HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''TLC'' (stylized tlc) is a darkly surreal
farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...
-like
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
set in a fictional
NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
called South Middlesex. Written by
Fintan Coyle ''The Weakest Link'' is a British television quiz show, mainly broadcast on BBC Two and BBC One. It was devised by Fintan Coyle and Cathy Dunning and developed for television by the BBC Entertainment Department. The game begins with a team of ...
, co-creator of hit game show ''
Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host Anne Robinson completed her contract. ...
'', it was first broadcast on the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
on 11 November 2002 and ran over six episodes until 16 December. There were some very mixed opinions on the show among both critics and viewers, but it achieved decent ratings and featured an excellent comedy cast including
Richard Griffiths Richard Thomas Griffiths (31 July 1947 – 28 March 2013) was an English actor. He was known for his portrayals of Vernon Dursley in the ''Harry Potter'' films (2001–2011), Uncle Monty in '' Withnail and I'' (1987), and Henry Crabbe in '' P ...
,
Alexander Armstrong Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong (born 2 March 1970) is an English actor, comedian, radio personality, television presenter, singer and farmer. He is the host of the BBC One game show ''Pointless'', and is a weekday morning-show presenter on C ...
and ''
The League of Gentlemen ''The League of Gentlemen'' is a British surreal comedy horror series that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the lives ...
's''
Reece Shearsmith Reeson Wayne Shearsmith (born 27 August 1969) is a British actor, comedian, writer and magician. He was a member of The League of Gentlemen, with Steve Pemberton, Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson. Jointly with Pemberton, he created, wrote and starr ...
. The series was released on DVD in the UK on 29 October 2007. The show never confirms what "TLC" stands for, although it is presumed to be a sarcastic reference to the widely used abbreviation for "Tender Loving Care", but could equally refer to the alternative yet related abbreviation "Total Lack of Concern". However, it is thought that the show is titled so due to music group
TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...
's 1999 single 'No Scrubs' – this was a nod to popular US medical sitcom ''Scrubs'', with the British show supposedly claiming not to be of the standard of its US contender.


Characters

Dr Laurence Flynn (Played by
Reece Shearsmith Reeson Wayne Shearsmith (born 27 August 1969) is a British actor, comedian, writer and magician. He was a member of The League of Gentlemen, with Steve Pemberton, Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson. Jointly with Pemberton, he created, wrote and starr ...
): A very unfortunate young Surgical House Officer who's only just started his job at the hospital. He's still haunted by the fact that he failed his final medical exams first time round (something his co-workers will never let him forget) and is determined to redeem himself. He is neurotic, clumsy, lacking in self-confidence and generally just not cut out for his job, and, unfortunately for him, is not at all popular among the other staff at the hospital despite his best efforts to befriend them. As a result, the staff play a lot of very cruel and often sadistic practical jokes on him, (such as fooling him into trying to revive a dead patient, getting him sectioned under the mental health act, and giving him jabs for no reason at all) and poor Dr Flynn ends up teetering on the edge of sanity for most of the series. He often suffers from lack of sleep and ends up seeing and doing some very strange things as a result. He is madly in love with nurse Judy. Dr Stephen Noble (Played by
Alexander Armstrong Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong (born 2 March 1970) is an English actor, comedian, radio personality, television presenter, singer and farmer. He is the host of the BBC One game show ''Pointless'', and is a weekday morning-show presenter on C ...
): A Surgical Registrar at the hospital and Dr Laurence's mentor. He is Flynn's only friend and the two seem quite close, but he actually enjoys playing jokes on Flynn just as much as everyone else does, and even sets up a few himself. Dr Noble enjoys being a doctor, but he is endlessly cynical by nature. He sometimes gets blamed for screw-ups during surgery but manages to shift the blame onto the hapless Dr Flynn. He too suffers from lack of sleep and is addicted to coffee. Nurse Judy Conway (Played by
Georgia Mackenzie Georgia Mackenzie (born 19 May 1973) is a British actress. Career Mackenzie's notable screen credits include Sarah Beckenham in the BBC's BAFTA nominated series ''Outlaws'', Jackie Haggar in ITV's ''Hot Money'' (since remade in Hollywood as '' ...
): An attractive Staff Nurse who stands guard over the precious coffee with her fellow nurses. She is very cool and level-headed, and can seem quite caring towards others, but she has a malicious side with a cruel sense of humour. She is fully aware of Dr Flynn's crush on her and often uses it to take advantage of him—delighting in making him the object of ridicule in front of others. Nurse Terry Cheung (Played by
Benedict Wong Benedict Wong (born 3 July 1971) is an English actor. He began his career on stage before starring in the film '' Dirty Pretty Things'' (2002), which earned him a British Independent Film Award nomination, and the BBC sitcom '' 15 Storeys High ...
): An openly gay Theatre Nurse who rooms with Nurse Judy. Although Nurse Terry doesn't instigate any of the practical jokes on Dr Flynn, he is almost always a willing participant. Gasman (Played by
Erich Redman Erich Redman (born 1964) is a Russian-born German actor working primarily in English-language feature films. He appeared in ''United 93 (film), United 93'' and the BBC comedy series ''TLC (TV Series), tlc''. Other appearances include ''Saving Pri ...
): A creepy German anaesthetist who works in the surgical ward of the hospital. He has a pain fetish and is genuinely obsessed with the idea of making others suffer as much as possible, meaning he is not particularly good at his job. His only real goal in life is to torture both his patients and his co-workers whenever he can. Mr Benedict Ron (Played by
Richard Griffiths Richard Thomas Griffiths (31 July 1947 – 28 March 2013) was an English actor. He was known for his portrayals of Vernon Dursley in the ''Harry Potter'' films (2001–2011), Uncle Monty in '' Withnail and I'' (1987), and Henry Crabbe in '' P ...
): The hospital's director of surgery. He is a good-natured guy who's always kind to his patients but is an embarrassingly bad surgeon. He always gets away with his failed operations anyway, usually by blaming someone else. Sister Charity Hope (Played by
Llewella Gideon Llewella Gideon (born 27 September 1967) is a British actress, comedian and writer. She has appeared in a number of comedy series, including '' Absolutely Fabulous'', '' The Real McCoy'', '' The Crouches'', and '' The Delivery Man'', and provid ...
): The Ward Sister who is pretty much the only completely sane person in the hospital. She is a mother to all, likes to keep things under control, and wears gallstones as earrings. Sid (Played by Tom Watt): The hospital porter, who is deadly slow at everything he does. He is not very good at what he does but is quite a good-natured guy, and has a secret crush on Sister Charity Hope. Wheelchair Guy (Played by
Martin Trenaman Martin Trenaman (born 1962) is an English comedy writer and actor, who has contributed to many modern comedy series. He played Simon's father, Alan Cooper, in the sitcom ''The Inbetweeners'' (2008-10). He reprised the role of Mr. Cooper for the ...
): An unlucky man who seems to permanently reside in the hospital. His legs don't normally work but he is almost cured every episode... Unluckily for him something also happens that stops the healing process each episode. The nurses don't seem too bothered by his plight. He eventually heals and leaves the hospital, but has an accident on a miniscooter soon afterwards.
Tim Brooke-Taylor Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor (17 July 194012 April 2020) was an English actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of The Goodies. Brooke-Taylor became active in performing in comedy sketches while at the University of Cambridge and beca ...
also had a role as a surgeon who had a nervous breakdown and was only allowed back in the hospital as the Hospital Chaplain and who now constantly wants to try to operate on patients and is puzzled as to why God allows suffering.


DVD release

The series was released on DVD in 2007. Aspect ratio is 16:9 and region is 2. There are no extra features.


External links


TLC BBC Website
* * {{British Comedy Guide, tv, TLC
DVD on Amazon.co.uk
BBC television sitcoms 2002 British television series debuts 2002 British television series endings 2000s British television miniseries 2000s British sitcoms 2000s British medical television series British English-language television shows