TV review

Published Monday 21 July 2008 at 18:40 by Harry Venning

We first meet Dr Robert Fielding (Paul Nicholls), hero of ITV’s new drama series Harley Street, amidst the carnage and chaos of a London A&E ward.

Blood-soaked and exhausted after a night spent saving the life of a teenager with gunshot wounds, Fielding seeks respite in sleep, but is shaken awake by a colleague who reminds him it is “time to sell your soul”.

For Fielding is also a partner in a flourishing new private practice, dedicated to alleviating the suffering of celebrity chefs, supermodels and suchlike.

“The taxpayers who paid for my training are still getting their money’s worth,” Fielding assures his NHS-supporting dad and, by extension, the large proportion of viewers unsympathetic to private medicine and its proponents. For the show is at pains to point out Fielding’s dedication to both masters.

Amazingly, our busy hero doesn’t use the little time left to him for sleep, but to indulge in a personal passion.

“Two things I know about you,” Harley Street legend Dr Cost (James Fox) informs Fielding. “One, you’re a first-class doctor. Two, you’re a classic Lego artist.”

Or at least that’s what I heard, possibly as a result of wishful thinking. Up to that point, Fielding had come across as a man who had undergone charisma removal surgery. Had he turned out to be a virtuoso of the multi-coloured plastic building brick it might have provided his character with a desperately needed injection of idiosyncrasy and originality. But sadly, it wasn’t the case. Dextrous use of rewind revealed the tedious human tranquilliser to be a “leg-over artist”, which is a lot less interesting.

Almost immediately Fielding is given the opportunity to unleash his legendary libido on Miranda, one of Dr Cost’s young house guests, who vamps up to him in a manner straight out of the Betty Boop Book of Seduction. Before you can say, “Nurse, the screens”, the pair are popping each other’s corks in the wine cellar.

But wouldn’t you know it, Miranda is none other than Dr Cost’s daughter. Whilst Fielding’s hands are all over Cost’s daughter, his practice partner Dr Martha (Suranne Jones) is trying to get hers on the old chap’s lucrative patient list. Has Fielding put pay to all the delicate negotiations? Is Martha really short on patients? Because after an hour of Harley Street’s sleek but shallow inanity, I certainly was.

Who needs television? Certainly not Joss Whedon, who put out his latest creation Dr Horrible’s Sing Along Blog as a webcast.

A 45-minute musical in three acts, it told the story of aspiring super villain Dr Horrible’s (Neil Patrick Harris) doomed infatuation with Penny (Felicia Day) the nice girl he loves and loses to his pompous arch nemesis, Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion).

Charming, funny and engaging, with great performances and some very melodic tunes, I would heartily recommend Dr Horrible to Stage readers, only Whedon withdrew it after just a week. But like all the best villains, Dr Horrible is not so easily got rid of, and is destined to return as a paid-for download and DVD.

DETAILS

Harley Street - ITV, Thursday, July 17, 9pm

Dr Horrible’s Singalong Blog - www.drhorrible.com, Tuesday, July 15, Thursday, July 17, Saturday, July 19