Monroe

Having watched the first few episodes of Monroe I am surprised by reviews comparing it to House. Sure, Monroe is a hospital drama centred on a brilliant surgeon with a challenging personality. But hospital dramas about so so surgeons with boring personalities tend not to rate.

Monroe is well scripted, the story lines are compelling and much more credible than House's fantasy plots. It is well acted, has very high production values and is backed by a great music score. All in all it is great entertainment - exactly what I want from a TV series. To base a negative review of one show on a supposed, tenuous association with a completely different show instead of on its merits is puerile.

Despite people claiming it is only a British knock off of the US series, "House" (the creator admits he was inspired by the series, so there is no skullduggery), I am a big fan, and wish they had made more.

It is only like "House",in that it is a hospital drama.

Nesbitt plays Monroe, and unlike "House", he is not a neurotic and not addicted to pain killers.

He is a delightful fellow, with the same problems as anyone else, and has a fun pleasant sense of humor, not acerbic and ogomaniacal like "House".

I loved "House", don't get me wrong, and as an American I might be expected to be the first to cry "foul".

But I don't, because "Monroe" is original, funny, and Nesbitt makes it a joy to watch.

Hmmm... It's a (much needed, wink wink!) medical drama set in a hospital! The show is named after the 'brilliant' neurosurgeon who is a cynical, damaged but genius doctor who is constantly at odds with his colleagues and authority... Can YOU guess the name of the show? Well, you're wrong. It's called Monroe and it's an annoying copy of the US show House. But this time we have to endure an hour of a smug and antagonistic showoff who insists on telling everyone how good he is, rather than letting us find out for ourselves! If you can get past the awful British accents and the clichéd cast of supporting roles then you'll probably get stymied by the adolescent script and implausible story line...

One junior doctor says this to her boss at the end of an exhausting operation... "Coo - where did you learn to suture so fast!" Plenty of other annoyances, too. One patient buys his wife fruit knowing that she hates fruit because Monroe thinks it'll save their relationship, lots of students humiliated by their 'fantastic' God-like masters, scores of people in immaculate white coats whizzing importantly by and of course there is the fast walking conversations with people appearing from corridors to join in the fun. It's more like a well choreographed Andrew Lloyd Webber production...

It would be funny if it were a parody of House. It's rather sad that it isn't and that it actually got through the planning stages.

Love this series. Fine acting. Great stories. Medical sequencing is accurate.

I agree it may be lacking a tad in subtlety and originality, and the characters are slightly clichéd, but man did I love Monroe. It was a compelling, well-acted and well-written series that also does well in conveying any complexities and difficulties in the profession. I too don't understand the House comparison, the only two similarities I can think of at the top of my head are that they are set in a hospital and that both characters are cynical, House more so. Monroe has high production values, sharp, smart and witty writing, good direction and story lines that while not exactly original are more than benefited by the way they're paced and constructed. Monroe has excellent acting too, James Nesbitt is absolutely brilliant as his cynical yet fun character, and while Sarah Parish's role is less showy she does an excellent job with it. In conclusion, a great series and well worth catching. 9/10 Bethany Cox