Tuesday 18 January 2011

Blogging in Television Drama

This evening saw me nurse a can of something cold, fizzy and apt to inebriate while I watched Holby City. In itself, this is nothing remarkable, except for one thing ...

... it was the first time I saw a blogger portrayed in a drama!

This is a drama series set in a hospital. Usual stuff -  limbs falling off, barf in kidney bowls, doctors and nurses getting jiggy. And tonight a blogger.

The character was a patient with some icky condition or other, and so far as I could tell (I missed the first few minutes), was a medical 'guinea pig'. He was blogging his experience, every step of the way. He was portrayed as a nerd, as a fat bloke, as annoying, as a little bit know-it-all, and spoke often about his duty to 'his audience'. So dedicated to his 'audience' was he that when undergoing a surgical procedure, opted (nay pleaded) for an epidoodle instead of full knock-out gas. He wanted to blog his experience, you see.

He expired, and shuffled off his mortal coil right their on the gurney, giblets in dishes. RIP

Is this how BBC script-writers regard us bloggers? Are they right? Are we regarded as possessed demons? The doctor's view on blogging was enshrined simply in the words "power without responsibility". Largely true, I think.  I will leave this here - and mentioned it only for interest. If you want to see all of it, get BBC iPlayer and have a watch. 

(As an aside, it also portrayed a deaf girl in a really very helpful 'I might be deaf but I am still normal' way - marvellous)

25 comments:

  1. Arise bloggers against this hideous depiction of us. You can't trust the BBC to get it right. Look at the recent furore over Eastenders.

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  2. Yes, I saw it too and the portrayal of the blogger was a tad worrying. Compared with him my 'skills' are in their infancy and my 'ratings' likewise. It did however, give me pause. Just where does the line between a hobby become blurred with an obsession?
    The deaf story was a distinct bonus and very well acted.
    Incidentally, it was followed by "silent witness" another of my addictions, which also had a very real-feeling storyline about PTSD in Afghanistan. Sorry, as ever, I'm drifting away from the point.
    "Power without responsibility" Yup! I'll give up blogging if you will.

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  3. ahh Eastenders - my rail against that was one of my more read posts. Gotta love the Beeb!

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  4. Cym - the world shall not be rid of me just yet, so it will have to put up with us both! Hurrah!

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  5. is it me or did the actor playing Hanssen on Holby was in Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Prt 1

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  6. have they changed the name of the program to the jack naylor show?does she write the scripts?its getting boring now.have the writers forgot there are other people in the program.its gone right down hill.boring,boring holby city.

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  7. Hi,
    Saw programme for the first time Today as nurses at the hospital urged me.
    No surprise as I am Dr Petrenko (Female/approximately the same age/ brunet/with strong accent/ Ukrainian university graduate working in the UK).
    I am very pleased that she is very cool.
    Would love to know where her prototype came from.
    By the way Ukraine is a very lovely country :-) but at times can be difficult place to live.
    Enjoyed series.

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  8. Hi,
    Just watched Holby City for the first time tonight and rather enjoyed it. The storyline is relevant and upto date, with all the dramas in the NHS. It seems to have a good mix. Thought the guy covered in orange paint was funny
    Will be watching again.

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  9. watched holby city tonite and once again a black character has been lumbered with some weird patois
    sounding nothing like a west indian what is your problem bbci i have to pay the full licence and i would like to see black actors with b/ham cardiff
    liverpool whatever accent for gods sake its 2011
    weve been here 60 yrs plus

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  10. What has happened to Holby? Used to really enjoy it but it seems to have lost its way and is quite boring. Bring back Connie and Donna I say.

    Teresa, Winchester

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  11. I used to love Holby, but it needs some younger blood - 18 year old students??? Remember Maria and Donna when they started??? hilarious - the characters are all "too much of the same thing"

    Had a character a while back hurt in a pub bombing - think she was kidnapped by a paedophile.....would make a great student!

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  12. i love Holby city..never miss a week...the story about Elizabeth needs to end..it's stretching on for too long..come back Michael Spence..:(

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  13. As a Nurse and a aspiring Blogger (though not about my work, that would breech confidentiality) more about my children and juggling both full time work, Children and a Husband who works away. i found this story line funny, don't think i would have the concentration to be typing while undergoing surgery. that's dedication.
    Becky, Colchester

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  14. I Love Holby Also. I am a nurse, but not a general nurse. i look after patients with Learning Disability's and mental health Diagnosis. so find a Look at General nurses fascinating. also re-enforces the point that i couldn't have been that type of nurse. too much blood and guts.

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  15. Can anyone tell me where this paradise Holby City is, where on new years day all the trees are in full leaf, and the rose buds are about to burst into bloom?

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  16. Can someone tell me what that procedure was last night on holby city where they revived someone from flatline after some time had passed by lowering the temperature?

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  17. I am an avid Holby fan, have been for years. But can somebody please tell me what they see in Eddi? It really annoys me that she puts her nose into everybody else's business. She shouldn't be telling Sacha what to do as she does.

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    Replies
    1. I agree but it is Like who needs a slap, what is going on with him, sort the character out please!! Bring Hanson back, Imelda Cousins is dire! wrong person for the part, her acting is rubbish, get real you people who sort out the cast. Bring sahira back too she was brilliant. I am seriously thinking of not watching anymore.





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  18. March 7

    What happened to the usually excellent Holby City last night? The script was dire, the acting wooden and oddly shot and the new cast member looked and acted as if she had strayed in by chance. Even the usual stalwarts in the cast seemed uneasy!

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  19. I can't cope anymore with the Sahira/Gregg thing....those lingering looks. Oh for goodness sake just get on with the job or can Greg please leave.

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  20. have they changed the plot of Holby;it used to be an unmissable but thanks to t.v.gold it's repeats now;

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  21. really think they need to bring art malik (zubin) and Verona Joseph (Jess) back to the show and back together.They have really amazing chemistry and they need something really good like they did with the pairs episodes. They all so need to start putting some twists in with story lines.

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  22. Always watch this show until Hansen left, now I take the dog for a walk or clear out the loft, with all the TVs off, stopped recording, Tessa Peake Jones is terrible in her accentuated clipped voice which would irritate anyone working in a busy hospital. She looks and sounds like an old schoolteacher, not a nurse. Bring back Hansen or Mayer, if you want viewers.

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    Replies
    1. here here, I second.that, bring back Hanson, Imelda is dire at the part, she has no presence about her.4Dec2012

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