Casualty (TV series)

Casualty, stylised as Casual⁺y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world.^[1] Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986,^[2] and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The producer was Geraint Morris. The programme is based around the fictional Holby City Hospital and focuses on the staff and patients of the hospital's Accident and Emergency Department. The show has very few ties to its sister programme Holby City which began as a spin off from Casualty in 1999 and is set in the same hospital, but upstairs. The show's plots and characters occasionally crossover between the two programmes, but this is rare, and each show can be followed without having to watch the other. Casualty is shown weekly, with the exception of a break in the summer when the series ends.

Production

Location

Casualty and Holby City are both set in Holby City Hospital,^[3] in the fictional county of Wyvern, in the south-west of England.^[4] From the show's inception to series 26, episode 16, the city exterior is represented by Bristol,^[5] and well-known landmarks such as the floating harbour and Clifton Suspension Bridge are often visible in outdoor scenes. City of Bristol College was used as the location for most exterior shots of the hospital from 1986 until 2002 when a new exterior set was built in Lawrence Hill Industrial Park in the city at .

It was confirmed on 26 March 2009 that the BBC will move the filming of Casualty to studios in Cardiff in 2011.^[6] As of late 2011, Casualty began filming in a purpose built studio and backlot set at the BBC Roath Lock Studios in Cardiff .^[7] Episode 16 of series 26 marked the last episode filmed in Bristol, with a fire destroying the department and characters Ruth and Jay leaving the show. The first episode from Cardiff will be broadcast on January 7, 2012 with a 90 minute episode .

Broadcast

The programme has usually been transmitted on Saturday nights, although for a period in the late 1980s and early '90s it switched to Fridays. The first two series each consisted of 15 episodes; series 3 ran for 10 episodes (although one of those episodes was postponed following the death of its guest star, Roy Kinnear); series 4, 5 and 6 were 12, 13, and 15 episodes long respectively. The final episode of series 6, which focused on a plane crash, was postponed until February 1992, after being initially scheduled for transmission on 20 December 1991 - one day before the 3rd anniversary of the Lockerbie disaster.

When the show moved back to Saturday nights in September 1992, the series length was extended to 24 episodes per year, and placed in a pre-watershed slot at approximately 8pm. This initially caused some controversy due to the graphic and controversial nature of some of the storylines.^[8] In 1997-8, the episode number was increased again, with 26 episodes (including two 75-minute specials) making up series 12. Subsequent series each saw an increase in episodes; series 13 ran for 28 episodes, series 14 ran for 30 episodes, series 15 ran for 36 episodes, series 16 and 17 ran for 40 episodes and series 18 ran for 46 episodes. Since 2004, popularity of the show resulted in a switch from a traditional seasonal format to an almost year-round production and transmission — each series from series 19 (2004/5) to 25 (2010/11) has lasted for 48 episodes. However, this figure was dropped to 41 for series 26, with no summer break, which may be related to production moving from Bristol to Cardiff.

Casualty has no fixed time slot, and usually begins in the 20:00 - 21:30 slot on BBC1, although it is sometimes broadcast after 21:00. The show is very rarely broadcast before 20:00, however, special events such as the Eurovision Song Contest and sporting events sometimes see the schedule moved around. On some of these occasions, Casualty is taken off air for the night to make way for alternative shows. It has been known in the past that if an episode is in two parts, part one will be aired on the Saturday and part two the following day.

Titles and Theme Music

The original title sequence featured a speeding ambulance with flashing lights arriving at Casualty. A CGI heart monitor was shown over the titles. The 49 second sequence shows the patient's point of view and their journey through the department into resus. The heartbeat turned into lightning as the bed moves around the hospital. Series 4 launched with a new title sequence, opening with an ambulance travelling in daytime. Different activities are then shown, including the ambulance driver, hospital equipment, a patient being treated and a blood pressure gauge, all separated by flashes of blue light. The next part of the sequence features new camera shots of the patient's journey into resus. Series 7 saw a sequence returning to the original style, with the ambulance coming over the hill and a new heartbeat line moving across the bottom of the screen. As the ambulance arrives, the staff come out of the department to move the patient to resus.

In 1993, the titles were revamped, based on the Series 4 style, with the ambulance. Clips showed accidents and the ambulance journey instead of the patient's journey. Whilst the ambulance is being driven, a series of clips are superimposed. The sequence ends with the ambulance arriving at Casualty. The Casualty logo flashes up on the screen when the screen blurs out. The sequence was tinted blue. Again 1997 saw a new look, based around fragments of glass flying and a sequence utilising footage of medical staff, hospital equipment and patients' relatives. The sequence ends as all the pieces of glass that were shattered in the first few seconds of the sequence are re-formed into a single pane, which spells out the new Casual+y logo. Minor edits were made when these titles were shortened in 1998 for Series 13 but they remained essentially the same.

A more arty sequence appeared in 2001, with a fast forward technique, featuring a clock ticking through the night, an airbag deploying, the ambulance speeding through evening traffic and patients arriving at reception. The second half of the sequence focuses on a patient being treated in Resus from a bird's-eye perspective. The sequence ends in slow motion as the patient recovers and his relatives crowd round his bed, before the people and equipment disappear, leaving the distinctive chequered flooring of the department & the Casual+y logo. A new theme tune marked the arrival of Series 16, with a distinct change to the opening titles. For the first time, the focus was on the characters, who were presented posing to the camera against a blurred dark background. The only 'medical' references were the glimpses of an ambulance and a heart rate graphic in the opening seconds of the titles. The same logo introduced in 1997 remains at the end.

Series 17-20 saw a return to a generic medical-themed title. The focus was on the international symbol of medical aid, the red cross, shown at different sizes moving around the screen, often filled with footage such as paramedics and a patient being given cardiac massage, against a stark white background. This sequence was also filled with abstract graphics, elements of the Casual+y logo and footage of medical emergencies. The logo is formed by the merging of the various crosses & abstract shapes at the end of the sequence. Brand new titles were introduced in Series 21 using stop-frame footage of the ambulance on its journey, followed by images of characters and equipment, mixed with footage of a patient being taken to Resus. The sequence was tinted in a turquoise hue and interrupted by a flashing amber graphic, reminiscent of the heart rate line from the original titles sequence.

The current titles are still based on the Series 21 version, but with the Series 16-20 theme tune. However, all of the show's main cast members are shown within the opening titles. The BBC has revealed that they will be revised in January 2012, to tie in with the show moving to its new home at Cardiff Roath Lock Studios.

The Casualty theme music was composed by Ken Freeman, who also composed the theme for Holby City. The closing music was traditionally quite different from the opening theme, although in recent years there have been few differences. In 2000, garage duo Oxide & Neutrino sampled the theme tune in their single "Bound 4 Da Reload (Casualty)", which got to number one in May. In 2009, L'Amour La Morgue made a remix of British metalcore band Bring Me The Horizon's song It Was Written In Blood, which featured the Casualty theme tune on it.

The original theme music ran for fifteen years with few alterations. In 2000, the opening theme was edited, reducing its length by around ten seconds. Likewise, the closing theme was slightly shortened in the 1990s by editing out part of the introductory chords, but was significantly reduced in length during 2000, with only the final part of the original theme used. The new series in September 2001 introduced a new version of the theme tune. For the first time, the same track (minus intro melody) was used to close each episode as well, making the closing credits shorter than the 40-second arrangement of the original closing theme introduced in 2000. Another new version of the theme tune was introduced by Ken Freeman for the show's 20th anniversary in 2006. The new track uses orchestral instruments for the first time lending it a haunting, classical quality. There was also the return of an ambulance siren introducing the theme, performed by strings, the famous "ringing" backing track which cuts in during the piece and the "breathing" sounds (heard in the middle of the original theme) now heard at the final few seconds. Since Series 22, the show has reverted to its Series 16 theme tune variant.

DVD releases

The first series of Casualty was released on DVD (Region 2, UK) by 2 Entertain/Cinema Club on 10 April 2006. The second series was released on 10 July, with series three released on 11 September. The third was released to coincide with the show's 20th anniversary celebrations. There are no future DVD releases planned at present.

Characters and cast

Casualty follows the professional and personal lives of the medical and ancillary staff of Holby City Hospital's emergency department. It features an ensemble cast of regular characters, and began with ten main characters in its first series. The original characters were consultant Ewart Plimmer (Bernard Gallagher), Senior house officer Baz Samuels (Julia Watson), nurses Charlie Fairhead, Megan Roach, Clive King and Lisa "Duffy" Duffin (Derek Thompson, Brenda Fricker, George Harris and Cathy Shipton), paramedics Sandra Mute and Andrew Ponting (Lisa Bowerman and Robert Pugh), receptionist Susie Mercier (Debbie Roza) and porter Kuba Trzcinski (Christopher Rozycki). New main characters have been both written in and out of the series since, with only Charlie remaining in the show.

As of the twenty-sixth series, the main cast encompasses Charlie, consultants Nick Jordan, Zoe Hanna and Dylan Keogh (Michael French, Sunetra Sarker and William Beck),Core Training Year 2 doctor Lenny Lyons (Steven Miller), clinical nurse manager Tess Bateman (Suzanne Packer, Linda Andrews, Lloyd Asike and Scarlett Conway Michael Obiora and Madeleine Mantock), paramedics Kathleen "Dixie" Dixon and Jeff Collier (Jane Hazlegrove and Matt Bardock), porter Mackenzie "Big Mac" Chalker (Charles Dale) and receptionist Noel Garcia (Tony Marshall).

A survey published by Radio Times magazine in March 2004 revealed that Casualty has featured more future stars than any other UK soap or drama series.^[9] Actors who appeared in the show prior to becoming famous include Kate Winslet, Orlando Bloom, Minnie Driver, Christopher Eccleston, Parminder Nagra, Sadie Frost, Ray Winstone, David Walliams, Jonny Lee Miller, Helen Baxendale, Robson Green and Brenda Fricker.^[9] Discussing her 1993 appearance in Casualty, Winslet told the Radio Times: "In England, it almost seems to be part of a jobbing actor's training [to appear in Casualty]. As far as I was concerned it was a great episode, a great part. Appearing in Casualty taught me a big lesson in how to be natural in front of the camera."^[9] In addition, the series has featured a variety of more established stars, including Norman Wisdom, Amanda Redman, Anita Dobson, Jenny Seagrove, Rula Lenska, Prunella Scales,^[10] Celia Imrie,^[11] Toyah Willcox, Maureen Lipman,^[12] Frances Barber, Andrew Sachs,^[13] Russ Abbott and Stephanie Beacham ^[14] in cameo roles.

Adaptations and related media

Holby City

Holby City began on 12 January 1999 as a spin-off from Casualty and is named after the fictional Holby City Hospital in which both series are set. The show follows the lives and careers of staff and patients on the surgical wards of the hospital, and deals with a range of clinical and ethical issues. Similarly to Casualty, the regular characters are all surgeons, nurses and other medical and ancillary staff, with patients played by guest actors, including famous names such as Eric Sykes, Phill Jupitus, Michael Jayston, Michele Dotrice, Ronni Ancona, Emma Samms, Lee Ryan, Nikki Sanderson and Johnny Briggs.^[15] The show was created by Mal Young and Tony McHale, who became its executive producer between 2007 and 2010. He was succeeded by Casualty executive producer Belinda Campbell.

Casualty@Holby City

Reflecting Holby City's origins as a spin-off from Casualty and the closely related premises of the two programmes, the BBC has screened occasional crossover mini-dramas entitled Casualty@Holby City, featuring a number of characters from each of the two casts.^[16] Mervyn Watson, executive producer of Casualty, has commented on the origins of the idea to fully cross the two shows over for the first time: "I think the idea came from somebody in the comedy department, who casually said to the Controller of Drama 'Wouldn't it be a good idea if....' The Controller did think it was a good idea, spoke to myself and Holby's executive producer, got it commissioned by the Head of BBC One and the rest is history."^[17]

Filming of Casualty@Holby City episodes is usually divided between Casualty's Bristol set, and Holby City's Elstree studios, although a large proportion of the Christmas 2005 crossover was also filmed on location in a road tunnel in Caernarfon, Wales.^[18] The theme tune used for crossover episodes consists of a shortened version of both the Casualty and Holby City theme tunes, played over one another in sync, critizised by the Daily Mirror for being "basically both theme tunes played at once."^[19] Interviewed prior to broadcast of the Christmas 2005 crossover, Watson commented on the future of Casualty@Holby City: "We can't guarantee any crossovers for next year, but the audience likes them. And as long as the Controller of BBC One wants them, then we'll be happy to oblige."^[20] In November 2007, Holby City producer Diana Kyle added: "We like to do crossovers whenever we can, but it's tricky because both Holby City and Casualty film for 52 weeks a year, so the actors on each show have to work flat-out on their own programmes. We are trying to create more opportunities where the two dramas can merge, though."^[21] Another crossover was broadcast in 2010, with Casualty producer Oliver Kent commenting that the production teams enjoy airing crossovers, and that the difficulty in producing them is "purely logistics".^[22]

HolbyBlue

In April 2006, the BBC announced that a spin-off drama from the show, to be named HolbyBlue, was in early stages of production.^[23] The series focuses on the police service of Holby South, and aired for the duration of its first series on BBC One on Tuesday nights, with Holby City switching back to its former Thursday night slot at 8:00pm. Long running Casualty character Charlie Fairhead appeared in HolbyBlue's first episode, and a full two part crossover episode with Holby City aired at the beginning of the show's second series.^[24] On 6 August 2008, the BBC announced that HolbyBlue has been axed after two series.^[25]

Casualty 1900s

In December 2006, the BBC broadcast a historical medical drama titled Casualty 1906, reflecting life in the 'Receiving Room' (A+E was a concept not yet developed) of the Royal London Hospital 100 years previously, based on historical hospital records and news reports of the time. A three-episode miniseries, titled Casualty 1907, was developed for broadcast in 2008. Although not a direct spin-off, nor set in the same fictional location, the Times has suggested "that this is BBC high-concept brand-extension at its very best",^[26] with the BBC using the popularity of and viewer familiarity with Casualty to launch a new historical drama — a conclusion The Guardian also asserted.^[27] A third series, Casualty 1908, featuring Cherie Lunghi, was also commissioned.^[28] On 25 March 2009, it was announced that the BBC would be airing Casualty 1909, a six-part series which aired in June and July 2009.^[29]

Reception

Awards and nominations

In 2007, Casualty won its first major award, the BAFTA for the best continuing drama. Long-serving Ian Bleasdale, who played the character Josh, accepted the award at the ceremony, which took place at the London Palladium. He said "To the doctors, nurses and ambulance crews, thank you for doing the job you do. I hope we go some way to showing exactly what it is," and dedicated the award to the show's original producer, Geraint Morris, who died in 1997. The cast of the show released the single "Everlasting Love", which peaked at No. 5 in the UK in 1998. On 5 January 2010, it was announced that Casualty had been nominated for the 'Best Drama' award at the National TV Awards, facing competition from Doctor Who, Shameless and The Bill. Since its inception, Casualty has won and been nominated for the following awards:^[30]

References

External links

• Casualty at BBC Programmes
• Casualty at the Internet Movie Database
• Casualty at the BFI's Screenonline
• Holby.tv - Unofficial Website
• Casualty at What's on TV website
• Casualty at UKTV.co.uk
• Casualty Wiki at Wikia