Surgical Spirit (TV series)

Surgical Spirit
Genre Situation comedy
Created by Peter Learmouth
Directed by John Kaye Cooper
Starring Nichola McAuliffe
Duncan Preston
Marji Campi
Country of origin United Kingdom
Language(s) English
No. of series 7
No. of episodes 50
Production
Producer(s) Humphrey Barclay
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) Granada Television
Broadcast
Original channel ITV
Original run 14 April 1989 – 7 July 1995

Surgical Spirit is a British situation-comedy television series starring Nichola McAuliffe and Duncan Preston that was broadcast from 1989 through 1995. It was written by Peter Learmouth, Graeme Garden, Raymond Dixon, Annie Bruce, Annie Wood and Paul McKenzie. It was made for the ITV network by Humphrey Barclay Productions for Granada Television.

Contents

Cast
  • Suzette Llewellyn as Sister Cheryl Patching
  • Beresford Le Roy as Michael Sampson
  • Simon Harrison as Giles Peake
  • Andrew Groves as Daniel Sabatini
  • Lyndham Gregory as Dr. Simon Field (series 1–4)

Plot

The series was based around Sheila Sabatini, a senior surgeon at the Gillies Hospital, whose verbal skills have most people running for cover. She dominated the operating theatre, while at home she was divorcing her Italian husband, Remo, with whom she had a son, Daniel. Sheila was also a gossip, often gossiping with her best friend, theatre administrator Joyce Watson.

One of the major themes in the programme was her developing relationship with Jonathan Haslam, the anaesthetist. At the end of the sixth series, they married and she had become Director of Surgery, while her son had become a medical student at the hospital, much to her annoyance.

Trivia

Beresford Le Roy, who played theatre technician Michael Sampson, was in fact a qualified theatre technician (correct title is in fact Operating Department Practitioner) in real life and later became a medical advisor on the series.

Production

Granada Television decided to decommission the program after the seventh series.

The outside shots were of Lister Hospital in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

Episodes

Series one (1989)

  1. "The Lecture" (14 April)
  2. "The Locum" (21 April)
  3. "Joyce's Ulcer" (28 April)
  4. "The Country, Right or Wrong" (5 May)
  5. "Fame" (12 May)
  6. "Sammy Eldridge" (19 May)

Series two (1990)

  1. "Cold Cuts" (27 April)
  2. "The Copeland Affair" (4 May)
  3. "Educating Daniel" (11 May)
  4. "Doubting Thomas" (18 May)
  5. "The Phone Call" (25 May)
  6. "The Garden Party" (1 June)
  7. "Something in the Air" (8 June)

Series three (1991)

  1. "The Holiday Job" (4 January)
  2. "Only a Roach" (11 January)
  3. "Making News" (18 January)
  4. "The Fools on the Hill" (25 January)
  5. "Close to the Edge" (1 February)
  6. "The Earth Trembles" (8 February)
  7. "'The Rover's Return" (15 February)

Series four (1992)

  1. "The Mating Game" (14 February)
  2. "Joyce's Little Turn" (21 February)
  3. "The Son also Arises" (28 February)
  4. "Oh Happy Day!" (6 March)
  5. "The Fence" (13 March)
  6. "Wanderlust" (20 March)

Series five (1993)

  1. "Congratulations" (19 February)
  2. "Sheila's Baby" (26 February)
  3. "The Right Man for the Job" (5 March)
  4. "A Marvellous Opportunity" (12 March)
  5. "Trial by Fury" (19 March)
  6. "You Won't Feel a Thing" (26 March)
  7. "Moan, Moan, Moan" (2 April)

Series six (1994)

  1. "Yes or No" (7 January)
  2. "The Morning After" (14 January)
  3. "Daniel's Stunt" (21 January)
  4. "The Deaf Sentence" (28 January)
  5. "Midnight Bugler" (4 February)
  6. "On the Rebound" (11 February)
  7. "Hot Gossip" (18 February)
  8. "Cost Cutting Exercises" (25 February)
  9. "Reunion Night" (4 March)
  10. "For Richer, for Poorer" (11 March)

Series seven (1995)

  1. "Driving it Home" (26 May)
  2. "'Rhyme or Reason" (2 June)
  3. "All Pull Together" (9 June)
  4. "The Silence of the Haslams" (16 June)
  5. "The Walkout" (23 June)
  6. "Kicking against the Pricks" (30 June)
  7. "Administrator of the Year" (7 July)

DVD releases

All seven series of Surgical Spirit have now been released on DVD. A 8-disc set of the complete series has also been released.

DVD Year(s) Release date
The Complete Series 1 1989 28 May 2007
The Complete Series 2 1990 4 May 2009
The Complete Series 3 1991 17 August 2009
The Complete Series 4 1992 18 January 2010
The Complete Series 5 1993 19 April 2010
The Complete Series 6 1994 5 July 2010
The Complete Series 7 1995 23 August 2010
The Complete Series 1 to 7 Box Set 1989-
1995		 4 October 2010

References

External links