Compulsion

Whilst I have enjoyed most of this drama, Jenny grabbed a " handful " of SALINE used to clear cannulas, NOT drugs.

No ambulance or base station carries "drugs" as illustrated. They are ALWAYS kept in a locked unit in small quantities.

This inaccurate portrayal could present a threat to ambulance staff.

I watched this for Anna Chancellor and Haley Mills. Both actors get to really chew the scenery. You can tell they're having a fabulous time. Intentional or not, their scenes play as high camp and I enjoyed their collective screentime. I could watch Anna Chancellor read the phone book. And who wouldn't want to see Haley Mills playing the thug heavy? Fabulous casting against type. Other than that, this four-part series, which could have been two, maybe three episodes (they pad for time with flashbacks throughout of things that happened three to four minutes earlier within the same episode), was a waste of time. The tone was all over the place, even in a single scene. The ever present musical score was absolutely histrionic. Plotholes abound. There is seriously poor writing and exposition all over the place in this one. If the screenwriter wants us to sympathize with a main character going through PTSD and suffering from gambling addiction, you have to give them some redeeming value. You have to show us who they were before they went down this path. There was none of this and I found myself rooting against the protagonist, Jenny (Leanne Best). She is written as a pretty irredeemable human being throughout, even in the ludicrous ending. Anyway, if you are able to watch it where you can fast forward 5 to 10 seconds at a time, it's really the only way to watch episodes 3 and 4. Or you can just skip it all together.

A bleak opening with Jenny (Leanne Best) contemplating suicide by train due to gambling-induced financial problems. During a panic attack onboard, recently bereaved Sasha (Anna Chancellor) helps her and they strike up a relationship. Things quickly spiral out of control for Jenny and it is unclear whether Sasha is a guardian angel or a psychotic demon.

After episode one, I am torn on this - it is either a tightly-written well-acted psychological thriller with interesting twists or it is whiny derivative drivel of the type we see frequently now. Best and Chancellor are fabulous actresses so I await episode 2 before passing final judgement.

Addendum: Skim watched to the end and it is poor with the worst ending imaginable - rescored from 6* to 4*

The next show on the UK's Paramount Plus collection was this 2022 Channel 5 ... melodrama, I guess. A four-part series that tries to cram six seasons of storyline into that run time, which somehow you'll still be ahead of, before an anticlimactical ending.

Jenny (Leanne Best) is a paramedic, struggling to cope with PTSD following a train accident that she was caught up in. Whilst having a panic attack on a train, she meets Sasha (Anne Chancellor) who calms her down and the pair become friends. Jenny though has turned to online gambling, to quieten the noise in her head and now owes money to both the casino and to a local loan shark Connie (Hayley Mills).

It's tough to describe exactly what's wrong with this series, the best I can say is that it felt... awkward. The performances aren't bad, certainly not from the two leads anyway. Hayley Mills is a wild casting choice for a Liverpool loan shark, but it does at least mean that their intimidation tactics can't just be physical threats. It has that kind of glossy channel 5 feel to it and the basics like set design and cinematography are fine.

The problem is the story. There are multiple storylines that feed back into the main thrust, but with only four episodes and all of them happening at the same time it's initially difficult to decide what you should be focusing on. On top of that, there is a twist in the plot and if you've ever seen any TV show before, or read a book, you'll quickly work out what's going on and the motivations for it. I write my reviews spoiler free, so I'll also add, in the vaguest possible terms, that the resolution is wildly unsatisfying as a long and complicated plot and all the subplots are unravelled by a brief conversation.

Based on the title, I'd imagine that if it is to continue, it'll be anthologised into a new story. Even then, I rather hope not.

Initially a nice lady helps you on a train when you are having a panic attack, then quickly becomes your bestie, nothing suspicious about that right?

Better than I expected given the reviews I had read.