TV review: Casualty

Poor old Charlie Fairlead, the long-suffering male nurse in Casualty (BBC 1) , has still not retired, despite actor Derek Thompson reaching the magical 65.

He is the only surviving member of the cast from when the hospital drama, which must have been graced by every Equity member in existence, first burst onto our screens back in 1986.

So how's it doing? And has it got a healthy future?

Well it was with some trepidation that I dipped my toe into the water, expecting yet another major car crash, doctors falling in and out of love with each other and hospital managers desperately trying to cut corners with the costs of equipment.

Imagine then my surprise then when none of the above seemed to show themselves.

Taking into consideration the need for dramatic development, first of all, as a viewer you seriously need to have a healthy suspension of disbelief to hand, as, well, there are certainly a few coincidences going on, with the emphasis on loose ends neatly tied up by the end of the action-packed 50 minutes.

The main theme running through is trainee paramedic Iain under constant scrutiny for being a bit of a maverick and not part of the husband and wife team of lesbian Dixie and Jeff (it's a long story).

Anyway, we are soon drawn into the dingy world of drug-dealing when long-lost brother Carl returns to brain-damaged sibling Kelvin to discover that his 'friends' in his flat, are not all what they seem. The trio of somewhat stereotyped ne'er-do-wells are drug dealers and Carl asks them to leave, as they are taking advantage of the gullible Kelvin.

They refuse and he hurries out to tell the authorities. Armed with a screwdriver, they are in hot pursuit, and lo, our first casualty is set up.

Another thread involves a mummy's boy who ends up getting himself in a hospital bed not far from his sick mother who is in for a check-up on a suspected bowel tumour, but suffice it to say, it was there as light relief and not really key to the proceedings.

Ambulance

Instead the drug dealer yobs catch up with young Carl and in an ensuing struggle one of the thugs, Damo, is stabbed. Carl and Kelvin scarper from the scene and Damon girlfriend rings for an ambulance.

Enter the troublesome trio of Jeff, Dixie and Iain, who pick up Damo, but then get stuck in traffic and ex-Army Iain runs out of the ambulance to try and sort out the cars, giving them access to a verge on a slope. However, nearly turning over due to the tilt, Iain pulls Jeff off the prostrate Damo, in order to balance out the wonky vehicle.

That doesn't go down well and Iain is later reprimanded by Jeff.

Eventually, simple Kelvin gets back to his flat and he pours all the drugs in the sink and lights them up after pouring accelerant on them, with obvious results. Once again he is brought in for life-saving surgery.

Meanwhile Damo dies after surgery and his girlfriend tells his brother that he must 'get' Carl – who has been smuggled into hospital by medics Jeff and Iain, working in tandem for once – for what he has done, even though it was an accident.

Damon girlfriend ends up taking matters into her own hands and approaches Carl with a blade, but Jeff pulls Damo out of the way and Iain pulls her off from the attack, thereby saving Iain getting injured.

Charlie appears during the treatment of Carl and brings a reassured solid presence to the action. You could say that after 27 years he has grown into the role, and there are obviously no plans for his retirement just yet, which is a good thing to bring the somewhat far-fetched storylines a bit more down to earth.

All in all, the prognosis for Casualty: I would think it's running out of treatment options for full recovery or perhaps it requires a healthy shot of reality in which all the loose ends are not neatly tied up.