Some More Thoughts About Nightwatch

Feb 27, 2015

If anybody had any doubts about how the cast of Nightwatch would be received at EMS Today, all questions were answered at the first day of one of the largest EMS conferences in the United States.

I got my first glimpse of the crew at the Physio Control booth signing autographs at the entrance to the exhibit hall.  For a second, I almost forgot that I was at at an EMS conference and thought that I was at ComicCon.  Here was the cast of a TV show entertaining star-struck fans.  But this was not Daryl Dixon or the cast of Firefly.  The group that was signing autographs are just regular people just like the rest of us.

Later in the evening, the group made an appearance at Zoll’s Shockfest.  Once again, the marketing team at Zoll knocked this event out of the park.  There was great music, great food, cold drinks, and a fun atmosphere (shout out to Zoll’s Brooke Taylor who headed this one up yet again).  It didn’t take long for everyone notice that the celebrities where in the house.

I cannot say enough about how the entire group from Nightwatch handled their fans.  As one would imagine they were mobbed.  At one point, it almost looked like a receiving line waiting to get their turn to say hello to Holly or Dan or whomever they had noticed.  Each of them were all smiles.  They were humble, they were friendly, and they were fun.

My Fanboy moment with Dan from Nightwatch.

Personally, I do not feel like I got nearly as much time as I would have wanted with this group, but I feel like I was in the majority with that.  I said my hello’s, tried to put a face to the bevy of tweets that I have sent out about the show (whether they put two and two together or not) and most importantly, I had a chance to thank Holly for shedding some light on my analysis of Gavin.

After my review of Nightwatch a few weeks ago, some took exception to my assessment of Holly’s partner, mainly when I said that he looked to me like he was getting burnt out.  One cast member of the show told me that I should not make that assumption about Gavin because I did not know him.  The sad thing is though, I know the type.  I’d seen the type coming in and out of my office in Springfield for seven years, and at one point I even was the type.  I was burnt.  I was crispy.  And much like Gavin, I needed a change.  It takes a lot of courage to make a move like that, and according to Holly, Gavin is doing great and frankly, I could not be happier for him.

Holly from Nighwatch. She is a tiny as she looks on camera.

I think that we tend to lose sight of who these guys and girls really are.  These are not actors portraying paramedics and EMTs on TV.  This is not Denis Leary playing Tommy Gavin.  A year ago, Dan and Titus and Nick and Holly and Keeley were all EMS providers just like the rest of us.  Heck, they still are EMS providers just like the rest of us.  They follow standing orders and get medical control consults.  They catch a late call and get held over.  The only difference between them and the rest of us is that they are doing their job with a camera crew following them.

Some have mixed feelings about the series and I understand where that comes from but for me I am a fan, even more so after watching these guys interacting with the community that they have been chosen to represent.  As a blogger they did me proud.  As a fan they were great to meet and interact with, even if it was just for a short amount of time.  As a paramedic I will keep watching the show that is not made for me, but instead gives the public an inside look at the profession that I love so much.

Thanks, guys.  It was great to meet you!