Review of The Good Karma Hospital

Indomitably she takes on the task of pulling this up by its bootstraps,ably assisted by fellow seniors Mr N.Morrisey and Miss P. Logan and together they rescue "The good karma hospital" from being a sunny version of "Casualty". Without them it would be a dreary thing indeed. Hospital soaps and documentaries abound on television and on any given night we can be in A&E,on a children's ward or more likely lying on a stretcher in some appalling corridor in conditions that if they occurred in some developing country we would protest about. Or we could be treated by Charlie Fairhead - surely the most boring character in soaps - in which case we might welcome the Grim Reaper. So to set a hospital soap in India - currently the "go to" place for TV programme makers - was hardly cutting edge. We have some nice looking young actors doing their earnest best not to laugh at the dire dialogue they are given and the old pros doing their stuff with gusto and every sign of enjoyment. Instead of spending her time castigating old coppers,Miss Redman now spends it castigating young doctors and generally has a lot of fun. It's predictable by - the - numbers stuff but just when you might doze off Miss Redman explodes and we are reminded what a fine actress she is. Mr Morrisey makes his mark as a beach bum and Miss Logan as a patient with terminal cancer.Not on the face of it a particularly cheerful part but her character remains positive and believable. Is this going to be a Sunday night staple? Possibly on the back of the success of "Best Marigold" franchise it will prosper. But if they let go of Redman,Morrisey and Logan it won't be worth watching.