Casualty

Fantastic series - I was always a great fan but the early part of each show, where they set up each of the story lines, used to worry me somewhat! As you can imagine, the show was centered around Holby City Hospital and the scenes were being set so you KNEW that the 'normal' people going about their 'normal' lives in 'normal' situations were about to experience something fairy dreadful to warrant their inclusion in the show and their appearance in the A&E (UK) or the ER (US) with any manner of tubes and machines beeping and blipping their lives away. Consistently superb storylines and great acting (don't you love 'Charlie!) made this compulsive viewing.

When this show first began I was still a schoolboy and I loved it because my dream was to be a nurse in a casualty unit. Since that time I have realised that dream, and also realised what utter tripe this show has become. True to BBC drama form these days it seems that everything must be miserable or depressing to be considered good drama. Over the years I have seen the show deteriorate into the realms of nothing more than a political hobby horse. Bearing little resemblance to reality in any way all this show does for me is ensure I turn over stat!

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

I started watching the show in 2001 and i was hooked from the first episode i saw, I love the show and make sure i never miss an episode (even though i am on the casual+y website every Sunday morning looking at the preview clip). The show never fails to impress me, the story lines are great, very creative and make you want to watch more!!

It is a sort of drama but i think it is a bit different to all the others they all have that sort of seriousness about them and i find this boring so i don't watch them. But Casual+y is different, you don't just see the Staff at work, you get to see them out of their working life and into their home life, this helps you understand their personalities and why they act like they do. Understanding the background of a character makes it more interesting and helps you understand them a bit more making you feel closer to them, i think you need this to make a successful show and the crew on Casual+y have mastered this unique quality!!!!!!!!

Keep up the good work!!!

Casualty is good entertainment and drama for a Saturday evening, the show is always well directed. The script isn't always top notch but the writers do their best and the writing is usually of a very high standard which compliments the good job the directors on Casualty and such shows do. The show is centred around the "Accident and Emergency" department of Holby City general hospital and focuses on both the personal and working lives of the patients and the staff who go there. I would recommend this show to anybody looking for some good drama for their Saturday evenings infront of the tele, if however you prefer full on entertainment on a Saturday without the drama bit then this show may not be for you.