After the resounding stateside success of Downton Abbey, PBS is hoping that Call the Midwife will be its next breakout British hit. The first of six episodes aired last Sunday, and if that pilot is any indication, I've found my new British addiction.
Set in London's East End in the 1950s, the show follows a group of midwives and nuns who work at Nunnatus House, a nursing convent. The central heroine is Jenny Lee (the fantastically likable Jessica Raine), a recently qualified midwife who has had a decent English upbringing and is overwhelmed to discover the poverty and less than ideal living conditions of East London. The first episode follows her foray into this brave new world. To begin with, she has no idea she has signed up to live and work in a convent and has to get over the initial shock of being greeted by a scattered nun. But she quickly warms up to the kind, hardworking sisters as well as her fellow midwives and sets off to be of use in the community.
One of Jenny's first patients is a Spanish woman who is pregnant with her 25th child (this is her 23rd pregnancy since she had two sets of twins, but really, that doesn't make it any less mind-boggling). Her house is teeming with children and family dinner consists of eating straight from the pot because plates are a hassle. Her eldest daughter is the only one who speaks Spanish and can communicate with her. Even the woman's English husband, who is very much in love with his wife (as evidenced by the 24 kids), has never bothered to learn any Spanish, a fact which bewilders the already overwhelmed Jenny.
There are other patients who are cantankerous and rude, others who are young and grateful, and Jenny's interactions with this broad swath of hitherto unknown humanity are wonderful to behold. There are also typically British shout-outs to the great work of the National Health Service that is trying to ensure that even the poorest women receive adequate care. And throughout Jenny Lee is learning to do her job and bring all these babies into the world. This show is not necessarily for the faint of heart - midwifery is a messy business and you might learn more than you wanted about the not-so miraculous nature of giving birth. The streets of 1950's East London appear to be teeming with babies, and Jenny and her colleagues would be delighted if they knew that the 60s would bring the pill and blessed birth control. But for now, they face an exhausting and interminable job.
The series is based on the memoirs of real-life midwife Jennifer Worth. Apparently Worth wrote them in response to a call for someone to "do for midwifery what James Herriot did for vets." Call the Midwife is certainly offering a glimpse into a less well-known profession, and I think it's essential viewing in the US, where midwives are not as prominent and respected as they are in the UK and elsewhere. It is also a wonderful period piece, taking us away from the glamour and gentility of Downton Abbey and exposing the grimy day-to-day life of the English working class. So watch the first episode on the PBS website and tune in Sunday night for the next installment. It is sure to be entertaining, heartwarming, funny, tragic, and human.
Set in London's East End in the 1950s, the show follows a group of midwives and nuns who work at Nunnatus House, a nursing convent. The central heroine is Jenny Lee (the fantastically likable Jessica Raine), a recently qualified midwife who has had a decent English upbringing and is overwhelmed to discover the poverty and less than ideal living conditions of East London. The first episode follows her foray into this brave new world. To begin with, she has no idea she has signed up to live and work in a convent and has to get over the initial shock of being greeted by a scattered nun. But she quickly warms up to the kind, hardworking sisters as well as her fellow midwives and sets off to be of use in the community.
One of Jenny's first patients is a Spanish woman who is pregnant with her 25th child (this is her 23rd pregnancy since she had two sets of twins, but really, that doesn't make it any less mind-boggling). Her house is teeming with children and family dinner consists of eating straight from the pot because plates are a hassle. Her eldest daughter is the only one who speaks Spanish and can communicate with her. Even the woman's English husband, who is very much in love with his wife (as evidenced by the 24 kids), has never bothered to learn any Spanish, a fact which bewilders the already overwhelmed Jenny.
There are other patients who are cantankerous and rude, others who are young and grateful, and Jenny's interactions with this broad swath of hitherto unknown humanity are wonderful to behold. There are also typically British shout-outs to the great work of the National Health Service that is trying to ensure that even the poorest women receive adequate care. And throughout Jenny Lee is learning to do her job and bring all these babies into the world. This show is not necessarily for the faint of heart - midwifery is a messy business and you might learn more than you wanted about the not-so miraculous nature of giving birth. The streets of 1950's East London appear to be teeming with babies, and Jenny and her colleagues would be delighted if they knew that the 60s would bring the pill and blessed birth control. But for now, they face an exhausting and interminable job.
The series is based on the memoirs of real-life midwife Jennifer Worth. Apparently Worth wrote them in response to a call for someone to "do for midwifery what James Herriot did for vets." Call the Midwife is certainly offering a glimpse into a less well-known profession, and I think it's essential viewing in the US, where midwives are not as prominent and respected as they are in the UK and elsewhere. It is also a wonderful period piece, taking us away from the glamour and gentility of Downton Abbey and exposing the grimy day-to-day life of the English working class. So watch the first episode on the PBS website and tune in Sunday night for the next installment. It is sure to be entertaining, heartwarming, funny, tragic, and human.
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