Green Wing - Series 1 DVD > Reviews > A is for Apendectomy

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Good
How does it compare to similar films?	Not applicable

Advantages:	Funny
Disadvantages:	But perhaps not to all

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

"As you've seen from your actual in-depth bowel tour of an actual working hospital, it's basically full of sick people who desperately want to get better but a lot of them don't and they die in pain, any questions?"
(Or: Introduction.)

My good friend Tessa has a wonderful ability to be able to laugh at practically anything. And whenever I've watched her sitting on the sofa chuckling away at Friends or Little Britain or Cheers or the irony of Neighbours I've often envied this about her. The trouble is, though, that I tend to be incredibly picky about my comedy. I must have a very specific set of values which are obviously entirely the wrong sort for TV sitcoms, because most of them appear to be complete shite. And so when I do stumble across a comedy that I like - a comedy that's original and clever and sharp and not full of canned laughter - then I will stand up and applaud it as loudly as I possibly can, in the hope that someone will hear and commission a few more like it.

Which, actually, is exactly what Channel 4 seems to have been doing. We obviously have very similar tastes. And after such gems as 'Black Books' and the wonderful 'Spaced', 'Green Wing' is everything that you could possibly come expect from them. It's witty and dark and surreal and stylish and intelligent and certainly not your average mainstream 'My Family' sort-of comedy, which is the sort-of comedy that we'd all be better off without, I reckon. But we could definitely do with a few more like this one.

"Joanna brought me here once. To discuss hospital employment policy. Surreptitiously, however, I was bringing her to climax with a breadstick."
(Or: Production.)

'Green Wing' was basically created by the same team that produced 'Smack the Pony' - both shows were devised, produced, and generally all-round overseen by Victoria Pile, both were directed by Tristan Shapeero and Dominic Brigstocke, and both were written by practically the same bunch of writers. The sketch-show format of 'Smack the Pony' also formed the basis for the rather more hybrid sketch-show/sitcom format of 'Green Wing', which is likewise made up of short sketches but with a bit more of a plot holding everything together. These sketches are also linked by some really quite addictive music from Jonathan Whitehead and a lot of slick speeding-up/slowing-down camera motion, which leaves you feeling a bit sea-sick at first but thankfully settles down after a while. The result is a very modern and cool looking comedy, stylishly produced.

"What did you do before alcohol became the centre of your Universe?"
"…Homework."
(Or: Situation, Characters and Plot.)

'Green Wing' is set in a hospital. The fact that it is set in a hospital appears to be entirely incidental. There aren't many patients around, and they certainly don't get involved. Little of medical note really happens. There's no blood or gore or frantic dramatic rushes to save someone's life with blaring sirens in the background and that's one of the best things about it.

The series begins by following Dr Caroline Todd's first day at her new hospital (Tamsin Greig). Here she meets co-workers Dr 'Mac' Macartny (Julian Rhind-Tutt) - off-hand, sarcastic, full of irritating quips, ginger, and yet somehow still completely irresistible - and anesthetist Dr 'Guy' Secretan (Stephen Mangan) - an egotistical womanizer lacking in all morals or any sensitivity. Out-of-theatre they are more often than not joined by the socially incompetent and insecure Martin Dear (Karl Theobald), who continues to fail his exams and looks unlikely to ever become a proper doctor. Elsewhere in the hospital the cynical and middle-aged Director of Human Resources Joanna Clore (Pippa Haywood) is unwillingly pursued by Consultant Radiologist Dr Alan Statham (the wonderful Mark Heap) - whose terrible stammer and tense and uptight nature allows him to be endlessly teased and bullied by his students. And all of these characters find themselves at some point or the other running up against the totally unhelpful, unsympathetic and eccentric Staff Liason Officer Sue White (Michelle Gomez).

The plot, insofar as there is one, largely revolves around the various relationships, flings and obsessions of the hospital staff. There's the masochistic affair between Alan and Joanna. There's Sue White's obsessive pursuel of Mac. There's also the interest that Guy and Martin both show in Caroline, and the rather sweet developing relationship between Caroline and Mac - although, to be fair, for most of the series they simply seem to spend most of their time insulting each other. Nonetheless, theirs is a relationship that you somehow really end up wanting to work - both characters are so appealing - and it's largely this basic need to see the two of them get off with each other that makes the practically non-existent plot quite so gripping. Although maybe that's only for girls.

But other things happen in-between, too. Caroline holds a house warming and ends up kissing four of her co-workers, of which only three are male. An ambulance is almost driven off a cliff. Operations are carried out in regional accents. A couple of the staff discover they're half-brothers. Cartwheels are done down corridors, and hand-clapping games in the operating theatres. The face of Jesus appears at windows. Sue White brings a camel in. Mac chases people round the hospital with a remote controlled car, which he swapped with a kid for a lighter, and rides naked on his motorcycle down the corridors at night. Dr Statham discovers God, and a pretty blonde Chaplain. Mac and Guy tie a wastepaper basket to Martin's head and get him to run around the hospital grounds while they try and throw tennis balls into it. Etc, etc…Most of it's incredibly pointless, but all great fun.

'Green Wing' is nonsensical, silly, and childish. It's more often than not witty and sharp, with most of the banter and quips coming from Mac and Guy. There are countless surreal moments, most of which occur in Sue White's office. It's often very crude and physically explicit. It's probably not the sort of thing you'd watch with your parents. The humour is inventive and original, and the plot, such as it is, has some unexpected twists to it. Some of the sketches I find incredibly embarrassing and wouldn't want to watch more than once, but some contain moments of genius and I could watch them over and over again and still laugh out loud. Undoubtedly 'Green Wing' is a cult comedy and won't appeal to everyone, but isn't that true with all of them? And if you do have a penchant for surreal, clever, witty humour then I'd definitely recommend this.

"Join me again next week on 'Let's Make No F*cking Sense' when I will be waxing an owl."
(Or: The DVD.)

The DVD contains 9 episodes at around 50 minutes each, giving you a grand value of 450 minutes or 7 and a half hours for your money. Bargain. On top of this there are a number of deleted scenes, some frankly dull commentaries, and a good little behind-the-scenes which could easily have been twice as long. So maybe the extras aren't great, but the comedy is, and I hope this review has given an accurate enough flavour of what it's like to satisfy any potential buyers that might be reading this.