Bodies (TV series)
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- For the usual meaning of this term, see body.
| Bodies | |
|---|---|
 Max Beesley playing Rob Lake |
|
| Genre | Medical Drama |
| Creator(s) | Jed Mercurio |
| Starring | Max Beesley Patrick Baladi Neve McIntosh Keith Allen Susan Lynch Tamzin Malleson Preeya Kalidas Simon Lowe Hattie Morahan Vicky Hall Nicholas Palliser Saskia Reeves Mary Stockley |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 17 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 min (16 episodes) / 90 min (Finale Special) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC Three |
| Original run | June 23, 2004 – December 13, 2006 |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
Bodies is a British television medical drama series that began in the summer of 2004. Created by Jed Mercurio, it was based on his book Bodies, and produced for the BBC by Hat Trick Productions. The first series debuted on BBC Three as the channel at this time was trying to break out into hour-long dramas.
The first series soon made the move to a terrestrial channel as BBC Two aired it in the late 2004. With end of the first series left open-ended, BBC Three and BBC Two co-commissioned a second series, increasing the number of epsiodes from six to ten.
BBC Two debuted the second series in September 2005 with BBC Three airing the next episode straight after the episode on BBC Two. The BBC axed the drama after the second series because of declining viewing figures.
After the second series ended, Max Beesley told BBC Radio 1's The Chris Moyles Show that an additional one or two episodes were being planned to conclude the series. The drama has been described as a "dark, sometimes funny" take on the favourite genre made popular through shows such as Casualty and Holby City.
The series, starring Max Beesley, Keith Allen and Patrick Baladi has developed a cult following with its gritty storylines and gruesome theatre scenes. The series was also broadcast to American audiences on digital channel BBC America during the late summer, early fall of 2005.
The last episode was broadcast on Wednesday, 13th December 2006 on BBC Three.
Contents |
[edit] Storyline
The story is centred around specialist registrar Rob Lake (Max Beesley), who starts the first series in a new post in the Obstetrics and gynaecology Department at the fictional South Central Infirmary, under the guidance of consultant obstetrician Roger Hurley (Patrick Baladi).
It soon becomes apparent to Lake that Hurley, a friendly and professional doctor with a strong academic background, is nevertheless incompetent as a surgeon and regularly bungles surgical procedures, to the detriment of his patients. Hurley is, however, protected by a shroud of silence: "Doctors look after doctors" is a commonly-repeated phrase in the series.
[edit] The Finale
Life has changed so much for Rob, Roger, Polly, Tony and Donna. The story picks up with Roger Hurley being arrested by the police and given a caution for exposing himself (he was urinating in public). As this reflects badly on the hospital, Chrissy goes to see Tony Whitman. We find out that Tony was charged with theft for taking a coffee refill and was working in a dwindling practice. Chrissy and Sir Paul offer Tony his job back as a consultant, as long as he gives Roger Hurley a good reference for a new job, which he does.
Meanwhile, Rob has joined University Hospital in his first consultant post, but little does he know that his arch-nemesis, Roger Hurley is joining the department. Rob also has to deal with becoming a father as he and Polly are expecting a baby and the fact he is not sleeping very well and has a tremor in his hand is starting to worry him. He consults his mate, who is also a doctor, who says it is most likely due to the stress of being a first-year consultant.
But his friend goes on to ask Rob if he has ever eaten beef or beef products and has he ever had a scalp cut from a surgeon knife, to which Rob replied 'yes' on both counts. Rob tells him that his symptoms are more serious and his friend tells him he might have CJD and that he will have him tested straight away. He also destroys Rob's medical notes so that he can get medical insurance.
Rob is surprised when he receives a phone call from his ex-girlfriend, Donna Rix and he goes to meet her. She tells him she has completed her degree in English Literature, a 2:1 and is now working in journalism. With Roger in the same department as Rob, Roger is beginning to make the same mistakes that Rob witnessed whilst he was Roger's registrar at South Central Infirmary.
Rob gets another surprise when he sees Donna working on the ward as a nurse. She tells him that she is writing a story about incompetent doctors and how whistle blowers are silenced. Roger is performing a caesarean section on a patient when he starts making mistakes and in the end, both the patient and the baby dies.
At the monthly Obstetrics and Gynaecology meeting, Roger explainins what happened in theatre. Rob questions the way in which Hurley handled the operation and starts bringing up past operations, such as the operation at South Central Infirmary where Roger's mistakes saw Karen Taylor brain-damaged.
Polly (Rob's girlfriend) is going into labour and as he can't get her into South Central Infirmary, he decides to take her to his hospital, where Polly is greeted by Roger Hurley who is performing the operation. Rob is watching every move that Roger makes and at the last minute, when Roger is about to deliver the baby, he stops Roger from making the incision and takes over himself, saying Roger was about to cut Polly's bladder. Polly is very distressed whilst all this is going on, and pleads with Rob to stop interfering, but her pleas fall on deaf ears.
Rob and Polly have a baby daughter, but Polly is furios with Rob as he used her to pursue his vendetta against Hurley and put her and the baby's lives at risk. She tells Rob that he will never see his daughter again. Later on, Polly is talking to Tony and he says if she ever needs anything, he will be there. He also asks if there is any chance they might be more than just friends to which she replies 'no', but when he asks if there is tiny chance, Polly replies 'maybe'.
Roger is coming into office when he told by Mary that she has received an official complaint from Rob Lake over Roger Hurley's handling of Polly's caesarean section. Roger tells Mary that if enough consultants and management back him up, they can shut Rob up. However, Mary tells him that Rob has reported him to the General Medical Council and that he is suspended from practicing medicine.
Roger later confronts Rob and tells him 'you never blow the whistle'. Roger tells Rob that this will ruin his career, to which Rob replies 'maybe both of our careers'. Roger argues that Rob has made medical mistakes, Rob does not argue with this, but states that he always tried to do the right thing afterwards. Rob asks Roger, why he didn't just ask for help, to which Roger replies 'did you?'. Roger is led out of the hospital.
Later on, Rob is outside the hospital with Donna and tells her that he has reported Hurley to the General Medical Council. She says it will take years for Hurley's mistakes to be investigated. Rob asks Donna if she will return to nursing, she says she has missed nursing and will return it.
In the final scene, Rob is sitting in his doctor friend's office. The friend hands Rob the test results, Rob looks at them and then looks back at his friend...
[edit] Cast and Crew
- Creator, Writer & Producer: Jed Mercurio
- Starring:
- Max Beesley - Dr. Rob Lake
- Patrick Baladi - Dr. Roger Hurley
- Neve McIntosh - Sister Donna Rix
- Keith Allen - Dr. Tony Whitman
- Susan Lynch - Dr. Maria Orton
- Tamzin Malleson - Dr. Polly Grey
- Preeya Kalidas - Dr. Maya Dutta
- Simon Lowe - Dr. Tim Sibley
- Hattie Morahan - Beth Lucas (Paediatrician)
- Vicky Hall - Chrissy Farrell
- Nicholas Palliser - Sir Paul Tennant
- Saskia Reeves - Mary Dodd
- Mary Stockley - Susannah Marshall
[edit] DVD Release
| DVD Name | Episodes | Release Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Complete Series One | 6 | October 30, 2006 [1] |
| Complete Series Two / The Finale | 11 | December 26, 2006 [2] |
| The Complete Collection | 17 | April 09, 2007 [3] |
[edit] Books
| Book Name | Author | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Bodies (Paperback) | Jed Mercurio | September 2, 2004 [4] |
[edit] External links
- Official BBC Three Bodies site
- Hat Trick Productions Bodies Page
- Bodies - The Finale Press Pack From The BBC
- Bodies - The Finale Trailer (Youtube)
- Bodies - Makeup Special Effects
