Fifteen minutes into this week’s Critical two fire engines with police escorts, all lights flashing and sirens blaring, came screaming into view and I found myself regretting my claim last week that, “big-screen action isn’t Critical’s bag”. The season final of Sky1’s Critical seems determined to pull out all the stops. Rather than starting with … >
Sky1’s Critical is an ultra-realistic real-time medical drama from Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio. Lennie James (Line of Duty) leads the ensemble cast as locum trauma consultant Glen Boyle, alongside Catherine Walker (Strike Back) as trauma registrar Fiona Lomas, Claire Skinner (Outnumbered) as trauma consultant Lorraine Rappaport and Kimberley Nixon (Fresh Meat) as junior … >
If we were talking about an episode of Casualty then a lot of screen time (and budget) would have gone in showing us the major accident which has caused so many injuries. That kind of big-screen action isn’t Critical’s bag – instead it happens ‘off-stage’ and our focus is on the pressure it puts on … >
Two old friends are back in this week’s Critical, dropping straight into the drama without ceremony. The first is Sister Campbell, last seen being escorted off the premises a couple of weeks ago. Nothing is mentioned but we have to assume that in the wake of Clive’s dismissal, her removal has been overturned. The other … >
As if to compensate for last week’s comparatively bloodless outing this week’s episode of Critical has it everywhere – spouting into the air, pooling on the floor, spraying all over the staff… Everywhere except staying inside the patient, who spends a good three quarters of an hour bleeding out – which is the sort of … >
The first official photo of Line of Duty‘s cast additions for the new season has been revealed. The pic features Daniel Mays, Will Mellor, Arsher Ali and Leanne Best as the officers in Season 3’s Armed Response Unit. Mays (Mrs Biggs) plays Sergeant Danny Waldron, Mellor (In the Club) plays PC Rod Kennedy, Ali (The … >
Will Mellor, Arsher Ali and Leanne Best have joined the new season of Line of Duty. Season 3 of BBC Two’s police corruption drama began filming in Belfast last month, with Mrs Biggs star Daniel Mays playing AC-12’s “most dangerous adversary yet”. The three new cast members will play the other officers in the Armed … >
There is a slight sense of ‘same old, same old’ and ‘what else have you got?’ to this week’s episode of Sky1’s new medical drama. A non-responsive, hypothermic teenager is a serious case but it does feel like a bit of a come down after recent weeks. Or maybe I’m just becoming as hard-hearted as … >
Upping the ante this week, the Critical team’s patient is one of their own. The patient is burned so severely as to be unrecognisable, but even before Fiona has asked “Has anybody seen Lorraine today?” the audience is ahead of her. A member of staff, rescued from the female locker rooms – who else was … >
Having said last week that the patients in Critical are never conscious, Episode 7 proves me wrong with a patient who is not just awake, but alive and kicking. As well as ripping out her cannula during the initial examination, she also kicks Justin (John MacMillan) right in his ‘emergency department’. Poor Justin, last week … >