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Episode two
The second instalment of this sober three-part documentary continues its look at the McGuinness ward, a mental-health unit for teenagers in Manchester. Despite a potential to trivialise these very serious cases (that’s entertainment), this documentary thankfully favours a responsible tone throughout, giving as respectful a treatment of the patients as they receive at the unit.
With nothing fabricated or souped-up for dramatic purpose, the responses of patients and family – and their methods of dealing with the illnesses – are very real. The teenagers themselves only want to recover enough to go home for Christmas; but this is no drama, and potential happy endings are complicated by harsh facts. By no means a documentary to warm your heart, but the straightforward realities make it a series well worth catching.