Latest news with #StDenisMedical
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Scrubs-style medical comedy from top US writers airs on BBC1 tonight
If you're looking for your next laugh, BBC1 is showing St Denis Medical, a workplace comedy with a big heart From the Superstore team, St Denis Medical (on tonight, June 6, on BBC1 at 10.40pm) is a funny and charming workplace comedy that could easily run for many seasons. The mockumentary-style sitcom is created by Justin Spitzer and Eric Ledgin - Justin is a top showrunner, best known for his work on Superstore, with other credits including Scrubs and the American version of The Office. The US show introduces us to St. Denis Medical, a safety-net hospital in Oregon, although hospital boss Joyce (The Goldbergs' Wendi McLendon-Covey) is trying to promote it as 'an international medical destination'. It begins as supervising nurse Alex, played by the brilliant Allison Tolman (you'll recognise her from Fargo and Good Girls), helps a drug addict in the ER. Alex is a workaholic who thinks the emergency ward would collapse without her - although she's probably right. On reception, her overworked colleague Val (Kaliko Kauahi, you'll know her as Superstore's Sandra), tries to handle a restless queue of patients. New staff nurse Matt (Mekki Leeper) is late on his first day - coming from a remote community that doesn't believe in medicine, he'll be starting with the basics. He thinks he's one of the Avengers, but he's completely useless. Making up this eclectic team are jaded Dr Ron (David Alan Grier), nurse Serena (Kahyun Kim) and surgeon Bruce (Josh Lawson), who keeps a samurai sword and a guitar in his office next to all his certificates and thinks he's a detective doctor like 'House'. He's not. This is not a glossy, glamorous medical drama - it's more Scrubs than Grey's, as the under-funded but dedicated staff try not to lose their patience or their patients. Expect lots of laughs and slapstick humour, but also, just when you least expect it, a lot of heart. Starts with a double-bill. *St Denis Medical is airing on BBC1 tonight at 10.40pm There's plenty more on TV tonight - here's the best of the rest.. ALISON HAMMOND'S BIG WEEKEND, BBC1, 8.30pm A cackling, warm-hearted open book, it's no wonder celebrities will tell Alison anything. The series so far has been engaging and fun and this time she spends a big weekend with Scary Spice herself, Mel B. They begin in Mel's hometown of Leeds, where she has built a new life following her high-profile divorce from second husband, Stephen Belafonte. A far cry from her popstar days, Mel's daily routine now involves helping feed the chickens and goats on her working farm. Of course, Alison (a Spice Girls fan obviously) also finds out about life in the band and discovers that Mel and Geri still have a tumultuous relationship, speaking one day and not the next. The visit takes a heartfelt turn when Alison meets Mel's mother, Andrea. They reflect on the challenges of Mel's past, including her time in America and her troubled marriage, which strained their mother-daughter bond for years. THE SURVIVORS, NETFLIX Your latest binge watch is right here, a gripping murder mystery based on Jane Harper's novel of the same name. Set in a tightly-knit Tasmanian community, a place where everyone knows everyone's secrets, this six-episode limited series explores what happens when people have to reckon with a past trauma. Charlie Vickers stars as Kieran Elliott, whose life changed forever when two young men drowned and a young girl went missing in his hometown of Evelyn Bay during a storm. Fifteen years later, returning with partner Mia (Yerin Ha) and young child, the guilt that still haunts him resurfaces. When the body of a young woman is found on the beach, the town is once again rocked by tragedy and questions surface about the past. The investigation of her death threatens to reveal long-held secrets, the truth about the missing girl, and a killer among them. A drama about grief and loss and also a thrilling whodunit. EMMERDALE, ITV1, 7.30pm Cain is still reeling after Nate's body was identified and he was questioned by the police. He's been having flashbacks about the last time he saw his son. With Cain being strangely contrite, Tracy remains suspicious. There is further shock when DC Cole arrives. There has been a development in Nate's case, but will it plunge anyone else into the frame? It's Sarah's birthday, but with everything that's going on, it's not a happy day. A resolution is found for Pollard. CORONATION STREET, ITV1, 8pm Having allowed Millie to stay the night, Eileen warns Todd he may become responsible for her and must address the problem. Theo tells Millie her Mum wants her home, but Millie will only return if Theo moves back in. Dee-Dee assures Ed that she's put the past behind her and her focus is on ensuring better training for midwives. When Debbie and Carl call at No.13 with bacon sandwiches, Kevin clocks Abi's discomfort and leaves feeling suspicious.
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
‘St. Denis Medical' review: You might find it fresh and funny if you've spent 25 years without watching any television
The first time he does it, it gets a laugh. If he does the same thing again, it also gets a laugh, but not as big a laugh as before. If he does it a third time, the laugh is even smaller still because the audience can see it coming. It's the law of diminishing returns in action. But imagine if, on the third occasion, he spots the manhole and avoids it – only to be struck by someone swinging a ladder that knocks him into the hole again. That gets the biggest laugh of all. The mockumentary format, which displaced sitcoms as the dominant form of TV comedy, is also offering diminishing returns. It's like the man who falls into a manhole, only this time he keeps on doing it again and again, to the point where nobody is laughing anymore. The flood of mockumentary comedies over the last two decades or so means the concept has been flogged to death several times over. They passed their sell-by date a long time ago, yet television will insist on churning them out anyway. The latest is American series St. Denis Medical (BBC1, Friday, June 6, 10.40pm), showing in weekly double bills. It's anything but terrible. Put it this way, there have been plenty of far worse mockumentaries (the pointless and barely credible Family Tree with Chris O'Dowd, for one). It's performed with enthusiasm by a talented and appealing cast. You might even find it fresh and funny, provided you've spent 25 years without watching any television. It's another workplace comedy, and every workplace comedy since the BBC's The Office in 2001 has been a variation on... The Office. But St Denis Medical imitates the formula more rigidly than most, which makes it a particularly unnecessary addition. The quirky characters feel less like original creations in their own right than archetypes assembled from other characters in other mockumentaries. The workplace here is a mid-size hospital in Oregon. It's what's called in America a 'safety net hospital', meaning it's obliged to treat everyone, whether or not they have medical insurance. Consequently, it's overrun with patients, understaffed and in a permanent state of chaos. The only credible character is dedicated supervising nurse Alex, played by the wonderful Allison Tolman, a workaholic whose habit of staying long after her shift is over plays havoc with her family life. Alex fears that if she's not there, the hospital might fall apart. She might be right. The hospital's administrator is Joyce (Wendi McLendon-Covey), who blows most of the budget on a fancy new mammogram machine and suggests the hospital should have a slogan: 'The best breast test in the West.' Meanwhile, her staff are wrestling with an ancient computer system that's no longer fit for purpose. Joyce is basically a female David Brent or Michael Scott. She bustles around the place, trying to perk up the staff and only succeeds in getting on their nerves and embarrassing them. She even does a very Brent-like motivational dance and treats them to an excruciating performance on the marimba. Having one Brent/Scott clone is lazy enough, but St Denis Medical has a second: full-of-himself trauma surgeon Bruce (Josh Lawson), who keeps a guitar and samurai swords in his office. He too has a trademark dance he does before operations. Bruce is a constant irritation to world-weary veteran doctor Ron (David Alan Grier), who's seen it all before. But Ron is often as vain as Bruce and prides himself on dating much younger women. There's also a clueless new nurse called Matt (Mekki Leeper), who grew up in a religious community that doesn't believe in medication. On his first day, he accidentally injects himself with an EpiPen. The rest of the characters, including a very Stanley-from-The Office type nursing administrator, are sketchily drawn. Now and again, St Denis Medical shows flashes of what it could have been were it not a timid NBC network series. We briefly see a racist patient complaining about black doctors, but the curtain is swiftly closed on him, as it is on every opportunity to have a pop at America's brutal, broken healthcare system. Rating: Two stars
