Holby Blue

Early evening crime in Britain is pretty wholesome stuff: more soap than episodic drama. Later in the evening things get a bit tougher and more inventive (with, like, time travel) but before the kids are in bed it’s all nicely-starched uniforms and cheeky shoplifters. Holby Blue’s an interesting effort to bridge the gap. A pre-watershed slot and a cast of soap stalwarts mashed up with grittier, more urban plots and some well-staged action. This episode’s final scene is genuinely dark and affecting; lit like a movie, it’s more like something from the mean streets of Baltimore or Miami than a made-up town in primetime Britain.