MDA

This series is more delicately crafted than would appear at a casual viewing. Most story-lines continue - sometimes over several weeks - and are over-lapped by yet other stories, so you have to sit with it over several weeks in order to actually `get' what it's about.

I'm thrilled that there are no `goodies' and `baddies' in this series. You know, like: `We're doctors/lawyers, and there ain't nothin' we cain't do!' If anything, MDA presents its characters as people, before all else. It presents the law as it is - rigid and flawed, but it's all we have. We see doctors as people who can be anything from cold and arrogant professionals, to scared victims of a system - medical indemnity - which we've `inherited' from the US. This system appears to almost have developed a life of its own in our current society, which seems to believe that perceptions of wrong-doing can be `fixed' with money.

Scripts are tight and economical - you have to pay attention - and the acting is superb. Worth a special mention is Shane Bourne (previously known as a stand-up comic!) His character (`Happy' Henderson) is complex and believable. I found myself angry with him and at the same time sympathetic when he behaved less than nobly towards his son. It's also good to see that Jason Donovan has left Scott Robinson well and truly behind him. His Richard Savage - while a bit one-dimensional for my tastes - is suitably reptilian to satisfy the character balance.