Festive Viewing
Happy New Year to one and all.
I can’t believe how busy the end of 2007 turned out to be, Holby did give me a whacking chunk of time ‘off’ as my 1st draft script meeting was on 18th Dec and my second draft is due in today. But trying to pull myself away from mince pies, bargain shopping and various hand held computer gizmos to actually do some work, was quite tough. One of the downfalls of working from home (or in the garden). Naturally I had a Christmas dress to make (crafting keeps me sane) and I was hand sewing on Christmas morning so I could wear the damned thing..
I’ve met my deadline though. My 2nd draft of my 2nd Holby episode winged its way across the ether last night. I really enjoyed working on it. A refuge from Christmas excess. An excuse to not do the dishes, help with the (brand new) roller skates, watch appalling Christmas TV.
This episode will be transmitted sometime in March or April - it’s my Spring ep and its themes are quite deliberately spring-like. Sitting snug in my writing pod watching the rain lash the house, I conjured up flowers and sunshine, rebirth, love and blossom - along with retro-peritoneal haematomas and more swabs and clamps than you can shake a stick at. My previous Holby ep was very low on the gore factor - my serial stories concerned the nursing staff more than the consultants so the opportunities for ‘in theatre’ scenes were few. Come to think of it - my Casualty episode to be transmitted in Feb, wasn’t really awash in blood either, maybe I’m a closet wimp?
Not a chance, I stayed the distance whilst observing Open Heart Surgery, I watched a chest being sawn open, smelled the cauterised flesh, adjusted the surgeons glasses for godsake. It is hard to do ‘real gore’ on telly though, just like it’s hard to do realistic births. This was a conversation I had with the wonderful paramedic who took on a tour of Newham in his big shiny ambulance one shift. Whilst leaning on a wall nonchalantly with cup of tea in hand, having one of our allotted breaks (and there aint many of them) we discussed birthing on film and TV. I mentioned that Casualty a while back, seemed to have splashed out on a pretty convincing prosthetic baby, this baby was cropping up everywhere, whole episodes were devoted to the said prosthetic -
“Can we have another close up of the baby .. that’s it, and another, hold it - longer, close, closer .. zoom in .. damn that prosthetic baby is good!”
But the filmic birth to top all births we both agreed (independently I might add) was Children of Men. I was half convinced I was watching a live birth. I’d paused the dvd, rewound, played, paused, rewound… how did they do that? CGI apparently.
So I’m not a closet wimp. But I do cry at the drop of a hat. Christmas TV seems to be getting worse, but only because I’m getting older. The one festive ritual I used love was buying the Christmas Radio Times. Before the advent of multi channels, dvd, video even, the Christmas films held some sort of magical appeal - your one and only chance to see Oliver! Jason and the Argonauts! The Poseidon Adventure! Miss that screening and you’d have to wait another 12 months dammit.
To top it all this year a cousin in her teens at a family party, had never heard of Morecombe and Wise… I ask you.
There were some TV gems recently. I wept buckets at Cranford - and I mean buckets, that last episode had my eldest daughter seriously worried for my mental health as she handed me tissue after tissue. As a family we happily hung around for Sarah Phelp’s take on Oliver Twist, enjoying the lavish nightly eps but nevertheless still breaking into song and mourning Jack Wilde. Good TV though.
The Christmas Holby - Elliot’s Wonderful Life was great. Yes, I’m being paid by the BBC, yes I work for Holby, but it was fab. A lovely little left of field jaunt paying homage to a Wonderful film, and why not? Normal transmission was resumed the following week - I’m glad Holby does these detours now and then, it keeps me watching and ultimately keeps me interested in what I’m writing about.
And the name of the new character in my Casualty script? (see previous post) It wasn’t the one I’d hoped for, me and the editor out voted. I adjusted the gag.
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