Call the Midwife - Christmas Special

[Maireas]

I have loved CTM for years, great characters and stories. Some nice parts last night, but is anyone getting tired of Sr Monica Joan? We jokes in another thread about how much teal there was, so I did laugh at Phyllis having a teal trapeze outfit!

I only half watched it but it seemed to consist mainly of people standing two metres away from one another.

It was lush.
Made me sob at the multiple loss lady, I have never, ever known this be mentioned or bought up on TV ever.
It was refreshing. Done very well and I appreciated it.

Sr MJ is a pain in the arse. She used to be such a great character but now she only serves to have an accident/go missing and cause more work for everyone. She needs to go now.

I used to adore CTM but the last couple of years have left me cold. Having said that, I loved seeing Gloria again - her story with Shelagh when they were in hospital was so poignant and it was lovely to see a happy conclusion. Plus they never give Shelagh any friends of her own.

I agree with you both about Gloria. Such a moving story - you're right, Pickypolly about it not being covered. I think that's what I have loved about CTM - women's stories being told.
True about Sr MJ - it seems to be constant jeopardy with her.

I'll need to get this on catchup

It's not been the same since they ran out of books and started making up stories.
It was nice to have something new on though.

I’ve always been a huge CTM fan, but felt this one lacked any real depth, although Gloria’s story was good. I ended up playing “spot the 2m gap” through a lot of it. It must have been a big technical challenge to get the angles right for that

I felt it was a bit meh this year, apart from Gloria.

Looking forward to catching up with it later. One friend loved it. One hated it!

It was ok but not how it used to be and why no good 60s music.

SMJ is a pita

Liked the Trapeze bit and Peter Davison

That's a good point about the music, woodhill they seem not to do that now.

I loved the Gloria story line, it was really well done.
Phyllis on that trapeze however.....
I did sit there wondering what the hell I was watching, it was a bit weird.

All the stuff filmed socially distanced is shit - I appreciate the effort but it's all still a bit shit with dodgy as hell camera angles - but anything approaching an attempt at normality I'll take right now and the Christmas Call the Midwives have always had some WTF attempts at being a bit too sweet in them.

I think I'm in the minority that I adore SMJ though.

I have always loved CTM, such soothing Sunday night viewing. I do, however, fear that this season will be its last. There is only so much mileage left in nuns delivering babies and lots of home births. They are already in the mid 60s so it's all change very soon....

I didn't think it was the best episode, and I love CTM

I was disappointed with valerie's 'exit', I didn't realise the actress had quit but it just seemed so quick.

I thought the Turkey bit was unnecessary

Sister Monica Joan is getting tiresome, and I felt her storyline yesterday was just to fill screen time

Do we think that the man who stood up Trixie (waiting at the wrong hotel etc) is going to be a new love interest for the next season? Seemed so random otherwise, except for to show Trixie’s restraint from the temptations of booze?

@FourCandelabras

Do we think that the man who stood up Trixie (waiting at the wrong hotel etc) is going to be a new love interest for the next season? Seemed so random otherwise, except for to show Trixie’s restraint from the temptations of booze?

I thought the young doctor with the glasses that the consultant was talking (down) to might appear as a love interest!

Ah, good thinking, both of you! I did wonder about her hopeless dating scenes. That table/different dates thing has been done a lot, though.

I loved it! So much better than last years. The Gloria storyline was lovely, I got quite emotional.

Valerie's exit is weird. The actress tweeted that she'd left around the time that they usually start filming (although didn't this year, obviously). But the way she phrased it it wasn't clear if she was leaving immediately or whether this season would be her last, and she didn't clarify. It was very odd at the time and hasn't got any less odd!

I was born in the mid 70's thanks to the cervical stitch that enabled Gloria to finally hold her baby in her arms. My mum had baby No1 without any problem but them had a couple of lateish losses before being stitched to keep me in place. Thankfully it was only two for her - presumably because the technique was more common a decade later so it was a story close to our hearts.
I don't know of it has changed now but certainly after Jennifer's book first ran out they appealled to former MWs of the period for their stories rather than making them up as such.

I didn’t really noticed the 2metre thing I didn’t think was that obvious, maybe it’s just become very very normal.

Why is the cervical stitch quite “new” in a downton Abbey in the 1920s it is used. That’s 45 years and still not the norm after 1-2 loses.

I have no idea why mum was given one - perhaps because her losses were both late 2nd trimester? Most miscarriages are not the result of "incompetent cervix" so presumably it wouldn't be effective for those women? I had no idea that it dated back to the 20's though.

Sister monica Joan needs to go. Its the same story over and over.

Shelagh saying all of Gloria's childrens names broke me and when she said you've been a mother for a long time... ugly crying from me.

I didn’t really noticed the 2metre thing I didn’t think was that obvious, maybe it’s just become very very normal.

^^^
Yes, this.

The bit I found weird was just after Jacquetta was rushed to hospital due to suffering a heart attack. Jacquetta’s Dad and Phyllis were whimsically imagining themselves as Charleston Heston and a trapeze artist, respectively. But they didn’t know if Jacquetta was alive or dead at that point. Or did I miss something?

I loved Phyllis on the trapeze! And that Sister MJ has an utterly distinctive way of speaking.

I have to admit that the Turners are getting a bit sickly sweet now, though.