Oh how I love this show.
1. When I am watching Jenny, it is like I am watching my mom.
2. The music is great. First season especially.
3. I love all things childbirth.
4. I'm fond of Brits.
5. I was born in 1957. This is the year the first season is set in.
6. Very likable characters.
Watch season one if you can find it.
1. Tivo
2. Netflix
3. PBS
4. Buy it
5. Amazon Instant Video
Our favorite gal Chummy is in season one and not in a lot of season two.
We love Chummy. You will too.
Season two is airing now on PBS at 7:00 on Sunday nights (central).
Are you watching it?
What do you like about Call the Midwife?
Who is your favorite character?
Toodles,
Donna
I love it too! Hurray for 1957!
ReplyDeleteChummy. Oh, man. She is Julia Child in a nurse's uniform. A large woman who is comfortable in her own skin. A woman who knows laughter, but the genuine kind. A woman who doesn't try to hide her weaknesses. She. is. adorable.
And Jenny. Well, she is beautiful.
HOW do they film the births? They look as real as can be. I know it is a film, but my heart says those babies are being born that minute.
And even though I gulp thinking of doing my housework in heels, all those women in dresses evoke another time.
And the Anglican sisters. I loved the episodes that end with the sisters singing one of the psalms and it corresponds with the narrative we've just seen.
Sister Julienne is so serene, so wise. I love her face. I love her words.
Sister Monica Joan is, I think, the 'Dowager' of this series. Eccentric, speaks her mind. But she is a bit tetch. I find myself eager to her what she will say.
OK. I better stop. My husband watched Downton with me...even watched it himself when I was helping my daughter-in-law. After watching the first episode of Call the Midwife, he informed me I was on my own. Screaming women having babies was beyond the pale.
So I appreciate having a place to gush!
Oh, Carol, you're spot on with Chummy being Julia Child in a nurse's uniform!
DeleteYES !
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Great comparison with Chummy being like Julia! I just started watching this season and I am waiting for season one, I reserved it at the library.
DeleteLOVE IT!! Chummy = Julia. Priceless.
DeleteI love this show, Donna. We watched it with my parents, and it was a show we could all enjoy. We turned on the closed captions for my hard-of-hearing dad, but it was great for all of us! I love Chummy, too. I like Jenny. I like seeing her change and grow in season 2.
ReplyDeleteDid you know that Jenny and Cynthia stayed friends their entire lives? Apparently, when Cynthia died, Jenny was at her bedside. They do a wonderful job showing the friendship of Young Jenny and Young Cynthia--it makes me happy to think they stayed connected for so many years.
hmbalison
I absolutely love Sister Monica Joan. I agree that she is the "dowager" of this series. The things that come from her make me think ...
ReplyDeleteDH is also watching this with me (as he is Downton and Selfridge) and seems to be enjoying it in spite of all the screaming and birthing.
Seeing Jenny find herself is quite the experience and I'm loving every moment.
What do you think of Mr. Selfridge? I can live without all the philandering and thought I would stop watching after the first episode or two, but I'm fascinated by so many things: the entrepreneurial brain of Harry (which I haven't got a bit of myself--such good business instincts), the navigation of the issues at that time in history, the sense of something new and big bursting onto the London scene, etc.
DeleteOh Julie, thank you for this. I stopped watching after the 2nd episode because of the philandering. Perhaps I shall now give Mr. Selfridge another go. I enjoyed some parts of it, but I couldn't stomach that part. And I loved his wife and felt her betrayal.
DeleteOh my, Julie! I thought Mr. Selfridge was a character in CTM. I kept, unsuccessfully, trying to make the connection. NOW I get it! It's a DIFFERENT series!
DeletePat - the philandering continues with Harry and others and if you can't set that piece aside, I wouldn't make the effort to catch up. I have found that there are enough other things that interest me about this story and time period (since it is a story based on the real life retail magnate Harry Gordon Selfridge) that I've wanted to watch for those reasons. I'm not sure how many more episodes there are to this series; if it goes on too long I may bail out myself. I think the thing that has me hooked is watching an era unfold where the people weren't constantly bombarded with new "stuff" all the time like we are now in our digital ways--women's suffrage, airplanes, automobiles, etc.--how Harry always wanted to be on the cutting edge and use those things in positive and interactive ways with his store.
DeleteYes. I didn't like Mr. Selfridge. I especially do not like Jermey Priven.
DeleteTried two episodes. I think it was his terrible acting.
Thanks, Julie and Donna. Now I won't bother because it DID bother me. I wanted to like it because of all the things you said about the time period, but alas I think I will stick with the other shows. Or perhaps read... or clean...
DeleteNo read.
What a wonderful show -- it is so worthwhile and well done.
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly loved and enjoyed Season One, from beginning to end - and especially the Christmas Episode. If I had been clued in earlier, I could have watched it on British Television live on my computer, but sadly was not with it. So I have been watching the episodes on my Kindle from Amazon.
I need to catch up with Season 2 (I've only seen the 1st episode) but at the same time, want to make them last, like a good box of chocolates.
I love all the characters but especially Sister Evangeline (she gets good lines) and of course Chummy. But my heart is with Jenny all the way, as she is making this journey within, learning and growing the more she experiences on the East End.
the Sisters singing is always a highlight of any episode.
I love the era (I was born in '58. As someone wrote yesterday on FB, I love how they tell a truth without being preachy.
I even love the voice over narration by Vanessa Redgrave.
I love the voice overs, too.
DeleteOh! I forgot to mention. The VOICEOVER!! Favorite part.
DeleteI love the voiceovers too. This series is well-put-together from beginning to end.
DeleteThe voiceovers are done by Vanessa Redgrave. They're wonderful!
DeleteWas your mom a nurse, Donna? My daughter introduced me to Call the Midwife before season 2 began. A friend of hers loaned her the first book in the series and told her about the series. We were able to watch season 1 on Netflix. (My daughter would love to be a midwife and these stories fascinate her.) I'm going to read the books this summer. The only thing I dislike about the series is how short the seasons are!! We love Jenny and Chummy. And the music is grand. I will be sad when the series ends.
ReplyDeleteI have heard that the book that Jennifer Worth wrote about death (In the Midst of Life) is very good too.
DeleteI'll have to read that one, too. Thanks.
DeleteNo myomere was not a nurse. She was the one having seven babies :) BUT she looks like Jenny... But with red hair. Same hair, pretty face, slim body, same clothes.
ReplyDeleteJenny really does resemble your dear Mother, Donna. Same style, and very lovely. Just typing this makes me smile.
DeleteYes, I can see it.
DeleteMy mom ^^
ReplyDeleteLove this series and am so glad you brought it to our attention while we were still doing DA so I could catch up before Season 2 started.
ReplyDeleteJenny is a favorite, and Chummy, but really I am coming to like each of the girls as I get to know them better--Trixie when she went on the ship to help the captain's daughter, Cynthia when the baby died, Jane during the revealing episode with Reverend Applebee-Thornton. The nuns are so varied and interesting also--Sister Monica Joan is probably my favorite because I think she has a lot of spunk going on in addition to loss of mental capacity with aging, and I think Sister Bernadette is quite touching as she deals with the obvious pull that being around the other (secular) midwives has on her in addition to her attraction to Dr. Turner.
It impresses me how respectful the midwives and nuns are of the mothers no matter the situation. Love seeing the experienced nuns passing their knowledge to the younger midwives.
So much to love in this series and wish there were more episodes per season.
Call the Midwife is a favorite of mine this year. I got all caught up on episodes, thanks to Netflix. I especially like the relationships between the main characters, and how they help each other in difficult circumstances.
ReplyDeleteRespect plays like an additional character in the show...so refreshing! The respect is what drew me in. I'm not a fan of the childbirth scenes, but I endure them for the rest.
The writing is top notch. I like Chummy best of all. She's a dear.
I haven't watched it since Alexandra was traumatized by season 1 episode 1. I will never be a grandmother!!!! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI have to avoid the comments today as I've started Season 1 but don't want to read any potential spoilers until I'm up to date on the show. Love it so far!
ReplyDeleteMary Z
I had seen the DVD set of season one around Christmas time and I was so tempted to buy it. I love midwife stories. So I was very happy when you mentioned the second season starting and I was able to watch the first on PBS.
ReplyDeleteI can see why you say Jenny reminds you of your Mom! I love all of your old photos with your parents.
It sure is interesting to watch something like this when I myself am pregnant at the time. Planning to deliver at home with my lovely midwife. The screams from the ladies in labor are harder to bear although, I like to think it will make me feel more brave when my time comes. So many women before me have gone through this!
Curious if anyone has read House Calls and Hitching Posts. A very interesting read about home births.
Call the Midwife has been a refreshing TV show. It is so nice to watch something engaging that doesn't include all the trash that most writers deem necessary in a TV show today. It's not!
ReplyDeleteI love that the ladies (moms and midwives) are beautiful and even sexy without cleavage or an above-knee hemline. I love, love, love the respect shown for the mothers. I love seeing a time when babies were valued so differently than they are now. And I know I watch sometimes just because childbirth and pregnancy are such oddities nowadays and it is fascinating to me to watch people deal with it daily, as a matter of course, and with such collective wisdom.
I could do without the modern ideals being foisted into the show, but as this is just occasional I roll my eyes and move on.
Katrina
I just watched the last episode of season 1 the other night on Netflix so I'm glad to hear about season 2 on PBS. I hope I haven't missed too many!
ReplyDeleteAnother British series I'm enjoying is Monarch of the Glen. It is completely silly and hilarious. The castle it is set in is incredible, the characters well defined (Lexie is a brunette Marcia Brady btw) and I could listen to their Scottish brogues all. day. long. and not tire of them. It's completely different than the historical dramas but very entertaining. Oh! And Julian Fellowes is an ACTOR in the first season too!
you have piqued my curiosity clayvessel -- do you have a favorite season? We are traveling to Scotland in July and I would love to watch this, but I just saw on Amazon there are 7 seasons! yikes.
DeleteWe love Monarch, too. On and off with it, but we really enjoy it.
DeleteSusan, in the first season the characters are fleshed out and by the second season there is more depth. That is where I'm at now and I really enjoy the episodes. Hector, the senior member of the family is a real hoot! They are all very quirky for sure. I would say just start at the beginning. The landscape is great too and actually reminds me of where I live now in the Pacific NW. I really want to visit Scotland now! I'm glad there are seven seasons so I don't have to wait, wait, like I do with the other series I enjoy!
DeleteI started this one and didn't finish it. I'll have to try again and see if Season 2 will be better for me.
DeleteI too love this show. I am a long-time Masterpiece Theatre (just called Masterpiece now) watcher, and Call the Midwife is on just before it, so it was a natural to watch (or DVR) this series too. It had me from the very beginning. The casting is just perfect, and the writing is masterful. The writers did a wonderful job of taking Midwife Jennifer's journals and transforming them into this wonderful show, and it is a lovely collaborative work. All the characters are so well done, but besides Jenny, I would say Chummy is my favorite. Miranda Hart, who plays that part, is a wonderful comedienne and actress, and she has had her own show on BBC (called "Miranda" and it shows on PBS here in San Diego on Saturdays) that is silly but hilarious. I have missed her in Season 2 of Midwife, and I hope her character comes back soon.
ReplyDeleteI have also watched Monarch of the Glen, mentioned here too. It is silly but that Scots accent is yummy! I just love British television. Can you tell?
Can't add much to the great comments here, but will say I'm too enjoying the series. I've read Jenny Worth's first two books and am now about 1/3 through the third book. The books are wonderful, but a bit more gritty...the show twists the endings sometimes for happier endings. I saw an interview with the younger actresses and they said the show's writer is running out of stories from the books and next season will be using other source material. Seems a bit sad. Jennifer Worth died right before filming began. There's also a book "The Life and Times of Call the Midwife" in which the production team talks about making the show...changes from the books, casting, the birthing scenes, costumes, etc. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteAnother British show I'm enjoying during the absence of Downton Abbey is The Bletchley Circle. My PBS station is airing it Sunday evenings at 9:00 PM. It's a mystery/suspense set in London in the early 1950s. The leads are four women who worked at Bletchley Park (UK's code breaking center) during WWII. Darker, but very good. Anyone else see it?
Sorry, so much for not saying much.
We watched one episode of Bletchley and it was intriguing. I could see us getting into it.
DeleteI have a book, Between Silk and Cyanide, about the code breakers.
I also read a book called Twelve Babies on Bikes about the same time as Jenny Worth.
Missy, I've been watching. I think when I initially looked it up on PBS it said that it was only 3 episodes, so the final episode will air this coming Sunday night.
DeleteI have a very low tolerance for watching violence on TV or in movies, but fortunately there haven't been many of those scenes. Love how the four women (led by Susan) have found an important way to use the skills they learned during the war and are contributing to their community above and beyond what society of that time expected from women.
Carol, it looks like a bunch of people wrote books about midwifery once Jennifer Worth's became best sellers.
DeleteJulie, I think it is only three episodes, but PBS seems to have cut a lot. The UK DVDs have 150 minutes, but PBS hasn't shown that much.
I just saw The Bletchley Circle in the BBC America catalog. I look forward to watching it. It has the woman who played Esther Sommerson in Bleak House. I love that actress.
DeleteI very recently watched all of Season 1 of Call The Midwife. I am hooked. Love the characters.
Busy caring for my damsel in distress, aka Claire who had all four impacted wisdom teeth removed yesterday. She is all puffy and sore, but no longer barfing...which was yesterday! Ick! Today she sat in the recliner and watched Les Mis, "singing" along in her hoarse little voice. By the way, sweet QLCS: she passed her driver's test the second time through! Hallelujah.
Off to provide yogurt and pain meds,
Di
Bless Claire's heart. I bet it was the valium that made her barf. Or some other strong pain med. Same thing happened to my older daughter. It is a rite of passage for sure, the whole wisdom teeth thing.
DeleteCongrats to her again for the license - hopefully that is a balm for her soul right now :-/
Wisdom teeth extraction (I had SIX!!) was when my codeine allergy was made clear. I shall NOT elaborate.
DeleteLove and hugs to Claire!!
Yay for passing that test!
DeleteI am a big fan of CTM. I loved the Christmas show, not sure which season it was from. It had me crying for real to see such love poured out on that poor older woman in such dire straights. My favorite characters are the same as above and my favorite parts are the singing nuns and the voice overs at the end. It made me laugh when you, Donna, said your mom was the one having the 7 babies. She would have kept them busy, that's for sure. I love the dresses and the perfect hair too. I wonder how long it too them to get it looking that way.
ReplyDeleteRachel, I was especially moved to tears by the Christmas show, also. For the same reasons - how Jenny took the time to care for the older women, after her initial shock over it all. Much like when she helped the older gentleman who lived alone after being a war veteran.
DeleteI love this series. I will admit to a little problem with the last show, but don't want to spoil anything if someone hasn't seen it yet. Sister Julienne is my favorite character, I think. But I do love Sister Evangelina (sp?).
ReplyDeleteBut am also LOVING "The Bletchley Circle". Oh man is it good! I think you can catch up on Youtube, but it is on PBS. So good!
I think I know what you're referring to. And, while it was hard to watch, I think it was pretty honest and true to the times. That's one of the things I love about the show! And how they handled the spina bifida case last week was perfect. It was very similar to what my grandmother described happened when my uncle was born with cerebral palsy in 1956.
DeletePat - I left a comment on Missy's post above about Bletchley. Very much enjoying the talents and skills (and bravery) of these women!
Delete(Also left a reply to you in Mudmaven's comment above).
I LOVE this show!! My husband and I have a date set every Sunday evening after we put the kids to bed to sit and watch it together. It is beautifully produced, beautifully written, beautifully truthful. The characters are all fabulous and there's something I love about all of them. Jenny and Chummy...naturally. Trixie, Sr. Monica Joan, and Sr. Evangeline...hilarious. Cynthia and Sr. Julienne...precious. Even Fred the caretaker! But one of my favorites this season is Sr. Bernadette. Her sweet soul, her struggle between the life she has chosen and the life that she maybe would like to have, her "real person"-ness.
ReplyDeleteThe three books Jenny Lee wrote are definitely on my summer reading list. I think they'll be my detox once this season has ended. :-)
So, I couldn't be left out. I just finished watching episode 1 of the first season on Netflix. LOVED IT.
ReplyDeleteThe Spanish mother who has just given birth to her son, "He stays with me. I am his hospital." Oh.my.word. That struck me! A mother's instinct is nothing to mess with!
Off to the park,
Sarah P. from Iowa
I LOVE Call the Midwife! My husband watches it with me and we both look forward to it all week. I am also reading the books by Jennifer Worth. They are good, as well. The thing that has struck me about the books, is that these are REAL people and things that REALLY happened, and the show stays pretty close to reality except for a few things that are different. The conditions some of the families had to live in were so awful, it just breaks your heart. But, I do love getting to know the characters and watching them all interact on the show. Jenny and Chummy are my favorites, too. I hope that Chummy comes back soon!
ReplyDeleteI really need to watch this show. Thanks, Donna.
ReplyDeleteYou may already know about another show involving a British midwife- "William and Mary." Absolutely loved that romance between a woman assisting births and a man assisting at deaths. Martin Clune was great in it.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first heard of Call the Midwife I kept reading that it was "gritty", which made me hesitate. But I did watch it and now am hooked. Some of the episodes are indeed "gritty" but the writing is so good! I just watched the most recent episode last night, and while it was disturbing at points (!), the show was so well done. And poor Sister Bernadette - you could feel the ache in her heart when she was struggling with the desires of her heart. I'm putting the books on my summer reading list!
ReplyDelete- Krista in Missouri
Is the Doctor a widower?
ReplyDeleteI believe so. That was part of the Christmas program, remember? When his son didn't have anyone to make him a costume, but you didn't find out until the end that it was actually HIS son and not some random boy from the neighborhood.
DeleteI forgot that Beth!
DeleteI'm glad to hear season one is on Netflix. I couldn't find it a few months ago. I'm going to have a CTM marathon when school lets out. Spring is a hard time for me to watch any tv. Too much going on. I know I'm going to love this show.
ReplyDeleteWe just got netflix so I will watch it at once. In fact, I have so much editing to do tonight, if I don't have to take the kids to the park, I will park myself in front of the tv while I edit!
ReplyDelete