Call the Midwife

Call the Midwife
Season 1
My Rating: *** (out of 4)

Television shows like Downton Abbey and Mad Men have inspired numerous other period dramas. What makes those shows work so well is not only the meticulous attention to period detail but also character development and good storytelling. While no American series has lasted long enough or been popular enough to match the success of those two shows, a new British series looks like it may have what it takes to be the next Downton.

Set in the late 1950s, Call the Midwife tells the story of a young woman just out of nursing school who goes to work as a midwife in London’s East End . She is not a very religious person and is surprised to discover her post is at a nursing convent. Nevertheless, she is eager to help the women in one of London’s poorest districts. As she gets to know the nuns and her fellow nurses, she is often startled by the living and working conditions of the women there and encounters all manner of pregnancy related situations. The show is a testament to the hard work of the midwives of the era.

For the most part, Call the Midwife is compelling, emotional drama. Several episodes have riveting childbirth scenes as one or more of the midwives tries to help a woman deliver a baby, often in difficult circumstances. These scenes feature a combination of real babies and some very realistic special effects. You may find yourself holding your breath waiting for the baby to be delivered.

Some parts of the series do not work as well. The later episodes of the first season have more conventional stories. The main character, Nurse Lee, is not given much to do and spends way too much time in a romantic subplot that isn‘t very interesting. Thankfully, there’s Nurse “Chummy”, played by Miranda Hart, who steals every scene she’s in. Chummy was raised in an upper-class home but decides she would rather be a midwife. She’s self-conscious about both her background and her size but that doesn’t stop her from using deadpan humor and self-deprecation as only the British can do.

The show has been extremely popular in both Britain and the U.S. The first season (or series if you prefer UK terminology) is available on DVD and through streaming services. The second season has already aired in Britain and PBS will air it in America beginning March 31.

Age Level: In general, Call the Midwife is the equivalent of a PG or PG-13 movie depending on how well your kids can handle the harrowing childbirth scenes. One episode deals with a sex education class and one storyline involves incest.
　

Recent TV shows

Here's a quick look at some TV shows I've been watching.

Alcatraz

Alcatraz is the latest TV show from J. J. Abrams’ Bad Robot production company. Their previous shows include Lost, Alias and Fringe. The idea for Alcatraz is fine. Prisoners who were interred in the famous prison have mysteriously been brought forward to the present day. A San Francisco cop works with a comic shop owner/Alcatraz expert and a federal agent to figure out what’s going on. Unfortunately, the first several episodes have been long on boring police procedural formulas and short on moving the ongoing plot forward. We’ve gotten small glimpses of the big picture but the show needs to give a lot more if it wants to avoid cancellation.
Grade: C+

The River
Some of the folks behind the hit movie Paranormal Activity bring their brand of “found footage” horror to the small screen in The River. A world famous explorer has disappeared in the Amazon and his family and crew document their efforts to find him. Things get spooky really fast as the crew encounters ghosts and other unexplained phenomena. The first few episodes have been a mixture of genuine creepiness and unintentional laughs. Horror movies work best when they take their time, building suspense and unease until the truly scary stuff happens. In The River, things get crazy almost from the beginning. I had a hard time believing how quickly everyone accepted the idea of ghosts. Still, the premise is intriguing and I’m curious to see what happens in the remaining episodes.
Grade: B-

Downton Abbey

This incredibly popular show follows the class divisions between the servants and wealthy nobility in an English house in the the early 20th century. This has been done before in the series “Upstairs, Downstairs” (which I have never seen) and the movie Gosford Park (written by the same guy who writes Downton). The whole thing is awfully melodramatic. Plot points are telegraphed a mile away and the characters seem to be limited to a few types (nice person, mean person, sympathetic person, etc.). This would be a major concern if it weren’t for several mitigating factors. First, the show is extremely engaging and watchable. The acting is excellent. Most important of all, everyone speaks in a British accent.

Like Mad Men, Downton is intriguing in the way it presents a time period that seems foreign to us. It’s fascinating to see how people behave in ways that seem strange to us but were completely normal to them. You can’t help but wonder how you would behave if you lived back then. I’ve got two more episodes left in the first season and I’m pretty sure I’ll watch the second.
Grade: B+