Much more interesting than my local A&E!! (Casualty)

Member Name: hainesash

Product:	Casualty
Date:	05/08/09 (76 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good storylines, good acting, good stuff

Disadvantages: I would say the only disadvantage many fans will find is that it is on on a Saturday evening

Casualty is a long running TV series on BBC One that first aired in 1986, it focuses on the work and personal lives of the staff working in the A&E department and also the passing patients of the hospital. It is set in the fictional hospital Holby City General and has a close tie with its sister series Holby City which was a spin off of Casualty. The show has one a number of awards, the most recent and biggest a BAFTA for Best Continuing Drama.

I really enjoy watching Casualty on a Saturday evening and would have to say my weekend wouldn't be the same without it. Each episode usually starts off by showing a member of the public doing something that will inevitably lead to them ending up in the A&E department at Holby General. I find it quite funny because you always know what is going to happen, you can always tell that little Timmy who is playing football in the street ("Don't worry mum I am fine, I won't be long") is going to kick his ball a bit too hard and Charlene who is late for work today and is driving her car a little over the speed limit, are both going to end up with Holby General Paramedics rushing them into A&E (This story is based on entirely fictional characters, any names or similarities to any characters in Casualty is unintended and purely coincidental!). I like this predictability of the series and it then takes you to the doctors and nurses trying their best to help the patient whilst also struggling with their own work and personal issues. The show focuses on the guest characters that play patients in individual episodes and also on bigger storylines for the Holby staff that last for a number of episodes. The bigger storylines that generally focus on the staff of the series (although some focus on returning patients) usually ends each episode on a cliff-hanger keeping you interested and coming back for more.

**SPOILER ALERT** One of the most recent storylines was that of Curtis Cooper a Holby Paramedic who was suffering threats from well known troublemaker and gang leader Tony, the story eventually led to the death of Tony and the police suspecting Curtis of the crime. After going on the run Curtis turns himself into the police to protect his fiancé, Alice and is almost immediately released due to Alice persuading the real killers mother (Who is a returning patient at Holby A&E) to speak to the police. Upon returning to the hospital to meet Alice Curtis finds the killer on the hospital roof with Alice and a gun, scared for the safety of Alice Curtis has to make a quick decision and lunges at the killer, throwing them both off of the roof and to their deaths. This is a good example of one of the long running storylines in the series that involves staff and patients at the hospital, but more importantly than this; Who decided on this end of the storyline?! It was supposed to be Curtis and Alice' wedding day and you killed him off, you heartless beggars!

I think the difference between Casualty and the likes of TV soaps is that it is aired one night a week and the quality of acting is shown in this. I really have never had a qualm with any of the acting from the series and the storylines are always well done. I don't imagine going into my local A&E department would be as interesting as watching an episode of Casualty and I doubt there is any consultant out there cooler than Nick Jordan (Michael French), who has now left the series due to a prognosis of a terminal brain tumour (his character that is, don't get upset I am sure Michael French is just fine). I like the mix of characters in the series and their relationships with each other and believe the actors do a really good job. You will also now and again see some famous faces as a Holby patient such as Ray Winstone, David Walliams and Helen Baxendale etc.

Although I hate to miss an episode you won't really have missed much at all if you are off for a night on the town as most of an episode, as I said are based on issues related to the patient in that episode. If you don't usually get up to much on a Saturday night then I would definitely suggest watching Casualty who knows you might get hooked.

Summary: Top TV