Part of what motivated my writing was anger. I was angry that the daily misery of doctors, nurses, and patients was being trivialised into soap opera. We were made to feel bad because we were not perfect like our television counterparts. We were resentful that our patients did not get better as quickly as they did on telly - or at all.

Jed Mercurio

Categorized in : Daily Anger Angry Not Perfect

The other thing is, unfortunately, the reality of our situation is that the principal terror threats in the UK do originate from Islamist sympathizers, i do understand that's different from the religion of Islam, but it's the reality of who the perpetrators are of the majority of the offenses. If the show were set in the recent British past, the attackers might be Irish republicans.

Jed Mercurio

top-news

People are used to watching cop shows in which the cops are very straight down the line and they solve the crimes, but I think people actually have a much more sophisticated and varied view of the police.

Jed Mercurio

view think police people

Standards in public life have decayed over time... Incompetence is the norm.

Jed Mercurio

over standards time life

If we have friends over for dinner, I do the cooking. I like the pressure of a big meal and the technical challenges of a roast.

Jed Mercurio

dinner friends cooking challenges

Nowadays, you can't broadcast dodgy special effects and then put up a caption saying, 'Sorry, this is what the budget was.' You have to do it with high production values because the audience has been spoilt by the special effects on things like 'The X Files' and 'Independence Day.'

Jed Mercurio

day you independence sorry

I believe that properly regulated research in stem-cell biotechnology will lead to many valuable improvements in medical treatment and that objections on religious or ethical grounds should be vigorously opposed.

Jed Mercurio

will medical research believe

The world is a horrible place, but no one worries because we have all been pacified by anodyne television in which incorruptible cops solve crimes, crusading lawyers keep the innocent out of prison, and streetwise social workers rescue children from abuse.

Jed Mercurio

place innocent children world

'Frankenstein' is a timeless classic. As science advances, it becomes more relevant, not less. Its fantasy moves closer to fact, its horrors closer to reality.

Jed Mercurio

fantasy classic science reality

Some shows do nosedive at the end, or some piece of content could become incredibly controversial and affect the way the show is seen.

Jed Mercurio

end become some way

There is an apparatus set up to protect politicians, but those within that apparatus will have their own political views. I've got mates who are police officers and mates who are in the military, and they often have a very different view to the policy they're asked to carry out.

Jed Mercurio

view will police political

I want to be one of those serious, moody writers.

Jed Mercurio

those moody serious want

It was a strange feeling, filming a night scene in Selly Oak High Street with a television crew and famous actors in tow, when twenty years ago, at that time of night, I would've been stumbling around in search of a kebab.

Jed Mercurio

street feeling time night

There aren't a lot of political dramas on TV, and those that are tend to be American.

Jed Mercurio

those american tv political

We earned the 'Line of Duty' audience's loyalty over a number of years, and I feel privileged to have that.

Jed Mercurio

feel audience duty loyalty

For something like 'Line of Duty' to work, it has to be both plausible and unexpected.

Jed Mercurio

something unexpected duty work

It's always useful to know that people are emotionally invested in a series because it means that you can take them down a certain road, and they should be interested.

Jed Mercurio

road down you people

I love to do things that kind of mess with the movie formula that you can always find the right place to park; you've always got a phone signal. And I think audiences really respond to the limitations of real life when they intrude on drama.

Jed Mercurio

phone you love life

I think once you do the unexpected, and you take the viewers to a position of discomfort about being able to rely on characters surviving, then it does completely affect the way in which the drama is viewed.

Jed Mercurio

think you unexpected way

There's a classic medical aphorism: 'Listen to the patient; they're telling you the diagnosis.' Actually, a lot of patients are just telling you a lot of rubbish, and you have to stop them and ask the pertinent questions. But, yes, in both drama and medicine, isolated facts can accumulate to create the narrative.

Jed Mercurio

stop you medical facts

I've never reached the point where I was ready to abandon a series.

Jed Mercurio

point never where ready