Holby City x Casualty: So much to enjoy

For a full review of both episodes head over to Metro. But first, it’s random thoughts time…

Well that was all very exciting, wasn’t it? I think the thing I enjoyed the most about the crossover episodes was seeing unfamiliar combinations of familiar characters. Dylan working with Serena was a highlight and I really want Dylan to be lured to Elstree as soon as possible. They have a Lidl really close to the studios – I think anyone would be tempted.

Other things I enjoyed:

– Hanssen walking along the corridors with a torch. Finally we’ve discovered the only way to stop him looming is to put lights on him so you can see him coming.

– Zosia’s comment ‘Wouldn’t be Holby without a crisis.’ Indeed not.

– The guilty/delicious feeling of listening to Ric having a go at Sacha about his parenting skills (when he thought Beka might be pregnant) when we knew Ric was going to have to take a close look at his own family very soon.

– The evil electronic door locks that kept Connie out of her trauma theatre and locked Essie and Beka into the CT room. It was like the hospital had a mind of its own. Evil!

– Elle and Ric. It’s about time Ric walked down the aisle again and I like Elle a lot more than I like that Francoise.

– Sacha’s favourite shirt had to be ripped! I expect by next week Jac will have sourced him another one, because she’s good like that.

– Ange seriously deep-down thinking that the entire scenario was just an elaborate ruse to get her off the Holly Cartwright case.

– Jac pretends to be all head and no heart, but as soon as Sacha is in peril she’s fighting Connie tooth and claw. And Connie gave as good as she got.

– The touching scene between Essie and Beka.

– Noel coming clean to Hanssen about clicking the link and the email, and hearing that Hanssen really had nominated him for an award.

And now we’ve got the spring trailer to watch as well! Some interesting-looking new characters, and the return of some old faces – including a total shock at the end…

Casualty X Holby City: Only half way through the roller coaster ride

(Casualty series 33, ep. 26 by Michelle Lipton 2.3.19) I’ve reviewed Saturday’s Casualty/Holby City crossover at Metro, so pop over there. If you didn’t see it but you do watch Holby, you’ll possibly want to catch up on the story so far because tomorrow’s Holby is a direct continuation of the same story.

If you are a non-Casualty-watching Holby fan who saw Saturday’s episode I’d be interested to know what you thought about how well the two shows were brought together. For example did all the business about Iain have as much impact if you weren’t aware of his story so far?

Saturday was just the start. It all gets even more dramatic tomorrow! Keep an eye out for my recap and a few spoilers (that won’t spoil your viewing fun) in Metro tomorrow morning.

Holby City: Not under control

(Series 21, ep. 9 ‘Guts’ by Martin Jameson and Patrick Homes 26.2.19) Head over to Metro to read my full review of this episode.

Before you go, a few random thoughts.

– Is it a bit odd that Jac’s making such a thing about Zosia settling for second best by being at Holby? If Holby is that inferior, why is Jac (best CT surgeon in the world) still there? Frieda came back to Holby to ‘learn from the best.’ Might that not be what Zosia is doing? I suppose Jac’s line ’You were supposed to grow up’ is the significant thing. Jac feels that Zosia is still in a drama loop rather than lifting herself to the next level of surgical brilliance.

– Arlo looked absolutely nothing like George Clooney. Nothing.

– Al Nedjari (who played Tarek) has hardly changed since he was Deirdre Barlow’s toyboy Moroccan husband on Corrie.

– I hope Sacha and Patricia do get together because they’re both lovely.

– I suppose Lofty’s ‘honeymoon with Sheilagh’ is just a ruse to give Lee Mead some time off to pursue his singing and other projects. I hope they don’t use it as an excuse to quietly bump Sheilagh off (due to a nasty bug on a cruise ship or whatever). She hasn’t met Carole Copeland yet.

– Line o’ the week was from Hanssen: ‘This situation is many things, but under control is not one of them.’ This could be the motto for almost every Holby episode ever.

– And it’s certainly the motto for the upcoming crossover episodes. Watch out for some juicy spoilers for both episodes from me on Metro on Saturday morning. To make sure you don’t miss anything follow me on Twitter  and Facebook

Holby City: The baby whisperer and the baby daddy

(Series 21, ep. 8 ‘Never Say Never’ by Nick Fisher and Patrick Homes 19.2.19) For my full review of this episode, pop yourself over to Metro. Before you go, a couple of random thoughts.

– Chloe’s ‘baby whisperer’ routine was a bit weird, wasn’t it? I’m getting a bit of an Adele Effanga vibe about both Chloe and Ange, in the sense that every week we’re being told how marvellous they are, and the more I’m told someone is marvellous the less inclined I am to join their fan club (this is why I’ve never read a Harry Potter). I like marvellousness to reveal itself organically (like it has with Xavier, but more of him later).

– There is, of course, the prospect that Chloe’s marvellousness has to be set up pretty quickly in order for us to know what a huge loss it’ll be to the medical world when whatever is wrong with her hands starts to impact on her work. Remember Ange noticing that there was something wrong with Chloe’s hands? And this week she clumsily dropped a mug and even more clumsily glued the handle to herself rather than the mug. Frankly this is not a person you’d want to be operating on you.

– Zosia’s pregnant! Who’s the father, do you think? Someone in America, or has she been paying visits to Ollie? I really hope it’s Ollie. I know he and Zosia are technically both fictional, but they’d have the most beautiful children.

– I loved how Jac was missing Frieda. We’re all missing Frieda.

– Xavier. When we first met him he seemed a bit of a twonk, and twonkiness does occasionally rear its head with him. But my goodness, he loves the bones of Donna, doesn’t he? He looks at her like she’s the most wonderful human being on the planet, which she might well be. He’s adorable, especially since he sorted out that pointy bit at the back of his hair.

– I also liked Donna’s interactions with the woman who’d left her youngish daughters on a cliff top with a little tent because she reckoned they were tough. Donna was genuinely horrified at how this woman didn’t give her kids hugs and tell them she loved them. Like me, she was relieved to hear that they’d abandoned the tent and gone to McDonalds to wait for their dad to pick them up.

Holby City & Casualty news: Huge crossover episodes next month!

Exciting news for fans of both Casualty and Holby City! On Saturday 2nd and Tuesday 5th March there are going to be two special crossover episodes, with characters from both shows plunged into a dramatic, action-packed situation.

The story involves a cyber-attack which takes out most of the hospital’s automated systems. Worse still, Sacha (Bob Barrett) and his daughter Beka (Francesca Barrett), along with Ric Griffin’s granddaughter Darla (Naomi Katiyo), are involved in a car crash. Sacha’s injuries are serious and Jac Naylor (Rosie Marcel) is ready to operate to save his life – but there’s only one theatre available and Connie Beauchamp (Amanda Mealing) needs it to try to save one of her own team.

Executive Producer Simon Harper promises ‘pure, nail-biting, taut, emotional medical drama’ as well as ‘delicious conflict’ between Jac and Connie as they battle to save their friends and colleagues. He also hints at a secret relationship: ‘Who from Casualty has been secretly carrying on with whom from Holby?’

Both episodes were written by Michelle Lipton and directed by Steve Brett. Harper says he’s ‘so proud of both the Cardiff Casualty and Elstree Holby crews and casts in making the mind-boggling logistics work, quite aside from their creative wizardry.’

Holby City: Ange needs to get a grip

(Series 21, ep. 7 ‘Good Side’ by Ed Sellek 12.2.19) Before you head over to Metro for this week’s review, I have a few more random thoughts about the episode.

– Call me a horrible person if you like (only do it behind my back rather than to my face), but the ‘shall we switch Holly off?’ story irritated me a bit. I know it’s dramatically huge and is a heartbreaking decision for anyone in that situation. But scene after scene of Ange looking anguished gets a bit trying, doesn’t it? And why does hot-shot Ange need Fletch to tell her that it’s her job to make the tough decisions?

– I enjoyed Mr Burman-Roy. He was a properly funny, eccentric character and he gave Cameron a much-needed reality check.

– I also enjoyed Carole Copeland, who is always glorious. Her scenes with Zav were lovely.

– Line of the week was Hanssen to Zav: ‘You have glitter.’ I know it doesn’t look like a great line on paper, but it was the way he said it. Magnificent.

(Picture: BBC)

Holby City: Bar bills, buskers and bright yellow chairs

(Series 21, ep. 6 ‘Force Majeure’ by Elliot Hope and Johanne McAndrew 5.2.19) For my full review, get yourself over to Metro (and peruse all the other excellent Holby City content while you’re there). But before you immerse yourself in all that, I have a few things to add.

– It seems odd that Ric is having all of these ‘cash-strapped NHS’ battles on AAU, while only a few floors above Ange can bring in her daughter as a locum CT surgeon more or less just to help her persuade one patient to have an operation. And don’t get me started on the gaudy decor and bright yellow chairs in the YAU (Yow!). Someone somewhere needs to get a grip on the finances.

– It was very amusing that everyone on AAU was putting their best face on while Ric was sort of hoping for them all to be ankles-deep in blood and vomit to show Francoise how desperate things were.

– Why was that busker out in the dark by the Raf Di Lucca Memorial Lump? It seemed very random, and a little bit dangerous for her when you think about all the shady stuff that’s gone on in that shrubbery over the years.

– The nurses apparently call Cameron ‘Camo’ because he’s nowhere to be seen. This is mostly applicable when there’s a bar bill to pay.

– Emma Curtis, who played Holly, did a really nice job of making Holly frustratingly stubborn but quite sweet and vulnerable at the same time. Her story was really sad, though imagine how many more shades of horror Holly might have had to go through if Professor Gaskell and his ‘miracle cures’ were still a thing.