Holby City

Holby City has inspired me. 16 years old, I've watched the episodes over and over again and I love the atmosphere. I have now decided to go into medicine, as the lifestyle of the characters in this programme has enthralled me. The acting is brilliant, the effects are wizardry, the atmosphere is memorable and it's a fantastic spin-off from 'Casualty' - Another medical drama set in the same hospital.

British hospital dramas can be cliched affairs and yet despite sticking to the well-worn rules, Holby City has managed to stand alone as much more than just a Casualty spin-off.

The formula of eager young surgeon kept in check by irascible veteran with a God complex works a treat here, thanks largely to the chemistry between Michael French (Nick Jordan) and the sublime George Irving as Anton Meyer.

Unlike French, Irving's lack of TV baggage has made his character here all the more believable. Roles in The Professionals, Bergerac, The Bill and Boon have given him a good grounding in TV drama and his current role as the self-assured Cardio-Thoracic Consultant Surgeon seems to have been tailor-made for the South Shields-born actor.

The second run has seen the character develop, largely thanks to the arrival of his old sparring partner Mike Barrett (Clive Mantle) who manages to keep Meyer in check while dispensing a few dreadful gags.

"I had this one patient who swallowed a spoon - I told her not to stir."

In its early years this show was essential viewing, it definitely took me away from Casualty, arguably it was the better show. The stories were engaging, the cast were excellent, the whole thing felt well made and tightly written, the early years of the show I'd class as an 8/10, however,

It its latter years, the quality crashed, it turned into a melodramatic soap opera, it was such a shame, the original tightly written storylines transformed into something more fitting of an early afternoon soap opera.

It was always well made and authentic looking. If you get the chance to see the earlier episodes, I'd say they're still worth seeing.

I was sad to see the show axed, but it's fair to say it was long since on borrowed time, it ran out of steam many years before it ended. The latter years I'd rate as 4/10.

Overall, 6/10.

As all the other comments have been made about only Series 1 and 2 and Holby is now near the end of its 4th series, I need to renew them. Of course I have grown up since the last comment I made ('mathewowen') and now realise that Holby City really isn't that realistic when you look at the hard graft and rush that goes on in real hospitals. It's true that a lot of the staff are more like counsellors than medical staff, and it's also true that a lot of the one episode characters (in every episode different patients are featured with their own storylines) come from soaps.

However, Holby City is still watchable stuff, and I think with the two new wards: Maternity and the Children's Ward, every episode is even more different, and there are so many new characters that are, for the most part, well played.

Holby is now viewed as a soap because of its all year round showing, and what with more staff storylines involving affairs and staff becoming patients, it's still good drama. Watch out for some eps where there are some scenes set in Casualty (Holby is a spin off of Casualty) with Casualty characters (likewise in a recent episode Mr Meyer was featured in Casualty being as arrogant as ever).

Okay, some could say that there are more staff storylines as the writers as exhausting the patient storylines. However, there are have been some pretty memorable staff storylines in the past 2 series, such as Mr Meyer being shot, Janice Taylor's (she's the consultant on the children's ward) husband having an affair with Sister Williams, Kath Shaugnessy playing victim to domestic violence, Liam Evans learning to cope with life in a wheelchair, Victoria Merrick being murdered (it was a classic 'whodunnit') and Danny Shaugnessy marrying an illegal immigrant who's first husband turned up though she thought he was dead, to name a few.

And the good thing about Holby City is that the whole set and atmosphere is like a real British hospital. You can almost smell the disinfectant!

Watch Holby City next time it's on and see for yourself. It's good drama.

I have been watching Holby City since it began, although it suffers slightly from the story lines revolving too much around the staff the show does give us some intense drama when it wants to. I would recommend watching this to anyone who loves a good drama based around the setting of an hospital. Holby City also has some great characters like the wonderful newcomer Amanda Mealing who plays Connie. Here's to the future of Holby City - may it be long and prosperous and continue to flourish. I don't think Holby is as good as it once was however but it's still a top notch drama and one that the BBC should be very proud to air.