6 Legendary BBC Drama Series You Must Check Out

5. Bodies (2004)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWKpc8O9Dyk Written by Jed Mercurio, Bodies is a critically acclaimed work of drama which is also sort of gross in a way. The latter state of affairs is due to the fact that the drama centres on a Gynaecological/Obstetrics unit in a hospital. Max Beesley plays Rob Lake - a new registrar in a gynae/maternity ward - who comes to realise that one of the consultants on the ward - Roger Hurley - is incompetent and poses a major risk to the women he operates on. Unfortunately there are no whistle blowing policies - doctors look out for each other. After some atrocious happenings that are Hurley induced in the operating theatre, Rob tries to speak out but meets a brick wall everywhere he turns. The only way out is to find a new job at a different hospital but Hurley blocks Rob's application by blaming mistakes on him. At the end of the first series Rob is thoroughly down in the dumps and Hurley faces a new promotion. In the second series Rob and Hurley remain aloof from each other but carry on best they can, with Rob turning a blind eye to Hurley's maladroitness. Rob is dating a nurse on the ward called Donna. She becomes increasingly sickened by Hurley's mistakes. She sends anonymous letters to anyone and everyone about Hurley's shoddiness but Rob believes Hurley will get his comeuppance some other way eventually. At the end of the series, Hurley is suffering from a number of personal woes - including the breakdown of his marriage. In the 90 minute finale Rob is working at another hospital when who should waltz into the building but Hurley to work alongside with him. Old animosities are revived. Mess ups occur. Rob thinks he has contracted CJD and doesn't care if he ruins Hurley's career so the two men are left in a showdown. I love my medical drama series, so it is high praise indeed that I anoint Bodies as the finest medical drama I have ever watched. The rivalry and malaise between Rob and Hurley is a fabulous feud that doesn't let up until the very last second. The acting is first rate and so are the story lines. The BBC special effects department give it their all on some gruesomely mangled vaginas. It lends a cinema verité style to the proceedings. It is, however, a very dark and gruesome experience to watch the whole of Bodies. Be sure that you have a strong stomach before you watch.
 
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Contributor

My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!