Nightwatch - General Discussion

[NJRadioGuy]

If you ever want to see a training video of why ordinary citizens have a strong dislike for LEOs, this focus on TPD could be it. The stop for that teenage girl underage drinking made me livid. Pour out the beer threaten to run her in next time and send 'em both on their way. Now the kid gets an arrest record (even if it's juvie) and a lifelong hatred for the cops over a lousy beer on Halowe'en. Yeah, what a great use of taxpayer's resources on display. The only thing missing was that patrol officer saying the girl failed to "respect mah autoritah!"

I'm all for a strong show of force over crimes of violence, weapons, narcotics dealing and so on, but for penny-ante stuff, a summons or a warning and a dirty look might often be the best long-term solution rather than whipping out the cuffs and playing the tin-plated despot.

Edited April 4, 2017 by NJRadioGuy

[Bastet]

24 minutes ago, NJRadioGuy said:

The stop for that teenage girl underage drinking made me livid. Pour out the beer threaten to run her in next time and send 'em both on their way. Now the kid gets an arrest record (even if it's juvie) and a lifelong hatred for the cops over a lousy beer on Halowe'en. Yeah, what a great use of taxpayer's resources on display.

That pissed me off, too.  The drunk girl wound up getting belligerent and insulting Roni, including a gender slur, if I remember correctly, and there's no call for that (insult people based on what they're doing, not who they are), but that's after she was taken into custody over something stupid.  Before that she, of her own volition, told Roni she'd given a fake name (which, of course, Roni knew anyway) and apologized for lying.  Then asked if she could please just get in an Uber car and go home. 

Yet the answer was no?  Come on.  She wasn't falling-down drunk, or anything close to it, and she was underage, but not a kid.  She wasn't trying to drive.  She wasn't bothering anyone.  She was an older teen drinking on Halloween.  Nothing positive comes from running her in.  Like you said, give her a warning and send her on her way.  If they really want to go for scared straight tactics, drive her home and hand her over to her parents. 

[NJRadioGuy]

Roni is a model of how not to do policing in my book. The end goal of good policing is to keep the area you're responsible for safe. That can be accomplished by locking the bad guys up and discouraging bad behaviour that leads to more serious consequences later on. If all you do your job for is to lock people up, then you're policing by fear. That rarely ends well. Carrot-vs-stick, etc.

I read an interesting piece a year or so back (sorry, I forget where) that dealt with road enforcement. When you run a stop sign or pass through a radar trap and the red and blue lights come on behind you, that feeling of dread and knowing you're in deep sewage is far more of a horrible feeling than actually having to pay the (typical) $150 fine. Unless you're in deep poverty, a minor traffic fine isn't going to mean not eating for a week or affording medicine (and even then, courts will often show mercy), but it is a deterrent. So the study found that the very act of pulling drivers over and discussing what happened was as strong a deterrent as writing a ticket, albeit with less income to the towns...but with the same effect. Reduced accident rates, greater compliance. And meanwhile, the driver who gets pulled over, checked for outstanding warrants, etc, but not fined is more likely to come away from the stop with a better opinion of policing--i.e. won't see it as a cash grab but as a genuine attempt to make the roads safer. And he'll probably pay stricter attention to the speed limit or stop signs in the future.

Edited April 4, 2017 by NJRadioGuy

[auntjess]

1/24/18 7:50 PM ET
Not sure of the season, but Crime & Investigation Network http://www.crimeandinvestigationnetwork.com/schedule is showing reruns of Nightwatch, tonight in a few minutes, and I think repeated at midnight, but midnight isn't shown.
It's set again for tomorrow night at 8.

[BuyMoreAndSave]

The reruns are now available on Youtube. I've been watching the New Orleans episodes recently and I think they are great! This show is so interesting. It also gave me a new appreciation for paramedics, which is a profession I think people kind of take for granted.

[BooksRule]

I'm so excited!  'Nightwatch' is returning to New Orleans for the next season!  (I wonder if it will be the same crews or new people?) This was announced in November and they are supposed to be filming 25 episodes through the first part of this year.  I don't know when they'll be airing them, though.

https://www.emsworld.com/news/1225260/nightwatch-returning-new-orleans

 

[Bastet]

It will be even more enjoyable without NOPD.  I've been watching some old episodes lately, which reminds me how much I disliked the cops.  Not as much as I hated the Tampa cops, but not anything I want to see. 

I wonder how many of the OGs will be featured again.  I went looking to see if any of them had posted on Twitter about it, and Keeley (who, since we last saw her, got a promotion, got married, and has twins) will be appearing because she has posted pictures from filming.  Holly (who also got promoted and has a kid) posted the EMS press release about the show coming back, saying "we" will back on your TV screens before you know it.  In a reply to Nick's posting of the announcement, someone said Holly confirmed on Instagram (which I can't figure out how to read) she's coming back.  Dan and Titus both posted about the show coming back, but didn't answer questions as to whether they'd be on it. 

Edited February 14, 2021 by Bastet

[BooksRule]

'Nightwatch' (in NOLA!) returns on Thursday, March 25th, at 10pm ET!  Yay!

[Bastet]

The A&E promo confirms it's a mixture of old and new as far as who's featured.  Holly, Keeley, and Titus are shown in clips.  I hope Dan and Nick are included, too. 

 

[Bastet]

I feel bad for the newbies; they're inevitably going to get compared to the ones we miss at first.

So I won't pile on, other than to say seeing Titus with someone other than Dan just feels wrong.  I was so sure we hadn't seen Dan in previews because they were holding him back as a surprise (since he's such a fan favorite).  But then a friend told me about a week ago he finally said on Twitter that he won't be appearing "short of any cameo".

Love seeing Holly as a boss (I knew she'd been promoted, but it's really cool to actually see her doing the job).  Her compassion is the same as it's ever been; she's so understanding of people doing the best they can in shitty situations (e.g. mental illness), and here the way she applauded the woman who recognized she just couldn't win over her addiction, so she was going to give her kids a better life, was more of the same.

The drugged-up patient's mama thumping on his head when he wouldn't act right was cracking me up, but I also really feel for her helplessness and frustration.

Shaq was really good with that woman in such intense abdominal pain, and with the little girl who'd had a seizure (and her mom).  I liked all the new peeps, and look forward to more of the Lindsay and Janette pairing, but I think Shaq might become a new favorite the fastest.

[Bastet]

It's a little crazy these people still punch a time card like I did 30 years ago working in retail.  I know how hideously underfunded the NO Public Defender office is, so I'd start to think this is a result of more of the same, but EMS has a spiffy new building as of several years ago; that seriously doesn't provide for clocking in and out via computer?

I feel sorry for them dealing with unmasked/ineffectively masked patients; I wish they could slap a mask on/pull a mask up on them as a condition of helping to reduce their risk of exposure to COVID.

I didn't mention this last week, but I like the brief inclusion of the 911 call center folks; it makes this show bring to mind the British documentary series 999 Rescue Squad.

Lindsay brushing leaves out of the OD patient's hair was nice, as was how she explained to him that heroin's effect can outlast Narcan's effect, so he needs to be monitored.  He felt the truth that she was there to help and educate, not judge.  I continue to like her partnership with Janette.

Arkady getting a talking head interview indicates we'll see more of her, which wasn't clear from the promos or first episode.  

[auntjess]

I was glad to see it back too, and guess we'll get to know the new ones.
Dan is one of the talking heads on Live Rescue, which shows calls from cities all over the country.

 

[Bastet]

This was a good episode showing the many effects of COVID. 

You could really see the toll that woman's death took on them, that they just weren't expecting her to crash like that and then they almost had her to the hospital. 

The woman with the broken femur is incredibly unlucky that she, you know, had her leg run over by a car, but lucky that she recovered as quickly and fully as she did. 

Did they give an update on the gunshot victim?  I don't remember seeing one.

Edited April 20, 2021 by Bastet

[MicheleinPhilly]

On 4/15/2021 at 11:12 PM, Bastet said:

Did they give an update on the gunshot victim?  I don't remember seeing on.

They did not. They gave updates on the baby, the man with COVID, and the woman with the broken leg. I'm always curious how they decide who to include/exclude in the updates. 

[Bastet]

This was my favorite episode of the new version of the show; I think they put together a particularly interesting collection of calls.

I like the way the reality of COVID is woven through, not just in the (frustratingly inconsistent) mask wearing, but in things like a patient who fell and spent a full 24 hours on the floor before giving in and calling not wanting to go to hospital because of the pandemic, but needing further evaluation.

And, as always, I like the way this series shows the many hats EMS has to wear; they are primarily there to render emergency medical aid, but to best do that job they also need some critical interpersonal skills and empathy.

[BookWitch]

Holy Crap the choking guy!! That was intense! That poor woman that laid on the floor for 2 days, I would have liked an update on what happened to her. Same with that woman in the casino. 

[MicheleinPhilly]

On 4/23/2021 at 12:12 AM, BookWitch said:

Holy Crap the choking guy!! That was intense! That poor woman that laid on the floor for 2 days, I would have liked an update on what happened to her. Same with that woman in the casino. 

That entire choking incident gave me so much anxiety. I found myself yelling at the screen "Cut your damn food!" after they revealed the size of the lodged piece of meat. 

My heart broke for that woman that was trapped in her house like that. Even if she didn't want to call 911, I wish she had been able to get in touch with a family member or neighbor who could have assisted. 😟

[Bastet]

I wonder how the ratings are doing that they already put together a clip show in order to show the OGs.

I remembered all these stories except for Diva. 

Holly with the guy whose little girl had died in Katrina, a typical drunk call until she realized halfway to the hospital what pain he’d been living with for ten years, was moving, so it's also moving to hear she broke down after handing him off at the hospital, and still gets emotional thinking about him.

And, of course, I remembered that horrible leg injury on the bicycle rider who got hit by a car.  They quite deliberately didn't show the gruesome footage from the original episode.  Same with the arm injury.  I don’t watch this show to say Ooh, gore! but I’m not grossed out by it (and can close my eyes to avoid footage of intravenous needles, which is a personal phobia and thus something that does bother me to see), and the severity of the injury informs EMS response, so I’m oddly annoyed by obscuring it, especially after the fact.  This is supposed to be reality.

New Orleans contains a lot of huggers like Titus (to my consternation as a non-hugger, but it’s still one of my favorite cities to visit), so it wasn’t surprising to hear him cite the inability to do that as the biggest pandemic-induced change in his interaction with patients.

Ugh, I did not need to be reminded even briefly of the episode where the cops started indiscriminately shooting out their window.  I remember one was trying to talk some degree of sense into the other, but on the whole it was just a lesson in why PD should not be on this show.

[Bastet]

Seeing that giant house party, especially with a bunch of unmasked people, made me so angry in last night's episode.

The stories seemed curated to show how they have to handle loved ones and bystanders in addition to the patients.  They're a hell of a lot better at it than I'd be, that's for sure.

Poor guy popping a pill for his first time with a woman since his wife died, and winding up with not just his daughter, but EMS and a film crew on scene. 

[MicheleinPhilly]

On 5/14/2021 at 5:56 PM, Bastet said:

The stories seemed curated to show how they have to handle loved ones and bystanders in addition to the patients.  They're a hell of a lot better at it than I'd be, that's for sure.

YES. And that woman with the overdose patient. "You need to give him mouth-to-mouth!", "Do you want me to squeeze the airbag?" Um, no. Just stay over there. 

[Bastet]

"What made you get out [of the Marines]?"
"Bombs."

Ha!  Good for you, brother.

It was interesting to hear how Keely had no interest in a promotion, wanting to keep working the streets, but changing her mind when the top brass came to her and said she has what it takes.  I also love her saying everyone knew who was in charge before she had all the extra insignia on her uniform.

[Bastet]

Titus continues to show how growing up with a mom who worked with DV victims taught him the right approach to take in addressing such a uniquely complicated situation.  He first and foremost addresses the acute physical need, and then clearly identifies the underlying psychological dynamic and offers access to resources but without ever expressly judging the victim for "putting up with it" or even going too hard and extensively against the abuser and triggering a defensive response by a victim made to feel stupid for "putting up with" such a horrible guy.

[pasdetrois]

I watch this show just to immerse in my beloved New Orleans. I miss those accents, which are dying off in my own family.

I love all of the participants, but Keely is especially awesome.

[BookWitch]

I notice they don't do updates on ones that involve the police. The guy that got shot in the hip and the one who broke the window with his head. 

That poor old veteran that dislocated  his fingers! Ouch! That looked broke to me.

[Bastet]

I didn't know this until going through the To-Do List on my parents' DVR last night, but a new season started last week.  Thursdays at 10 EDT.

That poor couple who were in the bathtub together and then realized the porch was on fire, so he winds up running out there naked and putting it out, and she's afraid for her cats.

That guy who crashed his motorcycle and they had a hard time finding was so calm.  I'm not surprised Keeley quit riding after a few years in EMS, seeing so many horrible injuries from motorcycle accidents.  Poor Arkady, always worrying a motorcycle down call is about her dad - again.  I'll never get on one, that's for sure.

I like that Mac expressed his frustration with the diabetic patient to the camera after the fact, but when he was with the patient he didn't get angry with him, condescend to him, etc.  I wonder if in footage we didn't see he asked why the patient hadn't taken his insulin in a month (in case it was a cost issue, in which case the hospital should be able to direct him to some potential resources).

Glad to have this back - I just love watching them, especially Titus, interact with the patients.

[pasdetrois]

I watched the recap episode (kind of a greatest hits). My favorite thing about the show is the old NOLA accents. Keeley's and the other, older EMT's accents are the strongest. I miss that about living in NOLA.

Where is Dan? Perhaps he sat this season out? A couple of hears ago he and Titus were on a different show (pre-COVID) where they sat on a set and commented on incidents. I love Dan because he loves dogs.

[Bastet]

7 hours ago, pasdetrois said:

Where is Dan? Perhaps he sat this season out?

He wasn't in last season, either.  He said then (on Twitter) he won't be appearing "short of any cameo".

[Bastet]

Good for Rosie the dog.  And what a pleasant surprise for the guy who got bit by her - because he attacked Rosie's owner with an umbrella - to say he doesn't want the dog put down, she's a good dog, just has a shitty owner.  Whatever beef they had that he was willing to get physical over it and is consequently on his way to jail, he doesn't want this guy's dog to suffer for it.

On the flip side - Arkady is breeding her cats?  Fuck that noise.  I tried to give the benefit of the doubt she was fostering a rescued mom and litter, but as the conversation continued that wasn't at all what it sounded like.

She and Laurie were good with the anxiety patient, and I liked them picking stuff out of his hair after he sat up.

Titus and Joe jumping out of the way when their vomiting patient leaned in the opposite direction they told her was funny.

As was learning their policy is to retrieve someone's phone if they can, since no one knows anyone's number anymore.

It was good of the bus driver to call for help due to the rider's confusion, because she wasn't tremendously out of it and could have easily been written off.

[Bastet]

Only one person in all of N.O. EMS knows sign language?  That's sad.  I felt terrible for the deaf OD patient when Janette had to drive, because Lindsay is the paramedic, so the one person - on the entire fucking force, apparently - who can communicate with him wasn't available to him. 

I just got caught up on the last two episodes, and I'm not at all surprised the motorcycle accident victim in last week's episode lost part of his leg.  That was a brutal injury. 

In that same episode, I don't remember who the EMTs were, but I love that they didn't mock someone for calling about a smashed pinky toe, instead saying, yep, if you catch a toe on a dresser in just the wrong way, you feel the life drain out of you. 

I've never overdosed on anything, so I don't have personal experience, but I always sympathize with the patients who suddenly come to after being given Narcan.  I mean, thank goodness they got it in time, and it's a great medication, but how disconcerting that must be!

Titus's PTSD patient in this week's episode was a heartbreaking story handled well.  I love that Titus's "that's too much, you're killing yourself" reaction to how much the patient drank immediately yielded to sympathy for why he was self medicating that way even with anti-depressants on board, and acknowledging his willingness to be a sounding board for what the patient was going through was a help, but not a solution.

I previously wondered about a diabetic patient either not being asked, or, as I suspected, being asked not shown, why he hadn't taken his insulin in months (since cost tends to be a factor) so I appreciated this latest episode including a patient saying, no, he hadn't taken the pain pills he was prescribed, because he couldn't afford them.

[Bastet]

A 74-year-old having to be an Uber driver instead of enjoying her retirement was making me sad enough, but then getting tossed from her own stolen car?  It made me think of that recent horrific story of the similary-aged woman in New Orleans who was dragged to her death in a carjacking.  The patient had a great sense of humor, though.

I just knew that "piece of wood stuck in foot" call was going to be something funny, but I wasn't anticipating a toothpick.  Pull it out, dude!  Brandon having to call for a doctor's permission, because technically it's an impalement, was hilarious.  But there should be a "dumb-ass waste of emergency services" penalty assessed on the bill for that one.

[Bastet]

I like Shaq and Jay discussing long-term partnership as "I love you, but sometimes I hate your ass" and fondly reminiscing about the time they argued the entire way from one call to the next.  Yep, that's family, biological or formed.

Can you imagine being in an ambulance that breaks down?  I mean, she's not life or death, but she's 98 years old, feeling bad enough to be taken by ambulance to the hospital (and she's obviously not a frequent flyer, since she said it felt weird to be riding backward), and the rig breaks down!

Since I'm just talking to myself this season, I wonder if those still reading but not posting want to share why they're less interested.  I like all these people and partnerships, and enjoy the cases, but I do still miss old pairings like Holly and Nick and Dan and Titus, and Keeley and Holly having the more extensive patient interaction before their promotions, and don't find myself quite as engaged.

Is that it, that it was gone for years, replaced by that horrid Tampa group and then the around the nation version that was better than Tampa but not as good as New Orleans, and then finally came back to the OGs last season but with a lot of changes and two seasons into that new norm it just doesn't have quite the same spark?

Edited April 29, 2022 by Bastet

[BookWitch]

I'm still interested and still watch. FETV just recently put Emergency on at night.  So now I tape this show and watch it later. 

It seems that with Covid, they limited the interactions and just seem to be concentrating on getting the patient to the  hospital. 

I kinda liked it when they went to different cities. 

Dan was working with Live Rescue when he wasn't at work.  Guess he went back to nursing full time. I haven't see Titus. He's got a Twitter page but doesn't say what he's doing. 

I feel like they're putting more cases in the show and not spending as much time filming each case so we don't see all the stuff they do. Maybe the patients didn't like it. If the cops get involved we never see an update.  I wanted to know what happened to the guy last week that shot the other guy in the car accident. Hope he felt the prison time was worth it.

[auntjess]

1 hour ago, BookWitch said:

I kinda liked it when they went to different cities. 

I was just watching a repeat of that one, that I taped the other day.  I think it was an old show, not being currently made.

 

[badhaggis]

New season still in New Orleans starts next Wednesday.

[auntjess]

Just watching the new show that I'd taped, and Holly is driving alone like Keeley 
used to do, and I've seen Titus.

 

[auntjess]

Watching the reruns, and looked it up.
https://veritenews.org/2023/08/25/new-orleans-nightwatch-contract-withdrawn-amid-privacy-consent-concerns/