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Getting On Complete Series 1 & 2
British comediennes Jo Brand, Vicki Pepperdine and Joanne
Scanlan co-wrote and co-star as an ensemble tour de force in this
sit-com/mockumentary set in a gerontology ward of Britain’s National
Health Service.
The first series is an all-too-brief three episodes of 30
minutes. This amount is doubled in series two, with the usual BBC output
of six episodes. While largely self-contained, some of the more serious
mishaps faced on Ward B4 tend to continue from one episode to the other,
so watching in order comes with rewards.
Getting On
reclaims the
excruciating, uncomfortable territory of The Office, which was
virtually a decade ago. Brand plays the rotund, relaxed Nurse Kim Wilde,
who takes it easy, scoffs at the hierarchy and long-windedness of
officialdom, talks a lot about her sons and the fact she regrets having
come back into nursing after leaving the job. Scanlan is on-edge Sister
Den Flixter, in charge of the ward and Wilde’s immediate superior. Above
everyone hovers authoritarian Pepperdine as Dr Pippa Moore, whose words’
authority is not always a good thing. Thrown into the mix is Matron
Hilary Loftus (Ricky Grover), the possibly gay-possibly straight boss of
Wile and Flixter but not Dr Moore.
The medical staff faces unending and hilarious
challenges, like the smelly homeless woman, a Pakistani patient with no
English and the dropping of a another in the bath. Plus there is all the
internal bickering and power-play, which I’m sure is not isolated to the
health workplace but sadly universal. It’s fun to be let in on their
confusing and illogical world as an outsider. What makes the comedy so
very funny is that niggling, discomforting thought: What if that were me
at their mercy?
Fans of British comedy who have not yet heard of this
show should rush out and get it. Anyone else interested in an off-beat,
dark but ultimately funny and human look at senior health need look no
further. Getting On is immensely enjoyable and definitely on the
pulse.
The audio and video are fantastic for DVD and only a
Blu-Ray could add definition. But given the thorough and expert use of
dialogue and situation, it’s a very minor concern. Series One does have
three 9-minute interviews with each of the three main characters as
bonus. Obviously I would have wanted more! It’s great fun. |
