What a shame that 'Casualty' seems to be going steadily downhill, and now so consistently produces episodes that are both boring and badly put together.
In the past few months episodes often seem humdrum & banal. No spirit or 'bite' at all. Plus are frequently confusing, with scripts that don't seem to flow. And sometimes even include behaviour &/or 'lines' that don't fit the regular characters. The overall effect serves only to confuse the viewer. Perhaps this is a continuity problem, due to the range of writers used from one episode to another. Nonetheless there are far too MANY episodes recently with a writing style and form that is unbalanced, let alone puerile and smacking of writing inexperience.
And the most recent episode - 'The Road Not Taken' (broadcast on 28 March 2015: S29, Ep 26) - is sadly no exception! This episode is the last straw in a long line of sub-standard episodes; meaning I finally felt compelled ,-) to make the effort(!) to post some sort of review about this episode, which sadly is a perfect example of the downturn of the programme.
This episode ('The Road Not Taken') had an exciting concept behind it, but sadly the episode transpired to be nothing but a missed opportunity. It could have been such a good story, as a sort of 'Sliding Doors' concept of the viewer seeing a different turn in events depending upon the initial decision made by the character. The infamous 'butterfly effect'.
This would have been a good episode - and the idea of a variant course of events would have been clear to the viewer - had the episode been better written/put together. Instead, the cutting between the scenes was no different to normal, so it was impossible to differentiate between one line of events & another. A longer pause between scenes of a different timeline - or some other tool - would have made it clear to the viewer that this was not the same series of events as previously shown to the viewer.
It took me more than 10 minutes! into the episode to realise there was a 'Sliding Doors' concept behind the basic plot delineation. Up till then I seriously thought I had inadvertently pressed the rewind button & was just re-seeing the same old scenes! I had felt, until I finally worked out the dramatic 'Sliding Doors' strategy, that I was in some sort of viewer's nightmare! of pointlessly repeated scenes.
There was another flaw with the episode, in addition to the unclear breaks between the different series of events:
When I finally realised there was a 'Sliding Doors' plot line, I assumed the episode would start to make more sense, but it didn't. This was because the script was, frankly (& IMHO), badly written & over-stylised. It was trying to be a clever & mature script, but - rather than this new writing style advancing the telling of the tale and improving the drama - it instead merely served to mislead the viewers. This is because it took away the regular dramatic style of the programme that we are familiar with, along with removing the normal speaking methods of the series' regular cast members. This meant that the viewer could hardy recognise the characters that they know so well! It was a script that spent its energy being over-melodramatic instead of concentrating upon getting across to the viewers the more important simple premise of the story.
It's a very difficult job - in the 'Sliding Doors' & 'Groundhog Day' type of story (as it is too in time travel dramas) - for a writer/editor/etc. to clarify to the viewer what is going on. So confusion can be difficult for the creator to avoid. But taking the time to clarify to the viewer what is going on - whether the product is a TV programme or a cinema film - is a vital part of the creative process. Even if budget restrictions affect the final product. If it can't be done, then IMHO it should not be attempted.
Both 'Sliding Doors' & 'Groundhog Day' were super films: well put together & clearly presented so that the viewer can make sense of the complex storyline. Sadly in this episode of 'Casualty' there was no such care taken with the final output.
I was so confused that I even rewatched the entire! episode, in an attempt to see if I was correct in my conjecture. But sadly the episode made no more sense the second time around than the first!
I have a feeling that the change in quality of many of the recent episodes of 'Casualty' may well have something to do with the credit crunch and the likely associated budget cuts. Nonetheless it seems a shame to see such a good drama series become so humdrum.
Hey-ho: let's hope 'Casualty' improves over the next few weeks.
~ by SceneByScene (UK) ~