Getting On: Series 2, Episode 5 (2010)

Myriad interpersonal issues are building to critical mass in the penultimate episode of the season.  A certain incident leads Den and Kim to be more assertive in their dealings with Pippa, going so far as to contradict her orders and give her attitude in front of patients.  You can tell something’s gotta give; penultimate episodes are generally good for that sort of tension, and this show delivers nicely in that regard.

 

A few more entries to the list of bizarre, counterproductive hospital policies.  A new nursing student on the ward rigidly does everything by the book, and that often means she’s unable to do anything that actually needs doing.  Also, there’s a new rule that prohibits nurses from informing family members that their loved one has died – only a doctor can do that.  There’s a great, awful sequence of Kim dancing around a relative’s questions while escorting him around the hospital in search of a doctor.  So good, so painful.

 

Not much to say about the direction in particular; the best moments come from the writing.  Still, PC has definitely captured the not-explicitly-a-mockumentary-but-totally-looks-like-a-mockumentary feel of the genre.

 

I know there’s a third, PC-free season of the show.  Though I was kind of iffy about it to start with, I’ve really grown to enjoy Getting On, and I might check out the third season if it’s not too hard to track down.

 

Warnings

 

Some rather pointed sexual references today.