All Saints is an Australian television drama produced by Channel Seven. The series began production in Sydney in 1998. Episodes are broadcast weekly on Australian television (except at Christmas, when the show takes a hiatus) and some seasons have been exported overseas.

What's It About?

All Saints is about the people who work in the fictional All Saints Hospital, located in Sydney, Australia (Sydney's Concord Repatriation Hospital is used for the outside location shots). It focuses on several doctors, nurses and other staff and the problems and challenges they face at work. It also shows their relationships and home lives, managing to squeeze a few morals and social issues into each episode. Originally, the series featured the staff of Ward 17 of All Saints Hospital, but after several series, the ward was closed down and the staff were shifted to the emergency section, in order to provide a change of pace and different possible medical situations.

Almost everybody who works in the hospital seems to be having some sort of romantic liaison with a co-worker, and the viewer gets to see all sorts of different relationships and why they either work out or end disastrously. There is also often some sort of crime or law featured, either with litigation involving the hospital, or criminal charges and defendants appearing.

What Happens in Each Episode?

With a few rare exceptions, each episode is one hour long, including commercial breaks. Generally, it shows one or two shifts (usually daytime) in a typical hospital-drama style. The day's new patients arrive and the doctors try to diagnose and/or treat them. Then there are a few unexpected illnesses and surprise diagnoses as well as some conflict and/or romance between different staff members at the hospital. One of the criticisms of All Saints is that it is becoming more of a soap opera than a drama because the events become more and more over-dramatised, unlikely and ridiculous.

Usually the storyline in each episode is complete and does not continue on to the next week. However, in some special cases, a particular patient or incident may continue over two episodes, or there may be a 'double episode' lasting for twice the usual duration.

Who Are the Main Characters?

Characters in All Saints shift every series. The actors tend to have three-year contracts so, funnily enough, characters also seem to move about every three years or so. The show focuses on around four main doctors (in addition, senior doctors, specialists or interns sometimes appear), five main nurses (including their nursing manager), two ambulance officers and one or two general staff such as receptionists, with maintenance managers and delivery people sometimes popping in.

Terri Sullivan (played by Georgie Parker) is a senior nurse at the hospital who has appeared on All Saints since 1998. She is of Irish descent and used to be a nun before she became a nurse. Terri likes to please everybody and has spent time being the nurse in charge, but quit her position after she experienced a lot of traumatic experiences within a short time (including grief, being charged with murder and serious illness).

Regina Butcher (played by Celia Ireland) was the receptionist at Ward 17 until she moved to the emergency section with the rest of the staff. Although she comes across as not the brightest spark, she's extremely affectionate and very fond of her colleagues. Although she too has suffered painful events including bereavement and the loss of her job, she manages to bounce back and is as cheerful as ever.

All Saints

All Saints is considered one of Australia's top television dramas and is definitely thought of as an Aussie rival to other shows such as ER. It will almost certainly be enjoyed by serious television hospital drama fans and those Australians who like to see their own country on television for a change.

Related BBC Links

• Fans of home-grown hospital drama can of course always keep up with the latest happenings in Casualty and Holby City.