Critical (Sky 1) - NO SPOILERS

MoJo-GirlMoJo-Girl Posts: 979
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Did anyone watch this? I have it recorded (will watch it tonight) and think it looks amazing!

I LOVED ER and hope that it's more along those lines than Holby City or Casualty.

What did those of you who watched it think? No spoilers please - as I say, I haven't watched it yet!

(I did search for a thread on this and couldn't find one. Apologies if there is one already up and running!)
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  • MoJo-GirlMoJo-Girl Posts: 979
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    I guess not...!

    :p
  • Nellie1000Nellie1000 Posts: 1,664
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    I started to watch it. Found it boring and turned off after 20 mins.
  • Fat BuddhaFat Buddha Posts: 882
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    Personally I thought it was utterly dire. It didn't evoke any sense of drama or suspense. There were some cheesy clichéd lines in the script coupled with some really wooden acting performances. By the end of the show I imagined the guy on the trolley was hoping he'd have carked it just so he could get off this complete car crash of a programme.

    The show lives up to it's title of Critical, as in Critically bad, but not even a defibrillator could put any life into it.

    Don't think it'll get past one series.
  • walterwhitewalterwhite Posts: 56,564
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    I thought it was awful as well, just loads of people shouting.
  • MoJo-GirlMoJo-Girl Posts: 979
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    Oh that's a shame. I still haven't had time to watch it...don't know if I want to now!

    I'll give it a go and if it's dire, I'll turn it off, cancel the series link and continue living my life!
  • suffolkbluesuffolkblue Posts: 4,047
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    I advise Don't bother with it. It's truly awful. Terrible work from Sky.
  • Mairi_CameronMairi_Cameron Posts: 350
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    I finally got a chance to have a look for this thread to see what everyone else thought and'm wishing I hadn't bothered, such a grumpy lot on here ;)

    I loved ER too, and was hoping this would be along the same lines - I found it to be exactly that, exciting, tense, realistic (not that I know anything about trauma rooms but it was believable for me!) Plus of course Morgan off the Walking Dead, who I had no idea was british. I liked it so much I immediately went and downloaded episode 2.
  • chrisii2011chrisii2011 Posts: 2,694
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    It wasnt bad but it was only the first episode
  • chrisii2011chrisii2011 Posts: 2,694
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    I finally got a chance to have a look for this thread to see what everyone else thought and'm wishing I hadn't bothered, such a grumpy lot on here ;)

    I loved ER too, and was hoping this would be along the same lines - I found it to be exactly that, exciting, tense, realistic (not that I know anything about trauma rooms but it was believable for me!) Plus of course Morgan off the Walking Dead, who I had no idea was british. I liked it so much I immediately went and downloaded episode 2.

    If you want a good hospital drama like ER try grey's anatomy
  • walterwhitewalterwhite Posts: 56,564
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    I finally got a chance to have a look for this thread to see what everyone else thought and'm wishing I hadn't bothered, such a grumpy lot on here ;)

    I loved ER too, and was hoping this would be along the same lines - I found it to be exactly that, exciting, tense, realistic (not that I know anything about trauma rooms but it was believable for me!) Plus of course Morgan off the Walking Dead, who I had no idea was british. I liked it so much I immediately went and downloaded episode 2.

    Comparing it to E.R. is ridiculous in my opinion. it wasn't fit to be mentioned in the same breath.
  • calico_piecalico_pie Posts: 10,060
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    Have recorded it, but haven't watched it yet.

    Shame, as it sounded promising, and Jed Mercurio has good form with hospital dramas in Cardiac Arrest and Bodies.
  • Sweaty Job RotSweaty Job Rot Posts: 2,031
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    I finally got a chance to have a look for this thread to see what everyone else thought and'm wishing I hadn't bothered, such a grumpy lot on here ;)

    I loved ER too, and was hoping this would be along the same lines - I found it to be exactly that, exciting, tense, realistic (not that I know anything about trauma rooms but it was believable for me!) Plus of course Morgan off the Walking Dead, who I had no idea was british. I liked it so much I immediately went and downloaded episode 2.

    Considering who penned it I expected better, almost as dire as The Vacant Casualty.
  • donna255donna255 Posts: 10,142
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    Watched it, boring won't watch again.
  • Mairi_CameronMairi_Cameron Posts: 350
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    Considering who penned it I expected better, almost as dire as The Vacant Casualty.

    Seriously? I'm absolutely loving the Casual Vacancy, I was worried because I liked the book so much but I think they've adapted it really well.

    As for not mentioning this and ER in the same breath, it's a REALLY long time since I watched ER but I got the same feeling watching Critical as I did when I first saw ER.
  • LostFoolLostFool Posts: 90,624
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    calico_pie wrote: »
    Have recorded it, but haven't watched it yet.

    Shame, as it sounded promising, and Jed Mercurio has good form with hospital dramas in Cardiac Arrest and Bodies.

    Cardiac Arrest may be 20 years old but it is easily the best British medical drama ever. Bodies was very good too.

    Haven't got around to watching this new show yet but the cast list looks promising.
  • arkark Posts: 3,046
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    Really enjoyed critical - very tense. I have no medical experience, and I dont care how "realistic" it was it was fascinating to me!!!!
  • ServalanServalan Posts: 10,167
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    LostFool wrote: »
    Cardiac Arrest may be 20 years old but it is easily the best British medical drama ever. Bodies was very good too.

    Haven't got around to watching this new show yet but the cast list looks promising.

    Cardiac Arrest and Bodies were brilliant - Critical isn't in the same league at all. Nor it is anything remotely like ER, which was characterful as well as full of medical suspense.

    I'm sure it may be medically authentic, but characterisation appears to have been sacrificed for people running round shouting out medical terminology in a hospital which starts off looking like Seattle Grace from Grey's Anatomy and then turns into Star Trek once you reach the interiors.

    Strangest of all, Lenny James is only glimpsed at the end and even then isn't seen in the hospital. From the 'Next time …' clips, it looks like Episode 2 should have been the pilot, and Episode 1 is a bizarre prequel of some sort.

    I'd love a new medical drama to break the hold Casualty and Holby City seem to have over the genre in this country, however unwatchable they may be. But, on the basis of that opening episode, Critical isn't it …
  • walterwhitewalterwhite Posts: 56,564
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    Servalan wrote: »
    Cardiac Arrest and Bodies were brilliant - Critical isn't in the same league at all. Nor it is anything remotely like ER, which was characterful as well as full of medical suspense.

    I'm sure it may be medically authentic, but characterisation appears to have been sacrificed for people running round shouting out medical terminology in a hospital which starts off looking like Seattle Grace from Grey's Anatomy and then turns into Star Trek once you reach the interiors.

    Strangest of all, Lenny James is only glimpsed at the end and even then isn't seen in the hospital. From the 'Next time …' clips, it looks like Episode 2 should have been the pilot, and Episode 1 is a bizarre prequel of some sort.

    I'd love a new medical drama to break the hold Casualty and Holby City seem to have over the genre in this country, however unwatchable they may be. But, on the basis of that opening episode, Critical isn't it …

    Couldn't have said it better.
  • Mairi_CameronMairi_Cameron Posts: 350
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    Couldn't have said it better.

    Seems a shame to pass judgement after one episode.
  • walterwhitewalterwhite Posts: 56,564
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    Seems a shame to pass judgement after one episode.

    In a way it does, but the first episode was so awful I won't waste my time watching another one.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 128
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    I recorded it because of the cast but it is complete bollox. I have left it running for 45 minutes So far they haven't moved away from the operating table and close ups of people looking very stressed.
  • Chiltons CaneChiltons Cane Posts: 23,588
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    I watched it. Nice to have a drama that actually reflects more closely on how a real hopital trauma runs and not full of soapy elements like Casualty and Holby.
  • Chiltons CaneChiltons Cane Posts: 23,588
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    Seems a shame to pass judgement after one episode.

    I agree. I can never understand how anyone gives up on a show after one episode. You need at least 3 or 4 to get into the flow and learn more about the characters. Thats why so many shows get axed after one season these days. i guess with Sky and so much choice, tv is a lot more throwaway than it used to be.
  • ServalanServalan Posts: 10,167
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    I agree. I can never understand how anyone gives up on a show after one episode. You need at least 3 or 4 to get into the flow and learn more about the characters. Thats why so many shows get axed after one season these days. i guess with Sky and so much choice, tv is a lot more throwaway than it used to be.

    There is an art to a successful pilot episode - look at any of the successful US series, that make it look slick and effortless, when it's anything but. It involves setting your stall out clearly, creating a series of hooks that will make the viewer want to come back for more.

    Critical lacked that. There was so much medicine that character barely got a look-in. And characters are what audiences latch onto - medical jargon alone isn't a selling point. Which makes the decision not to include the series' lead actor - around whom much of the show's publicity has been based - in the hospital environment even more baffling.

    Sorry to burst your bubble, but nobody should need to stay with a series for four episodes - and programme-makers know full well that audiences don't have that kind of patience. The competition is too great. It's not about the genre being throwaway - it's about grabbing the audience by the scruff of the neck and giving them so many reasons to stay with it that they won't give up. (Look at the pilot of How To Get Away With Murder if you want to see how it's done)

    The reality is that Sky just don't have a track record in successful original drama. We're talking about the department that rejected Utopia - a show that became critically acclaimed and a cult hit when it found a home on Channel 4. And I can only assume that Jed Mercurio, much as I love his writing on Line Of Duty, has been away from medicine too long to create a convincing hospital environment.

    I am prepared to give it another shot - but I am extremely sceptical after such a poor opening episode …
  • CFCJM1CFCJM1 Posts: 2,065
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    Yes agree this first episode was pretty dire but I'll give it another couple of episodes to pass judgement. If it carries on the same way I'll switch off - but like Lenny James so will see how it goes next week. Hoping they develop some of the characters more.
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