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 thought it was Alec's friend that implied he wanted to share a room. Not Trixie. I preferred the blonde boyfriend Jimmy who she dumped and then regretted it when he married someone else.

I've had to play it back now

Jenny was happily showing off her new dress for the weekend trip to the girls, when Trixie makes lots of arch comments about Alec making 'assumptions', has he booked two rooms or one, & men will be men etc. Jenny is very deflated by Trixie's comments (which reduce Alec to a opportunistic sleaze in effect) and, upset and suspicious, goes to speak to Alec about it, but sees his colleague first who also makes some arch comments, which is when Alec arrives and she breaks off the weekend (thus leaving Alec to have his accident).

Had Trixie not meddled and put doubts in Jenny's head, Jenny wouldn't have gone round (in a mood) to confront Alec about his (non-existent) "assumptions" resulting in her breaking off the weekend plan, and they'd instead have just have gone straight on holiday that evening and had a nice time. Jenny was perfectly happy before Trixie stuck her oar in.

As it happened, Alec had booked separate rooms

@NewModelArmyMayhem18

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?

It does feel like a lot of scenes of people talking at each other, which might get tedious very quickly.

FleurFlowers: 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...
.......
It was Alec's friend, a man, who suggested that.

Isn't it funny though, not that many years later nobody would have given a 'rumble under the covers' a second thought; it was normal!

I hadn't even noticed the SD. How weird.

I love this series, despite it clearly being past its prime. The books were lovely.

If you watch it again its very obvious. They film the baby then the next shot is mum holding the baby covered in a blanket.
It's very well done I think.
Everyone talks to each other at the 2 metre distance. Some scenes there are masks (theatre and a delivery). They are doing their best.

Maggie Trixie did actually put forward the suggestion to Jenny first, which prompted Jenny to go and find Alec to confront him about his intentions (ie the seed planted by Trixie). Before she could speak to him, his friend intimated the same. What I didn't like is that Jenny was so happy, showing off her new dress for the trip, and Trixie ruined that for her by casting aspersions on Alec's intentions (which, it turned out, were innocent).

(I watched it back this eve - not that I'm obsessing about the point )

I truly love ctmw. It has become to.me a social drama. You need to have lived in this era to truly understand it. Times thankfully have changed but they do this period a lot of justice. Helps me stay forever young.

@FleurFlowers

Maggie Trixie did actually put forward the suggestion to Jenny first, which prompted Jenny to go and find Alec to confront him about his intentions (ie the seed planted by Trixie). Before she could speak to him, his friend intimated the same. What I didn't like is that Jenny was so happy, showing off her new dress for the trip, and Trixie ruined that for her by casting aspersions on Alec's intentions (which, it turned out, were innocent).

(I watched it back this eve - not that I'm obsessing about the point )

It's strange that I missed that because I've seen every episode three times!

I suppose most people would think Alec had more on his mind than a friendly weekend by the sea. I probably would have thought the same and maybe warned my friend.

What happened to Alec was terrible.

It is Season 3, Episode 4

Alec had never been anything but completely respectful towards Jenny though up til that point, you could see the goodness in him, so it was a unfair. (Poor Alec). Trixie wasn't very happy in her love life herself at that point and there were shades that she subconsciously wanted to burst her friend's bubble. Grr.

@Maggiesfarm

I didn't know Reggie was Den Watts's son! His dad would be proud. Reggie is a lovely character, I hope we see a bit more of him this series.

I also want Patsy and Delia to return but the producers don't take much notice of me. Anyway Patsy was busy playing Camilla Shand/Parker Bowles in the Crown.

And she just won an Oscar for best screenplay, she wrote Promising Young Woman!

And Patsy is busy getting Cinderella to the stage with Lloyd Webber. She's far too busy to be our lovely posh lesbian, sigh.

Has Reggie made an appearance this series?

Haven't seen Reggie yet this series, he lives away from the Buckle's though and comes home to visit, I think? He's also a wonderful character.

We'll see Reggie soon enough, he comes home quite a bit. I really like Reggie too.

I thought maybe Reggie was shielding IRL

I assumed that Reggie was shielding. I know that some of his Christmas special scenes were filmed pre-pandemic because he was physically close to other actors in the fire scene. Can’t recall re the others.

I've been trying to avoid this thread all week, as I've only just caught up tonight, with Sunday's episode.

Love CtMW

I thought that Mrs Buckle would have hoisted up her Cllr credentials and sorted out the homeless family situation once Fred took her down there, too.

Oh god, I get the annoyance with Doctor Turner now. Him doing his lines sounds like a child when asked to read a chapter of a book out loud for class.

Of course, he's shielding. Well thought of @GreenClock.

I've enjoyed the first two episodes and not noticed social distancing.
It does feel like there are more male characters than previously. Normally its all about the women (midwives, nuns, mothers) with men, except Dr Turner, very much on the periphery.

I've just rewatched the first two episodes of the first ever series and the difference in quality is stark - it's like a caricature of its former self, now.

I'm not sure whether it's the socially distanced filming but it looks different now, like they've changed the lighting or something? It feels like a soap.

The earlier series were beautifully shot and the characters felt like real living, breathing people. The music was used sparingly and was mostly contemporary songs from the era rather than the overblown instrumental music that underscores every scene now (telling you how you're supposed to feel).

The're some terrible dialogue in the latest series too - the characters talk in cliches - e.g. when they were talking about the private women's clinic and Lucille starts talking about how 'when a women is at her most vulnerable, that's when she finds her strength' and htey all smile and nod wisely.

That being said, it does still manage to make me cry every week so they must be doing something right. The woman who played the mother who died of Leukemia was a brilliant actress.

The midwife was incredibly out of order having a go at the husband for not accepting the cheating pregnant wife like it was nothing. I was at that. I think had he demanded she give up the baby or he’d leave with their 2 kids it would have been cruel but she had already made the decision to give up the baby so she could get away with it. She was very much only sorry she got caught.

The new mum dying of leukaemia was heartbreaking, I didn’t like her at first but she really grew on me. I agree that they are getting their ducks in a row for Trixie to end up with the widow but I think it will ultimately end up in tears for her.

@MindatWork

I've just rewatched the first two episodes of the first ever series and the difference in quality is stark - it's like a caricature of its former self, now.

I'm not sure whether it's the socially distanced filming but it looks different now, like they've changed the lighting or something? It feels like a soap.

The earlier series were beautifully shot and the characters felt like real living, breathing people. The music was used sparingly and was mostly contemporary songs from the era rather than the overblown instrumental music that underscores every scene now (telling you how you're supposed to feel).

The're some terrible dialogue in the latest series too - the characters talk in cliches - e.g. when they were talking about the private women's clinic and Lucille starts talking about how 'when a women is at her most vulnerable, that's when she finds her strength' and htey all smile and nod wisely.

That being said, it does still manage to make me cry every week so they must be doing something right. The woman who played the mother who died of Leukemia was a brilliant actress.

Yes I know I keep banging the same drum but where are the songs of the year 1965 to give it a relevant feel to the decade

mindatwork you’re right about them talking in cliches, that’s the one thing that I really can’t stand with this latest series. NOBODY talks like that! If someone said something like that round the dinner table I’d cringe so hard
They can say something like that in a more conversation way, but don’t phrase it like it’s come straight out a fortune cookie.