Call the Midwife

[ilovecarbs90]

Is back 18th April. I'm so glad we are getting a series this year, I find it such great escapism.

Is anyone else a fan?

I'm not sure I'm enjoying this series so far tbh. The social distancing is really obvious to me - like with Fiona holding her baby up in the air like that and the camera panning so we only saw Fiona with a baby from the back and we only saw the baby from the front. And when Jacinta gave birth, they obviously couldn't have the actors holding and helping her as they normally do, but the resulting scene just felt...off.
And I really wanted this series to be the one where Lucille and Cyril get married but now I'm worried that will be filmed without even a hug, let alone a newlywed kiss!

I thought it was Patrick Baladi who was in the Office at first

I probably wasn't concentrating....!

It seemed a bit too good to be true that the husband ended up happily accepting the baby. Life just isn't that simple.

I love the new series, I'm fairly hard to make cry (didn't cry at Sister Evangelina's death for example) but I've found a tear in my eye at both episodes 1 and 2 so far.

I've read the original books and Trixie was an actual 'real' character in them - she was posh, liked cocktails and fashion etc. As was Chummy a 'real' character. I think though that Trixie in the series is more useful to the storylines as one of the live-in MW than she would be in a relationship and living separately, even though by now it hardly seems likely she wouldn't have married and be having her own children 10 years on instead of still rooming with a fellow MW just as she was at the start. It would be nice for her to get together with the handsome widower and move out.

But they'd need a new young glamorous sort to replace her with in the convent, as I think her character does add to the contrast there. I love her fashions, just as I really loved Violet Buckle's haberdashery shop because I remember a very similar haberdashery shop in the 70s near me as a child, with all the dark wood glass-fronted cabinets, selling girdles and elastic and sewing patterns and school uniform and underwear and fabric and wool and ribbons and buttons and hair bobbles hung up on cardboard display strips on a stand. That shop was also run by a very lovely lady with a very lovely old-fashioned name (which was the name of the shop). Fond memories!

Is Violet Buckle still a councillor? When Fred took her round to see the homeless family, I thought she might invoke her councillor-ness and try to get them regimes. But she seemed oddly unsympathetic in this episode (at first).

@Clawdy

It seemed a bit too good to be true that the husband ended up happily accepting the baby. Life just isn't that simple.

I thought that too but people do, and he delivered the baby which must make a difference.

We don't know how he will feel in the following weeks or months though.

@parsnipsnotsprouts

Did anyone else notice that the baby the widowed husband was wheeling in the pram was the same baby that was born on the bed to the cheating wife?

Has anyone else noticed the stunt lamp is back again? It’s in the flat above the shop.

@Binglebong

Well done Patsy! Emerald Fennell just won a best screenplay oscar!

Aww, brilliant.

I love her character, Patsy.

I thought there was defo a hint of something romance-wise to come for Trixie and Fiona's husband. The phone call scene and that she and Fiona were clearly a cut off the same last.

I was going to say that for the 1960s Trixie would probably have been considered 'on the shelf' in her mid-30s (have I got it right that she's that age?), so actually a widower would probably suit very well.

Yes well done to Emerald Fennell.

I noticed the lamp last week. My grandma had one so I always notice it. What happened to the haberdashery shop?

@Toddlerteaplease

I was a bit that the husband of the woman who cheated, was just supposed to accept and be happy with the situation.

It’s very similar to a story in the early series, isn’t it? A guy came home from sea to find his wife had had a baby by another man but the other chap was black so the child was very obviously not the husband’s.

Yes. They had two stories where the baby was mixed race. I was half expecting this one to be the same!

I was a bit hmm that the husband of the woman who cheated, was just supposed to accept and be happy with the situation. - I was waiting for the cheating wife to lash out that HE probably had 'girls in every port' as a seaman. But of course that's different!

The homeless black family - I'm really not sure that any 'nice white' family would do anything to help. Even in Poplar. Not in the 60s. They might feel a bit sorry for them, but actually do anything - prob not.

I love CTM but haven't been as transfixed by this season so far. Not sure what it is but feel it's lost a bit of its natural magic.

I thought the guy who had effectively been cheated on/betrayed by his wife was inexplicably portrayed as a villain - I mean of course he's going to be upset his wife has had another man's child?!

I find sister Frances quite annoying so find her a bit difficult to watch.

Also not sure if I missed it but when did Fred and Violet buy a newsagents? Was this ever explained or did they just start an episode and they suddenly had a shop? Lol.

I hope the season gets stronger as I do love so many of the characters but it's just not quite clicked yet for me.

The newsagents appeared at Christmas... Seems to be in addition to the haberdashers

To be honest I’m even going to buy the dvd this time I’ve loved the other series but the magic has gone maybe I’m just getting older. Mind you 1966 was my birth year so interesting, we’ll see.

Sorry my brains gone today meant to say might not buy the dvd.

The newsagents was mentioned earlier (Christmas special I think).

I love Mrs Higgins the doctor's receptionist. I think she is a really interesting character with a lot of potential.

Absolutely love CTM and I won’t hear a word against hot Dr Turner. Fascinated by the speculation about Trixie and Handsome Widower.

I did feel the cheated on husband accepted the baby a bit too quickly and easily. It was a good storyline but felt a bit rushed.

I love Miss Higgins, too. Her parents were killed in an air raid, she said in one of the Christmas Specials.

She was getting in on with Sgt Woolfe but he had a year attack and went off to his sister's, so she's alone again.

I think her friendship with Nurse Crane is important to her.

@DuckonaBike

Absolutely love CTM and I won’t hear a word against hot Dr Turner. Fascinated by the speculation about Trixie and Handsome Widower.

I did feel the cheated on husband accepted the baby a bit too quickly and easily. It was a good storyline but felt a bit rushed.

‘Hot Dr Turner’ 🤣🤣

Is that you Heidi??

I like Dr Turner too! He's so compassionate.

Although my all time fave was Jenny Lee's boyfriend Alec who tragically died after an accident. He was just lovely and he worshipped her so much.

Although, I blamed Trixie's meddling for leading to Alec's untimely demise. If she hadn't have (jealously?) suggested to Jenny that Alec was only probably looking for a rumble under the covers during their nice wholesome planned weekend break, Alec's accident may never have happened...

I had forgotten about Alec. Can barely remember that story.

The other weird thing about the sailor dad is that he only seemed to be home one night - just long enough for the baby to be born. Wouldn't he have had a bit longer shore leave??

Was Alec the one that fell off the ladder?

Yes, Miss Higgins is fantastic and I love the way she isn't at all deferential to Dr Turner!

The problem for me is that it's rather become 'obs and gynae issues by numbers'. And of course, the social distancing somehow removes the 'intimacy' of birth which takes away a 'layer' of pulling at heart strings.

I also think that the social distancing restrictions are somehow reducing the amount of plot content per episode so they feel a bit 'empty' in some way?