For the first two and a half seasons this was an extremely good show, with a small but strong cast and good (if clichéd) writing. During the third season, though, the show made the transition from drama to soap, eschewing medical storylines in favour of trotting out every detail of the characters' private lives.
The show, which now airs every week all the year round, is now a shadow of its former self. None of the cast from the first season remains, and despite occasionally coming up with a reasonably good episode, more often than not it is just a case of mediocrity week after week, with some downright stinkers mixed in for good measure. By attempting to run storylines on four different wards, the writers have dilluted the formula, often introducing storylines for characters only to quickly forget them or end them abruptly with absolutely no consequences. A good example of this would be the character of Ric Griffin, who entered the show as a closet cannabis user. After a few months, this aspect of the character vanished and was never mentioned again.
It is something of a bitter irony that one of the few characters who was at all interesting to watch was the clumsy nurse Sandy Harper, played excellently by Laura Sadler, who sadly died a few weeks ago.
The show, which now airs every week all the year round, is now a shadow of its former self. None of the cast from the first season remains, and despite occasionally coming up with a reasonably good episode, more often than not it is just a case of mediocrity week after week, with some downright stinkers mixed in for good measure. By attempting to run storylines on four different wards, the writers have dilluted the formula, often introducing storylines for characters only to quickly forget them or end them abruptly with absolutely no consequences. A good example of this would be the character of Ric Griffin, who entered the show as a closet cannabis user. After a few months, this aspect of the character vanished and was never mentioned again.
It is something of a bitter irony that one of the few characters who was at all interesting to watch was the clumsy nurse Sandy Harper, played excellently by Laura Sadler, who sadly died a few weeks ago.