'Everwood's' become WB's family drama for grown-ups

"Bodies" stars Max Beesley as a young English surgeon who quickly learns his new boss (Patrick Baladi) is a nice guy with a bad habit of killing or maiming his patients.

Max himself isn't exactly up to "ER" standards, as demonstrated in tonight's premiere, when he flubs what most American viewers would consider a routine procedure.

Anglophiles should watch at their own risk, lest they never be able to visit London again without a first-aid kit.

Source: philly.com

Seems, they're quite successfull in America *jump* Hope they'll show it in Switzerland too, one day *sigh*

Actor's lines are music to his ears

Beverly Hills, Calif. - Max Beesley was a very successful studio musician working with people like George Benson and George Michael and touring several continents when Robert De Niro changed his life.

One day - at 25 - he watched "Raging Bull" and impulsively decided to become an actor.

"I saw De Niro and thought, 'How can you sustain that standard of excellence?' " Beesley said. "It was something else I fell in love with. They complement each other really nicely - music and acting."

The result of that blend can be seen in his performance in "Bodies," a searing medical drama premiering Thursday on BBC America.

Beesley plays an ob-gyn resident in a city hospital that's like none you've ever seen before.

A smash hit in England, the series was created by a former doctor who feels that TV medical dramas have failed to expose the real story of what goes on behind-the-scenes.

Beesley, whose dad was a jazz drummer and mother was a jazz singer, grew up surrounded by musicians and music. He made a career for himself as a composer and session musician.
But after seeing "Raging Bull," he tracked down Sheila Gray, an acting coach De Niro had worked with, and focused on acting.

Beesley, who later landed a role in the Mariah Carey movie "Glitter" and starred in "Tom Jones," which aired here on A&E, says he went hungry for two years after he'd forsaken music for acting.

To "feel part of the music again," Beesley went on the road with British pop icon Robbie Williams.

The tour, which played before 3.5 million people over four months, took place eight months before he was cast in "Bodies."

"I landed from Australia the morning of the "Bodies" audition and decided I didn't really want to do it. I was so tired. And something made me go to the audition. I lay on the bed and genuinely said, 'I can't. I'm so jet-lagged I'm going to make a mess of it.' "

Source: jsonline.com

Another American review

Logline: Lars von Trier's 1994 Danish TV series "The Kingdom," about a haunted hospital, inspired versions from both UPN and ABC. This may be even scarier, as the only thing supernatural about the hospital in this British drama is the level of ineptitude in the obstetrics and gynecology department. Rob Lake (Max Beesley) is a new hospital resident, constantly covering for his superior Roger Hurley's (Patrick Baladi) near-fatal botches. Of a random victim, Rob remarks, "She's dead now - (people) don't get much older than that." Given the quality of care, this hospital pretty much operates like a retirement community.

Pros: The hospital administrative staff's efforts to avoid "the blame game" and to trash whistle-blowers' reputations proves particularly resonant in light of recent events in our own country. "It's the system: Reject it, and you're on your own," a surgeon warns Rob. Likewise, the depiction of opportunistically litigious patients, ready to sue at the slip of a suture, is equally apt. One almost empathizes with the medic who notes, "The superior surgeon uses his superior judgment to steer clear of any situation which might test his superior ability."

Cons: The cynicism of the series' sexuality doesn't feel half as earned as its cynicism of medical procedures, resulting in some tepid melodrama. And the series' focus on operating-room mishaps is so aggressive that, at a certain point, the body count might begin to feel somewhat campy.

In a nutshell: Got an appointment with a medic sometime in the near future? Then you'd best skip this, or you'll skip that. Otherwise, it's grimly and gruesomely compelling entertainment.

Source: Dailynews.com

Gore and pain makes for gripping viewing

Another review about "Bodies" :))) Seems to be really loved by the people *clap*

COMPARED with the trauma that is Bodies, (reach for your sick bag), the once immaculate Holby City resembles a hospital show for kiddies. You have been warned. Compared with Bodies, a Saturday stint at the A&E with the angels of Casualty is a sleep-inducing y-a-w-n.
Bodies is bloody, in your face, hands-on, (hands all over the place) and chilling. So good that the Beeb has to show it twice - on Saturday nights on BBC3 and BBC2 - to ensure that analogue viewers too can throw up in the comfort of their own homes. If you're on the list for a close encounter of the surgical kind fairly soon, think twice - no, don't even think at all - about tuning in. If you have already, remember it's fiction, not real life - though it's more realistic, gory, and frightening than any hospital drama ever. Yes, truly, *Bodies is really that good - being hard-core horror that looks and feels like it might be the truth.

Therein lies its difference. Bodies is tactile, most other shows are just something to look at. Series 2 began with Dr Rob Lake (Max Beesley) performing a suction birth, shot up-close in visceral purples and with spatters of slimy blood. The mother in peril, bleeding profusely, should be in theatre, but "it's better for our targets" someone says, "if we don't have to go". They suck so hard, out slides the whole womb, a messy error eliciting screams. The baby is silent. The womb is ruptured. Lake stuffs it back: "Uterine inversion, only a little one." You can see he's a good repair man. All of a sudden the baby yells.

Cut to consultant Tony Whitman, a cat-like devil on the prowl along the corridors of death. Whitman, demoted in favour of schmooze-bag Roger Hurley has eyes of ice. Whitman's genius lies in the theatre, in contrast to Hurley's serial bungling, shaky hands and botched-up ops. Whitman hates him. In episode one Lake rumbles Whitman's lethal strategy of passing his riskiest cases on to Hurley, a sentence of death, or post-operative agony long-term for the ill-fated patients. "Roger's going for Harold's record," Whitman mews smugly. Harold who? Why Harold Shipman of course. The acting has scalpel-like brilliance (Keith Allen as Whitman is unforgettable), and the writing by Jed Mercurio is, well, nothing short of mercurial. Stir in the dark brew of hospital politics, government policies and perfunctory glad-handed sex in clandestine corners of the building, and *Bodies glistens with pumped up power.

Taken from scotsman.com

British 'Bodies' Depicts Doctors with Flaws

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Viewers who find NBC's "ER" a little too intense for their sensibilities may want to steer clear of "Bodies," a gripping and uncompromising warts-and-all hospital drama premiering Thursday, Sept. 29, on BBC America.Created by former doctor Jed Mercurio, this often bleak series is set in the obstetrics and gynecology unit of a large British hospital, where handsome and fresh-faced resident Rob Lake (Max Beesley, A&E's "Tom Jones") is starting work as the series opens.

Stunned by the punishing workload and crushing pressure, Rob quickly picks up on a startling problem: His new boss, Roger Hurley (Patrick Baladi, "The Office"), may be as camera-friendly as any TV medic, but he simply isn't very good. Accidents happen, to be sure -- Rob himself is responsible for one patient's death -- but Hurley seems to have a lot of accidents, and he rarely is willing to accept responsibility.

After one particularly unhappy blunder by Hurley permanently disables a young mother and causes the death of her newborn, Rob is poised to blow the whistle, but a colleague, anesthetist Maria Orton (Susan Lynch, "Ivanhoe"), beats him to the punch and officially files a complaint. Rob watches in dismay, however, as the other doctors -- even those who realize Hurley poses a risk -- close ranks against Orton to protect this member of the staff.As Rob begins to buckle under the double body blows of external pressures and internal politics, he seeks solace in secret meetings with married nursing supervisor Donna Rix (Neve McIntosh, "Gormenghast"), frenzied and furtive sessions that act as a physical release but only heighten Rob's sense of isolation.

Comparisons to current U.S. medical dramas such as "ER" and "House" may seem inevitable, although "Bodies" sidesteps the feel-good finales American hospital shows usually feel obligated to give viewers.

"I love 'ER,' especially the late '80s, when it was hip and right on the edge," says Beesley, who deserves to be much better known on this side of the Atlantic.

"Nowadays, though, I feel that -- without wanting to be disrespectful -- there's always a moralistic tale or a happy ending," the actor adds. "We got compared to early 'ER,' and that was really flattering, because I think it was a fantastic show."

Baladi says the main difference between his show and "ER" is that the U.S. series seems to celebrate the triumphs of its characters, whereas "Bodies" is filled with characters who are, perhaps, more deeply flawed.

"These doctors [on 'ER'] are really at the top of their game. They're all brilliant," Baladi says. "What 'Bodies' [isn't] afraid to do is show that not everyone is the best doctor in the world. Not everyone is infallible. And all the characters have weaknesses and make mistakes. The only problem is that in a medical scenario, the consequences of that are life or death."

During its original run in the United Kingdom, "Bodies" drew across-the-board praise from critics but, perhaps more to the point, doctors and other medical workers also noted how accurately the series captured a side of their world that is rarely if ever seen on TV.

"I researched for a month before shooting the first season," Beesley says, "and for [the surgeons I worked with] to turn around and say, 'This is the most on-it representation of our lives, it's terrifyingly realistic,' for me as an actor, that's great. We've done our job. As a viewer, I hope people will really dig the show even though it has got heavy weight to it and can be rather depressing."

Baladi says some of the praise he received for the show came, literally, from much closer to home.

"My dad's a gynecologist. My mother was a midwife," he says. "My sister watched the show and was horrified, and called them up and said, 'That's not really what it's like, is it?' And they said it's the most accurate portrayal they've seen of any medical drama. And they love it."
As is the case with many British dramas, the first season of "Bodies" consists of only six one-hour episodes, which unfold weekly through Thursday, Nov. 3. (A second season recently wrapped production in England). That doesn't mean the cast didn't put in some very long hours, however.

"We work a six-day week sometimes, and I shot 130 out of 138 days, which physically is horrendous," Beesley says. "The prosthetics are so involved that you cannot help but get involved. It's quite weird. I was definitely squeamish before doing the show and you kind of, as surgeons must do, desensitize yourself to what's going on.

"I think surgeons in general, [are] mechanics, and humans are the cars. [The doctors] cannot be attached to what they're doing in their day-to-day business, otherwise they'd all have nervous breakdowns. At the end of the series, I certainly felt pretty drained."

Series creator Mercurio, who drew most of the plot developments in "Bodies" from situations and cases he actually observed or heard about during his medical career, says he hopes viewers will want to take this frequently unsettling and very adult tour behind the medical scenes.
"I wanted to create a medical drama that was an antidote to all the medical dramas that have gone before," Mercurio says. "Medical drama is one of the most popular genres in television, yet I've never felt any of them grappled with gritty realities that I encountered in my working life.
"Doctors possess all the flaws inherent in human nature. In 'Bodies,' you will see doctors act out of arrogance, ambition, self-interest and lust. In my career as a doctor, I was witness to all manner of incidents that the outsider is never permitted to see. This is the dark side of medicine -- and fortunately, it's only one side, not the whole -- but it's the side that outsiders know next to nothing about."

Source: http://tv.zap2it.com

Get the popcorn ready for two weeks of Cinemagic

By Marie Foy

20 September 2005 Former EastEnders actress Brooke Kinsella and Bernie Latham from Hollyoaks will be in Belfast on Friday for the launch of this year's annual Cinemagic festival.
Cinemagic is hosting its 17-day extravaganza from November 17 to December 3, at Village Cinemas and W5 at the Odyssey.

The programme includes an impressive array of international exclusive screenings, big movie premieres, special guests, directors' discussions, competitions, masterclasses and talent labs in all aspects of television and film-making.

On December 1 and 2, 18 to 25-year-olds will be able to take part in 'talent labs'.
Among the 14 visiting professionals are actors Max Beesley, Maxine Peake and Dexter Fletcher, who will be running acting workshops.

Also attending will be music director Hamish Hamilton, who has worked with Oasis, U2 and Madonna and local broadcast journalist Denise Watson, who is taking a sports presenting masterclass.

For full details log onto www.cinemagic.org.uk.

Taken from: Belfast Telegraph

Look what I've done *lol*

Good morning to everybody reading this :)))

I was a really good girl these last days, so I can let you know, that there are some nice pics added again :D

They are taken from Fields of Gold (which is a really cool film by the way)

and other screens taken from Kill me later (which I like as well :))))

Hope you enjoy the pics and that you all spend a nice sunday, with more sun as it is here, cause it's raining in Switzerland *rolleyes*

See you soon
Bye Bye

New adds

Good evening

Just added new screens from "It was an accident" :D

See them here

Take care everybody
*waving*
Bye Bye

Good news *ggg*

Good evening *wavin'*

I have some good news for you ;) The gallery is back :))) and more pics will be added this weekend, so stay tuned *yeah*

A nice evening to everybody :)

Denise