The Clinic

The Clinic has 65 episodes, and aired from 2003-2008. Typically I binge watch new programs when they are this good, however, 65 episodes is a tough binge watch so I spread it over 8 day's. It was difficult to stop watching each day because the series has an interesting and diverse story to tell. You get to know clinic employees from the cleaning lady to the doctor's that run the practice. Each character has a unique personality and the writer's create stories that bring out their characters personality. Some characters you will love, one, in particular, you will hate. An attractive, womanizer who lies and manipulates almost every one in his path. The wring is strong as well as the acting. I throughly love British TV and film. Watched Downton Abbey, loved it and was sorry to see it end. The Clinic is an Irish production and it holds its own against British productions. After researching other Irish programs I could watch I found some great ones and I'm looking forward to watching them. You can't go wrong watching The Clinic.

When I first read in a local Irish paper that we were to get an Irish Medical drama my thoughts instantly went to those terrible medical dramas that were in the form of aussie soap operas. However I was pleasantly surprised by the high entertainment in it. Up until then the Irish networks had tried their best to give us some high quality entertainment but kept on falling sort of their target.

The first night I sat down with a couple of beers and began to watch it I was curious as to who the cast were. I looked up the Internet Movie Database Base that night and discovered that I had seen most of them before in terrible shows but this was their best effort. The standard of acting throughout was of a very high quality. Each actor slipped into their roles very comfortably indeed and this was the making of it really.

From the first show to the last one each actor/character developed individually each having a crisis in most episodes but it was a recurring theme in each episode that was the development of the character/overall story you see. But to be totally honest with you the script was pretty weak. The script had all the usual medical drama's going on in it and their was nothing new but it was that the acting and the emotions displayed on screen to us that made the show worthwhile.

It has taken the Irish network bosses nearly 50 years to provide us with a great drama and they have finally succeeded in doing so. It will be interesting to see if there is a series two and where it will take us.

The first several seasons of this show really reeled me in but I really wish there had been a warning that the series ends abruptly in season 7 with TONS of loose ends that need tying up, including 2 main characters who might or might not be dead!! I should've guessed it would end this way when so many other characters starting leaving after a couple of seasons, with weak excuses or zero explanations. I wish I hadn't gotten so wrapped-up in staying with this one after the first few seasons. LET THIS BE YOUR WARNING!!

However, if that's not a problem for you, there are some really good performances from some known (as well as some unknown to American audiences) Irish actors/actresses. I was delighted see a very young Chris O'Dowd and, later on a very young Aidan Turner who both showed great promise in their early acting roles which we've seen grow to fruition through the years. The series is more of a soap-opera-type drama than strictly a medical drama so it attracts viewers of both types of shows.

This isn't for everybody. Too many viewers (drowning in American slick slop) will need a cheaper fix. But for those who understand how a quality soap is made, it is close to heaven.

The acting is universally good, even great at times. The direction shows competence even when the script occasionally slows. But the scriptwriters do a superb job: never preaching, always entertaining.

Ireland thank you. It's not Wilde, but it's not supposed to be. And I have fallen in love with almost every character - beautiful, sad and wicked - just because they are so believable.

I have never before watched a medical soap which practically makes you feel like a voyeur in a real life clinic. Of course, reality would be unwatchable. The Clinic is sometimes mesmerising.

The writing got worse, the episode stories more absurd. It was fun but the false medical information and ludicrous situations made the show more like American TV series like Dallas.

What most of the world lives about British TV is how real it is. No need for mass shootings/car chases/endless showing of T&A, drug lords, etc. (England/Scotland/Ireland/Wales/Aussie).

What I discovered is that beginning in Season 4, the two creators stopped writing and each episode was written by someone different. That explains why the show began to feel so different, so really disjointed. The creators were idiots to let go.

But to finish a series as a cliff hanger? I will now check to make sure that I avoid the people who wrote/produced Clinic. Cannot defend themselves. They eventually ruined their show by trying to copy American bs and doing a terrible job...thus the ratings declined.