"Casualty" (1986) TV series 1986-????

User Rating:

5.8/10   

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

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:

Hospital | Accident | Nurse | Doctor | Father Son Relationship

Awards:

6 wins & 18 nominations

Cast

Derek Thompson	...	Charlie Fairhead (307 episodes, 1986-2009)
Suzanne Packer	...	Tess Bateman (258 episodes, 2003-2009)
Ian Bleasdale	...	Josh Griffiths / ... (253 episodes, 1991-2007)
Simon MacCorkindale	...	Harry Harper (228 episodes, 2002-2008)
James Redmond	...	John 'Abs' Denham (213 episodes, 2003-2008)
Martina Laird	...	Comfort Jones / ... (195 episodes, 1995-2006)
Susan Cookson	...	Maggie Coldwell / ... (173 episodes, 1998-2009)
Janine Mellor	...	Kelsey Phillips (168 episodes, 2005-2009)
Sam Grey	...	Alice Chantrey (137 episodes, 2006-2009)
Jane Hazlegrove	...	Kathleen 'Dixie' Dixon / ... (129 episodes, 2006-2009)
Matthew Wait	...	Luke Warren (129 episodes, 2003-2006)
Elyes Gabel	...	Gurpreet 'Guppy' Sandhu / ... (128 episodes, 2001-2007)
Elizabeth Carling	...	Selena Donovan / ... (127 episodes, 2003-2007)
Catherine Shipton	...	Lisa 'Duffy' Duffin / ... (125 episodes, 1986-2006)

Also Known As:

"Casual+y" (UK) (alternative spelling)

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:

Famous guest stars include Minnie Driver, Orlando Bloom and Kate Winslet.

Quotes:

[a flat screen for tracking patients' waiting times has just been delivered to the department]
Maggie Coldwell: What on earth is that for?
Bruno Jenkins: Action replays of your greatest life-saving moments. I love short films.
Maggie Coldwell: I see your humour implant didn't take, then.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "This Morning: (2009-04-16)" (2009)

The hospital feels real, but that's about it...

I am not a Casualty buff, but what I do see of it is always quite good. It is drama at its most realistic - you are instantly brought into the serious, morbid, emotional world of modern hospitals. The lack of blood and gore only make everything seem even more real. When a death occurs, you sure do know about it - it manages to hit really hard, unlike in Hollywood movies. The drama itself is superb and somewhat painful at times - anyone who has been in a hospital will feel things coming back to them after an episode of this. The lack of musical score save for the credits and the complete lack of glamorisation in any form strip this down to the bare bones of realism. But sadly, this show is not perfect. While there's enough to warrant a viewing of a full episode, there really isn't much to make you want to keep coming back. And though the characters feel like real people, you just don't really know them and you can't sympathise with them - and that is the worst thing for a show like this. This is a real zombie of a show - it is moving and aware, but just doesn't feel alive, and just kind of drones for the hour each episode it plays. And, in spite of what I said earlier, there's way more blood and sweat in real hospitals too. 7/10