Impulse Gamer Home


Getting On Complete Series 1 & 2 DVD Review - www.impulsegamer.com -

Feature 9.0
Video 9.0
Audio 9.0
Special Features 6.0
Total 8.3
Distributor: BBC
Running Time: TBA
Classification:
 MA15+
Reviewer: Felix Staica

8.3


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.






 
 



   Games
   PlayStation 4
   XBox One
   PlayStation 3
   XBox 360
   PC
   PS Vita
   Wii U
   Wii
   3DS
   DS
   PSP
   Apple
   Casual
   Android
   Classics

  Movies
   Movies & IMAX
   Blu-ray
   Action
   Anime
   Comedy
   Crime & Thrillers
   Documentaries
   Drama
   Family
   Horror
   Kids
   Lifestyle
   Music
   Romance
   Sci-fi
   Sport

   IT
   PC
   Apple
   Hardware

   Information & Fun
   News
   Interviews
   Articles

   Tara's G-Spot
   Loren's Level
   Comics
   Books
   Mind & Body
   Music
   Competitions
   Community
 








 
 




Impulse Gamer is your source for the
latest Reviews and News on Video Games,
Entertainment, Pop Culture, Hardware &
More!

 


© 2001 - 2021 Impulse Gamer
 

 

About Us | Contact Us