Something Different: 24 Hours in the ER

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I learned about 24 Hours in the ER when I was at the TCA Summer Tour... and it seemed like a really interesting show. When I chose it to make the list of the ten shows I was going to try out this fall season, I was hoping for an educational experience, since the show is set in King's College Hospital in London, which has a very different atmosphere from the US hospitals and the procedures would be unique. Well, I never even got to the "community issues" in the show. Less than half-way into the first episode, I knew I was in for trouble. By the time that episode was over, I felt like I had been sitting there for three hours... and I only made it past three scenes of the second episode before I just completely gave up.

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I didn't find it interesting at all. I watch documentaries on television about once a month... but maybe a "television show format" doesn't work for me. I I did learn some things, like their ER is an "A & E department," and that HEMs are Helicopter Emergency Medics. I still think that the concept (a single day in the ER each episode) is great, and liked how they updated the viewer on the time, plus it started at a random time (12:58pm on a Friday in the first episode). But apparently that wasn't enough to save it. I just can't watch it... it bores me to tears. I took a few notes on the patients of the first episode, mostly planning to comment on how the injuries and care procedures might be similar to the demonstrations we see on American medical dramas like ER, but ended up with nothing of substance.

So, I bid adieu to 24 Hours in the ER, which debuted on September 27th. If you're interested, check out BBCAmerica Tuesdays at 9pm...