Is it just me or has the writing and acting on Casualty gone really downhill?

[LadyDamerel]

DH is watching it. I am cringing at the ridiculously over-dramatic storylines, the forced co-incidences and the appalling acting.

Has it always been this bad or just hit a new low?

I watch it on and off, but thought tonight's episode, well the first 20 mins that I bothered to watch was cringe worthy tbh

Not watched it for a while but anything has got to be better than the acting standards/storylines on Doctors.

I hate these special long episodes. They seem SO unrealistic.

I like it. It's less like they are trying to be a real hospital

I am begging DH to turn it off but he is gripped.

It is beyond awful, it makes Doctors look Oscar-winning, it really does.

As if a motorway pile-up wasn't enough, they've added in a gas explosion and now a chemical leak, plus a teacher/pupil affair, a man having an affair with his neighbour that his daughter has just found out about and the usual shenanigans between the staff.

They won't have any story lines left for the rest of the series at this rate .

I love it. Am totally gripped. It's like a Hollywood disaster movie, only better.

I haven't watched it for years but tuned in tonight and assumed every episode must be like this! Was anybody rlse shocked how many people came running out of the estate?

I used to live on the estate it was filmed on and that was about the only believable aspect of the entire programme.

I take it they have moved the filming to Wales? Lots of extras seemed to have Welsh accents.

I'm a bit behind, can't believe the fireman was silly enough to risk his life for the man stuck in the fog. He's meant to be incident commander, he's putting dveryone in jeopardy by being so reckless.

I am a casualty addict - haven't missed an episode in years. But tonights episode has just made me . I work for NHS and have been involved in commissioning some new builds - tonights episode was ridiculous!!!!! True I've never commissioned a new ED - only GPs surgeries etc - but... When a new building is commissioned it takes YEARS - YEARS I tell you!!!! They want us to believe that Holby has gone from almost closure to new build over fucking Christmas???? In relality they would have closed the place. If a new ED was to be commissioned they would have to draw up options papers, consult with local people, finalise options, sort out costings - get them OKed by local health Board and Government, get the funding from somewhere, knock down the old place, build somewhere new, commission all the equipment, test all the equipment. In the meantime all the old staff would have been redeployed - so they'd need to get new staff. etc etc etc - this would all take YEARS!!!!!

FFS my faith in casualty is gone - gone I tell you.

gin. So by that measure, the rest was fairly plausible then!

Gin, agree with all that, plus complete nonsense to think the staff would not have seen a bit of it till openng day! doh

And just pulling the wrapping off a bed in rescus??? Surely it would need to be sterilised??? THe bit that REALLY pissed me off was the shiny new MRI/CT (don't know which) scanner which the doctore seemed to be reading instructions for!!!!!!! Our local hospital got a new scanner a couple of year ago - the planning for it took at least 4 years!

I am cross. I have had too much and am taking this all much much too seriously. I may have to write to the Beeb!

But the dog was ok, so all's well that ends well.

Actually I did enjoy it although even I thought 'FGS' when there was a chemical leak on top of everything else, but then I only watch it because I fancy Mr Jordan. You doubters have to admit, the stunt department go a pretty good job, I mean you wouldn't get better crashes than that in a Hollywood movie, (I'm watching Die Hard and the crashes aren't a patch on Casualty ).

Do a pretty good job that is.

It was Ace. But I'm a bit worried that they've blown the bbc budget for the rest of the year.

I stopped watching it ages ago because I couldn't stand those fucking ridiculous angsty-quirky parademics Dixie and whats-his-name, and that stupid awful nurse with the shrill voice always banging on about her son Samuel.

Have they gone yet?

I'm watching Die Hard and the crashes aren't a patch on Casualty.

Me too and I agree!

I just kept screeching "That's what they've spent my license fee on and why we've had nothing but crappy repeats for the entire Christmas period," all the way through.

I enjoyed it. I haven't watched casualty for years, and only turned it on because there was nothing else on I fancied watching - and I am hooked again. Though I do think they piled it on with a heavy hand in this episode - I think they've only got alien invasion left for next week.

But at least I still recognise one character - though Charlie's looking a wee bit older than I remember.

And yes the set has moved from Bristol to Cardiff.

The paramedics are still there, as is the nurse (if you mean Tess?) but the son has gone so she has mellowed a bit.
The ones I can't stand now are Scarlett (tie your flippin' hair back!) and the scottish Doctor (Lyons?), who as far as I can see has no redeeming features whatsoever.

Ah yes, Pixel, 'tis Tess of whom I think.

It sounds dire.

Strangely, I love Holby City. This is down to the wonder of Frida and Jac, mostly.

ooooh, if they are in Cardiff perhaps they will have to doctor Captain Jack

We watched it, since it was filmed on the estate where we live. (Waves to Lady Damerel who must be an ex neighbour). I thought it was dreadful, and won't be watching again. Annoyingly, the crater where the gas explosion was is still in a real mess after the filming especially after all the rain we had. They didn't do a very good job of restoring it. I especially noticed that they had to remove all the Welsh language bits off road signs, litter bins etc