"Casualty" (1986) TV series 1986-????

Creators:

Jeremy Brock
Paul Unwin

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | unknown

Release Date:

28 September 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The everyday lives of the people frequenting the frenetic Accident and Emergency department of Holby City hospital.

Plot Keywords:

Accident | Hospital | Nurse | Doctor | Retirement

Awards:

6 wins & 18 nominations

Cast

Derek Thompson	...	Charlie Fairhead (353 episodes, 1986-2009)
Ian Bleasdale	...	Josh Griffiths / ... (299 episodes, 1991-2007)
Suzanne Packer	...	Tess Bateman (274 episodes, 2003-2009)
Simon MacCorkindale	...	Harry Harper (229 episodes, 2002-2008)
James Redmond	...	John 'Abs' Denham (213 episodes, 2003-2008)
Martina Laird	...	Comfort Jones / ... (205 episodes, 1995-2006)
Susan Cookson	...	Maggie Coldwell / ... (174 episodes, 1998-2009)
Janine Mellor	...	Kelsey Phillips (168 episodes, 2005-2009)
Catherine Shipton	...	Lisa 'Duffy' Duffin / ... (158 episodes, 1986-2006)
Kwame Kwei-Armah	...	Finlay Newton / ... (153 episodes, 1994-2004)
Jane Hazlegrove	...	Kathleen 'Dixie' Dixon / ... (146 episodes, 2006-2009)
Sam Grey	...	Alice Chantrey (144 episodes, 2006-2009)

Also Known As:

Casual+y (UK) (alternative spelling)
Front Line (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

50 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Bristol, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Initially, the producers made no secret of the fact that Holby was a fictitious name for Bristol. However when a new producer, Peter Norris, was brought in for Season 4, he decided to play down the association between Holby and Bristol, and so Duffy's West Country accent disappeared and fewer recognizable Bristol locations were used.

Quotes:

Sean Maddox: Get on the train.
Tina Seabrook: It's so unfair.
Sean Maddox: This may be our last chance. Come on, get on.
Tina Seabrook: Marry me.
Sean Maddox: What?
Tina Seabrook: You heard, marry me.
Sean Maddox: Shut up and get on the train.
Tina Seabrook: Well?
Sean Maddox: Look, get on the train.
Tina Seabrook: Just say you'll marry me.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "TV Burp: (#6.7)" (2007)

Good For It's First Several Years But Has Perhaps Gone On For Too Long

Casualty started in 1986 and was a brilliant show about the working lives of Holby City Accident & Emergency Department doctors and nurses. In my opinion, from 1986 to about 1999 it was consistently good drama. It was very realistic at times and showed us the bad side of Britain's National Health Service and the politics that governed it.

Casualty always provided entertainment. The main problem is, how do you continually top things? How do you push that envelope? Casualty has had plane crashes, train crashes, diseases, NHS cutbacks etc. In a way, the current series of Casualty are not as good. They have become victims of their own success. Perhaps they should have saved the bangs for later.

One criticism I do have of Casualty's later years is the focus on the staff's private lives. I do like to get a little glimpse of the doctors and nurses private lives but sometimes they overdo it (The Bill does the same and London's Burning too). If Casualty is to keep me as a viewer, then it will have to tone back on the private lives of the staff and focus more on the job itself. And it needs to stop axing popular characters. All characters run their course eventually but these last few years, Casualty has had a habit of axing characters before they've even been given a chance.

If it can try to focus more on the job and think before axing characters, then Casualty has a great future.