Critical, Sky1 - TV review

Critical eschews the soapy storylines of Casualty in favour of nitty-gritty procedure and medical jargon

The trauma team in Critical (Sky)

Sky1's medical drama Critical is set in a state-of-the-art trauma unit during the crucial first hour of treatment.

It's created by Line of Duty's Jed Mercurio and the cast of well-loved faces includes Kimberley Nixon (Fresh Meat), Emma Fryer (Phone Shop) and John Macmillan (Silk).

Critical eschews the soapy storylines of Casualty in favour of nitty-gritty procedure and medical jargon that is entirely incomprehensible to a layman, but this only makes it more compelling. True, Mercurio's surgical take on the medical drama doesn't quite expurgate all those cancerous clichés – there are still lots significant looks exchanged over surgical masks – but who cares when they've been sewn back together with such flair?