Children's Hospital (British TV series) explained

Genre:Docu-soap[1]
Theme Music Composer:Debbie Wiseman
Country:United Kingdom
Language:English
Num Series:12
Num Episodes:114
Executive Producer:Jeremy Mills[2]
Producer:Richard Bradley[3]
Tracy Cook
Runtime:30 minutes
Channel:BBC One

Children's Hospital is a British television fly-on-the-wall documentary series based at the Sheffield Children's Hospital, Birmingham Children's Hospital, and Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool.[4] It was broadcast on BBC One between 19 October 1993 and 26 February 2003.

Production

According to scholar Annette Hill, the series had "all the hallmarks of a docu-soap", saying its "personal, melodramatic stories appeal to viewers, with more than 8 million tuning into the first series, despite widespread criticism from the press."[5] Peter Lee-Wright observes that the series marked a transition in fly-on-the-wall documentaries by shifting the emphasis from the practical considerations onto the "human dramas being played out ... [capturing] the pain of the children ... and their parents' rollercoaster rides."[6]

Music

The theme music was composed by Debbie Wiseman. The music was released as a CD single in 1997, containing full orchestral and piano versions of the theme, alongside the shorter versions used for the opening and closing sequences.[7] The orchestral version was also released on the compilation album World of Sound.[8] A new solo piano performance, titled "Ray of Sunshine", of the theme was included on the 2011 album Wiseman: Piano Stories.[9]

Transmissions

Series

Series Start date End date Episodes
1 19 October 1993 21 December 1993 10
2 20 October 1994 22 December 1994 10
3 7 January 1997 3 June 1997 20
4 3 September 1997 10 October 1997 6
5 21 April 1998 17 June 1998 12
6 7 September 1998 9 November 1998 10
7 27 April 1999 8 July 1999 10
8 18 January 2000 29 February 2000 6
9 27 June 2000 1 August 2000 6
10 13 June 2001 15 August 2001 8
11 26 June 2002 7 August 2002 6
12 22 January 2003 26 February 2003 6

Specials

EntitleAir Date
Christmas Special 22 December 1997
Philadelphia 8 December 1999
Russia with Jeremy Spake 10 December 1999
Christmas Special 20 December 1999

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Book: Born, Georgina . Uncertain Vision: Birt, Dyke and the Reinvention of the BBC. Random House . 2005 . 433.
  2. Book: Kent, Simon . Getting a top job in-- the arts & media. Kogan Page Publishers . 2001 . 76.
  3. Web site: CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL. https://archive.today/20121223200912/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/498647 . dead . 23 December 2012 . BFI . 24 October 2011.
  4. News: TV hospital that became a beacon of hope. 30 January 2001 . The Telegraph. UK. 24 October 2011.
  5. Book: Hill, Annette . Reality TV: audiences and popular factual television . 28 . Routledge . 2005 . 0-415-26152-X . registration .
  6. Book: Lee-Wright, Peter . The Documentary Handbook. Taylor & Francis . 2009 . 978-0-415-43402-7 . 110.
  7. BBC Worldwide, BMG, 743214758922
  8. Web site: DEBBIE WISEMAN: TV & Film Composer Extraordinaire. Big George . Big George . Sound on Sound . 24 October 2011.
  9. Debbie Wiseman: Piano Stories, 2011, Warner Classics