Surgical Spirit

infobox television
show_name = Surgical Spirit


caption =
genre = Sitcom
runtime = 30 minutes
creator = Peter Learmouth
producer = Granada Television
starring = Nichola McAuliffe
Duncan Preston
Marji Campi
David Conville
Emlyn Prince
Suzette Llewellyn
Michael Sampson
Giles Peake
country = UK
network = ITV
first_aired = 14 April 1989
last_aired = 7 July 1995
num_episodes = 50
imdb_id = 0098918

"Surgical Spirit" is a British sitcom starring Nichola McAuliffe and Duncan Preston that lasted for seven series over six years. It was written by Peter Learmouth, Graeme Garden, Raymond Dixon, Annie Bruce, Annie Wood and Paul McKenzie. It was made for the ITV network by Granada Television.

Cast

*Nichola McAuliffe - Dr. Sheila Sabatini
*Duncan Preston - Dr. Jonathan Haslam
*Marji Campi - Joyce Watson
*David Conville - George Hope-Wynne
*Emlyn Price - Neil Copeland
*Suzette Llewellyn - Sister Cheryl Patching
*Beresford Le Roy - Michael Sampson
*Simon Harrison - Giles Peake
*Andrew Groves - Daniel Sabatini
*Lyndham Gregory - Simon Field "(series 1-4)"

Plot

This long-running, and largely successful, sitcom was based around Sheila Sabatini, a senior surgeon at the Gillies Hospital, whose verbal skills have most people running for cover. She dominated the operating theatre, while at home she was divorcing her Italian husband, Remo, with whom she had a son Daniel. She was also a gossip, often gossiping with her best friend and surgery administrator Joyce Watson. One of the major themes in the programme was her developing relationship with Jonathan Haslam, the anaesthetist. At the end of the sixth series, they married and she had become Director of Surgery, while her son had become a medical student at the hospital, much to her annoyance. Granada Television decided to decommission this sitcom after the seventh series, despite its success.

Episodes

eries One (1989)

#"The Lecture" (14 Apr 89)
#"The Locum" (21 Apr 89)
#"Joyce's Ulcer" (28 Apr 89)
#"The Country, Right or Wrong" (5 May 89)
#"Fame" (12 May 89)
#"Sammy Eldridge" (19 May 89)

eries Two (1990)

#"Cold Cuts" (27 Apr 90)
#"The Copeland Affair" (4 May 90)
#"Educating Daniel" (11 May 90)
#"Doubting Thomas" (18 May 90)
#"The Phone Call" (25 May 90)
#"The Garden Party" (1 Jun 90)
#"Something in the Air" (8 Jun 90)

eries Three (1991)

#"The Holiday Job" (4 Jan 91)
#"Only A Roach" (11 Jan 91)
#"Making News" (18 Jan 91)
#"The Fools On The Hill" (25 Jan 91)
#"Close To The Edge" (1 Feb 91)
#"The Earth Trembles" (8 Feb 91)
#"The Rover's Return" (15 Feb 91)

eries Four (1992)

#"The Mating Game" (14 Feb 92)
#"Joyce's Little Turn" (21 Feb 92)
#"The Son Also Arises" (28 Feb 92)
#"Oh Happy Day!" (6 Mar 92)
#"The Fence" (13 Mar 92)
#"Wanderlust" (20 Mar 92)

eries Five (1993)

#"Congratulations" (19 Feb 93)
#"Sheila's Baby" (26 Feb 93)
#"The Right Man For The Job" (5 Mar 93)
#"A Marvellous Opportunity" (12 Mar 93)
#"Trial By Fury" (19 Mar 93)
#"You Won't Feel A Thing" (26 Mar 93)
#"Moan, Moan, Moan" (2 Apr 93)

eries Six (1994)

#"Yes Or No" (7 Jan 94)
#"The Morning After" (14 Jan 94)
#"Daniel's Stunt" (21 Jan 94)
#"The Deaf Sentence" (28 Jan 94)
#"Midnight Bugler" (4 Feb 94)
#"On The Rebound" (11 Feb 94)
#"Hot Gossip" (18 Feb 94)
#"Cost Cutting Exercises" (25 Feb 94)
#"Reunion Night" (4 Mar 94)
#"For Richer, For Poorer" (11 Mar 94)

eries Seven (1995)

#"Driving It Home" (26 May 95)
#"Rhyme Or Reason" (2 Jun 95)
#"All Pull Together" (9 Jun 95)
#"The Silence Of The Haslams" (16 Jun 95)
#"The Walkout" (23 Jun 95)
#"Kicking Against The Pricks" (30 Jun 95)
#"Administrator Of The Year" (7 Jul 95)

DVD releases

The first series was released on 28 May 2007 by Network DVD.

References

*Mark Lewisohn, "Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy", BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003
* [http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/spirit/index.html "Surgical Spirit"] at British TV Comedy