest
process
42 Toyota’s Ky.
plant, e.g.
43 Old-school
diplomatic
accessory
44 Pack up the tents
and supplies

45 Like some Alban
Berg works
49 Tiny Tim, for one
50 Rene of “Thor”
51 Vegan staple
54 Hipbones
55 Direct (one’s
way)
56 Ginza quaff
59 Barbecue morsel
60 Sinus doc
61 Driller’s deg.

By Jeffrey Wechsler
©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
10/06/17

10/06/17

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

RELEASE DATE– Friday, October 6, 2017

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

xwordeditor@aol.com

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