User Reviews

Green Wing is, in my mind, one of a kind.

This show manages to successfully combine conventional elements of a drama/comedy (a compelling romance plot, likable characters, a seemingly grounded hospital setting) with wacky madcap slapstick, mind-bendingly surreal escapism and sketch comedy. Doing so is no mean feat.

Even after seeing the series multiple times, every time I watch the show I undergo the same process as a viewer. Initially I feel slightly weirded out by the unusual filming style (slow-mo and fast forwards are used an awful lot) and juxtaposition of comedy and occasional effective drama. It's so different from the standard TV fare even in 2019.

Then after a few episodes suddenly I once again feel totally at home with the style. By the end of the show I always feel a real final sense of sadness that there are no more episodes in this unique style and format with these great characters!

Perhaps my favourite aspect of the series is that despite it's insane surreal comedy and ridiculously over the top situations, it still manages to exactly nail the real feelings of social anxiety, social awkwardness, work stress and romantic failure that exist in real life. Somehow the show can be a completely mad melodramatic exaggeration of reality and yet still keep the bits of reality you most recognise and empathise with.

Caroline's house party is a notable example of this kind of blend; everyone's dressed oddly and behaving hilariously but at the same time the scene genuinely feels one hundred percent like every fun-but-sketchy-and-awkward house party I ever went to as a Uni student.

The cast is universally excellent, but my special shout out has to go to Mark Heap as Dr. Alan Statham. Heap has been a standout cast member in everything I've seen him in, from Jam to Spaced to Green Wing and the man possesses prodigious talent for both comedic acting and physical comedy.

I also really like Tamsin Greig as Caroline Todd, she brings a kooky humanity Todd that makes her a very compelling "everywoman" character. She's not as mad as everyone else (endearing her to the audience), but is still quirky enough to feel like one of the gang.

Perhaps my only disappointment with the show was the ending; personally, I feel like the series could have gone on a good deal longer and it's a shame it ended after only a couple of seasons. The latter half of Season 2 and the Special ending feels rushed in comparison to the rest of the series, as if the writers were simply told by the execs upstairs to make it a wrap.

Anyway, if you haven't seen it...see it!

This was a special treat when it came out. Remember waiting with anticipation for the second series, which was completely over the top. Great acting, script, score and film work. On ABC Comedy now in Australia. Not to everyone's taste, but there you go!

As a comedy drama series, 'Green Wing' was sui generis: relentlessly silly, surreal and scataological, it was also clever, well acted, quite insightful into aspects of human nature, and in the end, a genuinely touching love story. It was certainly an acquired taste; in the beginning, it all seemed a bit much to me, and even at the end, there were some setups I found tedious, although often scenes that initally bored me were rescued by some outrageous gag or sharp line. Quite a few of its cast went onto greater fame elsewhere; perhaps none of them have ever done anything quite so unique.

Green Wing. What is there to say? Brilliant gags, wonderful characters, no sick "spurting blood" jokes and absolutely, wonderfully dysfunctional. Sue White is one of the best comedy characters I have ever seen, just as good as Bernard Black of Black Books and that is something. The best thing about this series (now sadly departed) is that it is completely mad! This is definitely the funniest thing this year and if it is not nominated for comedy awards, I will be quite upset and may have to throw the T.V out the window. Anyone know when the DVD is out?Please? =D

I don't know whats wrong with Britain but recently we've been producing some fantastic comedies. The best comedies are, of course the bizarre and surreal ones, like Green Wing. Its just as good as Scrubs, if not better. The time for Britain's great comedies has come. This show makes up for all the crap we've been putting onto our screens, coupling, anyone? This is a comedy up there with The League of gentlemen, and is totally underrated. This is a comedy that everyone who is a fan of strange and sick humour should watch. This is a comedy that will make you cringe and laugh until some accidental pee will come out.

10/10

I've lost count of the number of times I've watched the first season, the number of times I've almost been in tears of laughter, the number of times I've sat and thought...how on earth could they film that scene?...The nipple rubbing scene, toe sucking, I could go on. Silly but brilliantly clever...Aargh, the shock of the final episode of season 1 will never be topped in comedy. Who will be your favourite character? Sue White has it for me. This is my favourite comedy show of all time

Green Wing is unbelievably original in itself and between episodes. Before 2004 I'd never heard of any of the cast and now they are at the top of my 'to-meet' list. Michelle (Sue White) gives an outstanding performance as staff liaison officer who is confined, most of the time, to her office and manages to think of a different crazy stunt for every Sue-scene. Julian and Tamsin (Mac and Caroline) bring the drama to the show in the most hilarious way possible do really take centre stage a lot of the time, excluding operating theatre scenes where Steve (Guy) stands completely centred and gets away with being the only one not wearing a mask. Boycie, Statham, Joanna and the office girls bring the outrageously bizarre comedy from Pippa (Joanna) having needles in her face to post-its on heads. Karl Theobald plays the forgetful and slow Dr Dear with some family issues going on. Victoria and her team of writers piece together a sound script and leave room for Steve and Michelle to ad-lib. Green Wing is truly the best television comedy ever. Credit to the editors too because their work shines. :D

This show is without a doubt, the most laugh-out-loud comedy I have seen in YEARS. It's much different than "The Office," in that is standard sitcom format; a sitcom in a hospital, ala "Scrubs." But where "Scrubs" can be mushy and repetitive, GW is fresh and unsentimental. Basically, it works. All the time. It's too bad that Americans won't be able to view it anymore. Most of the US wouldn't get it anyway. And a lot of Americans would probably find it offensive. Which is too bad, because as I said, it is the funniest hour of TV I have ever seen. It has replaced "Spaced" in my heart as the best comedy. I still DO love "Spaced." The character of Sue White is the most surreal funny woman EVER on TV. And Dr. Statham deserves all the comparisons to John Cleese. He is a brilliant comedic actor, with physicality to be jealous of. In short, seek this out. Find it. Get a multi-region DVD payer. Hack yours. Do whatever you can to watch this show. With American shows like "Friends" having hundreds of episodes, it's sad that GW only has 17. But trust me, it's the best 15 hours of comedy you're likely to see in a long long time.

I have sadly only just discovered Green Wing at a friends party, and I enjoyed it so much I just bought the complete box-set! I wish I had discovered it sooner as Green Wing is long buried now, which is such a shame for a completely outrageous, genre-defying comedy.

I would urge anyone to watch this, even if you don't think you'll like it. I thought I would hate it but I'm completely hooked! The jokes are fantastic, and the plot is so neatly woven into the gags that have made me laugh out loud more times than I could count.

Characters to watch out for are Sue White (Michelle Gomez), the completely deluded staff liaison officer, and the bumbling and absurd radiologist, Dr Alan Statham (Mark Heap).

An absolute must-see!

For me Green Wing is the best comedy series I have ever seen. The first episode introduces you to the characters and already fun to watch. After that every episode is a full hour packed with the best absurd humor you'll ever seen. It is almost as if every scene is a sketch on its own that is also contributing to the storyline. It is really an extremely clever masterpiece. Also, getting to know the characters helps make the scenes and jokes even more fun. It also is fast paced with really great music leading you out and into scenes and having you laughing and out of breath in no time. There is seriously little time between hilarious scene, situations and jokes that rapidly follow each other up for each full episode. Really a must see series. Dutch readers who like "Toren C" will also really enjoy this series.

Not convinced? Just look up "Alan Statham makes a coffee" and watch this scene to determine in less than 2 minutes if this is the series for you. Enjoy!

I'm a great fan of Green wing, but only Series 1.

Series 1 was sharp, witty, and utterly random, following a small storyline but ultimately being a sequence of entwined sketches based around a set of characters.

Series 2 turned this on its head. It followed a (bad) storyline, which was a vague progression of the first.. but It did so at the expense of the comedy that was so brilliantly executed in series 1.

The opening of series 2 was surreal, and poor. From that point onwards it get worse, and seemed to change plot just for the sake of it. There were repeated scenarios thrown in, jokes stolen from series 1, and a lot of the comedy was strained. Michelle Gomez (sue White) lost her edge and was frankly absurd and embarrassing rather than entertaining. Tamsin Greig was her usual excellent self, but we saw far too much of those boots.. didn't she own any other shoes? Alan Statham (played by the excellent Mark Heap)... well they just seemed to run out of ideas for him and resorted to trademark jerky movements and incomprehensible outbursts.

But, the biggest travesty of Green Wing, is the peculiar presence (or lack of) the excellent Sarah Alexander as Angela, coming in randomly and seldomly throughout both series. An utter waste of her talent.. she was given few lines, and hardly any integration into the plot. It was random, and bewildering. I'm a huge fan (for differing reasons ;) ) and she was wasted in this series.

So, great first series, one of the best comedies ever.. just don't expect much of the same for the second as you'll be disappointed.

Green Wing. What can I say? A rare comedy of random hilarity and nymphomaniac doctors. I love it, yes, I really love it.

I have to say, the show would be nothing without Michelle Gomez. She is fantastic beyond all reason and each one of her scenes has me in stitches. Really, she is a comedy genius, and deserves more screen time! Her scenes with Julian (Mac) are comedy gold.

I am pleased to see a completely original comedy such as Green Wing doing so well, as I am a little tired of hearing 'Yeah but no but,' and I'm a laaady' every time I venture out...

Recently my boyfriend bought me series one on DVD (!) So I have barricaded myself in my flat until every second of it is watched!

This was funny when I first watched in 2004 or so. But it hasn't stood the test of time. Each episode features the characters goofing about and having inadequate relationships. No real plot. The frequent musicaly speeded up sections are jarring. Watch Friday Night Dinner instead.

I thought oh nice British comedy it will be great. But not to my way of thinking. Where is the story? Jokes, jokes and more jokes. We gave up after 20 minutes as to us it was not entertainment. I love British drama and suspense but this show is just not for me. My husband was even more annoyed with it than I was. Saving graces? Some talent obviously but lack of any plot or storyline does not grab my attention. I need to have a story about a patient or a doctor solving a medical dilemma with some humour but not silly jokes and not getting anywhere with development of plot or character. Mind you, we gave it 20 minutes and then groaned.

This show is so utterly brilliant. The other day my husband came home while I was watching it and said he could hear me laughing halfway down the sidewalk. May take one or two episodes to acquire a taste for this show, as it is so different from what you're used to watching, but there is so much richness and depth to Green Wing. The characters, while extremely quirky, are still real. While you may be screaming with laughter at some outlandish physical comedy moment or gag one moment, the next they will surprise you with a relatively sober, very dark scene (Joanna and her flip-book of Polaroids of herself as she ages).

In the US, this airs on BBC America. I would recommend it to people who love "Arrested Development." Of course, some of the most quirky and original shows can't last through very many seasons without losing some of their sting. I just hope "Green Wing" doesn't flare out soon, or disappear as its actors become stars in high demand in Britain and the US, as I'm sure many of them will.

By the way, for those of you who are sick of "hospital" shows, don't be fooled. This show couldn't care less about the patients! You almost never even see one, unless used as a meaningless prop beneath a sheet in the operating room. Definitely no "ER," this, thank God.

Finally a great comedy. A must see. Have been looking for a good comedy since Peep Show or the Inbetweeners, now I got it. Why is it so difficult to find these humour gems? No wonder so much TV trash out there. Watch it, worth the try.

I have seen the first series, and I just loved it. I haven't seen anything like it. I think it is the first real comedy series I have seen that is about life in a hospital. It will make you laugh, loudly. The first two episodes of the second series keep up the level of excellence and is just as hilarious, and bizarre.

The characters in the series develop from episode to episode, and each character is eccentric in its own way. How they manage to produce one hour episodes with so many incredibly funny scenes is beyond me. The producers, the writers and the actors are doing a fantastic job!!

If you haven't seen Green Wing, go out and buy it on DVD.

I love it.

Amazing, Brilliant, Fantastic...Have I gone over the top with my praise? I think not, GREEN WING is simply one of, if not the best comedy series to come out of the UK in the last 10 years! The rest of the world, you don't know what your missing! I would "Set the Scene" for you, but no doubt this has been done already, so ill go onto my personal thoughts! Overshadowed so much by other shows, the first series, although very successful didn't get as much hype as I thought it would although it was utter genius! A sketch show come drama come regular sitcom, I don't remember seeing a more original series. It did take a bit of getting into, the fast pace and constant flashing between scenes did irritate a little at first, but once you get used to them you realise that this makes the show more original and doesn't spoil the action at all.

The writing and directing is second to none but the 99.9% of the praise has to go to the cast. Although a bit of a Mix and Match from other sitcoms and shows, this doesn't affect it at all and you are used to the quite famous cast in their new roles by the end of episode one and you will be left wondering if every role was written for every actor.

Although the entire cast is top notch the best things about this show is the wonderful Michelle Gomez, who's role of Sue White is the best comedy character I have ever seen. Her performances are flawless bordering on psychosis from one minute and Normal (well as normal as Sue Gets) the next. I find myself laughing before she has done anything and if she just stood there the audience would be in hysterics. Mark Heap as Dr Alan Statham is a close second but when paired with Pippa Haywood's Joanna Clore is rite up there with Gomez. Simply brilliant! With the impending release of Season 2 on DVD, I can finally relive all these glorious episodes over and over again. Judging by the viewings my Season 1 collection has got (About 5 I think now); I will certainly be getting my monies worth! If you have never seen this show, SEE IT! I give you my word you will not be disappointed!

I don't want to get into a USA (Scrubs) and UK( Green Wing) war of words but this show does confirm British superiority when it come to inventive and ground breaking television.

OK, so it does rely on the shock factor of some of its gags to get laughs but they are delivered with master precision and timing. It does not matter what mood I am in, I am virtually guaranteed to spend the whole episode with tears rolling down my cheeks with laughter.

These are one of the few things that make me proud to be British. Our film industry may be virtually non existent but we still cannot fail in delivering to the world the cream of television programs.

There i've said it - and I'm sorry to upset scrubs fans, but it is the truth. This is the only comedy series that has been as funny and madcap since Monty Python and the only show that could possibly equal it. True British hilarity. The insane scenarios. The crazy dialogue. Stathams blunders. Sue White's escapades. Mac unconscious. Guy's pathetic attempts at masculinity. Sheer perfection. A short but sweet 2 series of comedy gold. See it now and you're guaranteed to agree. Only one thing I will say - bring it back! Two series were never enough, and it may have worked for other comedies - but we need more! Sign an online petition to keep it going!

I avoided this show when it first aired as I found it quite pretentious and attempting to be weird for no real reason. This arrived on the back of genuine strange but great Channel 4 comedy from Chris Morris, namely Jam. Which to me at the time Green Wing was clearly trying to ape. Not to mention Green Wing also uses some of the same cast. Having just installed a streaming TV app and noticing this was available I decided to give it a second go. Yes the odd slow mo and score is still here as are the odd physical tics of some character but once you get used to this its actually enjoyable. Despite all the weird camera tricks its basically just a love triangle sitcom set in a hospital. Its mainly character driven with the three main actors being mostly normal while the rest of the cast are basically extremely exaggerated caricatures who display very bizarre behaviours. The is a strong surrealist element to Green Wing. The overacting by some characters I actually found irritating, especially the Radiologist who features heavily. He is known for playing oddballs but in Green Wing he is simply too over the top to the point he is frustrating to watch. The writing comes from the creator of Smack the Pony which I would argue is more fun than Green Wing. The fact its written by a female is evident as its actually very crude from a female perspective, simply put a male would not get away with writing this for female characters, certainly not in the current climate. This ran for two seasons with a feature length follow up which wraps up all the story arcs, almost. What is odd is that this show took quite a sentimental twist towards the end which upset some people. Including the actors. An alternative ending is online to watch. Its an interesting and ta times engaging watch if you can stomach the weirdness and zany people at this hospital. Its been compared to Scrubs however it doesnt have the same tone or reliance on Family Guy style cut away gags.

A complete mash-up of some exceedingly funny sequences and some long, dreary intermissions. The 'in your face' humour is often smutty

After watching both series and the very drawn-out final episode, it's hard to rate. If the rubbish was weeded out, it would be a 9 or 10. Many young actors were beginning their careers here and their talent is obvious. Seeing Olivia Colman was a surprise, but she is not used as much as she might have been. Mark Heap has some of the funniest scenes and looks like a reincarnation of John Cleese.

If only the less written pieces hadn't been there!

Love it love it love it!!

I can understand why some of its more outlandish sketches has received criticism from one-off viewers, but following through the series, characters and plots develop to hilarious consequence. Michelle Gomez (Scottish nymphomaniac) is a comedy genius - fans should check her out in the similarly underrated 'Book Group'.

My bet is that by series 2 the rest of the country will have woken up to just how good this show is - lets hope we see less of over-hyped Little Britain (does ANYONE out there find the Dennis Waterman sketch remotely funny?!). Green Wing deserves the comedy crown!! *****