The Crimson Field

               Argh!  I am so frustrated!  I found a really good show, but I will only ever have six episodes of it because it was cancelled after one season.  How aggravating.

                It’s World War I and four women have arrived at a field hospital in France.  One of the women is a nurse while the others are volunteers, there to do everything the medical staff do not have time to do.  Each of these women come from very different backgrounds and points of view.  These differences make it difficult for some of them to get along, creating tension in a situation where they all came expecting unity.

                The volunteer that has the most difficult time getting along with others is Rosalie (Marianne Oldham).  A strict believer and follower of the rules, Rosalie has a difficult time dealing with the human aspect of the job.  She becomes angry with those she works with over this, leading her to put her trust in the wrong person, something I hope she has figured out by the end.

                Another volunteer is Flora (Alice St. Clair), a young woman who lied about her age in order to become a volunteer.  Usually taking an optimistic view on things, Flora can drive people crazy with all her questions into their personal lives.  While usually well meaning, Flora does, however, see very little gray in situations.  If she feels someone has done something wrong, that’s it.  They are wrong.  She does not examine why someone may have done what they did, or the circumstances around the situation, leading her to judge people far more harshly than she should.                         

                Kitty (Oona Chaplin) is the third volunteer.  She has come to the field hospital to escape mistakes she has made along with a bad situation she was in.  With a sharp tongue and a lack of willingness to hold it when she feels someone is in the wrong, Kitty has a tendency to get into trouble.  This trouble adds to the hard edge she already has.  An edge that is difficult to break through, but still does not deter two of the doctors from falling for her.  Kitty tries to hold both of the doctors off, but she can only be hard and hold back her feelings for so long.

                Finally there is Joan (Suranne Jones).  A nurse, Joan does not have the same experiences as the volunteers do.  She is busy doing actual medical care and butting heads with Sister Margaret (Kerry Fox), the woman who was passed up for matron.  Joan believes that the volunteers should be given the chance to grow their skills in order to be more of a help during medical times.  Sister Margaret does not agree.  This does not stop Joan, though.  She encourages the volunteers whenever possible, and is compassionate to the patients.  A good person, Joan is holding a dark secret.  She is in love with a German soldier.  A man she met before the war, Joan would give practically anything to find out if he is alive.  With a secret this big, she may have to.              

                There are a bunch of other characters in this show.  Some of them are good, while some of them are definitely not.  One of the best is the man who heads the hospital, Lieutenant Colonel Brett (Kevin Doyle).  Despite what others in the military want him to do, Lt. Col. Brett sees each individual patient as a person, not a number.  His concern at all times is what is best for each soldier, not the number of men on the field.  This mentality does not go over well with everyone, and it leads to a good man’s future being in jeopardy.            

                Matron Grace Carter (Hermione Norris) is in the middle.  She can be mean to people simply because she has the power to do so (as she does with Flora), but she can also have kindness and compassion.  Fortunately, as the show went on, the kindness and compassion became more prevalent.  Of course, due to her job, Matron Carter still had to be stern at times, but she became not so hard on some people over small things.

                Then there are the bad.  Sister Margaret is definitely one of them, along with the Quartermaster, Sergeant Soper (Jeremy Swift).  Both are nasty people who are only out for themselves.  They do not care who they hurt as they go for what they want, whether it is power or money.  As long as they get it, that is what matters.  Unfortunately, Sister Margaret and Sgt. Soper are not alone in this type of behavior.  There are many others willing to hurt people and are only out for themselves to varying degrees.  This type of behavior is sad to see at any time, but it is especially so during times of war, when so many lives are at stake.  One act of selfishness could mean life or death for these soldiers, yet for some, the reality of what their actions could do, does not make any difference at all. 

                 Unless there is a sudden new interest in The Crimson Field, these six episodes are it for this series. Fortunately, the last episode left very little unresolved. That does not mean I would not have liked to see the series continue, though. There are a lot of strong characters and good storylines. It would have been really nice to see how they could have grown.