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Casualty@Holby City
Still from the opening titles of Casualty@Holby City
GenreMedical drama
Created byMervyn Watson
Tony McHale
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes9 (list of episodes)
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release26 December 2004 –
27 December 2005
Related
Casualty
Holby City

Casualty@Holby City is a series of special crossover episodes of BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City. While Casualty was launched on 6 September 1986, and its spin-off Holby City was first aired on 12 January 1999, the first full crossover episode between the two programmes was not broadcast until 26 December 2004. As of 27 December 2005, four crossover specials have been aired, comprising nine episodes total. Although further crossovers of storylines and characters have since occurred, they have not been broadcast under the Casualty@Holby City title.

Production

The suggestion to produce the first Casualty and Holby City crossover originated from a member of the BBC comedy department. The station's Controller of Drama approved of the idea and had the crossover commissioned, spearheaded by Casualty's executive producer Mervyn Watson, and Holby City's Tony McHale. The writer and producer for the first, two-part crossover were selected from the Holby City crew. Logistical difficulties arose from the fact the two series are usually produced 120 miles apart, with Casualty based in Bristol and Holby City in Elstree. Both series are usually in continuous production 52 weeks a year, so in order to produce the first crossover, work on both shows has to be halted for two weeks to release a number of cast members to appear in the special. Once regular production began again, the availability of cast members set to appear in the crossover was limited, and both series had to rely for the most part on the remaining characters who were not in the special. Filming took six weeks to complete, and occurred for the most part at Casualty's emergency department in Bristol. Additional filming took place at the Holby City set in Elstree, as well as the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children, a Barratts office block in Brentford and an ex-MOD tank testing site in Chobham.[1] A theme tune was devised, consisting of both the Casualty and Holby City theme tunes played over one another in sync.[2] Terry Ramsey of the Evening Standard described it as "shambolic", opining: "it sounds like it was produced with The Big Boy's Box of Sound Mixing software by a seven-year-old on Christmas Day while playing his PlayStation with the other hand."[3]

Professor Robert Winston hosts the interactive episode "Something We Can Do".

A second crossover was commissioned in 2005 as part of the BBC's DoNation season. In August 2005, the station ran a week-long campaign to raise public awareness of organ donation, aiming to help viewers make an informed decision about whether to sign up to the Organ Donation Register. An interactive episode of Casualty@Holby City was one of the headlining shows of the season, allowing viewers to vote by phone to determine the outcome of a fictional organ donation.[4] The episode was part documentary, and a segment presented by Robert Winston both detailed the guidelines for matching organ donors with recipients, and dispelled common myths about organ donation. Viewers were then invited to vote for one of two characters to receive a heart transplant. 98,800 viewers voted, with a 65 percent majority favouring that the organ be received by Lucy, a young cystic fibrosis patient, over Tony, a widow twenty years her senior.[5] Two different endings were filmed, to account for both possible outcomes of the public vote. The alternative ending was made available on the Casualty@Holby City DoNation Interactive website.[6]

The third Casualty@Holby City crossover was aired in October 2005, two months after the interactive special. The four-part storyline tackled the issue of youth violence, following the events of a turbulent A&E demonstration at an inner-city school.[7] The crossover was broadcast in the same week that the BBC launched a new adaptation of Charles Dickens' Bleak House starring Gillian Anderson and Charles Dance, and Phil and Grant Mitchell returned to the station's soap opera EastEnders. BBC1 controller Peter Fincham explained: "We have got three very different dramas playing this week that emphasise the breadth and depth of what we have to offer. Changing the scheduling of established favourites and the format for presenting period drama is exactly what I want BBC1 to be doing, challenging our audiences with top quality programming."[8]

Based on the success of the 2004 Casualty@Holby City Christmas special, another crossover was ordered for Christmas 2005. Rather than dividing the episodes between the two series' crews as had previously been standard, this crossover operated as an entirely separate production, with Diana Kyle producing and Paul Harrison directing.[9] A large proportion of the crossover was filmed in a road tunnel in Caernarfon, Wales.[10] Watson commented: "It was the only one that we could hire for two weeks without causing huge traffic jams. The whole shoot was five weeks long. Staging stunts like car accidents is difficult and stressful at the best of times, but doing all that in a tunnel doubled it. The great advantage was that there was no problem with the weather, it was a totally controlled environment with excellent parking facilities for the unit, and a warm welcome from the locals, which is always nice."[9]

Characters and cast

Main characters

Further information: Characters of Casualty, Characters of Holby City

Casualty@Holby City focuses on the medical staff at Holby General, with main roles filled by regular Casualty and Holby City cast members. The first crossover, broadcast in December 2004, features Casualty's emergency medicine consultant Harry Harper (Simon MacCorkindale), consultant paediatrician Jim Brodie (Maxwell Caulfield), Clinical Nurse Manager Tess Bateman (Suzanne Packer), paramedics Luke Warren (Matthew Wait) and Josh Griffiths (Ian Bleasdale) and receptionist Bex Reynolds (Sarah Manners). Holby City characters who appear are cardiothoracic consultant Connie Beauchamp (Amanda Mealing), general surgical consultant Ric Griffin (Hugh Quarshie), midwife Rosie Sattar (Kim Vithana), obstetrics registrar Mubbs Hussein (Ian Aspinall), staff nurse Donna Jackson (Jaye Jacobs), and cardiac consultant Alistair Taylor (Dominic Jephcott).[11]

The interactive episode again stars MacCorkindale, Bleasdale, Packer and Wait. Additional Casualty characters who appear are paramedic Comfort Jones (Martina Laird), senior staff nurse Abs Denham (James Redmond), Emergency Medical Technician Nina Farr (Rebekah Gibbs) and specialist registrar Maggie Coldwell (Susan Cookson). Holby City's critical care consultant Lola Griffin (Sharon D. Clarke) and matron Lisa Fox (Luisa Bradshaw-White) also star.[12]

The four-part October 2005 crossover again stars MacCorkindale, Bleasdale, Packer, Wait, Laird, Redmond, Gibbs, Mealing and Quarshie. It also features Casualty's paramedic Paul "Woody" Joyner (Will Thorp), staff nurse Kelsey Phillips (Janine Mellor), senior staff nurse Bruno Jenkins (Mark Bonnar), neurology associate specialist Selena Donovan (Elizabeth Carling) and SHO Guppy Sandhu (Elyes Gabel). Holby City characters who appear are registrar Diane Lloyd (Patricia Potter), matron Chrissie Williams (Tina Hobley), consultant obstetrician Owen Davis (Mark Moraghan), medical student Matt Parker (Adam Best), staff nurse Tricia Williams (Sharon Maughan) and cardiothoracic consultant Ed Loftwood (Graeme Garden).[13]

"Deny Thy Father", the two-part December 2005 crossover, stars Casualty's MacCorkindale, Bleasdale, Packer, Wait, Cookson, Thorp, Mellor and Carling, as well as Clinical Nurse Specialist Charlie Fairhead (Derek Thompson) and receptionist Sam Bateman (Luke Bailey). Mealing, Quarshie, Jacobs and Clarke of the Holby City cast also star, along with general surgical registrar Nick Jordan (Michael French) and midwife Mickie Hendrie (Kelly Adams).[14] Thorp's character was killed off during the second episode. The actor praised the crossover, commenting: "Filming it was like filming a feature film. Massive stunts and good storylines. There was a really good buzz on set all the time... As an actor, you couldn't wish for a better exit. It was absolutely brilliant."[15]

Guest stars

Freema Agyeman guest-stars in the first Casualty@Holby City crossover.

The crossover episodes include numerous guest stars, typically as patients and their friends and relatives. In the December 2004 crossover, John McArdle and Kerry Peers play husband and wife Frank and Sarah Morgan, whose daughter Danielle (Zoe Morgan) receives a heart transplant. René Zagger appears as Bob Smith, a tanker driver who crashes into the hospital, and Nicola Stapleton plays his wife Shirley. Freema Agyeman plays Kate Hindley, a patient trapped under rubble following the collision, and Keith-Lee Castle appears as isolation ward doctor Phil.[11] Annette Badland and Hywel Bennett guest-star in "Something We Can Do" as Wendy and David Winters, whose son Matt (David Alderman) dies following a car accident. Emily Hamilton acts as his wife Sarah. Steven Pinder plays Tony Harvey, a potential recipient of Matt's donated heart, and Nina Wadia appears as his girlfriend Jean. Yvonne O'Grady plays Carol Beddows, whose daughter Lucy (Sarah Bedi) is also a potential recipient.[12] The interactive segment of the episode is presented by Robert Winston.[16]

In the four-part Halloween crossover, James Gaddas guest-stars as Carl O'Leary, the headmaster of a failing school. James Pearson plays Adrian Lucas, a pupil who puts acid in the water used in apple bobbing. Jason Maza appears as Kris Burrows, whose girlfriend Emma Blakely (Kate Scott) is burned by the acid, and Red Madrell plays Shania Campbell, Emma's best friend who is also burned. Ade Sapara appears as Edgar Muzenda, a poet and political refugee involved in a car accident, and Nikki Amuka-Bird plays his pregnant wife Moji. Louis Mahoney appears as their friend Raymond Opoku.[13] The December 2005 crossover features Iain Fletcher as fire officer Iain Bain, Julia Hills as Woody's mother Caroline Joyner, Fiona Glascott as Tara Doyle, a girl trapped when a tunnel collapses, and Gary Whelan as Tara's father Bernie.[14]

Episodes

Episode # Title Director Writer(s) Original airdate Viewers
(in millions)
1"Casualty@Holby City: Part One"Michael OfferJohanne McAndrew26 December 2004 (2004-12-26)8.91[17]
2"Casualty@Holby City: Part Two"Michael OfferJohanne McAndrew28 December 2004 (2004-12-28)8.82[18]
3"Something We Can Do"Shani S. GrewalSteve Lightfoot27 August 2005 (2005-08-27)7.32[19]
4"Teacher's Pet"Rob EvansJason Sutton24 October 2005 (2005-10-24)5.56[20]
5"Crash and Burn"Rob EvansJason Sutton25 October 2005 (2005-10-25)5.96[20]
6"Test Your Metal"Rob EvansSuzie Smith26 October 2005 (2005-10-26)4.57[20]
7"A Great Leap Forward"Rob EvansSuzie Smith27 October 2005 (2005-10-27)5.64[20]
8"Deny Thy Father: Part One"Paul HarrisonAl Hunter Ashton & Pete Hambly24 December 2005 (2005-12-24)8.00[21]
9"Deny Thy Father: Part Two"Paul HarrisonGaby Chiappe27 December 2005 (2005-12-27)8.86[22]

Reception

Critical response

Casualty@Holby City episodes have received mixed reviews from critics. The 2004 Christmas crossover was named the season's "Best Christmas Drama" by The Sun,[23] while Terry Ramsey of the Evening Standard selected the first episode as a televisual "Pick of the Day".[24] The inaugural crossover was named one of the "Best TV shows for Christmas & New Year" in The Mirror, receiving generally favourable reviews by Mirror writers Jane Simon and Jim Shelley—despite the former lambasting the realism of the plot: "The building collapses, there's a little girl upstairs about to have a heart transplant, the tanker's leaking fuel and there's a velociraptor loose in radiology. Sorry, I made that last one up."[2]—and the latter commenting that "Casualty@Holby City was deeply weird, like watching Casualty on acid."[25] Similarly, Daniel Davies of The Western Mail also selected the episodes as dramatic highlights of the Christmas season, despite going on to discuss the aptness of the BBC's press release describing the two episodes as "thrown together."[26]

Other reviews were more openly negative, with Charlie Brooker of The Guardian describing the episodes as "two virtually identical and rubbish shitcasts for the price of one."[27] Frances Traynor of the Daily Record commented similarly that: "It can be quite difficult to tell these medical drama twins apart. After all, they're both rubbish",[28] while the Liverpool Echo's Paddy Shennan suggested "the blood should instead be flowing in the BBC boardroom" for commissioning the crossover.[10] Thomas Sutcliffe of The Independent called the crossover "the funniest programme on television", with a "sublimely cloth-eared script", describing it as: "A masterpiece of sustained comic timing [which] had this casual viewer of the dramas that spawned it scrabbling wildly for an explanatory hypothesis."[29]

The interactive episode was deemed "a horrible mess" by Shelley,[30] while Garry Bushell of The People kept his criticism brief, limiting his review to: "Casualty@Holby City? Takings up@pub."[31] Paul Hoggart of The Times was dubious about the episode's purported "interactive" element, given the limited choices involved. He commented: "The twin hospital dramas have never been afraid of didactic storylines, but this example, constructed to illustrate the ethical dilemmas of those involved, is about as didactic as it gets. Let's hope this benevolent propaganda works."[32] The Sun, however, selected the episode as a televisual "Pick of the Day",[33] while the Daily Mail reported that John Evans, chairman of the British Organ Donor Society, had received the episode positively.[34]

The four crossover episodes which broadcast in November 2005 were generally well received by the press. The opening episode was a recommended "TV Choice" of The Daily Telegraph's Chris Riley,[35] a "Pick of the Day" of The Mirror's Simon,[36] and a "Pick of the Night" of the Evening Standard's Ramsey.[37] The crossover was also a "Drama Choice" of Sarah Moolla of The People, who commented that: "There's something weirdly thrilling when these two medical shows collide."[38]

The Christmas 2005 episodes were less favourable received, described by David Chater of The Times as: "Intentionally or not [...] one of the comic highlights of Christmas."[39] Paul English of the Daily Record deemed the crossover: "Two turkeys for the price of one",[40] while Terry Ramsey of The Evening Standard wrote that: "even by Casualty and Holby City standards, this one is boringly formulaic. A monotoned, badly paced, cornily written, unexciting (despite its most desperate efforts), predictable, high-pitch squeal of a drama. For die-hard fans only."[41] The Daily Post were more positive, stating that the episodes "will have Casualty and Holby City fans glued to their TV sets over the festive period."[42]

Ratings

The December 2004 Casualty@Holby City crossover received strong ratings. The first episode averaged 8.91 million viewers, making it the third most watched terrestrial programme of the day.[17] The second episode was watched by 8.82 million viewers, making it the second highest rated terrestrial programme of the day.[18] The interactive donation episode, "Something We Can Do", attained 7.32 million viewers, again making it the second most watched terrestrial programme of the day, and also the BBC's second best rated programme of the week, behind only EastEnders.[19]

The October 2005 episodes received the lowest ratings of any Casualty@Holby City crossover to date. On its opening night, the show was watched by 5.56 million viewers,[20] in contrast to the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, which were shown in the same timeslot and attained 9.1 million viewers.[43] The remainder of the Halloween crossover received similarly low ratings, with the second episode watched by 5.96 million viewers, the third instalment by 4.57 million viewers, and the concluding episode by 5.64 million viewers.[20] The fourth Casualty@Holby City crossover saw a ratings revival, with the third episode watched by 8 million viewers, making it the third most watched terrestrial programme of the day,[21] and the second episode watched by 8.82 million viewers, becoming the second most watched terrestrial programme of the day.[22]

Future

Asked about the potential for future crossover episodes, Watson stated in 2005: "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."[9] In November 2007, Kyle re-iterated that the separate series' 52-week filming schedules make it logistically difficult to produce crossovers, but revealed that the production teams were trying to create more opportunities for the two shows to merge.[44] A new set of crossover episodes written by Casualty's lead writer Mark Catley were planned for February 2010.[45] In the event, however, the episodes which saw Casualty's Charlie Fairhead (Derek Thompson) operated on by Holby City's Elliot Hope (Paul Bradley) after suffering a heart attack were broadcast as regular Casualty and Holby City episodes, rather than under the Casualty@Holby City title.[46][47]

References

  1. ^ "Crossover Interview". BBC Online. December 2004. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
  2. ^ a b Shelley, Jim (3 January 2006). "Jim Shelley Goes For The Jugular". The Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 20 April 2010. Cite error: The named reference "mirror" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ Ramsey, Terry (22 October 2005). "Pick of the Night". The Evening Standard. London, England.
  4. ^ "Major BBC organ donation season launches in August" (Press release). BBC Online. 28 April 2005. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  5. ^ Claessens, Michel, ed. (2007). Communicating European Research 2005. Springer Science+Business Media. pp. 161–163. ISBN 978-1-4020-5357-3. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  6. ^ "Casualty at Holby City - Interactive". BBC Online. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  7. ^ Conlan, Tara (16 September 2005). "Casualty and Holby reunited for youth violence special". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  8. ^ Thomas, Liz (16 September 2005). "Holby's hospital dramas to unite against violence". The Stage. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  9. ^ a b c "Crossover Interview". BBC Online. December 2005. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  10. ^ a b "TV drama in North Wales tunnel". The Daily Post. Liverpool, England: Trinity Mirror. 23 December 2005. Cite error: The named reference "liverpoolecho" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b "Cast: Casualty@Holby City". British Film Institute. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  12. ^ a b "Cast: Casualty@Holby City: Something We Can Do". British Film Institute. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  13. ^ a b Suzie Smith (writer), Rob Evans (director) (27 October 2005). "A Great Leap Forward". Holby City. Episode 2. BBC. BBC One. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |seriesno= ignored (|series-number= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ a b Gaby Chiappe (writer), Paul Harrison (director) (27 December 2005). "Deny Thy Father, Part Two". Holby City. Episode 11. BBC. BBC One. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |seriesno= ignored (|series-number= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ "Interviews: Will Thorp". BBC Online. December 2005. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
  16. ^ Hogan, Dek (30 December 2005). "2005 in review: Part 2". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  17. ^ a b "Weekly Top 30 Programmes: Week Ending 26 Dec 2004". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  18. ^ a b "Weekly Top 30 Programmes: Week Ending 2 Jan 2005". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  19. ^ a b "Weekly Top 30 Programmes: Week Ending 28 Aug 2005". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  20. ^ a b c d e f "Weekly Top 30 Programmes: Week Ending 30 Oct 2005". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  21. ^ a b "Weekly Top 30 Programmes: Week Ending 25 Dec 2005". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  22. ^ a b "Weekly Top 30 Programmes: Week Ending 1 Jan 2006". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  23. ^ "What to watch this Christmas". The Sun. News International. 24 December 2004. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  24. ^ Ramsey, Terry (24 December 2004). "Pick of the Day". Evening Standard. London, England.
  25. ^ Shelley, Jim (28 December 2004). "Casualty's Bit of Armless Fun". The Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
  26. ^ Davies, Daniel (27 November 2004). "Television Tinsel". The Western Mail. Cardiff, Wales: Trinity Mirror.
  27. ^ Brooker, Charlie (18 December 2004). "Box of delights". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  28. ^ Traynor, Frances (30 December 2004). "Turn Off". Daily Record. Glasgow, Scotland: Trinity Mirror.
  29. ^ Sutcliffe, Thomas (29 December 2004). "Last night's television: How can I laugh @ a time like this? Casualty @ Holby City BBC1". The Independent. London, England: Independent Print Limited.
  30. ^ Shelley, Jim (30 August 2005). "Shelleyvision: Down". The Mirror. London, England: Trinity Mirror.
  31. ^ Bushell, Garry (28 August 2005). "Bushell on the Box: Brief points". The People. London, England: Trinity Mirror.
  32. ^ Hoggart, Paul (27 August 2005). "Television: Saturday, August 27". The Times. London, England: News Corporation. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  33. ^ "What to watch this weekend". The Sun. News International. 27 August 2005. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  34. ^ "Donate your kidney while you watch TV". The Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers. 29 April 2005. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  35. ^ "Today's TV choices". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 24 October 2005. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  36. ^ Simon, Jane (24 October 2005). "We Love Telly: Drama Casualty@Holby City BBC1, 7pm". The Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  37. ^ Ramsey, Terry (22 October 2005). "Pick of the Night". The Evening Standard. London, England.
  38. ^ Moolla, Sarah (23 October 2005). "TV Guide: Drama Choice". The People. London, England: Trinity Mirror.
  39. ^ Chater, David (24 December 2005). "Television: Christmas Eve". The Times. London, England: News Corporation. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  40. ^ English, Paul (29 December 2005). "The Queen". Daily Record. Glasgow, Scotland: Trinity Mirror.
  41. ^ Ramsey, Terry (23 December 2005). "Pick of the day". Evening Standard. London, England.
  42. ^ "TV drama in North Wales tunnel". The Daily Post. Liverpool, England. 23 December 2005.
  43. ^ Conlan, Tara (25 October 2005). "Mitchells' return proves a happy one". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  44. ^ "Ask the BOSS!". Inside Soap. Hachette Filipacchi Médias. November 2007. p. 40.
  45. ^ Green, Kris (5 June 2009). "'Casualty', 'Holby City' crossover planned". Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
  46. ^ "Casualty, Series 24, Love Is a Battlefield". BBC Online. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  47. ^ "Holby City, Series 12, Downstairs Upstairs". BBC Online. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
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