Call the Midwife

[sesley]

a brilliant story, it amazes me on how much has been learn't from the past. I suffered pre eyclampsia with my first son ,luckily he was about 38/39 weeks in pregnancy terms so when he was born by caesarian section the wonders of anti biotics and medical care for me mean't he is now 24 and is making me a grannie in August and i am 53 tomrrow and have had 3 other healthy boys since.

[Alpha Hooligan]

Bloody Hell, less of the dramatic post titles eh?

I thought you'd gone into labour within the halls of the mighty stub crouch...I'd started boiling water and gathering clean towels to assist with the delivery of the baby I thought was due any second! ;D


AH

[Alpha Hooligan]

...And congrats to all at Sesley Towers on the imminent arrival of a new baby.


AH

[chris & the giant peach]

I too was reaching for the phone...

SESLEY!!!

[sesley]

well i suppose its a womens series as its about childbirth .

[everso]

Feb 7, 2012 13:34:12 GMT sesley said:

well i suppose its a womens series as its about childbirth .

It's a great series. Mr. E. likes it too.

I find myself involuntarily 'bearing down' quite often during the programme.

[housesparrow]

I didn't understand something in the sad eclampsia story. For those who didn't see it, a preganant woman walks into an NHS clinic because she isn't feeling quite right, is treated sharply by the nurse, is abused by another patient and walks out before being examined. She suffers a fit and later dies.

The nurse who was at the clinic and feels guilty is told something along the lines of "you know that if she had stayed nothing would have changed" and the nurse replied "yes."

Even in those days they knew how to treat pre-eclampsia, the woman wasn't tested or treated...so how could they have that conversation?

[chris & the giant peach]

I watched the first episode and thought it was good. Watched it again with mother on Sunday and thought it was extremely poor. It's almost as if the writers were quickly running out of ideas for plot.

[housesparrow]

It is based on what claims to be a true story, Chris; the paperback version is in your local bookshop now!

[sinistral]

The series is based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, who died shortly before filming began.

I've enjoyed it very much...and I'm not the only one.

From Wiki.....

A second series of Call the Midwife was immediately re-commissioned after the drama's opening episode attracted an audience of nearly 10 million viewers. The second episode increased its audience to 10.47 million, while the third continued the climb to 10.66. Episode 4's rating of 10.89 million overtook 2010 ITV hit Downton Abbey as the largest first series audience for original drama on British television in recent years.

Good to see that the BBC can learn from it's mistakes.
The principle writer of CtheM is Heidi Thomas who was also responsible for another excellent series Lilies which the Beeb did not re-commission.

[trubble]

She's writing Upstairs Downstairs. You should watch it. And join in the Upstairs Downstairs thread.

[jean]

I wonder why they didn't re-commission Lilies?

Surely not just becauise it was set in Liverpool?

[trubble]

I think it was because Upstairs Downstairs was better?

[sinistral]

Feb 19, 2012 17:06:34 GMT jean said:

I wonder why they didn't re-commission Lilies?

Surely not just becauise it was set in Liverpool?

Yes Jean, why indeed was Lilies not re-commissioned?

After it was aired, in early 2007 (in the Friday evening "graveyard" slot) the BBC immediately announced there would be no second series "because of lower than expected audience figures" The corporation was then bombarded with thousands of letters and emails demanding a rethink....which of course never happened.
At around the same time one of the big cheeses at the BBC stated that period costume drama was not the way ahead and in future they would be commissioning more contemporary drama.
However, by 2009, the BBC had changed it's mind. The revival of Upstairs, Downstairs was announced. Although a ratings success, it was rather overshadowed by Downton Abbey.
Over the following three years, the "Downton Effect" has seen the Beeb's opinion of period drama change completely.
They have given us Birdsong, Call the Midwife and Up-Down series two.
And still to come is Parade's End, a star studded adaptation of Ford Maddox Ford's novels, set in the Edwardian/World War I period.
Not that the success of Downton influenced yet another drama set in that period. Perish the thought.

But all of this is of no consolation to we Lilies fans.
But at least I have the DVD.

[sinistral]

Feb 19, 2012 17:26:14 GMT trubble said:

I think it was because Upstairs Downstairs was better?

Can't be that, Trubbs.
When Lilies was screened, Upstairs, Downstairs wasn't even a twinkle in the Beeb's eyes.

[bonbonlarue]

I watched 15 minutes Of Upstairs after Call the Midwife but found it stilted and clichéd.

Back to the radio for me 'til Chummy returns to the screen...

[Weyland]

Feb 20, 2012 19:04:05 GMT bonbonlarue said:

I watched 15 minutes Of Upstairs after Call the Midwife but found it stilted and clichéd.

Back to the radio for me 'til Chummy returns to the screen...

Clearly, BB, you must mean Larkrise. Hear here! But I fear that is not to be.

Downton ranks with Brookside in my book, only without the suspense.