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characters, the stresses of ambition, the technicalities
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In Australia, the most iconic show of this kind is
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Wales, it works hard to depict a slice of Australian life.
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the backdrop for an underrepresented part of the country
– away from the achromatic suburbs of -DHFGANTQR, less
political and volatile than /QHRNMDQ PRUH ZRUNLQJ FODVV
than 3GD 2TKKHU@MR.
6LJQLĺFDQWO\ /TKRD’s casting knowingly mirrors Western
2
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it would have been a failure on the show’s part had it
cast in the manner of the largely homogenous KK 2@HMSR,
or laboured the narrative by having ‘an “ethnic” story

to tell’. A key success of /TKRD is its normalisation of
diverse representation. It not only depicts patients and
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ZKHUH "NTMSQX /Q@BSHBD left off in terms of bringing real SDWLHQW =RH 0HQGRVD 0HOLVVD %RQQH DQG KHU KXVEDQG DQG
$XVWUDOLD WR RXU VFUHHQV son – her patients feel less like they’re being lectured to,
While the performances are consistent throughout /TKRD, and more like they’re being cared for.
there is always a tension between believability and the /TKRD PD\ ORRN OLNH MXVW DQRWKHU PHGLFDO GUDPD RQ ĺUVW
overplaying of roles. There are doctors ticking boxes in impression, but it takes us to places that series that have
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DQG GRFWRUV ODXGHG DV PDUW\UV VXFK DV (OL 7KHUH DUH WKH and doctors. It shows us what a hospital really looks like
RYHUFRQĺGHQW OLNH 5RZDQ %OHVVLQJ 0RNJRKORD DQG WKH and how it really functions. /TKRD LV DERXW WKRVH ZKR VXU
\RXQJ DQG QHUYRXV OLNH 7DEE $UND 'DV 7KHUH DUH WKRVH vive and those who are left behind, and the little hidden
who are there for the patients, like Berger, and those there moments that often mean the most.
WR FOLPE ODGGHUV OLNH 7DQ\D 3DOODYL 6KDUGD :KLOH WKHVH As the series reaches its conclusion, Berger – forced
characterisations make for an interesting story, there is little WR WDNH LQGHĺQLWH OHDYH LQ RUGHU WR KDYH VXUJHU\ WR VDYH
that is underplayed by the cast It is only the role of ward KLV OLIH t GRQDWHV D NLGQH\ WR .HOO\ -XVW DV WKH NLGQH\ LV
nurse Carol (played by "NTMSQX /Q@BSHBD’s Penny Cook) removed, complications from his own illness lead to his
that is afforded a sparseness, making room for an under death. The hospital, its staff, its patients and, of course,
stated physicality in Cook’s performance. )UDQNLH DUH GHYDVWDWHG :KHQ .HOO\ ZDNHV DQG DVNV DIWHU
The busyness of the script perhaps aims to replicate Berger, Frankie replies, ‘He’s done well’ – putting her at
the relentlessness of the job. We’re made privy to the hours ease and allowing her to recover from surgery.
spent on tired feet, the meals skipped, the furrowed brows, But /TKRD LVQpW DERXW ORVV LWpV DERXW UHQHZDO t WKH VHF
the takeaway coffees drunk on the move. We see the inability ond chances, the friendships and bonds that come from
to spend time on the detail because new patients need triag DGYHUVLW\ DVNLQJ IRU KHOS DQG WDNLQJ LW ZKHQ LWpV JLYHQ ,WpV
ing, and the constant pressure to clear beds. We hear the DERXW WKH OHJDF\ RI LOOQHVV DQG WKH VFDUV WKDW LQIRUP HP
ticking clock that runs against the question, ‘What have we pathy. We don’t always see what’s going on behind the
PLVVHG"p $V VKH LV RIWHQ VHHQ ĻXVWHUHG RYHUKHDWLQJ WDNLQJ scenes of a hospital, but this series proves that that doesn’t
desperate sips of water when she can, Frankie’s frustration mean it’s not worthy of our attention, or our thanks.
at the lack of time and resources resonates. The pressure of
staying well while giving her best to her job, of looking after http://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/pulse/
herself to be able to look after others, is a constant push and
pull, impacting her ability to provide empathetic care. Kylie Maslen is a writer and events producer from Adelaide.
She writes on topics including cultural criticism, women’s
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The extent of empathy
HR http://kyliemaslen.com>. m
As patients, we want doctors to see into our world – to
see the frustration in the everyday things we’re forced to Endnotes
endure by our ill health: the restless nights, the diminished 1 /HVOLH -DPLVRQ o7KH (PSDWK\ ([DPVp 7KH %HOLHYHU )HEUXDU\
social lives, the numbness from the meds. We want them KWWSV ZZZ EHOLHYHUPDJ FRP LVVXHV "UHDG
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tration has to come out somehow, whether that means not LQ RULJLQDO
doing your exercises, or drinking too much, or not taking 2 ‘Pulse ([WUDV t 6HULHV 5HDO &DVWLQJp $%& LYLHZ 2FWREHU
PHGLFDWLRQV ZKLOH ZLWK IULHQGV t DV ZH VHH LQ ORQJ WHUP <KWWS LYLHZ DEF QHW DX SURJUDPV SXOVH H[WUDV '0
UHQDO SDWLHQW .HOO\ -HOHQD 0LOLQNRYLF ZKR MXVW ZDQWV WR + 6 ! DFFHVVHG 2FWREHU
EH D QRUPDO WHHQDJHU EXW HQGV XS EDFN LQ KRVSLWDO VHYHUHO\ 3 Denise Eriksen, ‘Pulse $%&pV 1HZ 6HULHV ,V WKH $XVVLH Grey’s
dehydrated and at risk of putting herself on regular dialysis. Anatomy’, The New Daily -XO\ KWWS WKHQHZGDLO\
When Frankie stops to hold a patient’s hand or spend a FRP DX HQWHUWDLQPHQW WY SXOVH WY VKRZ DEF >,
few extra minutes with a family member – as she does for DFFHVVHG }2FWREHU

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