The
lowdown: 'Casualty' is a long-running medical drama set
in the Accident and Emergency department of the
Holby City Hospital. More
than 670 episode have been produced to date, and the series debuted on
BBC One on 6
September 1986. The series
deals with the personal and professional lives of the A&E staff, and
regularly features
well-known guest stars.
Two shows have been spun off from the series - 'Holby City' is set in the
surgical wards of
the same hospital, and began
in January 1999, while 'HolbyBlue' is set in the Holby South police station
and was
cancelled after two seasons.
The
episode: 'The Evil That Men Do' is the eighth episode
of the 23rd season, and was broadcast on 25 October
2008. Sylvester McCoy guest
stars as an ageing ventriloquist, Ashley Millington, who is brought into
the A&E after
falling off the stage during
a show. Millington admits to charge nurse Charlie Fairhead that he was
in fact pushed off
the stage, something that
happens to him a lot. Millington notes rather sadly that audiences have
changed, and do
not appreciate his humour.
Charlie suggests that maybe Millington's jokes are simply too outdated,
but Millington
argues that he is still
funny, although Charlie is not convinced. After receiving medical treatment,
Millington walks
out of the hospital and
deliberately leaving his ventriloquist's dummy behind, but a "life coach"
returns the dummy
and tells Millington that
he has real potential. The subplots of the episode include the A&E's
management holding
interviews with candidates
for a vacant position, while a violent boxer physically assaults his daughter-in-law.
Who
connections: Sylvester McCoy had previously appeared in
a 2001 episode of 'Casualty', while Colin Baker
and Christopher Eccleston
had guest roles in 1998 and 1990 respectively. Many other Doctor Who actors
have also
been in the show at various
times over the last two decades.
Video
clips: Ashley Millington
4.6mb
Millington and Charlie
5.2mb |
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