Review: St. Denis Medical, “Weird Stuff You Can’t Explain” | Season 1, Episode 3
Religion and superstition take center stage in an episode that gets halfway to some interesting ideas
The first few episodes of a new sitcom are about building out a world. St. Denis Medical’s premiere introduced us to the hospital from a nurse’s point of view. “A Very Robust Personal Life” expanded out to look at the daily lives of its administrators and doctors. And now “Weird Stuff You Can't Explain” is here to introduce us to the concept of hospital-wide “vibes” and how they can shape a work day in the ER. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is the first episode where St. Denis Medical is another character in the series—it basically has been since the beginning. But this is the first episode where painting a broader portrait of the hospital feels like it takes priority over anchoring us in any one character’s perspective, even as David Alan Grier’s Dr. Ron is nominally our POV character this week.
The good news is that St. Denis Medical finds some interesting new “ins” to its medical setting. This week is all about religious beliefs and superstitions and how they can (or can’t) co-exist with such a scientific-minded workplace. And while this certainly isn’t the first hospital show to tackle those issues, I do think deep-diving into the question of religion in the third episode of a medical sitcom is a refreshingly bold move. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that strong set-up leads to a particularly compelling story structure or payoff. While feel-good comedy is clearly a high priority for St. Denis, there’s a risk of becoming toothless, which this episode veers toward in the end.