The Hospital/ 白色巨塔

The Hospital is perhaps the greatest Taiwanese TV drama ever. This is definitely a top-notch production. With a star-studded cast and a great source material (the novel of the same name), the Hospital is great in every respect. While at first glance, this may seem to be a rip off ER or other such established medical shows, the Hospital is original in that it takes the good elements from previous medical dramas and runs with it. It is the ability of the producers to bring out these elements that make the Hospital truly unique.

The Hospital stars Jerry Yan, formerly of F4 glory and is directed by Tsai Yueh Hsun, who created the hugely successful Meteor Garden series. Yan's character is rising surgeon who gets caught up in the political strugle within the hospital that occurs as two department heads fight for the position of chief-of-staff. It is a vicious battle, with sacrifice and loss on both sides. Unwittingly, Yan's character is dragged deeper and deeper into the struggle, and soon he must choose a side. Adding to the confusion is a female coworker Yan has chased after for 10 years. As his personal and professional life become indistinguishable, Yan must decide what his real goals are and what he is willing to give up to realize them.

Political struggle is not something one would normally associate with a hospital, and it is amazing to see it realized on screen. The Hospital shows that such struggles are commonplace, in every aspect of life. They continue onwards, bringing forth a vicious cycle, as each succeeding generation is forced by the system to rise thru the ranks. As one of the characters say, that's the way the game works. In order to do what he wants, he must first amass power. And if sacrifices have to be made along the way, so be it. Such brutal executions bring forth many questionable judgements, and the audience will find that their ethical sense is challenged at every turn of the story. The surprising thing is that, as the audience gets to know the characters, it will appear that no one is wrong. There're winners and losers, but no one is right and no one is wrong. The two do not equate, and The Hospital exemplifies this beautifully. It is when the audience begins to take sides that the twists in the plotline prove all the more astonishing, and ultimately satisfying.

The characters in the story are all very dynamic. Each of them come alive, as they each strive toward their own clear purposes, with many of them changing their perspectives along the way. This great feat is achieved in part due to the spectacular acting. There are a lot of actors/actresses present, lending a greater feel to the story. There is never a point where the drama felt repetitive or slow, as is often the case with long dramas with a rather small cast (The Hospital is 39 episodes long). I was pleasantly surprised at the believable performances from the cast, which was helped in part by the small use of "young" talent. Contrary to Meteor Garden, where the entire staff seems to be under 30 and the acting was sub-par, The Hospital aims to be a serious drama, and it largely succeeds due to the realistic setting it employs. Other than the main actor/actress, the rest of the staff appears to be veterans, giving the drama solid production values. With an emphasis toward portraying human-human interactions in as realistic a manner as possible, the "sappy" feeling that may otherwise surround The Hospital does not exist. Although some viewers may find that this detracts from the romantic elements in the story, I find that the concentrated bursts is more akin to real life. Work doesn't take a break for personal relationships, and the two intertwine at the hospital where everyone works, creating a hotbed of drama potential waiting to be unlocked in the series.

One area I found disconcerting was the pace of time progression in the story. Many major events occur in short succession, and a change of scenary often indicates a passage of several months. This quick movement of time occurs throughout the series, making the story sometimes a little hard to swallow. Even as the characters all behave plausibly in their life, the situations that crop up are not entirely so. This is noticeable many times, as important characters move on in the story. While one would expect them to return at some point, the story seemingly abandons them and continues on with the remaining cast. Thus, sometimes the drama does seem to get carried away, trying too hard to distinguish itself, to be different, to be captivating at all times, with no dull moments. This actually creates the opposite effect at times.

But these are little concerns in relation to the entire production. The Hospital is a great drama series that is well worth watching, if only to reach the end and understand the overall themes and morals being expressed throughout the story. The Hospital does not try to answer questions about life; it merely raises them. That is perhaps its greatest asset - it tends to ask the right ones.

Pros: Great depiction of the inherent struggle in life; great acting all around; good message!
Cons: Some elements that are not entirely fleshed out; not for those wanting a mindless show (especially the younger crowd)
Conclusion: This should be on everyone's must-watch list!
Score: 4.5/5