Bernie slightly redeemed herself towards the end of that episode, I don't think she will ever be a favourite of mine, though.

Seeing Dom and Diggers having fun on Keller was bitter sweet, if what we fear is going to happen does indeed happen.

Not sure where the Ollie/Zoshia sl is going. At one point I thought they were over for good. I do like them together, though.

Loved how Serena just appeared at the bar for free drinks the writers know how to write for her character unlike Adele!

Good news it looks like the day we've all been waiting for has arrived!

Yes and then evolves into a higher life from of pure energy and flies off into space!

Leaving all of us ugly bags of mostly water watching in awe at her brilliance

You're brave to say that! Jemma Redgrave is a member of the most famous and prestigious acting family in the country. She's the daughter of Corin Redgrave, granddaughter of Sir Michael Redgrave and niece of Vanessa Redgrave.

I think she's doing well. I know she doesn't show much emotion, but I feel like that's been a conscious characterisation decision, rather than because Jemma is incapable - as someone pointed out, the emotion is there when it needs to be. I really like the character as well.

And the whole world comes together to unite under the new religion of our lord and savior the almighty god Adele.

But doesn't that just some up how subjective acting is. The best actor or actress in the world might not provoke an emotional response in a viewer, so to that viewer, to them, they aren't a good actor/actress.

As it happens, i agree that it is a conscious acting choice of Redgrave's. Bernie is meant to be a fish out of water, struggling with leaving a job she loved due to her injury and the wishes/needs of her husband and children and she probably resents that plus nobody works as she thinks she should after so many years in a war zone, military environment.

She doesn't know how to deal with it, it comes across as hard, cold, unemotional to many but also passionate) like not giving up on the 'one under') but maybe her passion is misplaced and rubbing people up the wrong way.

I don't much like Bernie as a person yet but I don't think we are meant to. My reasons are more to do with her dissing Jac, Ric and Sacha without knowing them and showing no respect for the 'chain of command' which is ironic given her military background but again, part of the bedding in process I think.

There is one query about her having no bedside manner though. How long has she been an Army medic? Has she always been in a war zpne? It's just my dad's best friend who was a GP (he died a few weeks ago) did 3 years as an Army medic straight out of Med School and whilst some of it was in Korea, most was on Army bases in Germany or the Far East where they had to treat families as well as soldiers - so pregnancies, children's illnesses, even elderly stuff for visiting parents. He said it was the best all round training he could have had as he had to deal with everything and some of it needed a good bedsied manner.

Oh yes, it does absolutely sum up how subjective it is. If I didn't think Jemma was any good I'd say so myself, I just think one has to be pretty brave to say something like that about a Redgrave!

I actually really do like Bernie as a person, I think she's wonderfully complex. Her bedside manner is somewhat flawed, but she seems committed to improving herself so that she can do a better job. She appears to be very insecure, but that doesn't interfere with being a good doctor - she never lets her emotions control her, which is a good thing. And clinically, she appears to outshine even Jac, which is a first.

I think the writers probably haven't thought that much about how things are for an army medic. But I suppose you can imagine that if she has been working in a war zone for the past several years, that's what she's used to and it will be a struggle to adjust to a different approach, even if she has done it at points in the past. In the same way, if she continues to work in hospitals for a long time and then rejoins the army, she'd have to readjust again. It's difficult to make a massive shift from what you're used to, especially if you had to use your previous techniques for a long time.

Here's something I didn't understand: what was wrong with Cara's second applicant? I can understand why she ran from the man with dreadlocks and a drum kit but the woman looked completely normal.

What, the girl that was dressed as a Star Trek Original series Yeomen? Well that was just blatant Trekkerism. If you're into Star trek, you must be nuts and therefore dangerous and not to be considered as a flatmate!!

Tongue out of cheek, i love science fiction, I like star Trek and i have attended conventions, indeed I've organised conventions in the past. Some of my best friends are so into Doctor Who they've made acareer out of it and now work on the programme. Nearly all are sensible, intelligent, educated people who are not ashamed of being a fan.

However, they all know how neing a 'fan' can come across, especially one that dresses up as a character and would have more sense than to do so when meeting somebody for the first time, especially if you wanted them to share their home with you.

That said, most of my friends wouldn"'t dress up anyway. Difference between a 'Trekkie' and a 'Trekker' you see.

Ah, I see. I've never seen Star Trek, so I wouldn't know.

I thought it was a bit unfair of Cara just to disappear without even speaking to them when they'd bothered to show up, even if they did seem a bit odd.

I'm not sure I'd agree that Bernie's is an excellent doctor or doesn't allow her emotions to control her decisions.

She has in only a couple of weeks, arguably put a young man (and his father) through unnecessary physical and emotional pain by keeping him alive when the kinder thing would have been to let him go. Not to mention the money that would have cost the NHS in theatre and consultant time and possibly neglect to other patients.

Then, the stuff with Ric's teacher was point scoring and she ignored the Patients wishes for her own reasons. Yes, he needed the operation but Ric could have been called. Or one of the other Doctors such as Sacha when the Patient made it so clear he wasn't happy.

Then the mess this week, riding roughshod over something as sensitive as a relatively young woman losing her 'symbol' of femininity (her breasts) and her way of having a baby - what many women believe to be the main reason you exist as a woman. Sometimes people will make decisions based purely on emotion, not medicine or logic.

I'm not saying she should have had to hold the women's hands this week, other people would probably be better at that and to a certain extent, Nurses are there for that or Psych counselors. But she was crap. As a woman in her 40s, who hasn't had kids and has pretty much accepted I won't but still hopes, I'd have found her attitude really horrible even if i had gone in for an elective.

I do know jac has done much, much worse by the way and u've called her for it when she has.

I do quite like Bernie in that i find her interesting and get why she is doing what she is. I just don't like some of the things she has done - specifically being nasty about Jac to Mo when Jac had been a good Doctor clinically and pastorally and even recommended her for a job.

My Dad's friend's experience was over 50 years ago when things were relatively calm so obviously different to the last 15 years or so with the ongoing presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, but even so, no soldier is on constant tours of duties all through their tenure, a Doctor wouldn't be either.

Yes, it was horrobly unfair. She was probably a lovely girl who would have really appreciated having a nice, outgoing flatmate like Cara. Bet she made great Tea as well.

But, that is the bigotry we Sci Fi fans face I'm afraid!!??

I realise that the thing with the young man and his father was controversial, but I felt like she felt the chances of him making a recovery were reasonable. Jac didn't think they'd bring him back the first time, and Bernie proved that they could. Yes, they wasted resources, but there's always a risk of that - they want to tell the family that they did all they could, and in Bernie's professional opinion the chances were good enough to try for a bit longer. She didn't go on fighting a losing battle for anything like as long as Arthur did.

I disagree that the issue with Ric was point-scoring. Ric shouldn't have been treating him anyway because they knew each other, and he was so emotionally involved that he wasn't making objective decisions. Bernie realised that and took over. And I don't think any of the other doctors would have been willing to get involved - I'm not sure if they're in awe of Ric or too intimidated by him, but when he insisted on treating the patient himself, they followed his words too literally. Essie didn't even notice that he was bleeding because she wasn't keeping a close enough eye on him. I don't think having been told by Ric lets Essie and the others off the hook on that one at all as a matter of fact, but Bernie was the only one who used any initiative at all.

As for this week - I can't really argue that one, she messed it up with that patient. I would say in her defence that she realised she'd messed it up and did her best to make up for it afterwards.


Come to think of it, it was very odd that they came to meet her at work. I know these people seem to live their whole lives at the hospital, but surely they'd want to actually see the place they'd be moving into rather than just meeting the person?

On that point, it would have been amusing if after all that, Cara had turned out to live in the most horrible house anyone could possibly live in, and Morven couldn't stand the idea of moving in once she'd seen it!

That would have been brilliant. If after her vetting, they'd turned round and said "I'm not living in this cesspit"!

I actually think it is quite sensible of Cara to arrange to meet prospective candidates at the Hospital. Safe, public place for both to meet and see if they get on before viewing the actual room. If i were to rent a room out, I'd rather meet them before i Gove them my address in case they're a nutter, equally I would rather meet somebody before gointo their house where they could rape, murder me when i was younger and renting rooms. It also proves she is who she says she is - a professional Nurse.

Yes, Bernie admitted her mistake and I applaud her for that.

With the 'one Under the Train' it is irrelevant that she brought him back when Jac said they should call it. We were told they had brought him back multiple times, before and after Jac said that, I think it was something like 15. He was going to die. And that should probably have been decided by the surgeon in charge after the 4th or 5th time or bringing him back and Bernie didn't. It was the attitde of save life no matter what cost, cost to other patients and cost to patients family and even the patient himelf.

Yes Arthur wanted to go on afterwards but that was down to his own life issues. Issues she knew about and arguably was using to get him onside in the early part of the treatment. She was told Digby shouldn't be working, she took him in and asked his opinion.

It all makes her interesting.

I hadn't thought of that. All I can say is that I've lived pretty much my whole life with various other people, as my mum has taken in lodgers from the local university for years. When meeting them for the first time, it has never been anywhere other than the house. Always seemed like a completely natural way of doing it.


Was it fifteen? I thought it was six.

Too late to edit, but I just checked on iPlayer. It was six times, so close to the number you were saying they should stop at.

Much as I dislike Guy Self, wasn't it lovely for an episode to end with Adele being shouted at and not being apologised to later?

I think it's an in joke because Niamh is a Sci-Fi fan.

I thought they said they'd brought hiback 6 times after the discussion with Jac and Sacha and they had already done it a few times by that point - they said he arrested twice (I think) whilst Sacha was away.

So that would put it at at least 8 times.

But I can't check as i'm away for a few days. The point remains thugh that after a few times it became more about Bernie and Digby's personal ethos and issues (her never giving up and putting saving of life in an emergency rather than the consequences and his fighting death himself) than what was best for the Patient and his family imo.

You may be right - I didn't re-watch the whole episode, only the scene where Hanssen reprimanded Bernie. But in that scene he said six, without any mention of Jac and Sacha, so I was assuming that he was referring to the whole time, particularly as that reinforced what I believed it to be in the first place.

It definitely became a part of Arthur's personal ethos, but I felt Bernie kept her professional detachment. She felt it was worth the risk, and made that call. Obviously it turned out not to be worth the risk, but that will inevitably happen sometimes. I think you have to have some level of respect for someone who is prepared to take a gamble - if on the last time they had brought him back and he'd survived, everyone would have been saying how fantastic she is and how lucky it was that she was on the team. As for Arthur - yes, he lost his professionalism and that is not good, but I have no issue with Bernie taking his point of view into account when she'd been advised not to. To be honest, Arthur probably shouldn't have been working in the first place. In my workplace (I run a small professional theatre company outside of Uni) if I know someone is unwell or distracted by a personal emergency and they choose to come to work anyway, I will work on the assumption that despite whatever is going on, they are able to remain professional and work to the best of their ability, and I'd therefore treat them in exactly the same way I would treat them normally, as I would any other member of staff. Which is what Bernie did.

As a committed Trek-fan, here here KitKat! It is so tiresome to have genre-fans belittled or turned into figments of fun just so that populist-drama watchers can cope with the concept. The average episode of Season 3 to 7 Deep Space Nine leaves this show in the dust for complexity and depth - 'Rocks and Shoals' is one of the best TV treatises on war I've seen. Or late era X-Files and 'Audrey Pauley'? One of the spookiest 42 and a half minutes in a hospital going and one of Annabeth Gish's finest hours. Just pandering to soap opera fans who imagine that the worst excesses of Trek in the Third Season, 'Spock's Brain', 'The Way to Eden', 'And The Children Shall Lead' etc, etc (yes, I really know what I'm talking about) is somehow representative of the whole genre.... And dear george, you must, you must! 'City on the Edge of Forever' - end of!

Regarding Bernie Wolfe - I posit the question, are we supposed to warm to her? I find the acting sound, I don't think I've ever not liked Jemma Redgrave in anything, indeed she rather adds gravitas. I agree with george on the professionalism front - that would be especially the case on surgical or acute wards in a Hospital where patients could live and die based on a staff-member's decision-making abilities or choices. There is a time-limit with this character and I wonder whether they aren't trying to drill-down into her defining characteristic and sticking with that because they aren't going to get time to round her off and they have to make her 'stick' for a while. Part of the problem may be that as the senior officer attending, she would be used to having her orders followed without talk-back, the very nature of how military people speak to each and behave around each other whilst on-duty is very different to a civilian workplace, very regimented and rule-driven, where she would, in Barracks, expect to be saluted to a lot my her colleagues because she outranks them and expect her expertise to be respected (though actually, unless Redgrave is playing a character quite a few years younger, she is really rather old to be a Major) and that is going to make it harder for her to fit in. The exception is where there is an inability of an Officer or Senior NCO to demonstrate command authority due to injury, illness or very occasionally, cowardice, or, thank God, almost never happens, they go nuts, a good 2iC or a NCO steps-in and assumes command. She did that. On the other-hand, that lifestyle probably creates a form of extreme pragmatism, never leave a man behind versus live through the pain, there is a quote "duty before pleasure, Empire before self". Survive in some form to fight another day and suck-up the pain and get on with it. I don't know, its a difficult one....

I wish that they'd keep their personal lives out of the hospital, but a public place to interview potential flat/house-shares, so swings and roundabouts....

Just to clarify, I do know who Jemma Regrave is and I've seen her in many other roles. I generally find her to be an excellent actress, but this was just my opinion based on the characterisation of Bernie on the last two Tuesdays on Holby. It is early days yet, though, and it could well be a conscious acting decision. I would never dismiss her acting credentials as a whole based on a role she has only been in for several weeks. Her record speaks for itself.

Mind you, if I didn't find acting to be great in a particular role, I really don't think there is any difference in having that opinion merely because an actress comes from a theatrical dynasty rather than if they were a relative unknown. As kitkat pointed out, so much of it is subjective anyway. I know some on here think that Petra Letang is terrible and regularly say so. I actually don't think that she is that bad. I think it is more a case of the writing being ridiculous when it comes to Adele.

Just caught up with this week's episode - liking the Serena/Bernie friendship. I like that there are a lot more connections and interactions between the wards now.

Kind of liked the Ollie/Zosia stuff - very glad that Ollie wasn't the father of the baby but it seemed a bit of an unnecessary storyline.