I watched the first episode of Holby City that I’ve seen in, ooh, months. Since about March probably. Two things I noticed:

1. The production values have gone up. Where the hell did they get all that lighting from? There’s shadows and everything. It actually didn’t look as much like a studio as it did before.
2. It seemed so much worse than it did before - well, up until about the last 10 minutes. I don’t know whether it was the writing or the direction or what but it seemed so… contrived is the best word I can think of.

Then I watched Spooks. Saw the second episode of this series (having missed the second half of the last run when Hermione Norris joined and the other woman, the one who fancied Harry, left.) and then this one. Wow! Talk about suspenseful! Now, normally with bombs counting down, you generally know everyone’s going to get out safely. But ever since the deep fat fryer incident in the 2nd/3rd Episode of Season 1, you’ve never known with Spooks. Making the decision to off characters every now and then means that you never know who might be next for the chop. It certainly helps with tension building in even the most clichéd of plots.

Excellent stuff.