Casualty series 2

Last updated

Casualty series 2
Series 2
No. of episodes15
Release
Original network BBC One
Original release12 September (1987-09-12) 
19 December 1987 (1987-12-19)
Season chronology
 Previous
Casualty series 1
List of episodes

The second series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 12 September 1987 and finished on 19 December 1987. [1]

Contents

Production

While the first series of Casualty had been filmed in London, a permanent place for the Set had now been found – a warehouse in Bristol. However, accompanying the publicity for the start of the new series were comments by producer Geraint Morris that there would be no more programmes, stating quite unequivocally that: "We felt it should end on a high after thirty episodes."

Once again as the characters of Holby's A&E department battled to save their night shift on screen, off screen a similar battle was being waged – and won. After six weeks on air, the critics were finally warming to the series and there were no longer any Government complaints about content. Following the dramatic episode Cry For Help, in which Paramedic Sandra Mute is stabbed the programme seemed to secure audiences of more than 10 million and therefore a sense of security to the programme.

An example of the series' now infamous tendency to bare similarity to real life events came during an episode where the team had to dig out bodies from a house bombed in an IRA attack. Just hours after being screen, an IRA bomb ripped through Enniskillen. It seemed that the writers had put their fingers on the country's pulse without exaggeration and from that point onwards no one dared to call it far-fetched again. [2]

Cast

Overview

The second series of Casualty features a cast of characters working in the emergency department of Holby City Hospital. [3] The majority of the cast from the previous series continue to appear in this series. Bernard Gallagher portrayed emergency medicine consultant Ewart Plimmer. Derek Thompson appeared as charge nurse Charlie Fairhead, whilst Cathy Shipton starred as staff nurse Lisa "Duffy" Duffin. Brenda Fricker played state enrolled nurse Megan Roach. Lisa Bowerman and Robert Pugh portrayed paramedics Sandra Mute and Andrew Ponting. Debbie Roza starred as receptionist Susie Mercier while Christopher Rozycki appeared as porter Kuba Trzcinski. Nigel Anthony and Sonia Woolley also appear as Ted Roach and Ros Plimmer in a recurring capacity. [4]

Helena Little joined the cast in episode one as senior house officer Mary Tomlinson as did Maureen O'Brien who began portraying administrator Elizabeth Straker. Both characters departed at the end of the series. [4] Kate Hardie and Eddie Nestor were cast in the roles of student nurses Karen O'Malley and Cyril James respectively. Cyril was later promoted to staff nurse. Hardie departed the series in episode ten. [4] Bowerman chose to leave the series and her character Sandra was killed off in episode four. Pugh also left the series, with Andrew departing in episode six. [4] They were subsequently replaced within the cast by Ella Wilder and Geoffrey Leesley, who began portraying paramedics Shirley Franklin and Keith Cotterill respectively from episode seven. [4] Roza chose to leave the series, with Susie departing at the end of the series. [4]

Main characters

Recurring characters

Episodes

No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
161"A Little Lobbying" Antonia Bird Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin 12 September 1987 (1987-09-12)
172"A Drop of the Hard Stuff"Antonia BirdRoy Mitchell19 September 1987 (1987-09-19)
183"Shades of Love"Michael Brayshaw Wally K Daly 26 September 1987 (1987-09-26)
194"Cry for Help" Alan Wareing Paul Unwin and Jeremy Brock3 October 1987 (1987-10-03)
205"Anaconda"Michael BrayshawRay Brennan10 October 1987 (1987-10-10)
216"Lifelines"Sharon MillerJeremy Brock17 October 1987 (1987-10-17)
227"The Raid"Sharon MillerSusan Wilkins24 October 1987 (1987-10-24)
238"Cross Fingers"Alan Wareing David Ashton 31 October 1987 (1987-10-31)
249"Seeking Heat" Christopher Menaul Ray Brennan and Jeremy Brock7 November 1987 (1987-11-07)
2510"Rock-a-Bye-Baby"Sharon MillerGinnie Hole14 November 1987 (1987-11-14)
2611"Hooked"Michael BrayshawBilly Hamon21 November 1987 (1987-11-21)
2712"Fun Night"Alan Wareing Al Hunter Ashton 28 November 1987 (1987-11-28)
2813"Peace, Brother"Michael BrayshawDavid Ashton5 December 1987 (1987-12-05)
2914"Burning Cases"Christopher MenaulJeremy Brock and Paul Unwin12 December 1987 (1987-12-12)
3015"These Things Happen"Alan WareingDavid Ashton19 December 1987 (1987-12-19)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brenda Fricker</span> Irish actress

Brenda Fricker is an Irish actress, whose career has spanned six decades on stage and screen. She has appeared in more than 30 films and television roles. In 1990, she became the first Irish actress to win an Academy Award, earning the award for Best Supporting Actress for the biopic My Left Foot (1989). She also appeared in films such as The Field (1990), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), Angels in the Outfield (1994), A Time to Kill (1996), Veronica Guerin (2003), Inside I'm Dancing (2004) and Albert Nobbs (2011).

<i>Casualty</i> (TV series) British medical drama series

Casualty (stylised as CASUAL+Y) is a British medical drama series that airs weekly on BBC One. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 6 September 1986. The original producer was Geraint Morris. Having been broadcast weekly since 1986, Casualty is the longest-running primetime medical drama series in the world.

Lisa Bowerman is a British actress. She is best known for portraying Sandra Mute, the paramedic, in the BBC One medical drama Casualty, in the first two series (1986–1987). She also stars as Doctor Who companion Professor Bernice Summerfield in a series of the same name and many Doctor Who audios for Big Finish Productions productions, as well as directing many series for the company.

The twenty-fourth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 12 September 2009, and concluded on 21 August 2010. Events of the series included a crossover with sister show Holby City.

The first series of the British medical drama television series Casualty began airing on 6 September 1986, and concluded on 27 December 1986. The show was created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin after the pair were both hospitalised for different reasons. Brock and Unwin were deeply concerned with what they saw within hospitals and decided to pitch a document in 1985 for the BBC. It was reported the pitch document 'read like a manifesto', and the show was then commissioned. Geraint Morris was appointed as the show's producer. Casualty was commissioned to boost ratings on BBC One at peak times after ratings began to decline between 1984 and 1985. Prior to first series airing, Brock and Unwin visited a hospital in Bristol where they met a charge nurse called Pete Salt. Salt was appointed the series medical advisor.

The third series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 September 1988 and finished on 11 November 1988. This series consists of ten episodes, a decrease from the previous series. The broadcast of episode 10 was delayed until November 1988 following the death of guest actor Roy Kinnear. Succeeding episodes were brought forward one week in the schedule as a result.

The fourth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 8 September 1989 and finished on 1 December 1989.

The sixth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 6 September 1991 and finished on 27 February 1992.

The fifth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 7 September 1990 and finished on 7 December 1990.

The seventh series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 12 September 1992 and finished on 27 February 1993.

The eighth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 18 September 1993 and finished on 26 February 1994.

The ninth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 17 September 1994 and finished on 25 March 1995.

The tenth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 16 September 1995 and finished on 24 February 1996. Notable events of the series include Ash's marriage to Laura, Baz's affair with Charlie, Baz's pregnancy, and a gas explosion.

The eleventh series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 14 September 1996 and finished on 22 February 1997. Notable events of the series include the death of Josh's wife and children as a result of a house fire, the birth of Charlie and Baz's son Louis, and the near-fatal stabbing of Jude at the end of the series.

The twelfth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 11 September 1997 and finished on 28 February 1998. The first episode was originally due to be shown on the evening of Saturday 6 September, but this was delayed until the following Thursday due to coverage of the Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales earlier on that day, as the BBC felt it would be inappropriate to air the episode so soon after such an event.

The thirteenth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 5 September 1998 and finished on 13 March 1999. It saw another increase, this time to 28 episodes, including a feature-length Christmas episode. This was the first series to be broadcast in widescreen. The series also acted as a launchpad for characters and storylines in the spin-off series Holby City, which started in January 1999.

The fourteenth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 18 September 1999 and finished on 25 March 2000. It saw another increase, this time to 30 episodes.

The eighteenth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty began airing on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 13 September 2003, and concluded on 28 August 2004. The series consists of 46 episodes, which focus on the professional and personal lives of medical and ancillary staff at the emergency department (ED) of the fictional Holby City Hospital. Foz Allen serves as the series producer, while Mal Young and Mervyn Watson act as the executive producers of the series. Twelve regular cast members reprised their roles from the previous series and six actors joined the cast during the series. Original cast member Julia Watson, who portrays Baz Wilder, also returned.

The twenty-seventh series of Casualty began airing on BBC One on 18 August 2012 with an episode featuring a disaster at a music festival. Filming series 26 was completed in April 2012 and filming series 27 began a week later. The first episode was in the normal format – a 50-minute episode. This season is 44 episodes, increasing from 42 for the previous one. Viewing figures for the first episode were 5.19 million viewers, continuing to be one of the most watched programmes of a Saturday night.

The thirty-eighth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty began airing on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 26 August 2023. The series focuses on the professional and personal lives of medical and ancillary staff at the emergency department (ED) of the fictional Holby City Hospital. Jon Sen and Liza Mellody continued their roles as executive producer and series producer respectively. The series also features the departure of the show's longest-serving character, Charlie Fairhead.

References

  1. IMDB Casualty Series 2
  2. "Casualty | Series 2". holby.tv. 12 September 1987. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  3. Pryer, Emma (25 June 2016). "Casualty celebrates 1,000 episodes, 30 years and 2,500 gallons of fake blood". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Series 2 (1987)". BBC . Retrieved 21 July 2016.