(Series 29, ep.39) This was a bold attempt to redo Casualty (for one episode only) in the style of a film noir, complete with a constant background thunderstorm, moody lighting and voice-overs that gave us access to the thoughts of some of the key characters.
I didn’t actually enjoy it, though, and I think it’s because the tone of it was all over the place. Some of the noirish elements were very forced (the protagonists being called Bonnie and Clyde, Bonnie being such a cliché of a femme fatale, Ethan turning up at the police station in the classic Bogart-style raincoat and trilby, Dixie and Iain having to take patients to hospital in a hearse) and it jarred with the more naturalistic hospital scenes. Even the hospital scenes were odd due to the voice-overs – while it was quite amusing to hear what was going on in Robyn’s head when Hanssen asked for volunteers to clear the bed-blockers, it just wasn’t Casualty and it was all too contrived.
If the central crime story had been compelling and gripping, the whole thing could have worked. Unfortunately I was never very convinced by ‘Bonnie’ (Renee Castle), and her complicated revenge story was just a bit odd and unpleasant.
Iain going all Apocalypse Now to hunt down the man who’d vandalised his ambulance tyres sums up the whole episode, really. It was odd. Very, very odd.
Next time: Back to business as usual – with a new face on the staff team.
HOLBY CITY BEHIND THE SCREEN
pauseliveaction 
It really was odd. I hope they don’t try this again
I thought it was appalling. I can only guess that Mark Catley is quite young and has only just discovered film noir and wanted to show off his new-found knowledge but all the references were very heavy handed and it wasn’t even entertaining pastiche. The flashbacks were clumsy and, even if it were to be interpreted as a dream sequence, the plot was completely unconvincing. The beauty of a good long running soap is the way the personalities of the main characters slowly unfold in varying situations but this didn’t work on any level in this episode.
I liked two things about the episode:
1) Dixie’s “Addams Family Paramedics” comment. Gotta love Morticia and Gomez
2) Screen time for Guy Henry as Henrik Hanssen. Think he was on screen more in this episode than all of Holby since his return
I found it very peculiar but at the end discovered I had enjoyed it although I hadn’t thought I was when I was watching it (if that makes any sort of sense at all?)
I couldn’t wait for it to be over, was embarrassed for the actors.
Dylan’s cheese sandwich joke was really the only redeeming feature of this entire 50 minute show.
I enjoyed it for the Hanssen appearances and his scenes with Robyn ..
The rest was quite daft .. but not so much that it was spoiled ..
HB
I too loved Dixie’s Adam’s family Paramedics. I just felt this was perhaps a halloween episode at the wrong time. If it was on Hallowe’en this maybe a tad more atmospheric, in the middle of summer? It just felt out of place.
I kept wIting for Connie and/or Zoe to appear. In a normal episode we’re overrun with doctors and consultants… At least Henrik got to tuck his tie into his shirt and do some proper “doctoring”
Waiting even – sorry for the spelling error 😔
I thought we did see Zoe for a millisecond.
Well that was odd. I concur that the best thiing about this episode was Henrik, looming gloriously over a tiny terrified Robyn.
They do these things every so often … They never go down well.
It makes us all grateful for the “normal” episodes 🙂
Oh dear. Appalling. I love film noir and I can see what they were trying to do but it was all so clumsy. I presume someone’s head, if not on the block, was very close to the block after that.
I was cringing for the actors throughout. And how awful that Hanssen’s Casualty cameo had to be for this. They almost undid his character entirely and all the little nuances and idiosyncrasies they have created for his him (knowing everyone’s name for eg) were just brushed aside for the sake of a cheap, badly done story.
Awful.