Malpractice

It's a truism that it's easier to start an interesting story than it is to finish it. I found this one gripping in the first couple of episodes. By episode 3 I was looking up how many more episodes there were left to go.

The story and the predicament of the lead character got more and more fraught, but it might have been hurried along, in my opinion.

In episode 5, not surprisingly it all reaches a crescendo - but then rather lamely, too smoothly and quickly comes to the conclusion.

I think it's almost a rule now that TV drama serials have one or two episodes too many. I presume it's somehow cheaper to spin out one series out than to generate two.

There are some clichés, for example those TV drama disputes where characters have an argument lasting one minute, which ends when one of them simply leaves the room.

I enjoyed this and binged it over two evenings. Most of the cast, except Brian Bovell, are unknown to me. But all seem to me to be convincing.

Bit puzzled by the reviewer who asked ' where's the men'. Did this person watch a different programme? Let me see. The A&E consultant: a man. One out of the two investigators: male. One out of the two juniors: male (and not a nurse as erroneously mentioned. Strong hints that it's a 'women good, men bad' show. Apart form the husband who's not written as bad. The junior doctor, Oscar, not written as bad. The investigator Dr Adjei, again not written as bad. The barrister Sir Anthony Owusu, again, not an evil character at all. On the other hand, the 'strong female lead' character could be considered morally dubious at the very least. So matey your argument doesn't stand up. But I guess those who feel their tv shows should mainly feature straight white men of noble character then you might feel a bit miffed. Still I say the husband's a good'un.

One or two things I'd query. Bit surprised the police weren't involved a lot earlier on. And yes, how did the MIU people get hold of phone record?

Apart from that worth a watch if you like thrillers involving a big conspiracy going right to the top.

Medical drama 'Malpractice' has been put together by some of the same team that wored on 'Line of Duty', and it shows: it features a tricksy plot, sustained dramatic tension, and a lot of high-pressure interviews. But it's not quite as successful. While I don't know exactly how allegations of medical malpractice are actually conducted, I found the aggressivley confrontational approach shown here, with doctors treated as if they were criminal suspects, unconvincing. Moreover, there's a reason why so many dramas feature the police: even if a normal individual is caught up in some horrible plot, they don't investigate it themselves. And there's a level of coincidence that at times strains credibility that the story relies upon to repeatedly put its protagonist into the tightest of tight spots. It still has plenty of gripping moments, but as a whole it feels contrived. I still enjoyed it, and Niamh Algar is good as the central character, even if she can't entirely escape the limitations of the script.

Look, this didn't send frissons of excitement up my spine but it was reasonably tense at times. The thing is not to take everything at face value or there wouldn't be a TV series.

How anyone in charge, no matter what class of work - could have access to such detailed personal information about one of their employees is mind boggling, admittedly.

At any rate, I did enjoy it and even rooted for the main character even though I found her to be rather unlikable. There were other unpleasant characters too, I guess none of them really covered themselves in glory.

Still, in the end it was a good watch. The only guy I vaguely recognised, still not sure from where, turned out to be the baddy!!!

Malpractice doesn't muck about it has an explosive opening that shows the pressure A&E departments and their staff live with. The writer Grace Ofori-Attah was herself a Doctor in the NHS for ten years and the world's she's created here felt totally authentic.

Some of the critics have christened it Call of Duty meets Casualty and that's not a put down. Its an investigative thriller and a very twisty one - far removed from the more earnest look at the NHS under the cosh seen in 'This Is Going to Hurt' on BBC1 last year.

Production values were good throughout with an excellent script and a strong cast. A big shout out to the lead Niamh Algar for another stellar performance (also brilliant in 'Deceit').

There are a few moments you may need to suspend belief (could someone she previously knew investigate her - no) - but with such a good story and cast I didn't mind.