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Introduction to the series - Radio Times, May 2007 |
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Tony Jordan talks to Barry McIlheney about police drama Holby Blue.
"Tony Jordan, veteran scriptwriter on
EastEnders and one of the people
behind such critical and commercial
hits as Hustle and Life on Mars, is
all too aware of the extra pressure
he's taking on by basing his new
police series within the familiar
terrain of Holby.
"It's a tough brief as I certainly
don't want to alienate the core
audience, who are used to Holby
City and Casualty. And I don't
think we will, even though this is
perhaps a bit tougher and sexier
than they might be used to."
On the evidence
of the first episode, life at Holby
South police station is a whole
lot grittier and harder. And a whole
lot cooler, dare one say it, than
police life as we currently know
it on shows like The Bill.
"The Bill is a monster, and I'd
love to have their audience in terms
of its size and loyalty, but this is a
very different show," insists Jordan.
"This is the first precinct cop series
in the UK to be launched post-9/11,
and the world is now a very different
place from when The Bill was invented
20 or so years ago. Holby Blue is set
very much right here, right now."
And this more contemporary feel
is not the sole point of difference
between Jordan's new baby and The
Bill. "The key thing on Holby Blue is that
our guys are essentially good,"
enthuses Jordan. "They might bend
the rules from time to time in order
to do the right thing, but they're still
heroes. And none of them are going
to end up as snipers or rapists if we're
still here in 15 years' time."
Heroes they may be, but heroes
who still have to battle for resources
nonetheless, with a recurring theme
of the first episode being the internal
war waged between the huge amount
of money and manpower being spent
on "the war on terror" on one hand,
and on the other, the reality of daily
life in the precinct where, as Inspector
Jenny Black (Kacey Ainsworth)
puts it, "We have seven officers
trying to patrol 15,000 people."
"I think the police in this country
do an incredible job and I have
huge respect for them," says Jordan.
"They're pulled all over the place,
from hoodies to terrorists, and
there's a crisis over resources.
Sure, they make mistakes, but
when you think of the scale
of the job they have to do,
and the relatively limited
resources they have to do it
with, then I think we can be
really proud of them, though
obviously some people beg
to differ.
"In the same way that
Casualty was a show created
at a time when the NHS was
in crisis, so Holby Blue is now
a show for today, at a time when
we have a similar crisis over how
best to use available resources
within the police."
Jordan's emphasis on
Holby Blue's freshness
and vitality is certainly
backed up by a corker of
an opening episode, introducing us
to what could become a group of
household names. It also
provides plenty of fast-paced action
and dialogue, more akin to
such US classics as Hill Street
Blues or NYPD Blue than the
cosy old home-grown bobbies
we may have become used
to over the years.
"It's the police show for this
generation," says Tony Jordan.
"And we're a long way away
from Dixon of Dock Green."
**
Now take a look at our full Holby Blue guide.
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