Episode One: 'The
Unbreakable Chain' By Sarah Bagshaw
In episode one of the third series things get underway practically where they
left off.
We start off with a Butcher who brings in a young boy with a cut head, but it
seems there's more to it than that, after the man drags the boy in to the
hospital for treatment. He is later seen by Doctor Ormerod and Meryl Taylor, but
later escapes and no one knows where he has gone, or who he was so they don't
know where to find him.
Meanwhile a pregnant woman is brought in to the hospital and Jill and
Sister Bridget deliver the baby, however the baby is a downs baby and the
parents reject it, because they feel it will be a burden and too ill for them to
look after, much to the displeasure of Jill and Sister Bridget. Later on Jill,
Sister Bridget and Matron discuss the baby's future and agree that because the
parents don't want it, it should been sent to an asylum in York. Its not until
nearer the end of the episode that the mother wants to keep the baby after
realising that not all downs baby's are like what she was expecting to them to
be.
On a happier note Lizzie rushes off after work to attend a bridal fitting
for her friends wedding, but things don't go to plan when she cant fit in to her
dress. This causes Lizzie and her friends to worry, so Denise her friend gives
her some slimming pills to take so she will fit in to the dress. However later
on in the episode Lizzie's slimming pills do her more harm than good and she
ends up fainting.
Later Gordon is out on a call and comes across the boy that escaped and
follows him to his house, in which Gordon finds a house full of children and
their mother in bed, extremely ill. Gordon advises the children that there
mother will have to be taken to the hospital, and they agree, after the elder
brother Walter (the boy that fled from the hospital) tells Gordon if they take
her away they will be taken in to care. After Ken and Alun find out about what
might happen they devise a plan so the family stays together.
Also in this episode a young girl calls the hospital saying there is a
sick man in her house when all along its her grandfather, Mr Rose! It turns out
he has slipped a disk and cant move from where he is which is inside his
daughters Wendy house!
Other Memorable Events:
Episode Two: 'If Not For
You' By
A suspected young drunk driver named Neal Gibbons (played by Stuart Wade) is
brought in to the hospital after careering off the road right in front of Alun,
who has the untimely task of attending to him underneath a pile of house manure.
Once on the scene Dr Ormerod suspects the man has been drinking, but
later it is revealed he has had a stroke. The
mans wife Carole Gibbons (Deborah McAndrew) doesn’t believe for one minute
that it’s a stroke, and that he’s only imagining it.
Meanwhile Dr Weatherill treats June Brian (played by
Eileen O’Brian) who complains she isn’t sleeping because of because of a
peeping tom. This is only the root
of the problem and other problems emanate as the episode goes on, resulting in
serious allegations made against Dr Ormerod and then Mr Middleditch.
Also Ken has the task of organising the grand general ruby match
against Ashfordly General in which he has to recruit players as well as wash the
team’s kit. Ken tries to persuade Dr Cheriton to play but he has a date with
Meryl on the day so tells him he cant. Meanwhile Mr Rose is on Dr Cheriton’s
case, asking if he will play for Ashfordly, as that’s where he mainly works.
Because he can’t play he tries to explain to both sides but in the end
he has to give in, resulting in missing his date with Meryl.
As expected Meryl is extremely frustrated and lashes out at David.
It gets to the annual rugby match
and David plays for The Royal, however things take a dramatic turn when Dr
Cheriton is badly injured. Dr
Ormerod rushes over but he’s attempts to save David are futile.
Other memorable events:
*Nurse Beaumont puts pink sheets on some of the beds after Ken accidentally
leaves a pink shirt in with Pearls washing, causing all washing, including The
Royals team shorts to turn out pink.
*This is Julian Ovenden’s last episode in The Royal.
Episode Three: 'Doing
The Rounds' By
After the sad news of Dr Cheriton’s death, the hospital needs to recruit
another doctor as the workload is getting to great for everyone else to cope.
Dr Ormerod meets a new doctor, Dr Jeffery Goodwin, in a pub and asks him
to join the hospital and he agrees. He
arrives at the hospital on a bed after accidentally being bit by a man outside
whose car was smashed up by another man. Dr
Goodwin’s goes from bad to worse when he gets on the wrong side of Dr
Weatherill who opposes Dr Goodwin working for the hospital. Then he finds out
that his car and doctors bag have been stolen when he goes outside ready to
start his rounds. Later on Dr Goodwin interrupts Mr Rose on the golf course,
which doesn’t go down too well.
Meanwhile Dr
Cheriton’s mother Annette Cheriton (turns up at the hospital to collect her
dead sons possessions and its Meryl’s job to show her around and help.
They both clear David’s flat awkwardly when Annette tells Meryl that
the picture she has found is David’s fiancée.
Later after leaving Annette to finish clearing the house Meryl goes to
find some boxes but comes back to find Annette unconscious on the floor.
Ken is up to no
good when a patient asks him to take care of some home brew he has made, and Ken
jumps at the chance when he is told that he can have a crate for himself. He
later goes to pick it up with Dr Goodwin while Dr Goodwin is on his calls but as
he cant get in to the house he ends up making Dr Goodwin climb through the
bathroom window in order to pick up all the home brew.
It turns out that its not beer but ginger beer.
Other
Memorable Events:
*Fred
Alton (played by Gordon Langford Rowe) turns out to have prostrate cancer and Dr
Goodwin has to interrupt Mr Rose on the golf course to get him to operate on
Fred.
*Father Carroll (Niall O’Brian) is brought in to hospital with pneumonia but
later dies.
Episode
Four: 'Consequences' By
Chaos descends on a local mining pit when part of it collapses and Dr Goodwin
has to attend and help the victims. One
man puts his back out and a local bone setter comes to the rescue but Dr
Goodwin’s reputation is at risk if anyone finds out that an unqualified bone
setter has treated one of his patients.
Caroline Ormerod’s father turns up at the hospital to see
Gordon and try and persuade him to turn his daughters life support machine off
as there is no hope of her coming out of the coma she was put in after being
involved in a coach crash. Gordon
wrestles with his conscience but fate decides the answer.
Meanwhile Nurse Samantha Beaumont is flattered to think that Alun
is interested in her. Both go on a
date but Samantha isn’t impressed with the transport that Alun has supplied in
order to take her to the cinema to see a French film in which Alun doesn’t
understand one bit but tells everyone he does.
Other
Memorable Events:
*A patients parrot escapes, giving Ken the run around.
*Dr Goodwin recommends a patient to the local bonesetter even though he risks
being told off. Even though the
bonesetter helps the patient Mr Rose isn’t too pleased and makes it clear that
Dr Goodwin could risk facing heavy charges against him.
Episode Five: 'Poison' By
Mark Holloway:
A friend of Gordon’s (Frank Wellborn played by Christopher Villiers) comes in
to the hospital as he has been suffering from headaches, and bad health, and so
Gordon sees him. After the
consultation Frank asks Gordon over for dinner, to which Gordon agrees but asks
if he can bring Jill as well. They
all have dinner, but afterwards Frank secretly gives Gordon a bag of food to get
him to test it as he thinks his wife is trying to poison him.
Absurd as he thinks it is, Gordon gets the food tested, but its later
revealed that there’s nothing wrong with the food.
Its not until Frank collapses and has a fit that the root of the problem
is found - he is suffering from a brain tumour.
Meanwhile Jeffery has to attend Wishing Well Café where he has to
treat a young girl with an upset stomach. He
automatically assumes its food poisoning when the rest of the girls start to get
the same symptoms and he sees a dirty looking kitchen! It turns out its not,
it’s just the girls imagining they have it seeing as one of the group is ill.
Mr Harper finds he
could be out of a job but Ken and Alun save the day by posing as interviewers to
the candidates that are trying to take his job. They even set up a makeshift
interview room to take the candidates to, to interview them. Thinking that they
have had their interview the candidates leave, leaving the real interviewers
unimpressed by their lateness and cavalier attitude.
It turns out that Mr Harper keeps his job unbeknown to him how he really
did get the job.
Finally
the truth comes out about Nurse Beaumont and Mr Rose’s relationship… they
are niece and uncle! Alun need not
fear anymore.
Other Memorable Events:
*Nobby Jepson pops up again, but this time as a patient that Dr Goodwin has to
help.
Episode Six: 'Famous For A Day' By
Excitement descends on the hospital when news that a film crew is spending time
at the hospital to film a piece for a local TV show and that celebrity Lennie
Lemar is the host. There is plenty
of build up and rehearsals for the main event especially carol singing in which
Mr Harper wants to have his part in. Things
don’t go to plan when he starts singing out of tune, so Mr Middleditch finds
him the ideal job as Father Christmas!
Meanwhile a young lad falls under some icy water and is trapped,
and Dr Ormerod and Staff Nurse Taylor have to attend.
It’s a race against time to save the boy after he is pulled from the
lake, and after quite some time on the way to and at the hospital, with no life
from him the staff agree to give up. Gordon
meanwhile has other ideas and tries in vain to save the boys life and he does in
fact. The boy fully recovers and
gets to spend Christmas in hospital.
Also a man is brought in to
the hospital with rather a large bump on his head and its up to Dr Goodwin and
Mr Rose to investigate. It turns out that it was his wife that had struck him
across the head.
Other Memorable Events:
*PC Ventress features in this episode, helping at the accident down at the lake.
*Ken and Alun steal a tree for the hospital.
Episode Seven: 'Skin Deep' By Sarah Bagshaw:
A woman (Anna Dawkins played by Sarah Kirkman) is brought in to the hospital for
treatment after being hit by a car, but its not until the driver comes forward
to tell PC Bellamy that it was no accident but intentional that he puts two and
two together. The lady sees Dr
Klein at the hospital, but Dr Klein doesn’t notice her, which is rather a bad
thing. More drama follows when the
lady visits Dr Klein at her brand new home, claiming that she is a neighbour of
hers. It’s not until she finally
recognises her that it’s too late and tragedy strikes, which involves a fire
and a death.
Elsewhere a riding accident happens leaving one young man (Captain
Daniel Waring played by John Sackville) paralysed from the waist down for good
after his wife (Emma Waring played by Sarah Rutherford) purposely moves him
after the accident. It seems that
she purposely did it for a reason. The reason being that she didn’t want to be
an army officer’s wife, so she moved him so he could no longer be in the army.
Dr Ormerod soon finds out all of this but tells Daniel that the injury happened
after he fell from the horse and not when his wife Emma moved him.
Nurse Beaumont tries to persuade Staff Nurse Taylor to go out for a
night out but she is reluctant at first but they eventually go but get back so
late they get locked out. Both have
to get in through an open window but make a noise in the process which alarms
everyone and the police have to get involved as they think there is an intruder.
Meanwhile Mr Harper
finds he could be out of a job but Ken and Alun save the day by posing as
interviewers to the candidates that are trying to take his job. They even set up
a makeshift interview room to take the candidates to, to interview them.
Thinking that they have had their interview the candidates leave, leaving the
real interviewers unimpressed by their lateness and cavalier attitude.
It turns out that Mr Harper keeps his job unbeknown to him how he really
did get the job.
Other Memorable Events:
*Sister Brigid reaches a decision about her future which involves her leaving.
*Jill
and Gordon decide to call an end to their relationship but they find its already
common knowledge.
Episode Eight: 'Cliffhanger'
by Mark Holloway:
Cliffhanger is an action packed episode with football matches, fights,
explosions and dramatic rescues.
A patient is brought in with a serious leg injury in which his friend
claims was an agricultural accident, however its not until PC Ventress pops up,
asking if anyone has been admitted with a gunshot wound that all is revealed
during a hostage situation. Things
escalate and the man who shot the patient reveals that he is the mans father
while he is holding the whole operating theatre hostage.
The man wants to take his son away so he doesn’t get arrested for the
shooting, but its not as simple as that. Police
arrive to seal off the area, but Matron has other ideas and decides to tackle
the gunman face to face!
Meanwhile a
group of fossil hunters get trapped down a cliff, injured and the tide is
rapidly coming in. Its up to Dr Ormerod to go out and save them all so they all
get to safety before they drown. His
task proves more difficult when one young woman wants to stay at the bottom of
the cliff.
Ken has his work cut
out, trying to organise somewhere for the patients to see the Cup Final, as well
as persuade Lizzie to make some sandwiches.
Episode Nine: "All The
Fun Of The Fair"
A funfair arrives in Elsinby. Dr Ormerod treats the fortune teller, Daisy
Douglas, for varicose veins but when her blood pressure is abnormally high,
Sister Brigid runs more tests and discovers that Daisy is pregnant. During
Daisy's stay in hospital she teams up with Ken & Alun to do tarot readings
for other patients.
When Mr Trueman comes into casualty with cuts and bruises, Dr
Goodwin is suspicious that there is more to it than just a fall, but when he is
later re-admitted having taken an overdose of sleeping tablets, the staff start
talking to him about his home life, suspecting that he is a battered husband.
They ask his wife in an attempt to
address the issue to discover that they are both being blackmailed by Ambulance
Driver, Piggott.
A trip to the fair soon turns into more work for Dr Goodwin and
Nurse Beaumont when the waltzer operator becomes trapped in the ride's
mechanism. They manage to release him and get him back to The Royal where Mr
Rose operates.
He later reveals to Staff Nurse Taylor that his father, Joey Dudlow,
has been suffering dizzy spells recently. Dr Goodwin heads back to the
fairground, to find the Waltzer out of control with Joey slumped over the
controls and becomes more worried when he find that Tom & Katie Ormerod are
on the ride. Fortunately the ride is stopped and no-body is hurt, but Joey is
taken into hospital as Dr Goodwin suspects he has epilepsy. Neither Joey or his
son would be able to continue running the Waltzer so decide to sell.
Finally, Nurse Beaumont is jealous when Dr Goodwin arranges to go
to the fair with Dr Klein.
Episode Ten: " Holding On Tight"
A
group of Alun's friends arrive in casualty drunk after a stag party, but the
staff soon discover that they have been drinking industrial alcohol. Ken and
Alun then try to find the origins of the alcohol, eventually discovering that
the best man had stolen it from the factory where he works. Alun also comes
under suspicion from Mr Harper but is in the clear after the stock check proved
Alun to be innocent. Fortunately 3 of the group make a recovery, but the groom
was nowhere to be seen. When the groom is eventually found, the alcohol has
already left him blind. He tells his fiancé that the wedding is off, but after
some persuasion from Staff Nurse Taylor, they decide to get married, despite his
blindness.
Dr Ormerod pays a visit to a patient who has not seen a doctor in
years. He discovers that she has a gangrenous toe and needs an operation to
amputate it. He talks to Dr Klein as the patient refuses to be admitted,
suggesting she should be sectioned, however Mr Rose and his surgical team decide
to take a large tent up to her home and successfully perform the operation in
her garden.
Student Nurse Beaumont has trouble learning how to do a trolley
setting, much to Matrons displeasure. Dr Weatherill treats a patient who
collapses whilst practising for an important dancing competition. Dr Weatherill
discovers that the girl has a rare condition causing muscle fatigue and
transfers her to Ashfordly General leaving her unable to take part in the
competition. Dr Ormerod is disappointed when Dr Weatherill turns down an
invitation to spend the night at his home as she doesn't feel it would be fair
on Katie & Tom.
Special thanks go to 'Tinx' for writing this review.
Episode Eleven: "For
Those In Peril"
The local tramp Sebastian is found dead and the staff set about finding out who
he was, and when Ken looks through his things he finds some valuable war medals.
They trace the medals and find that he was actually a war hero in the Navy.
Matron tracks down a relative who doesn't want anything to do with him, so Dr
Ormerod, Matron & Mr Rose arrange for the send-off he deserves and scatter
his ashes at sea.
A young girl is found
sleeping rough and is brought in by Alun. Nurse Beaumont discovers that the
girl's hair is falling out. They manage to find out that her name is Sally and
then Matron sets about tracking down her parents. They find that she had run
away due to her parents constantly arguing. Dr Weatherill & Dr Klein talk to
Sally's parents and then after a long talk the parents decide to split up for a
bit. Sally then feels guilty and that it is her fault, but Sister Brigid manage
to talk her round.
Dr Goodwin is puzzled when a man is admitted with aches and pains and a fever.
He runs tests but can't find out what it is so asks Dr Ormerod to make another
home visit when they manage to trace it to their herd of cows. They then find
that it has infected the cheese that was given to Dr Goodwin as a gift, and they
manage to stop him from eating it just as he is about to take a bite!
Whilst out on a journey, Ken encounters a young boy called Paul who
had fallen into the pond and a metal railing had gone through his leg. Ken
helped Paul's Dad to lift him out and take him to the hospital where Mr Rose
operated. Paul's Dad asked if there was anything he could do to show his
gratitude, so he arranged for Ken to hire the fishing boat so that their trip
did not have to be cancelled.
Special thanks go to Tinx who wrote this review.
Episode Twelve:
"Reckoning"
Four members of staff of St Aiden’s Royal Free hospital are
involved in young love and tough life as Dr Gordon Ormerod prepares to propose
to Dr Jill Weatherill and Dr Jeff Goodwin takes Nurse Samantha Beaumont on a
date while their professional lives struggle with upsetting situations.
Dr Gordon Ormerod and Dr Jill Weatherill try to explain to
his young children, Tom and Katie, their relationship, while she stays over at
their house, without ruining the illusion of their late mother. It’s a touch
and go situation but ends with Katie asking Jill to read her a bedtime story.
After bedtime, Gordon’s romantic attempt to propose to Jill is brought to a
hold when she backs off and suggests they move in together. Their happiness is
short lived, however, when they discover the investigation into his late
wife’s death and how the police are linking his relationship with Jill to her
death. Gordon is furious and reveals that Caroline was planning to leave him at
the time of her death. DI Shiner finds Jill not guilty and wishes them future
happiness.
Dr Jeff Goodwin delivers a baby girl with the assistance of Nurse
Samantha Beaumont but he discovers the mother is haemorrhaging and he and
Samantha battle to save her life. Samantha is delighted when the baby is named
after her. The mother, Joy, is referred to a London hospital for treatment via
helicopter but later dies. At the end of the shift, Jeff invites Samantha for
some surfing to unwind and end up in a passionate kiss.
Other storylines in this episode include Gordon, who is dealing with a case
involving a young lad called Peter who seems to have a heredity heart condition
but his parents show no sign of the disease, Meryl, who takes a training
exercise in Milner ward and gets her wires cross with Sister Brigid while
concluding with Ken who is recovering after he has a turn while carrying a piano
with Alan. He is told that he will need surgery and that Mr Rose will operate.
Special thanks go to Becky who wrote this review.
Episode Thirteen:
"Doing Time"
Jeff fails to diagnose
post-natal depression and nearly pays the ultimate price because the mother
concerned a Sheena Wilkinson is suffering particularly badly, feeling that she
is a bad mother and a failure, thinking that it would be better for her children
if she wasn't there anymore. Lucy gets involved and they both go with the
husband to try and talk Sheena away from the cliff edge. She nearly jumps but
Jeff manages to get close enough to grab her before she does.
A prison van crashes on the moors, the driver is killed instantly
but the guard is severely injured. His leg got trapped. One of the prisoners was
a doctor in what he referred to later as 'my other life', so he treated the
guard. Another prisoner escapes which the other one was hurt but not badly so.
Gordon by accident came upon the scene, he sent the doctor prisoner to get help
driving his car despite the guards protests. The doctor prisoner came back
though and helped Gordon until the ambulance got there.
The hurt prisoner gets a visit from the escaped one, they had
robbed a post office and got caught which was why there were in prison. However
they'd never recovered the loot. The hurt prisoner is an old acquaintance of
Ken's and tells him where it's hidden. Ken immediately goes and tells PC Phil
Bellamy who's doing a cameo appearance from heartbeat. However the prisoner had
told him wrong to see if he was to be trusted, even though he's obviously not to
be trusted, the prisoner tells Ken anyway. Ken and Alun then try and sneak out
of the hospital with a metal detector, but Mr Harper catches them. They pass of
the hidden bulk under the blanket as the guards amputated leg, offering Mr
Harper the chance to look, naturally being as squeamish as he is he declines. So
ken and Alun go out with a metal detector on the moors looking for it, involving
many funny lines like "Get digging you great Morris dancer."
One of Jill's patients, Mr and Mrs Silverwood are selling their
house and Jill and Gordon go to look at it with a view to buy it. A great quip
by Gordon "I didn't know you could fall in love twice.
Sister Bridget is collecting for the annual pilgrimage to Lourdes
but her collection tin is nicked by the escaped prisoner. Ken and Alun give her
the reward they got for finding the money.
Episode Fourteen:
"Home To Roost"
A comedy episode really. With at least three very funny scenes. The first one
which has Mr Rose with his wig "I salute you ladies." because he has a
crush on Lucy with In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight,
playing in the background.
The there was Mr Harper evacuating the hospital because this old
guy came in having killed himself with some deadly poison, that will kill you if
you even breathe it in. My Harper flapped a lot going "I sniffed him. I
smelled him. I inhaled him."
Then there was the scene outside with Mr Harper guarding the said old
guys body in the courtyard. It starts off with Ken and Alun watching Mr Harper
from the window, Martin comes in and sees them. "I hope you're not enjoying
Mr Harper's situation. The least you could do is give him a cup of tea."
Ken and Alun then take Mr Harper a cup of tea wearing gas masks. They act
astounded that Mr Harper hasn't got one. "But the coffins sealed."
"Ah but what about the Molecular penetration. Well to be fair Alun he is in
more danger out here than we are. Here you are Mr Harper you can have
mine." The whole scene culminates with the line stage whispered.
"We'll collect the mug later."
The serious side to this episode is of a young girl Ellen played by
Georgia Taylor who was in Corination Street. This girl is suffering from
anorexia, Jeff is her doctor and doesn't diagnose this at first, checking out
all physical possibilities first. Given the last case where he failed to
diagnose post-natal depression Lucy tries to get involved. Approaching Jill and
Gordon with a view to sectioning her behind Jeff's back. Jeff finds out about
this and is understandably angry. Lucy tells him she only interfered because she
let personal feelings get in the way of her professional judgment and that it
won't happen again.
It's moving day for Jill and Gordon, but unfortunately for them
Caroline’s dad Henry Appleton turns up. At first he acts angry that he hadn't
been told that his grandchildren were moving. However later the most
unbelievable storyline in the world emerges. Caroline was an alcoholic and
gambler, alcoholism I can understand but the gambling. Watching over series one
episodes again it seems more and more off the wall and I can't help but wonder
what the storywriters were on when they came up with this idea. It all ends
happily though as things in sixties Yorkshire are bound to do with Henry
inviting them all to come and stay with him at his house by the sea for
holidays.
The final lines in the episode were Jill: "It's like he's
given us his blessing to be happy” Gordon: "There's something that would
make me even happier." "Marry me. . . ." the episode and the
series then fades out on Jill's face which has got to be the hardest to read
face ever. You can't even hazard a guess as to what her answer would be, believe
me I tried. A very funny episode, 10/10 for comedy factor, but in terms of tying
up the longest running storyline yet, a bit poor in my opinion.