I should begin this post by thanking my friend Amy, as she
is the one who introduced me to this brilliant TV program (I used the term
“brilliant” since that is a very British type of word and the show is
British…see what I did there). Amy is a
great resource for me in the film and TV department. She has similar tastes to me, so I can trust what she recommends.
Anyways, about a month ago Amy messaged me on Facebook, asking if I was
watching “Call the Midwife.” It sounded
vaguely familiar, but I had not seen it yet.
She briefly told me I had to watch and that the second season was about
to start. So, on my next free afternoon,
I sat down and was treated to the best that British TV has to offer.
A few years ago I was introduced to another British TV show,
the now famous/infamous “Downton Abbey.”
I was an early convert to the show, watching the entire series in one
day (in all fairness, Netflix listed it as a mini-series and not as a TV
show). However, as time has gone on,
I’ve become increasingly frustrated with this program as more sensational story
lines have crept in. The final straw was
the season 3 closer. I think that was it
for many viewers. So, lately there has
been a Downton shaped hole in my heart. However,
I’ve found that “Call the Midwife” doesn’t just replace Downton, it actually
knocks it off the pedestal. I am
continually impressed with the stories, the acting and the lack of a soap opera
feel.
For those of you unfamiliar with the program, let me fill
you in. The show begins with Jenny Lee,
a young nurse who has recently trained to become a midwife. She is transferred to London’s East End, a
poorer neighborhood where the babies are a flowing. Her privileged upbringing is immediately
challenged by the poverty of this community.
Yet, she grows and is able to see these women as women, and not for
their poverty. She works at a convent, where
a mixture of Sisters and young nurses tend to the women in this community. Some of the shows end with the Sisters
praying beautiful sung prayers. It takes
place in post-World War II London, which I find such an interesting chapter in
England, with the rebuilding and modernizing.
But there was one occurrence that made me just love this show.
In the second episode a new midwife joins the house. Her nickname is Chummy and she is awkward, a
bit of a mess, and can’t even ride a bike (the main form of transportation for
the midwives). My first impression of
her was pity with an expectation that she would not be able to make it as a
midwife. “She’ll be gone by the end of
the episode,” I thought. However, I was
pleasantly surprised to see her stay and become a beloved regular. And this is the main difference between
British and American television. In
American TV, Chummy would be a joke, hurried off at the end, only existing to
teach the main characters a lesson. In
British TV, she joins the cast and shines as one of the major characters. So, the moral of this story is, when possible,
watch British TV.
Season 2 of “Call the Midwife” is currently airing on
PBS. The first season is available to
watch instantly on Netflix.
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