Not for the squeamish (Casualty)

Member Name: mikeb

Product:	Casualty
Date:	28/11/00 (36 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Realistic, good stories and cast

Disadvantages: A bit gory sometimes

This programme seems to have been on forever but that's not to say that it has gone on too long. Casualty is the perfect Saturday evening drama series, the storylines are realistic and full of suspense and all the actors play their parts brilliantly.

Some of the characters have been around for years like Charlie Fairhead and Duffy but Casualty's strength is that they continually introduce new members of staff with different personalities and problems to keep the viewer interested. One of the more recent additions is Patrick played by ex Emmerdale actor Ian Kelsey. Compared to his character in Emmerdale Kelsey is a revelation and proves that there is life after soaps. Patrick is the person we all love to hate with his poor attitude to both patients and staff but as his character has developed he has shown he is not always Mr Nasty and underneath the surface there's probably a nice guy trying to get out.

A special mention should go to the make up department who make the scenes involving serious injuries so realistic it is sometimes hard to watch them. The programme makers must also be praised for their attention to detail, although to be honest I wouldn't have a clue if all the medical references to ECG's etc are accurate or not.

The Beeb are not scared to use this flagship show to tackle controversial issues either as they showed recently with their saga about Adam Osman the HIV+ nurse whose secret was revealed by the press. The way he was hounded by the papers and shunned by the general public who were previously very appreciative of his work was very realistic. I didn't think the same could be said for the storyline about Tina rushing off to Australia to win back Sean who had also been at Holby, but even Casualty can be allowed one weak storyline.

Overall an excellent drama series, well acted with strong plots and always watchable which you can't say about many shows nowadays, long may it continue
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