Getting On

"Fly on the wall" possibly isn't the most hygienic way to describe a hospital comedy, but this second series for Jo Brand's ward-based series has been all about the slightly grubby details. Successful as a nurse? Then you're likely to be a failure as a human being. Good with people? You'll never prosper. It's a potentially pretty bleak prospect, it's true, but, directed with lightness by Peter Capaldi, the show creates a real empathy for and between its characters. Tonight, Dr Pippa receives some disappointing news and Beattie's stay in London comes to an end.

Fans will know not to expect any jaw-dropping conclusions in the downbeat comedy's final episode. Life goes on. The point is subtly made: the episode starts and ends with Kim smoking a crafty fag out the toilet window. For some, though, life is nearing an end, and there are tender, moving scenes in which Beedy Fyvie slowly watches her mother slip away. You'll be gnawing your fist in desperation when the brusquely efficient Den steps in. It's been a soft-soled journey around the confines of ward B4, with the cast not needing a big stick to make points about the state of the NHS, just pithy one-liners and a great sense of the absurd.

There have been some seriously dark moments in the second series of this sitcom set in a forgotten NHS ward but it's made for some top-notch telly. In this finale, Den's in a tizz about a terminally ill youngster who she desperately wants to send on a 'holiday of a lifetime'; Hilary makes yet another U-turn on matters of the heart; and Peter Capaldi's psychiatrist pops up again for a beautifully played scene in which he inadvertently but devastatingly shatters the self-esteem of the pompous Dr Moore.

It was never going to be an easy ride was it? This blend of comedy and terminal illness. So it's not surprising that the last in the series ends on a distinctly downbeat note.

There's a real smell of ­disappointment and dejection in the air - and it's not just the patients and their ­families who are trapped on Ward B4. Dr Moore is putting on her usual brave face after losing out on a new job, and Sister Flixter is trying to fix it for a young patient to swim with dolphins.

The way this trip of a lifetime gets chipped away would be tragic if the girl in ­question were genuinely critically ill and not just an opportunity for Sister Flixter to market herself as nurse of the year. As it is, it's a very subtle and funny piece of writing, quietly damning the NHS along the way. And nurse Kim finally vents her frustration on Dr Moore. About time too.

Why I Love...Getting On

A comedy that not only makes you laugh but also has something meaningful to say about the human condition.

The relentlessly deadpan comedy about life on a geriatric ward continues and as ever there are some uneasy and touching moments amid the scatological humour. In tonight's penultimate episode of the series, a graduate nurse causes friction between Den (Joanna Scanlan) and Kim (Jo Brand), and Beedy Fyvie (Lindy Whiteford), who has been travelling from Scotland to visit her dying mother, is once again pushed aside by the dismissive management staff. Elsewhere, Pippa (Vicki Pepperdine) suffers the humiliation of having to reapply for her own job.

Tonight's episode features scatological humour that some may find offensive, but the most shocking moments involve poor Beedy Fyvie, who has been trekking down from Scotland to snatch a few moments with her dying mum. Once again she falls foul of the ward's strict policy over visiting hours and is confronted by authoritarian matron Hilary, and is then subjected to mixed messages about her mother's condition, as Dr Moore prevaricates over the best course of action. The feeling of unease is piled on as a clearly overwrought Beedy is treated in an ever more dismissive manner. Elsewhere, Den decides to have some fun at Dr Moore's expense after finding an incriminating letter, and Hilary's confusion deepens after he and Den go out to a gay club together - Ricky Grover's sensitive portrayal of Hilary's inner turmoil brings a touching vulnerability to the hard-nosed bureaucrat.

We're nearly at the end of another stunning series. Hilary's cracking down on ward hygiene with his "infection control avatar" - a lifesize cardboard cutout of Howard that says, "Now wash your hands" when anyone walks past it. And Den locks horns with Dr Moore over the need for Beedy to rush back from Edinburgh to visit her frail mother. Hilary, meanwhile, is busy scolding Beedy for staying past visiting hours. "We do empathise. But it doesn't matter. You'll have to leave." It's made with incredible subtlety, beautiful ensemble playing and Peter Capaldi's assured direction. But don't take everyone else's word for it, watch this and marvel.

That poor Edinburgh lady who gets treated shoddily every time she visits her ailing mum is again ridden roughshod over, thanks to hospital bureaucracy. Ricky Grover as controlled menace Matron Hilary gets some great scenes, precipitated by an infection control drive and a swooning Den. Plus a goody two-shoes student nurse irritates Kim.