Holby City: You think you’re a man

(Series 22, ep. 12 by Ed Sellek 31.3.20) I’ve reviewed this episode for Metro as usual, so have a look over there. But before you go…

– Important stuff first. What do we think of Ange’s new hairstyle? I quite like it, I think.

– Jo Martin is impressive at making Max so completely horrible, and I really felt for Louis.

– It’s the first part of a two-part episode, and it felt like it. The Lindsay story is still unresolved, and the flashback of Max ranting in the car park and Louis smashing the watch hasn’t been revisited yet. And there’s Essie… Next week can’t come soon enough.

– Line of the week: (Jac welcomes David, who usually works in the ED) ‘If you miss the violent threats and vomit, just let me know.’

– Once again we had a BAFTA-worthy performance from David Ames’ face when he realised that Essie’s cancer was back. And I’m already worried about how Sacha will cope.

Holby City: Change is coming

(Series 22, ep. 8 by Alex Straker 25.2.20) Wander over to Metro to read my review of this episode. But before you do that…

– Sacha and Essie! Squeee! And about time etc. I think if she’d said yes to Ben’s proposal and Sacha had looked all sad-but-pretending-to-be-happy-for-her-sake and the whole thing had dragged out another week I’d have exploded in frustration. They are meant to be together.

– Hugh Quarshie is always at his best in these Ric v The System storylines. I’m fascinated to find out what Hanssen is up to as well.

– I loved the moment when Essie told Dom she wanted to talk to him about ‘Ben… and Sacha.’ He looked like he was wondering exactly how many of the male staff of Keller Ben had been kissing recently.

– And we don’t have long to find out what happens next, because Holby is also on tonight. Hurrah!

Holby City: What’s Cameron Dunn now?

(Series 22, ep. 7 by Johanne McAndrew and Elliot Hope 18.2.20) I’ve reviewed this over at Metro as usual, so please have a look. But before you go…

– How brilliant is it to see Hanssen back? As soon as I heard his first words (‘Long night, Mr Copeland?’) I felt televisually hugged. If that makes sense.

– It was very lucky for Carole that he was back, but on the other hand when Sacha told her ‘Try not to worry,’ I thought (not for the first time) that Sacha is the doctor I’d want looking after me. Unless I needed heart surgery, in which case Jac every time, obvs.

– I’m very excited to find out how Hanssen will oust Max McGerry. I rather love it that he’s plotting quietly, and I also think she might be aware of it and will have some counter strategy of her own going on. I’m looking forward to an epic showdown.

– Fletch in the dinosaur costume. Adorable.

– Carole and Hanssen! He has feelings for her! I love that.

– Carole telling Dominic, ‘You made me smile every day.’ And him saying ‘I love you, Mum.’ I’m so happy that the Ange business hasn’t dented the Dominic/Carole bond.

– Cameron. What do we think? I’m still of the opinion that these nasty personality traits we’re seeing recently are coming from him trying too hard to be what people expect him to be – the Wolfe cub. He’s immature, arrogant and a bit daft rather than being actually nasty. That’s what I’m hoping, anyway.

– And the Ben/Dom kiss I’m hoping will be just the thing to split Essie and Ben up and get Essie and Sacha back together.

Holby City: The one with the Tooth Fairy

(Series 21, ep. 29 ‘Reckless’ by Gerard Sampaio 16.7.19) For an in-depth probing of this episode please pop over to Metro. But first…

– I know we’re supposed to hate Evan – and I do, honestly – but isn’t Jack Ryder doing a beautiful job with the character?

– It didn’t take long for Dominic to work out what Evan really is. He’s seen the pattern before and Evan doesn’t scare him.

– Cameron’s one-day-long journey from feeling under Bernie’s shadow to accepting that she did what she had to do and he’s all right with that, to finding out she’s missing in action was a bit blatant, but Serena’s face when she saw an army officer talking to Cameron packed a powerful punch all the same. She clearly still loves Bernie.

– If you’d said a year ago that I might be wishing for a romance between Henrik Hanssen and Carole Copeland I would probably have laughed at you. But here we are – it looks like it could possibly happen and it would actually be beautiful. I love how Guy Henry and Julia Deakin play their scenes together. There’s a real lightness of touch and emotional heart to them. Hanssen’s character is so well-developed now that they could take the character into a love story without him losing the essential Hanssen-ness – that formal, slightly stern, eccentric demeanour that we know and love.

– Zav and Donna. I say it every week almost but… adorable.

– Ric was a tiny bit forgetful this week, did you notice? I wonder what’s going on there.

– Dialogue of the week:

(Hanssen) ‘Rationality is the greatest gift one can give a child.’

(Carole) ‘You can’t really put that under a pillow.’

Holby City: He hasn’t changed a bit

(Series 21, ep. 24 ‘Over My Dead Body’ by Joe Ainsworth 11.6.19) For my rather long review of this episode pop yourself over to Metro (best make a cup of tea – and read this bit – first).

– ‘I was desperate for you to see how much I’d changed,’ said the man who hasn’t changed at all. Including that when he resorts to violence, as he did here, it’s still as shocking as when we first saw him hit Dominic all that time ago. I think it’s because Marc Elliott’s portrayal of Isaac is of a monster who works primarily on the psychological and emotional level, always with a veneer of charm and reasonableness. His violent outbursts come apparently out of nowhere and are more disturbing for being unexpected.

– His callous attitude to his father was stomach-turning too.

– Talking of stomach turning, that remark by Chloe to Dom about his ‘receptionist mother’ was really nasty, particularly because we all love Carole so much. So does Dominic, as you could see on his face. He was wounded on her behalf, and also perhaps a part of him felt the truth of what Chloe was saying – that he’d been as willing to drop his receptionist mother as he’d been to change his name from Darren to Dominic.

– Hanssen and Oskar – adorable. Holby are so good at casting child actors, and it was a brilliant idea to bring Hanssen and his grandson together like this.

– I guessed straight away that Oskar’s problem was that Hanssen was wearing scrubs. I find Hanssen in anything other than a suit quite odd, too.

– They really do need a neurosurgeon at Holby, don’t they? The number of times no neuro person has been available, because they’re all either dead or at home watching Blue Planet with Oliver Valentine.

– Quote of the week – Essie: ‘Has [Oskar] moved into the office?’ Hanssen: ‘He has made a little land-grab there.’

Holby City: Which one of us made the monster?

(Series 21, ep. 23 ‘In the Right Place’ by Ed Sellek 4.6.19) For this week’s proper review, please pop along to Metro, the Home of the Best Soaps Coverage (I’m not contractually obliged to say that, it just definitely is). But first…

– Ed Sellek, the man who brought us Hanssen Playing The Theremin (but you already knew that) today brought us Hanssen’s Precious Anatomical Model. Hanssen’s poor face as clumsy Sacha dropped all the internal organs on the floor was quite delightful. And it produced a lovely metaphor when Oskar found a piece on the floor. ‘Ah. You’ve found my heart. Well done,’ said Hanssen. I’m looking forward to seeing Oskar finding Hanssen’s considerable but sometimes hidden heart in the coming weeks.

– I thought this was going to be the last we’d see of Isaac after Dom told him to jog on, but apparently not (see summer trailer, below). 

– I actually winced when Dominic dropped that saxophone on the ground. That is not the way to treat a musical instrument.

– Some of the scenes between Dominic and Jon reminded me of that very tense episode where Sacha had to look after Essie’s dying Nazi grandfather, in the conflict between his instincts as a doctor and his instincts as a person.

– One day in the future Ange might ponder why both her children are susceptible to controlling, manipulative men – because Evan is shaping up to be almost as nasty as Isaac Mayfield. Currently he’s at the fairly early stages of ‘I-know-best-what-you-need-don’t-I-babe.’ As viewers we can see exactly what’s happening, but I think the only characters who can see it are Cameron and possibly Nicky. I wonder what role Dominic will be able to play in the story as someone who’s survived that kind of relationship?

– And finally… the summer trailer. My heart skipped a beat at Jac’s glimpse of Joseph in the rain (it had to be Joseph) and I might have made an eeking sound when he actually appeared. Of course that wasn’t the only excitement and intrigue to be had from that trailer, and I’ve detailed all the other fun in yet another article for Metro here.

Watch the trailer on the BBC Holby website or on YouTube

Holby City: He used to be a happy boy

(Series 21, ep. 21 ‘Unredeemed’ by Andy Bayliss 21.5.19) Pop over to Metro for the full review of this episode. But first…

– It was one of those episodes which shows what a real community Holby is, as everyone jumped to defend Dominic from the nasty Isaac.

– Isaac hasn’t changed at all, has he? Still as manipulative and nasty as ever. Marc Elliott plays him so well that the scenes between Isaac and Dom were quite distressing to watch.

– Lofty leaving Dominic sandwiches for breakfast was like Charlie bringing Duffy the last muffin on Casualty. Adorable. I still don’t think for a minute that Lofty would have cheated on Dominic on what was supposed to be their honeymoon, but sometimes plot reasons come first I suppose.

– Carole’s love of Dominic hasn’t been affected one bit by his recent rejecting behaviour of her, has it? I loved her confrontation with Jon: ’My son was a happy boy and Isaac has taken that away.’

Holby City: ‘It felt like I’d fallen off the face of your earth’

(Series 21, ep. 20 ‘The Wrong Horse’ by Nick Fisher 14.5.19) There’s a full review of this episode at Metro.

I’m currently trying to get the next few weeks’ reviews etc ready for Metro as I’m going away on holiday soon, so apologies that there are no random thoughts this week. I’m already several episodes ahead and very nervous that I might give spoilers away by having a random thought about something you haven’t seen yet!

 

Holby City: No flies on Darwin

(Series 21, ep. 18 ‘Vinegar and Honey’ by Ed Sellek 30.4.19) For a full review of this week’s episode please bob over to Metro (the home of top quality soaps coverage). But first…

– The episode was called ‘Vinegar and Honey’ because Fletch told Jac ‘You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.’ I loved Jac’s reply: ‘Why would I want flies?’

– So Kian is the cousin of Marty in the ED. I wonder whether we’ll see Kian summoned to a Casualty crossover one day? It would be even nicer if Marty was there – he hasn’t been seen in a while.

– I understood Ange’s explanation of why Chloe would be devastated to find out Dominic is her brother while she was saying it, but looking back I’m not sure I agree with her now. What do you think?

– Dominic is getting quite obsessive though. When he told Ange ‘You don’t get to abandon me again,’ it sounded borderline threatening – not in a scary way, but in a very needy way. He isn’t a character whose emotions you can just dabble with, as Ange is finding out.

– I knew all wasn’t well in Scary Sue’s romantic life. Bless her.

Holby City: Behind the eyes

(Series 21, ep. 17 ‘Pleased to Meet You’ by Ed Sellek 23.4.19) For my full (and rather long) review of this brilliant episode, head over to Metro. But first…

– I’ve not always been the greatest fan of Nicky as a character, but she absolutely stole the episode for me with her breathless fan-girly appreciation of Kian. Even when she was in the background she was giving him admiring little glances. It was really funny and well done.

– Talking of funny, I love Ed Sellek’s episodes. He’s the man who gave us Hanssen with a theremin, as I’ll never cease to keep reminding you because it was genius.

– And Scary Sue! She’s absolutely brilliant. I loved her comment about London making her bogies black. It’s such a northern thing to say (I speak as a northerner who lives in London). The genius of Sue’s character is that she has this ‘scary’ reputation but she’s ever so vulnerable and sad really, and I like that Donna recognised that about her.

– It was a good debut for Kian. He’s like a Mills and Boon fantasy doctor come to life with his tattooed hunkiness, but he’s got an air of danger and secrets around him that makes him quite interesting.

– Dominic was being really horrible to Carole and I could have slapped him at various points, but David Ames lets you see everything play out in Dominic’s eyes – the emotions of the moment are on his face, but his eyes tell you how he really feels inside and he is hurting.

– Julia Deakin and Dawn Steele are also being brilliant in this storyline and even though I still wish it hadn’t happened, it’s bringing some ninja level drama out, which I suppose is the entire point.

– Though when is Chloe going to get her chance to start emoting like everybody else? It must come soon.

– I’m glad Dom’s father was just a nice boy who liked Wham! and had a look of John Taylor from Duran Duran, rather than something sinister or icky. Such as looking like Simon Le Bon from Duran Duran.