Combat Hospital

Combat Hospital Information

Combat Hospital is a Canadian-British medical drama television series, filmed in Toronto, that debuted on Global in Canada on 21 June 2011. In the United States, it aired on ABC. Its final episode was broadcast on 6 September 2011. The series was known for a time by the working title The Hot Zone before reverting to its previous title, Combat Hospital.

ABC announced 24 October 2011 that it would not be renewing Combat Hospital for a second season. On 16 December, Shaw Media confirmed that Combat Hospital would not be renewed for another season due to their inability to find a new broadcast partner after ABC opted not to continue with the series earlier that fall.

Plot

Set in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2006, the series revolves around the life and work of doctors and nurses from the ISAF, specifically Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, and other allied countries at a military hospital.

Cast

Michelle Borth as Canadian Forces Medical Officer, Major Rebecca Gordon, Canadian Army Major Gordon is frequently incorrectly referred to as Rebecca Kincaid
Elias Koteas as Canadian Forces Medical Officer, Commanding Officer Colonel Xavier Marks, Canadian Army
Terry Chen as United States Army Captain (Doctor) Bobby Trang, trauma team leader
Arnold Pinnock as Canadian Forces Nursing Officer, Chief of Nursing, Commander Will Royal, Royal Canadian Navy
Deborah Kara Unger as Australian Army psychiatrist, Major Grace Pedersen
Luke Mably as British neurosurgeon, Doctor Simon Hill
Ellen Wong as Canadian Forces Nursing Officer, Major Suzy Chao, Canadian Army
Hamza Jeetooa as Vans, Afghan translator
Gord Rand as Canadian Forces Medical Technician, Regimental Sergeant-Major, Chief Warrant Officer Graham Kelly, Canadian Army
Karan Oberoi as United States Air Force Pararescue Jumper, Talwar Mehra
Dwain Murphy as United States Air Force Pararescue Jumper, Terrel Ford
Huse Madhavji as Lieutenant Colonel for the United States Air Force, Max Prakash, Orthopedic Surgeon
Adam Beach as Snake Eater/Joe (recurring role)

Production

Jinder Oujla-Chalmers came up with the concept for Combat Hospital in 2008 and with Douglas Steinberg pitched the show to Canwest (now Shaw Media). After the show was picked up for development Oujla-Chalmers travelled to Afghanistan to research on location what it is like at a Role 3 hospital. Oujla-Chalmers was able to use real images taken during the visit and stories heard from medical personnel to add realism to the show. Oujla-Chalmers and Steinberg brought the show to Sienna Films who agreed to produce it and set up funding as a Canadian-British co-production with Artists Studio and Lookout Point of the UK.

Canwest announced on 9 July 2010 that Combat Hospital was slated for production in the 2011"12 season. The budget for the first season was reported to be $2 million per episode. During pre-production Morocco was considered as a possible location for filming the series. Production on the series began in March 2011. The series is filmed at the former Consumers Glass factory in Etobicoke, Ontario. The property has been converted into a 17,187 square metre indoor/outdoor set that recreates portions of the NATO Role 3 Hospital at Kandahar Airfield and its surroundings. Filming was scheduled to continue through 27 July 2011. Post-production work is done in London. Combat Hospital is a production of Sienna Films of Canada, Artists Studio of Wales, and Lookout Point of England. Daniel Petrie, Jr. is the showrunner. The first season has 13 episodes.

Broadcast

Combat Hospital was broadcast in Canada on Global. Throughout its initial broadcast the series was consistently performing better than CTV's Flashpoint and Global's Rookie Blue and was often the most watched scripted programme of the week in Canada. While only the twelfth episode was shown in the U.S. on 30 August both the eleventh and twelfth episodes were shown in Canada. In September 2011, Shaw Media began repeating the series on both Showcase and Showcase Diva.

On 16 December, while filming the New Year's Day special of Royal Canadian Air Farce, cast member Arnold Pinnock confirmed that Shaw Media had cancelled Combat Hospital as they were faced with the inability to find another broadcast partner to offset the expenses of the show.

International distribution

In early January 2011 ABC was in talks to purchase broadcast rights to Combat Hospital. On 20 January 2011 it was reported that ABC had purchased broadcast rights to the then-untitled project. On 25 March 2011 Shaw Media announced that the series will be simulcast in the United States by ABC. On 24 August 2011 ABC announced that they were skipping the eleventh episode of season 1 and moving the season finale date by one week, from 13 September 2011 to 6 September 2011. ABC announced on 24 October 2011 that they would not be commissioning a second season of Combat Hospital.

Outside of North America the series is being distributed by Sony Pictures Television.

Combat Hospital was shown in Hungary on PRO4 starting on 1 April 2012.

Episodes

#	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Canadian viewers (million)
ShortSummary=Canadian trauma surgeon Major Rebecca Gordon and American trauma team leader Captain Robert 'Bobby' Trang arrive at the NATO Role 3 Medical Unit at Kandahar Airfield.	Aux4=1.963	LineColor=a2956b }}	Aux4=1.550	ShortSummary=Dr Gordon and Captain Trang treat an Afghan National Army soldier for a serious infection that neither of them have encountered before. When another patient presents with the same symptoms a quarantine is declared.	LineColor=a2956b }}	Aux4=1.525	ShortSummary=With the blood supply depleted Colonel Marks calls for direct donors as Dr Gordon operates on a soldier with severe gunshot wounds. Major Pedersen inquires about the circumstances of the shooting and the wounded soldier's friends' stories are inconsistent. Photojournalist Jessica Draycott (Tia Carrere) rekindles her romance with Simon.	LineColor=a2956b }}	Aux4=1.481	ShortSummary=Simon hitches a ride on a Medevac on a routine supply run when he finds out that it passes over the farm he has bought. However, they must stop and rescue a wounded person. Meanwhile, Rebecca must conduct a brain surgery following Simon's directions via satellite phone. Bobby and Major Pedersen evaluate the mental condition of an Air Force officer.	LineColor=a2956b }}	Aux4=1.513	ShortSummary=A civilian wedding party is caught in Taliban crossfire and treated at Role 3; Marks gets a troubling call from home and discusses it with Pedersen; and Rebecca and Bobby sit in on Pedersen's group-therapy session, and Rebecca wonders if she shared too much.	LineColor=a2956b }}	Aux4=1.576	ShortSummary=Seven injured soldiers anxiously anticipate the arrival of their lucky charm, 19-year-old Pvt. Henry Flax; Rebecca makes a confession to Simon.	LineColor=a2956b }}	Aux4=1.409	ShortSummary=Under intense investigation, Rebecca doubts her decision to withhold treatment to a soldier, which may have resulted in his death.	LineColor=a2956b }}	Aux4=1.304	ShortSummary=Bobby makes a decision that creates controversy between the doctors and nurses.	LineColor=a2956b }}	Aux4=1.375	ShortSummary=One of Vans' friends comes under suspicion when he is injured by a bomb.	LineColor=a2956b }}	Aux4=1.240	ShortSummary=An Army chaplain (Camille Sullivan) is forced to deal with her lapse of faith when she is ordered to hold vigil with Simon during a surgery.	LineColor=a2956b }}	Aux4=1.210	ShortSummary=A prank gone wrong reveals Simon's painful past; Pedersen must question children about a suicide bomber.	LineColor=a2956b }}	Aux4=1.548	ShortSummary=When Colonel Marks gets injured in an explosion away from the base, Rebecca takes control of triage and struggles to make a life-threatening decision that could affect the status of a critically injured soldier.	LineColor=a2956b }}	Aux4=1.325	ShortSummary=While working at a women's clinic, Captain Pam Everwood, Grace, Rebecca, Suzy, and Major Hasti Samizay are attacked by an unknown gunman. Suzy is killed and Grace injured, forcing her to go back home. Simon decides to go back to take care of his brother. Rebecca reveals to Trang that she kissed Simon. He says that things should not be left unsaid which forces Rebecca to go to the Airport to meet Simon. They kiss and she tells him to come back soon.	LineColor=a2956b }}

Reception

Overall, the series received mixed to negative reviews. John Doyle of The Globe and Mail said that the show is neither the new M*A*S*H for its lack of "snarky chat about the stupidity of war and governments that encourage war" nor is it Grey's Anatomy-on-the-front-lines as there are no "lurid romantic entanglements". Doyle goes on to say, "It's the horrors of war and the awfulness of a combat hospital seen emphatically through the prism of TV drama." In concluding his review Doyle said, "In the matter of Afghanistan and military life there, if you want a gruelling experience, watch the news. Combat Hospital is the entertaining version."

Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe found the show "is completely divorced from anything resembling real life." He said the premise is "exciting and, to some extent, incendiary" but that with "amateurish acting and paint-by-numbers writing" Combat Hospital and Rookie Blue "are summer filler of the laziest kind."

David Wiegard of the San Francisco Chronicle found Combat Hospital "makes a pretty compelling attempt" at portraying "the bloody reality of war" while also having all of the typical characters of a medical drama.

DVD release

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released Combat Hospital on DVD in the United States on 6 March 2012 as part of their manufacture-on-demand service. It is not available for purchase in Canada.