The Clinic

When I first read in a local Irish paper that we were to get an Irish Medical drama my thoughts instantly went to those terrible medical dramas that were in the form of aussie soap operas. However I was pleasantly surprised by the high entertainment in it. Up until then the Irish networks had tried their best to give us some high quality entertainment but kept on falling sort of their target.

The first night I sat down with a couple of beers and began to watch it I was curious as to who the cast were. I looked up the Internet Movie Database Base that night and discovered that I had seen most of them before in terrible shows but this was their best effort. The standard of acting throughout was of a very high quality. Each actor slipped into their roles very comfortably indeed and this was the making of it really.

From the first show to the last one each actor/character developed individually each having a crisis in most episodes but it was a recurring theme in each episode that was the development of the character/overall story you see. But to be totally honest with you the script was pretty weak. The script had all the usual medical drama's going on in it and their was nothing new but it was that the acting and the emotions displayed on screen to us that made the show worthwhile.

It has taken the Irish network bosses nearly 50 years to provide us with a great drama and they have finally succeeded in doing so. It will be interesting to see if there is a series two and where it will take us.

I guess I didn't realize I would be watching what is and has been described as an Irish soap opera when I first clicked on the title on Acorn.com. Besides being addictive, it is totally nauseating and guilt producing. I could watch (NOT ENJOY) five series, where one character after another first gives hope that they can be normal and likable, only to fall by the wayside and become villainous or unredeemable. Perhaps in later series, there are some who do not fit that description, but that seems to be the case early on.

I began to skip past any segment with Dan, and then those with Clodagh, and then the awful character of Liam's son, Ian. Then it just became intolerable, and as much as I wanted and waited for the writers to do in Dan and that pipsqueak Ian -- and to get rid of Clodagh and even Cara, I could not take one more minute!

I discovered The Clinic online and watched the first two seasons. Season 2 ends with a major emotional cliff-hanger. I'd really like to see the other 5 seasons and wish they would make them available in some form or other. As another reviewer noted this show is about the personal relationships of the workers within a clinic in Ireland. The clinic is in a large old home that has been purchased by a fairly young couple who are doctors (Ed and Cathy). Dr. Ed was an assistant to an older doctor who ran the practice previously and he and his wife bought out the business and the old house when the older doctor passed away. However, the original doctor's widow still lives in the basement while the new couple lives in the upstairs flat, which is only one source of tension within the clinic. The other staff vary's a little from season to season, but there is another GP, a physical therapist, a counselor (who at some point or other gets to hear the problems of all his co- workers whether he likes it or not), a gay male nurse, a plastic surgeon, a financial controller (played by Chris O'Dowd who I had previously seen in the comedy series, The IT Crowd), and several female office workers. The clinic staff often socializes in the local pub which also helps to create some occasions for office romances and inappropriate relationships springing up which sets up some very dramatic and occasionally comedic situations.

This isn't for everybody. Too many viewers (drowning in American slick slop) will need a cheaper fix. But for those who understand how a quality soap is made, it is close to heaven.

The acting is universally good, even great at times. The direction shows competence even when the script occasionally slows. But the scriptwriters do a superb job: never preaching, always entertaining.

Ireland thank you. It's not Wilde, but it's not supposed to be. And I have fallen in love with almost every character - beautiful, sad and wicked - just because they are so believable.

I have never before watched a medical soap which practically makes you feel like a voyeur in a real life clinic. Of course, reality would be unwatchable. The Clinic is sometimes mesmerising.

OK, I will admit I am biased. I have been friends with the actor who plays Alex Walsh on the series for many years and therefore ordered the DVD's to view them in the states. However, now having seen all of season 1 and 2 (Season 3 is not yet out on DVD) I can say that the character development and plot lines are really good. Although originally I just ordered this to just see Sammy's performance, I was pleasantly surprised with the acting and writing on the series as a whole. The writers have done a good job developing each of the characters as individuals who have their own problems and issues outside the clinic and yet the series never looses its main focus of all the characters working together to make the clinic run smoothly. A used likened this series to the American TV series "ER". I would disagree. Being from the US and having watched ER for most of its run, I can say that ER is focused much more on the medical drama whereas "The CLinic" focuses much more on the interpersonal relationships and characters. Even without the medical drama, the show is highly enjoyable and I would recommend it