Dopesick - General Discussion

[SunnyBeBe]

Yeah, but she seemed to jump into withdrawal symptoms, even before she relapsed.  I get withdrawal after the relapse, but not weeks since she last used.  I found it confusing.  I think they over did it for dramatic purposes.  
 

I can’t believe there’s only one more episode.  I just read an article where Brook Shields says she refused any prescription pain meds after her recent knee surgery, due to the fear of addiction.  She says they encouraged her to take Oxy!  Could this be true?

Edited November 12, 2021 by SunnyBeBe

[Cinnabon]

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Yeah, but she seemed to jump into withdrawal symptoms, even before she relapsed.  I get withdrawal after the relapse, but not weeks since she last used.  I found it confusing.  I think they over did it for dramatic purposes.  
 

I can’t believe there’s only one more episode.  I just read an article where Brook Shields says she refused any prescription pain meds after her recent knee surgery, due to the fear of addiction.  She says they encouraged her to take Oxy!  Could this be true?

Yes, I took oxy after my hysterectomy. But only for a few days. Most doctors won’t give more than that and you won’t get addicted that quickly.

[IntrovertRed]

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Yeah, but she seemed to jump into withdrawal symptoms, even before she relapsed.  I get withdrawal after the relapse, but not weeks since she last used.  I found it confusing.  I think they over did it for dramatic purposes.  
 

I can’t believe there’s only one more episode.  I just read an article where Brook Shields says she refused any prescription pain meds after her recent knee surgery, due to the fear of addiction.  She says they encouraged her to take Oxy!  Could this be true?

I wonder if she was considering it sort of like a "last hurrah" before she started going to the clinic with the doc.

I remember getting an offer for pain meds after a minor surgery. I said no because I didn't want to be tempted. At one time I had a hydrocodone prescription after some painful gall bladder attacks. I found myself taking them when I didn't need to because I liked how relaxed I felt on them. So I think if I had access to oxy or something similar, I wonder/worry about addiction. So since then I always say that I try tylenol or advil first if a doc thinks I might need them (which hasn't happened often, the doc prescribing or my needing them).

[SunnyBeBe]

I’m concerned that I could get adequate pain relief, if I had a severe injury of condition, since prescription pain meds like hydrocodone just don’t seem to phase me.  Not really different from Tylenol.  After seeing Dopesick, I might avoid pain meds too, just to be on the safe side, though I can’t imagine getting addicted to something that doesn’t make me feel any different.  
 

I was just surprised that OxyContin was still being prescribed, according to what Brooke said. 

[islandgal140]

On 11/10/2021 at 10:48 AM, HelloooKitty said:

Ooof. It’s not like I didn’t see it coming, but episode 7 was a gut punch. 
the Sacklers are truly evil. 

According to the dialogue early ep. 7, there were looking into Oxy for Kids!   Sweet fancy Moses! Is that true?

[Cinnabon]

43 minutes ago, islandgal140 said:

According to the dialogue early ep. 7, there were looking into Oxy for Kids!   Sweet fancy Moses! Is that true?

I heard that too! I’m sure they wanted that but thank goodness it never happened.

[Cinnabon]

5 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I’m concerned that I could get adequate pain relief, if I had a severe injury of condition, since prescription pain meds like hydrocodone just don’t seem to phase me.  Not really different from Tylenol.  After seeing Dopesick, I might avoid pain meds too, just to be on the safe side, though I can’t imagine getting addicted to something that doesn’t make me feel any different.  
 

I was just surprised that OxyContin was still being prescribed, according to what Brooke said. 

They say some people have a predisposition to addiction to opiates, and some don’t. I’m like you - I’ve taken oxycodone and Vicodin several times following major surgeries, and although it does ease the pain, I can either take it or leave it. It doesn’t make me happy or euphoric, I’m just kind of dull. The first time I got Vicodin was after a foot surgery, and I didn’t really like it. I was taking it and going to work, and I noticed that my thinking seemed kind of dull and slow, and I hated that. So I just stopped taking it and took Tylenol instead. Years later, I still had some pills left in the bottle. Fast forward to a few years later and I received some after a gallbladder removal and a hysterectomy. In both cases, I took them for a few days after I returned home, and then happily stopped taking them. My doctors only gave me a small amount also, and I doubt they would have refilled them had I asked. I do consider myself fortunate that I reacted that way, instead of loving how they made me feel! But yes, they do have a place in relieving major pain. As discussed on the show, part of the problem was that they were encouraging doctors to prescribe them for even mild to moderate pain, when that’s absolutely not appropriate.

Edited November 12, 2021 by Cinnabon

[wendyg]

23 hours ago, LegalParrot81 said:

After watching Kaitlyn Dever practically grow up on Last Man Standing, I was a little curious to see how she'd transition to heavy drama.  Well, that girl has some mad skills.  Not everyone can do both genres well, she can.

Even more incredibly, she was doing JUSTIFIED alongside LAST MAN STANDING.

[sadie]

1 hour ago, wendyg said:

Even more incredibly, she was doing JUSTIFIED alongside LAST MAN STANDING.

Her performance in Unbelievable was Oscar worthy. Super talented. 

[bilgistic]

On 11/8/2021 at 6:36 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

 

The reason the early posts in the thread contain "spoilers" is that the thread was not created until about 3 episodes into the series.  If you've gotten this far, there won't be any more spoilers, it will be ep by ep each week, although I don't think there are more than 1 or 2 episodes left. 

I requested the forum right when the show first aired but it took a week or more for it to be set up and then it was this single-thread forum. I don't like it either, but I guess I'll take what I can get.

[Sweet-tea]

I'm really enjoying this show and am bummed it's about to end. Michael Keaton is the standout here for me. I've never seen him in a role like this. He's done a fabulous job of showing how this humble, kind country doctor changed into a different person as an addict. His face is so expressive. I can see the pain and turmoil he's going through. When he was first asked about his wife, the sadness that passed across his face... I wonder if it was a precursor to his vulnerability to addiction? 

This is taking nothing away from Kaitlyn Dever, who is also excellent. I wasn't familiar with her work before this show, but now I want to look up some of the other shows posters have mentioned. She has absolutely nailed the small town girl persona without making it seem over the top. I've seen other actors overdo characters like this, but Dever has presented a complex, expertly nuanced persona of this young woman I want to root for and protect. 

Overall, the cast is just stellar. I've enjoyed the performances of the government agents: Saarsgard, Hoogenakker and Dawson. I didn't know who Will Poulter was before this but he's perfect as the young pharma rep who starts out as an ambitious go-getter and later battles his conscience when he realizes what's happening. I wish he'd ditch the brunette woman though. She is awful!

Does anyone else find Michael Stuhlberg's whisper-soft voice and understated performance as Richard Sackler effectively creepy?

I hope at least Keaton and Dever get Emmy nominations. 

[Quilt Fairy]

3 hours ago, Sweet-tea said:

I didn't know who Will Poulter was before this

Check him out as the "son" in We're The Millers. 

[MerBearStare]

1 hour ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Check him out as the "son" in We're The Millers. 

When I first started watching I was like, "Why does this kid look so familiar?"

 

[SoMuchTV]

11 minutes ago, MerBearStare said:

When I first started watching I was like, "Why does this kid look so familiar?"

 

Oh, wow, I don't remember even watching "We're the Millers" but he was familiar to me too!  He really does hit the sweet spot between nerdy and frat boy.  But I'm sure he's a lovely person!

[monakane]

21 hours ago, Sweet-tea said:

Does anyone else find Michael Stuhlberg's whisper-soft voice and understated performance as Richard Sackler effectively creepy?

I hope at least Keaton and Dever get Emmy nominations. 

The performances are fantastic.  I cried like a baby at the end of episode 7.  I knew it was coming, but it still hurt like hell.  I appreciate how the parents were written.  They could have easily been one note characters, instead they were written like real people with nuance who were struggling to make sense of their situation.  I know people whose children have heroin addictions and it's absolutely heartbreaking.  The writing for the parents nailed it.

[MamaMax]

22 hours ago, Sweet-tea said:

I'm really enjoying this show and am bummed it's about to end. Michael Keaton is the standout here for me. I've never seen him in a role like this. He's done a fabulous job of showing how this humble, kind country doctor changed into a different person as an addict. His face is so expressive. I can see the pain and turmoil he's going through. When he was first asked about his wife, the sadness that passed across his face... I wonder if it was a precursor to his vulnerability to addiction? 

This is taking nothing away from Kaitlyn Dever, who is also excellent. I wasn't familiar with her work before this show, but now I want to look up some of the other shows posters have mentioned. She has absolutely nailed the small town girl persona without making it seem over the top. I've seen other actors overdo characters like this, but Dever has presented a complex, expertly nuanced persona of this young woman I want to root for and protect. 

Overall, the cast is just stellar. I've enjoyed the performances of the government agents: Saarsgard, Hoogenakker and Dawson. I didn't know who Will Poulter was before this but he's perfect as the young pharma rep who starts out as an ambitious go-getter and later battles his conscience when he realizes what's happening. I wish he'd ditch the brunette woman though. She is awful!

Does anyone else find Michael Stuhlberg's whisper-soft voice and understated performance as Richard Sackler effectively creepy?

I hope at least Keaton and Dever get Emmy nominations. 

Dever broke my heart with her reaction to her Dad putting her pills in the dispos-all. I thought she was going to reach her hand in.  OMG the anguish, I was hoping against hope Betsy would avoid her fate, the actess 100% deserves an Emmy. 

[wendyg]

I would note that Betsy's mother is played by Mare Winningham, whom Roger Ebert described as one of those actors where when you see their name in the cast you know at least some of it is going to be good/interesting. I first saw her long ago in ST ELMO's FIRE.

[Cinnabon]

1 hour ago, wendyg said:

I would note that Betsy's mother is played by Mare Winningham, whom Roger Ebert described as one of those actors where when you see their name in the cast you know at least some of it is going to be good/interesting. I first saw her long ago in ST ELMO's FIRE.

Yes, she is always wonderful!

[ShelleySue]

On 11/15/2021 at 2:45 PM, Sweet-tea said:

I hope at least Keaton and Dever get Emmy nominations. 

I have a very eclectic taste in tv shows. I watch British detective shows, Hallmark channel movies (love the holiday ones), and documentaries.  So when the list of Emmy nominations come out nothing on the list is familiar to me. I hope that next year is different because those two (and Mare) deserve recognition. 

 

[SoMuchTV]

Sister Beth for the win. “You know other nuns. That makes me feel so close to you.”  I had a feeling she wouldn’t go for the “donation”.

[BrindaWalsh]

I may be in the minority but I didn't find the time jumps distracting.  Generally speaking I just kind of ignored them, truth be told, and it didn't really interfere with my understanding or following of the story.  We've lived through this as a nation (correction: are living through it) and I think I just said in my head that as these events played out on the screen, so were the efforts to legally put an end to the crisis that Purdue created, and to Purdue itself.  

I think the writers did a pretty masterful job of weaving the stories of addiction that we've heard about or read about as we have come to understand this opioid crisis into the different character arcs - the mom whose child had to be raised by a grandparent, the kids partying who panic and dump the body of their friend who overdoses, the turn to heroin when you can't get Oxy because it's cheaper and "better," being offered drugs in the bathrooms of support group meetings, Oxy being offered for anything and everything, from an ankle injury to post surgery, turning to prostitution to fund the habit, the scum of the earth doctors who took advantage of the addicts seeking treatment, the stigma and shame and lack of compassion for those struggling with recovery when we know recovery from opioid use is different from other drugs because of how the drug impacts the brain.  My god, seeing it all at once made me cringe at how this country has lacked compassion and understanding when supporting those in turmoil from drugs.  However, I feel like they missed one critical story arc  here - the perfectly normal, happy teen with everything ahead of them who gets prescribed oxy for a sport injury or some such thing.  So many of the characters in the show who became addicted seemed to have some underlying emotional or mental struggle.  For example, Betsy was struggling with her identity as a lesbian, Dr. Finnix certainly carried himself with a sense of loneliness and we learned early on that he had lost his wife to  cancer.  And while we got glimpses of the perfectly happy "world ahead of them teen," we didn't really see that full story arc which left me with the impression that they inadvertently tied an internal struggle with a proclivity towards addiction when we know that drugs do not discriminate in that way and that's been a big part of the opioid story and how the heroin crisis was different this time around.

I can't BELIEVE that children's oxy was ever even an idea and I'm completely horrified by the concept and I can't let my mind even wander down that path.  Was that real or was that for dramatic effect.

And as I write this I'm sitting here staring at a bottle of oxycodone prescribed to me this week following surgery.  I took one pill to help me sleep the first night home.  As soon as I am cleared to drive, I have full intentions of driving to our local prescription drop box in town to dispose of it properly. I've always avoided painkillers like this, for one I don't like how they make me feel, and even before this show I was acutely aware of the risks associated with them.  I remember in the 90s being offered oxycontin for a back injury.  I turned it down at the time for the same reasons - I don't like masking the pain and how painkillers make me feel, I prefer to actually treat the problem and have a clear sense of how I am progressing and I have fortunately never been in a scenario where a stronger painkiller is actually necessary. In hindsight, like many of you here, I realize how lucky I am that I didn't go down that road, especially when the "it's not addictive" narrative was still very much alive and well.  

 

 

 

[Cinnabon]

I don’t think there are very many people who don’t have some underlying emotional issue 🤷‍♀️.

[BrindaWalsh]

59 minutes ago, Cinnabon said:

I don’t think there are very many people who don’t have some underlying emotional issue 🤷‍♀️.

Well that is a fair point, I suppose.  

[Sweet-tea]

On 11/16/2021 at 11:46 AM, monakane said:

The performances are fantastic.  I cried like a baby at the end of episode 7.  I knew it was coming, but it still hurt like hell.  I appreciate how the parents were written.  They could have easily been one note characters, instead they were written like real people with nuance who were struggling to make sense of their situation.  I know people whose children have heroin addictions and it's absolutely heartbreaking.  The writing for the parents nailed it.

Agree! I appreciated what a layered, realistic portrayal the writers showed of the parents' anguish. Both actors were excellent. The scene in the last episode of Sam meeting with the parents was powerful in that it rang true and wasn't overdone. The mother couldn't deal with it and left the room. There were no histrionics. The father tried to be decent but he was struggling with his feelings. He was trying to tamp down his anger but some of it seeped through. 

Watching Sam drive away, the emotions that crossed his face... I was struck by his decency and compassion. I'm glad this character survived and returned to his old self. It would've been too much to see him end up like Betsy. It was hard enough watching what happened to her. I'm also glad the pharma rep didn't sign the NDA. 

I remembering seeing Keaton play an alcoholic in Clean and Sober many years ago. After seeing him in this, I want to watch it again. 

And I'm going to read the book because I'd like to know the details of everything that happened. 

My library has the book. I'm on the (short) waiting list. 

Edited November 21, 2021 by Sweet-tea

[monakane]

1 hour ago, Sweet-tea said:

Agree! I appreciated what a layered, realistic portrayal the writers showed of the parents' anguish. Both actors were excellent. The scene in the last episode of Sam meeting with the parents was powerful in that it rang true and wasn't overdone. The mother couldn't deal with it and left the room. There were no histrionics. The father tried to be decent but he was was struggling with his feelings. 

Watching Sam drive away, the emotions that crossed his face... I was struck by his decency and compassion. I'm glad this character survived and returned to his old self. It would've been too much to see him end up like Betsy. It was hard enough watching what happened to her. I'm also glad the pharma rep didn't sign the NDA. 

I remembering seeing Keaton play an alcoholic in Clean and Sober many years ago. After seeing him in this, I want to watch it again. 

And I'm going to read the book because I'd like to know the details of everything that happened. 

There's an excellent multi-part documentary on HBO called "Crime of Century" which reports on the opioid crisis, particularly Purdue's role in it.  I consider the Sackler family mass murderers who should be in prison.  I'll have to check out Keaton in Clean and Sober.

[Sweet-tea]

21 hours ago, monakane said:

There's an excellent multi-part documentary on HBO called "Crime of Century" which reports on the opioid crisis, particularly Purdue's role in it.  I consider the Sackler family mass murderers who should be in prison.  I'll have to check out Keaton in Clean and Sober.

Thank you for telling me about this. I'm halfway through the documentary. It's so good.

When I was watching the Dopesick series, I wondered if it was a little over the top. The Sacklers seemed almost cartoonishly evil. I thought it was artistic license until I began watching the documentary. The scenes of Richard Sackler in court (he does have kind of a breathy voice, so I guess that was a choice by the actor portraying him) and then the training tapes of people dancing to "Taking Care of Business/Selling Oxy" confirmed to me that no, they actually were that evil. Wow. 

Another thing I noticed is a small change they made in the series. The documentary talks about the label saying something like "abuse was unlikely" whereas in the series it's "less than 1% become addicted." The latter is a more powerful statement IMO. 

Edited November 21, 2021 by Sweet-tea

[monakane]

8 hours ago, Sweet-tea said:

"Taking Care of Business/Selling Oxy" confirmed to me that no, they actually were that evil. Wow. 

Yes, its' very disturbing.  The one thing I wondered about in Dopesick was if they were really considering selling Oxy to kids.  That sent chills down my spine.  Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if it were true.

[Nialla]

25 minutes ago, monakane said:

Yes, its' very disturbing.  The one thing I wondered about in Dopesick was if they were really considering selling Oxy to kids.  That sent chills down my spine.  Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if it were true.

They did do clinical trials for kids 11+ back in 2015 at the request of the FDA.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/fda-approves-oxycontin-for-kids-as-young-as-11-1439577828

Supposed to have been a way to help doctors treating young patients who needed pain medication. Was said not to be marketed towards them, nor formulated for kids. Though it probably could have happened.

[Sweet-tea]

They also said in the documentary that Senator Chris Dodd was one of the main people leading the questioning of the Sacklers, and the Sacklers' donated three times more money to him than anyone else. Sheesh. 

i wonder if the country doctor shown in the documentary was the inspiration for Michael Keaton's character. 

 

Edited November 22, 2021 by Sweet-tea

[monakane]

17 hours ago, Nialla said:

They did do clinical trials for kids 11+ back in 2015 at the request of the FDA

That's very disturbing because the FDA certainly knew how addictive Oxy was by that date.

[ErinV]

On 11/19/2021 at 1:43 PM, BrindaWalsh said:

I may be in the minority but I didn't find the time jumps distracting.  Generally speaking I just kind of ignored them, truth be told, and it didn't really interfere with my understanding or following of the story.  We've lived through this as a nation (correction: are living through it) and I think I just said in my head that as these events played out on the screen, so were the efforts to legally put an end to the crisis that Purdue created, and to Purdue itself.  

I think the writers did a pretty masterful job of weaving the stories of addiction that we've heard about or read about as we have come to understand this opioid crisis into the different character arcs - the mom whose child had to be raised by a grandparent, the kids partying who panic and dump the body of their friend who overdoses, the turn to heroin when you can't get Oxy because it's cheaper and "better," being offered drugs in the bathrooms of support group meetings, Oxy being offered for anything and everything, from an ankle injury to post surgery, turning to prostitution to fund the habit, the scum of the earth doctors who took advantage of the addicts seeking treatment, the stigma and shame and lack of compassion for those struggling with recovery when we know recovery from opioid use is different from other drugs because of how the drug impacts the brain.  My god, seeing it all at once made me cringe at how this country has lacked compassion and understanding when supporting those in turmoil from drugs.  However, I feel like they missed one critical story arc  here - the perfectly normal, happy teen with everything ahead of them who gets prescribed oxy for a sport injury or some such thing.  So many of the characters in the show who became addicted seemed to have some underlying emotional or mental struggle.  For example, Betsy was struggling with her identity as a lesbian, Dr. Finnix certainly carried himself with a sense of loneliness and we learned early on that he had lost his wife to  cancer.  And while we got glimpses of the perfectly happy "world ahead of them teen," we didn't really see that full story arc which left me with the impression that they inadvertently tied an internal struggle with a proclivity towards addiction when we know that drugs do not discriminate in that way and that's been a big part of the opioid story and how the heroin crisis was different this time around.

I can't BELIEVE that children's oxy was ever even an idea and I'm completely horrified by the concept and I can't let my mind even wander down that path.  Was that real or was that for dramatic effect.

And as I write this I'm sitting here staring at a bottle of oxycodone prescribed to me this week following surgery.  I took one pill to help me sleep the first night home.  As soon as I am cleared to drive, I have full intentions of driving to our local prescription drop box in town to dispose of it properly. I've always avoided painkillers like this, for one I don't like how they make me feel, and even before this show I was acutely aware of the risks associated with them.  I remember in the 90s being offered oxycontin for a back injury.  I turned it down at the time for the same reasons - I don't like masking the pain and how painkillers make me feel, I prefer to actually treat the problem and have a clear sense of how I am progressing and I have fortunately never been in a scenario where a stronger painkiller is actually necessary. In hindsight, like many of you here, I realize how lucky I am that I didn't go down that road, especially when the "it's not addictive" narrative was still very much alive and well.  

 

 

 

This is all so well said.

 

[Armchair Critic]

On 11/8/2021 at 12:00 PM, Roxie said:

Disappointed that this topic isn’t divided into episodes, since I encountered a spoiler in the first post.  Guess I won’t be back until I’m finished with all the episodes. ☹️

Same here, the first post on here had major spoilers which gave too much away.

[SoMuchTV]

On 11/8/2021 at 12:00 PM, Roxie said:

Disappointed that this topic isn’t divided into episodes, since I encountered a spoiler in the first post.  Guess I won’t be back until I’m finished with all the episodes. ☹️

 

25 minutes ago, Armchair Critic said:

Same here, the first post on here had major spoilers which gave too much away.

Not sure if these posters will see this, since they're avoiding the thread till they're done, but the thread wasn't started until 4 or 5 episodes had already aired.  Maybe the mod can put a "black box warning" at the top to alert people who are just starting the show.  I'll flag this post so hopefully a mod will see it.

ETA: once you've watched the first 5 eps, you can avoid spoilers if you pay attention to the post dates and stop reading in time.

Edited November 23, 2021 by SoMuchTV

[Bort]

Hey all, we added a post at the beginning of the topic to warn about it not being started until several episodes had aired. Hopefully, that should take care of any new watchers being inadvertently spoiled.

[Ss55]

The most confusing thing about the time jump for me was in relation to Bridget the DEA agent - they kept showing her husband after I thought she was divorced!

[Globus196]

If it hasn’t been mentioned already, I recommend reading this book “Empire of Pain” by Patrick Radden Keefe. It tells the story in all its infuriating and devastating details, and you get a good feel for the Sackler family and the various motivations behind it all. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/nov/28/empire-of-pain-by-patrick-radden-keefe-review-all-the-moral-power-of-a-victorian-novel
 

[MamaMax]

On 11/21/2021 at 7:33 AM, Sweet-tea said:

Thank you for telling me about this. I'm halfway through the documentary. It's so good.

When I was watching the Dopesick series, I wondered if it was a little over the top. The Sacklers seemed almost cartoonishly evil. I thought it was artistic license until I began watching the documentary. The scenes of Richard Sackler in court (he does have kind of a breathy voice, so I guess that was a choice by the actor portraying him) and then the training tapes of people dancing to "Taking Care of Business/Selling Oxy" confirmed to me that no, they actually were that evil. Wow. 

Another thing I noticed is a small change they made in the series. The documentary talks about the label saying something like "abuse was unlikely" whereas in the series it's "less than 1% become addicted." The latter is a more powerful statement IMO. 

I think the 1% one was on marketing materials, not on the label itself, even in the show

 

[candle96]

On 11/15/2021 at 1:45 PM, Sweet-tea said:

I'm really enjoying this show and am bummed it's about to end. Michael Keaton is the standout here for me. I've never seen him in a role like this. He's done a fabulous job of showing how this humble, kind country doctor changed into a different person as an addict. His face is so expressive. I can see the pain and turmoil he's going through. When he was first asked about his wife, the sadness that passed across his face... I wonder if it was a precursor to his vulnerability to addiction? 

This is taking nothing away from Kaitlyn Dever, who is also excellent. I wasn't familiar with her work before this show, but now I want to look up some of the other shows posters have mentioned. She has absolutely nailed the small town girl persona without making it seem over the top. I've seen other actors overdo characters like this, but Dever has presented a complex, expertly nuanced persona of this young woman I want to root for and protect. 

Overall, the cast is just stellar. I've enjoyed the performances of the government agents: Saarsgard, Hoogenakker and Dawson. I didn't know who Will Poulter was before this but he's perfect as the young pharma rep who starts out as an ambitious go-getter and later battles his conscience when he realizes what's happening. I wish he'd ditch the brunette woman though. She is awful!

Does anyone else find Michael Stuhlberg's whisper-soft voice and understated performance as Richard Sackler effectively creepy?

I hope at least Keaton and Dever get Emmy nominations. 

She plays a similarly understated girl from a mining town in Justified and is really good. That is also arguably the best season of Justified (Season 2), and worth the watch.

[candle96]

On 11/15/2021 at 1:45 PM, Sweet-tea said:

 

Overall, the cast is just stellar. I've enjoyed the performances of the government agents: Saarsgard, Hoogenakker and Dawson. I didn't know who Will Poulter was before this but he's perfect as the young pharma rep who starts out as an ambitious go-getter and later battles his conscience when he realizes what's happening. I wish he'd ditch the brunette woman though. She is awful!

Does anyone else find Michael Stuhlberg's whisper-soft voice and understated performance as Richard Sackler effectively creepy?

I hope at least Keaton and Dever get Emmy nominations. 

While overall I thought this show did a great job of showing the nuances of the characters, the bitchy Pharma rep was the one who seemed kind of ridiculously over the top.

Spoiler

(She softened a bit at the end, but not by much.) At least Will eventually ditched her.

 It just wasn't believable to me. I think Phillippa Soo (probably most famous for playing Eliza in the original "Hamilton" cast) is a good actress, but found her performance here kind of clunky, which I think was mostly the writing of her being almost cartoonishly bitchy and pro-Oxy. Also, not for nothing, but the wig they had her in was TERRIBLE. There were a few bad wigs on this show, but hers was the worst. 

Edited December 16, 2021 by candle96

[Mr. R0b0t]

A lovely bit of news!  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/16/health/purdue-pharma-opioid-settlement.html

[Crone]

Yes! But if you’re someone who was hoping for part of this settlement, this means we have to wait even longer, which is very upsetting. Why is our judicial system so slowww?

[anoninrva]

On 10/28/2021 at 3:43 PM, Shannon L. said:

I agree that Michael Keaton is doing a fantastic job.  The whole cast is, imo.  In last night's episode, even though I don't like how they treated their daughter when she came out, Mare Winningham and especially Ray McKinnon broke my heart when they were in the pawn shop thinking that the owner would simply hand back the items that Betsy stole.  I know it was naive, but I think they are naive about a lot of things.  Oh, and Will Poulter nailed his performance when he was talking to Fennix about selling the drugs.  I hope he's turns out to be the whistleblower that they can get in court.

I think they were lampshading the whole slackjawed local trope, although not whole-heartedly since the DAs did that earlier in the same episode.  As someone who has lived most of his live in Virginia, though, they did the accent pretty well.  Much better than Jodie Foster.

[anoninrva]

On 12/16/2021 at 2:18 PM, candle96 said:

While overall I thought this show did a great job of showing the nuances of the characters, the bitchy Pharma rep was the one who seemed kind of ridiculously over the top.

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(She softened a bit at the end, but not by much.) At least Will eventually ditched her.

 It just wasn't believable to me. I think Phillippa Soo (probably most famous for playing Eliza in the original "Hamilton" cast) is a good actress, but found her performance here kind of clunky, which I think was mostly the writing of her being almost cartoonishly bitchy and pro-Oxy. Also, not for nothing, but the wig they had her in was TERRIBLE. There were a few bad wigs on this show, but hers was the worst. 

Did he, though?  He seemed to be getting cold feet about being upgraded from f-buddies to fulltime employee/boyfriend, but he didn't seem to take any agency on that.  He got fired, didn't sign the NDA, and the next we see him he's with a similar looking but different girl.

The sales reps initially reminded me of the Jake Gyllenhal Love and Other Drugs movie, but that's much less dark.  There was an apex at which most of the other reps seemed to grasp that the line about non-addiction was a lie, but it was pretty well into the series.  They talk about pill farms pretty early on.

[IndianPaintbrush]

What is it with the terrible wigs on this show? The one the female Sackler wore was especially bad.

Philippa Soo's character may have seemed exaggerated, but I have no doubt there are people in the pharmaceutical sales industry that are exactly like her. The greed, the phony sales tactics, the frat party atmosphere...it all seems pretty accurate to me.

[oreally]

I was expecting Rudy Guiliani to invite Bridget to a hotel room but then I remembered this is not a Borat movie.

 

[Enero]

I just started watching this series and was appalled about the so called study not being a study at all and basically a letter that was 5 sentences long and in reference to a few patients using the drug while hospitalized. Makes me wonder how many other “studies” on dangerous drugs weren’t really studies at all. 

I know this series is about the opioid crisis specifically via OxyContin, but I’m surprised none of the addicts featured have been seen graduating to heroin. Or perhaps they will later in the series. The old woman pushing drugs in the bathroom was kind of funny and certainly unexpected, but then infuriating at the same time. 

Crazy how the doctor went off the rails so fast. I thought that was a bit much, him having to go to the local drug dealer to get his drugs. He was a doctor. Did he really not have any other way of getting the pills without going to the local dealer? 

[SunnyBeBe]

On 1/30/2022 at 6:14 PM, Enero said:

I just started watching this series and was appalled about the so called study not being a study at all and basically a letter that was 5 sentences long and in reference to a few patients using the drug while hospitalized. Makes me wonder how many other “studies” on dangerous drugs weren’t really studies at all. 

I know this series is about the opioid crisis specifically via OxyContin, but I’m surprised none of the addicts featured have been seen graduating to heroin. Or perhaps they will later in the series. The old woman pushing drugs in the bathroom was kind of funny and certainly unexpected, but then infuriating at the same time. 

Crazy how the doctor went off the rails so fast. I thought that was a bit much, him having to go to the local drug dealer to get his drugs. He was a doctor. Did he really not have any other way of getting the pills without going to the local dealer? 

I guess the Doc had used up all his favors of getting prescriptions from other doctors.  And, I don’t think you can write a prescription for yourself as a doctor for controlled substances.  I was a little surprised when he attacked that drug rep in his office and ran him off.  I would have thought that he would have invited him to return and bring him more samples.  
 

So, Michael Keaton won a SAG Award for his role in Dopesick!  Well deserved, imo.  

Edited February 28, 2022 by SunnyBeBe

[SunnyBeBe]

Michael Keaton lost a nephew to opioid overdose!  
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10560593/Michael-Keatons-35-yr-old-nephew-lost-life-fentanyl-overdose-just-weeks-going-rehab.html

[Melina22]

On 12/29/2021 at 3:50 PM, IndianPaintbrush said:

What is it with the terrible wigs on this show? The one the female Sackler wore was especially bad.

This is one of my all time pet peeves. They can spend millions making a movie or series, but then they stick Brillo on the actors' heads and call it a day. 

That one thing aside, awesome series! Michael Keaton and Mare Whittingham were stand outs for me, but there were many other fantastic actors. I teared up seeing Mare at the demonstration. She had so much rage, and Michael's character had so much guilt. 

I'm with those who thought the female sales rep was cartoonishly evil. Apart from that, why would a normal, attractive young man be so besotted with someone so truly shallow and nasty? Was she really the best he could do? 

This whole show gives me insight into why doctors and hospitals where I live are so loathe to dispense narcotics. My friend was discharged recently after a major injury, and they told him to take Tylenol. After suffering for a day, he went to a military doctor (he's in the military) and finally got something stronger, which he took for a few days, to his great relief. I feel like the opioid crisis has led to the pendulum swinging too far the other way at times. 

[SunnyBeBe]

I’m astounded that opioids have such an impact on people.  Perhaps, I’m fortunate, but when I take them, it’s as if it doesn’t do much.  I’ve tried them before for out patient surgeries and found little relief.  I’ll be having meniscus surgery soon and dread not having pain pills to help with post operative pain.   The people depicted in this series seemed to get so much pain relief from them.  I still struggle to imagine it.  

Edited March 13, 2022 by SunnyBeBe