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Call The Midwife Christmas special 2016


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Old 28-12-2016, 16:20
chestfield
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I've no doubt some of them will eventually go to the 1966 World Cup Final.
As WAGs, perhaps? Or watching? Or working in case a spectator is so overcome that she has it there and then?
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Old 28-12-2016, 16:34
tennisman
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As WAGs, perhaps? Or watching? Or working in case a spectator is so overcome that she has it there and then?
When that baby arrives, there will be the opportunity to add new meaning to Kenneth Wolstenholme's famous phrase, 'They think it's all over....It is now!'.
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Old 28-12-2016, 21:07
Swanandduck2
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The relative slowness of this thread says it all about Call the Midwife. It has had it's time.
Not necessarily. A lot of people record programmes on Christmas day and save them for when the madness is over, the relatives have departed, and they can watch the programme in peace. I have loads of stuff recorded that I am looking forward to watching in early January.
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Old 28-12-2016, 21:51
Tellystar
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I am surprised to see some negative comments
For me the whole episode was excellent and beautifully acted
It took the series to another dimension
Some appeared to have not liked it just because it was not in Poplar
To me, the transference to Africa was totally believable, and the conditions at the time realistically portrayed
There is plenty more to come in CTM , it has not had its day
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Old 28-12-2016, 23:37
Lisa_Naylor
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The premise of the show being what exactly? It's a community of nuns. Nuns vow obedience and therefore may be plucked out of their nice cosy existence at the drop of a hat. What's not true to the premise is that so many of the nuns at St. Donatus have been there as long as they have and have not previously been decamped temporarily or permanently to assist other houses. That you find a particular party of history distasteful is no excuse for ignoring it in a period drama. Would you have expected them to pretend that thalidomide had never happened also?
The premise of the show being midwives in London. That wasn't what the special was about and it suffered for it. South Africa has absolutely nothing to do with London midwives and it was stretching things just to find a way to include it.
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Old 29-12-2016, 08:46
bel110
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It was nice enough and some great moments and I liked the move abroad.
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Old 29-12-2016, 09:01
PickUpAPingu
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I didn't like it at all.

I found the "white (wo)man as saviour of the awfully poor black people " tone patronising and unpleasant.

I absolutely loved the early series of CTM. It played a part in me deciding to retrain as a midwife, but it's strayed too far from the originals now. It always seemed odd how they glossed over some of the really good stories in Jenny Worth's books and ran out of original material ages before they would have if they'd have used them to the full.

Trixie performing the caeasarean section was signposted with the subtlety of a sledgehammer and was utterly unbelievable. I agree with previous posters tht it's signalling her retraining as a Dr, which she'll no doubt be able to do in the space of a single series, without leaving Nonnatus House!
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Old 29-12-2016, 10:52
anne_666
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Agreed, although some on Twitter are complaining that the storyline showed white people saving black people.
An accurate portrayal of the reality at that time.

That aspect made me feel a little uncomfortable too. While I very much enjoy CTM the tone can be quite patronising at the best of times so tonight's ep felt particularly jarring..
It's good that it did make you feel uncomfortable. Thankfully some attitudes have changed in the intervening years. Would you have preferred a false portrayal?

I thought it was a good one off even though it was a little predictable and too neatly sewn up (including a midwife performing a c-section)
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Old 29-12-2016, 10:54
Swanandduck2
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I didn't like it at all.

I found the "white (wo)man as saviour of the awfully poor black people " tone patronising and unpleasant.

I absolutely loved the early series of CTM. It played a part in me deciding to retrain as a midwife, but it's strayed too far from the originals now. It always seemed odd how they glossed over some of the really good stories in Jenny Worth's books and ran out of original material ages before they would have if they'd have used them to the full.

Trixie performing the caeasarean section was signposted with the subtlety of a sledgehammer and was utterly unbelievable. I agree with previous posters tht it's signalling her retraining as a Dr, which she'll no doubt be able to do in the space of a single series, without leaving Nonnatus House!
Yes, I thought that whole scene looked ridiculous. As did Trixie swanning around looking gorgeous and beautifully groomed despite the deprivation all around her, including a severe water shortage.

They do need to do something with her character, though. This is the sixties and it is highly unlikely that someone like Trixie would be happy to live for years in a convent, sharing a bedroom, and eating all her meals with the nuns. All her contemporaries have long moved on; Jenny and Chummy to other areas of nursing and marriage and children, and Cynthia to discovering her vocation and staying in Nonatus House as a full member of the Sisterhood.

Trixie seems to be stuck in a kind of no man's land, and her remaining in Nonatus House is becoming less credible with each series. As, incidentally, is the storyline involving Patsy and her girlfriend living in the midst of nuns and carrying on an affair to which they are obviously turning a blind eye. That just wouldn't have happened in the sixties.
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Old 29-12-2016, 10:59
flounder78
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The premise of the show being midwives in London. That wasn't what the special was about and it suffered for it. South Africa has absolutely nothing to do with London midwives and it was stretching things just to find a way to include it.
This order of Nuns are still in existence and have now relocated to the Midlands. They live near by and confirmed that there were quite a few that went out to South Africa to help with Polo vaccinations at this time.
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Old 29-12-2016, 11:02
anne_666
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Yes, I thought that whole scene looked ridiculous. As did Trixie swanning around looking gorgeous and beautifully groomed despite the deprivation all around her, including a severe water shortage.

They do need to do something with her character, though. This is the sixties and it is highly unlikely that someone like Trixie would be happy to live for years in a convent, sharing a bedroom, and eating all her meals with the nuns. All her contemporaries have long moved on; Jenny and Chummy to other areas of nursing and marriage and children, and Cynthia to discovering her vocation and staying in Nonatus House as a full member of the Sisterhood.

Trixie seems to be stuck in a kind of no man's land, and her remaining in Nonatus House is becoming less credible with each series. As, incidentally, is the storyline involving Patsy and her girlfriend living in the midst of nuns and carrying on an affair to which they are obviously turning a blind eye. That just wouldn't have happened in the sixties.
I was born in 1948 and a teenager in the 60's. It's absolutely believable of the time and a lot of it is based on facts from Jenny Worth's books.
Trixie's a lonely and vulnerable young woman suffering alcoholism in the 60's. It's not surprising she needs their support, the sense of security they provide and it wasn't uncommon.
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Old 29-12-2016, 11:06
Swanandduck2
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I was born in 1948 and a teenager in the 60's. It's absolutely believable of the time and a lot of it is based on facts from Jenny Worth's books.
Trixie's a lonely and vulnerable young woman suffering alcoholism in the 60's. It's not surprising she needs their support and some sense of security.
The earlier episodes were based on Jenny Worth's books. But Trixie is a made up character and the recent series have not been based on fact. I agree that Trixie is vulnerable, but she's also sparky, brave and curious about life. I just don't find it believable that she would live for years and years in a convent, instead of moving out and living a bit more independently.
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Old 29-12-2016, 14:31
anne_666
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The earlier episodes were based on Jenny Worth's books. But Trixie is a made up character and the recent series have not been based on fact. I agree that Trixie is vulnerable, but she's also sparky, brave and curious about life. I just don't find it believable that she would live for years and years in a convent, instead of moving out and living a bit more independently.
Trixie isn't a "made up" character, they've made up how her life developed after the first two series. She was already living and working from the convent when Jenny first arrived there and she's been in the series since the start.
Women's rights were unheard of and we didn't even have equal pay. A nurse would find it very difficult to self support on their income alone.
We can only agree to disagree about the rest
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Old 29-12-2016, 14:47
barbeler
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I am surprised to see some negative comments
For me the whole episode was excellent and beautifully acted
It took the series to another dimension
I thought the acting was at about the same level as Crossroads, although it wasn't helped by the patronising tone of the script.

Expect to see an Inside No.9 parody of it in a few years.
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Old 29-12-2016, 15:48
Servalan
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I thought the acting was at about the same level as Crossroads, although it wasn't helped by the patronising tone of the script.

Expect to see an Inside No.9 parody of it in a few years.
What exactly was 'patronising' about the tone of the script? Your comments rather imply that you are missing what apartheid meant for the indigenous population of South Africa at the time. As others have said, what we saw was not a whim on Heidi Thomas' part but a dramatisation of the kind of thing that actually happened.

And if you really think the acting was in any way comparable to Crossroads, I can only assume that you are looking at the past through (very) rose-tinted spectacles …
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Old 29-12-2016, 16:00
Swanandduck2
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Trixie isn't a "made up" character, they've made up how her life developed after the first two series. She was already living and working from the convent when Jenny first arrived there and she's been in the series since the start.
Women's rights were unheard of and we didn't even have equal pay. A nurse would find it very difficult to self support on their income alone.
We can only agree to disagree about the rest
Cynthia is a real character and remained a lifelong friend of Jennifer Worth. Trixie is an amalgam of various characters Jennifer Worth knew during her nursing years. There is debate about whether Chummy is real or not. But Trixie never actually existed.
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Old 29-12-2016, 16:34
Lisa_Naylor
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This order of Nuns are still in existence and have now relocated to the Midlands. They live near by and confirmed that there were quite a few that went out to South Africa to help with Polo vaccinations at this time.
I wasn't talking about the nuns, I was talking about the midwife aspect of the show. They're needed and employed by London, so most of them wouldn't be swanning off to South Africa.
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Old 29-12-2016, 17:11
anne_666
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Cynthia is a real character and remained a lifelong friend of Jennifer Worth. Trixie is an amalgam of various characters Jennifer Worth knew during her nursing years. There is debate about whether Chummy is real or not. But Trixie never actually existed.
Sorry, I was going by Jennifer's account in her book, Call the Midwife. I thought it was based on fact. Is it not?
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Old 29-12-2016, 17:13
primosprimos
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I found it nauseating, so cut out quickly - but why was Chummy's husband there? How did they explain her disappearance? And why did Pam Ferris leave? And why is Jessica Raine's character still narrating, if she isn't there?

Beating a dead horse, this show.
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Old 29-12-2016, 17:30
francie
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Sorry, I was going by Jennifer's account in her book, Call the Midwife. I thought it was based on fact. Is it not?
Perhaps some of the events were. According to the Daily Mail here are the real nuns who inspired the books etc.
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Old 29-12-2016, 22:47
Swanandduck2
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Sorry, I was going by Jennifer's account in her book, Call the Midwife. I thought it was based on fact. Is it not?
The book was based on fact, but wasn't a totally factual account of what happened.
The TV series then made further modifications to the book.

Trixie was barely mentioned in Jennifer Worth's account, and some of the real life Cynthia's characteristics seem to have been given to Trixie in the TV series eg the alluring, sexy voice. Jennifer Worth said Trixie was a mix of various nurses she had known., but was not an actual real life person.

Cynthia, on the other hand, was real. She was Godmother to one of Jennifer's children, left the convent eventually and married a vicar, suffered from mental health problems, and died about a year before Jennifer.
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Old 30-12-2016, 10:58
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Agreed, although some on Twitter are complaining that the storyline showed white people saving black people.
Aren't we still doing it? Why does Africa still have their begging bowl out, while their oligarchs own streets of houses around the world? Or is that another discussion?
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Old 30-12-2016, 14:54
anne_666
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Perhaps some of the events were. According to the Daily Mail here are the real nuns who inspired the books etc.
Thanks francie, very interesting. So sad that Jennifer died before she could see the screening. I was born in 1948 and I remember quite a bit about the times they're portraying. There were many social and medical advancements and obviously, aside from the great hardship a lot of people endured, I enjoy wallowing in my own nostalgia.

The book was based on fact, but wasn't a totally factual account of what happened.
The TV series then made further modifications to the book.

Trixie was barely mentioned in Jennifer Worth's account, and some of the real life Cynthia's characteristics seem to have been given to Trixie in the TV series eg the alluring, sexy voice. Jennifer Worth said Trixie was a mix of various nurses she had known., but was not an actual real life person.

Cynthia, on the other hand, was real. She was Godmother to one of Jennifer's children, left the convent eventually and married a vicar, suffered from mental health problems, and died about a year before Jennifer.
Thank you for your patience Swan!
I know the storyline, especially after the first two (or three?) series, isn't correct, but I understood that the people at the start were all real and apart from Cynthia, Jennifer gave them pseudonyms. I know Trixie is barely mentioned in the book and I didn't mean the portrayal of her was accurate.
I hope this makes some sense

I wasn't talking about the nuns, I was talking about the midwife aspect of the show. They're needed and employed by London, so most of them wouldn't be swanning off to South Africa.
Nuns and midwives attached to a convent were called on to give missionary help in times of emergency. It was only a one month secondment and by that time the birth rate had fallen because of the advent of the contraceptive pill. In other words more responsible, long suffering the consequences, women were at last thankfully given some much needed effective control.
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Old 30-12-2016, 15:47
Lisa_Naylor
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Nuns and midwives attached to a convent were called on to give missionary help in times of emergency. It was only a one month secondment and by that time the birth rate had fallen because of the advent of the contraceptive pill. In other words more responsible, long suffering the consequences, women were at last thankfully given some much needed effective control.
It is not realistic that so many staff members would've gone abroad at the same time. They left Poplar severely understaffed. If Poplar didn't need that many midwifes/nurses then they wouldn't still be employed there. It would never have happened like it did in the special. It was stretching realism and it was all an unconnected and rather pointless story that seemed more like a way to write Trixie out of the show for a while.
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Old 30-12-2016, 16:00
Baz_James
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a way to write Trixie out of the show for a while.
Wait ... what? Who says she's out of the show for a while?
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