In a desperate attempt to attract the audience for "Mad Men","Breathless"has the shiny,newly - minted look beloved of re - imaginings of what was in fact a dull,grey era. Set in the early 1960s before the concept of The "Swinging Sixties" was invented,this new ITV series is nothing more or less yet another hospital soap - albeit one with pretensions and a higher than average budget. Here we have the usual deep dark secrets,unwanted pregnancies,illicit affairs,saintly,overworked nurses and libidinous doctors that have been staple fare since "Doctor in the house" and "Emergency Ward 10". The makers point out that "Breathless" presents a 21st century view of the inequities of the sexual politics of the time but that is mostly nonsense.What "Breathless" in fact presents is the same old same old obsession with sexual and medical matters dressed up in retro clothing that actually none of the cast looks at all comfortable in. It's as if they were attending a 1950's weekend at Butlin's and can't wait to get into their everyday clothes as soon as possible. One can only guess how many doctors and nurses programmes there are on TV,and we needed another one like my grannie needed a chocolate teapot. I am happy watching "Holby City" and "Casualty" because they are what they are and I don't feel someone is conning me that they are high art which is exactly the feeling I get from "Breathless".
Review of Breathless
