It’s the first day of May and after 30 days of Autism Awareness Month overload, I just want to keep it fun and light. So I’m talking about one of my favorite TV shows EVER. If you haven’t jumped on the Call the Midwife bandwagon yet, I don’t know if you and I can be friends. That’s how strongly I feel about this show.
Call the Midwife is a period piece drama about the lives of a group of midwives living in East London in the late 1950s.
I binged watched 2 seasons of Call the Midwife on Netflix back in late February. From the very first episode I was hooked! It was the kind of show that just transports me into another place and time. It makes my heart break and swell with joy. It hits every single human emotion.
Here are 10 things I love about Call the Midwife
10. The Music. I love 1950s music, it’s so romantic and simple. It reminds me of my childhood and the music my dad listened to on Friday nights. And the Midwife’s opening theme music just makes me happy whenever I hear it.
9. The Fashion. I want everything Jenny Lee and Trixie Franklin wear – I mean, except the nurse’s uniform. I don’t want that. But I am especially obsessed with Jenny & Trixie’s style. It’s classic and chic.
8. Experience the East End in the 1950s. I’ve never been to London and I probably never will. And time travel is impossible. I love that Call the Midwife takes me to a place and time I’ve never been. It’s unlike any other show I’ve ever seen, it’s truly an experience.
7. The Narration. The voice of Mature Jenny is Vanessa Redgrave and I love the delicacy of her voice and the richness of her words. For example:
I had begun to see what love could do. Love brought life into the world and women to their knees. Love had the power to break hearts and to save. Love was, like midwifery, the very stuff of life and I was learning how to fly with it. Through all the streets, like the river to the sea.
6. The Sisters. I love the Nuns of Nonnatus House. They are bold, funny, sensitive and strong. I think it’s an honest portrayal of a Nun’s life. My favorite is Sister Evangelina – she is tough and no nonsense, yet she is extremely compassionate. I also love Sister Monica Joan. Her story is interesting and sad but she has some of the best lines. “Dogs look up to us, cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” And while they don’t seem to make any real sense – Sister Monica Joan is absolutely poignant.
5. The Look. It is filmed so beautifully in a romantic sepia tint. Even with the volume on mute, it’s a beautiful to show to just look at.
4. Chummy. I mean…because how could you not LOVE her.
4. It’s Based on a Book. It’s based on the memoirs by Jennifer Worth. I think that’s the appeal to the show – it’s someone’s real memories of a real place. It gives the show authenticity. I cannot wait to read the books!
“Whoever heard of a midwife as a literary heroine? Yet midwifery is the very stuff of drama. Every child is conceived either in love or lust, is born in pain, followed by joy or sometimes remorse. A midwife is in the thick of it, she sees it all.”
― Jennifer Worth, The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times
3. The Stories. Extremely well written and wonderfully acted, Call the Midwife moves me in a way no other show has. It does not flinch from the hard realities of post war life in the East End of London. It does not shy away from poverty, despair, disability or taboo. And yet, it approaches each subject with dignity and compassion.
In the East End I found grace and faith and hope hidden in the darkest corners. I found tenderness and squalor and laughter amid filth. I found a purpose and a path, and I worked with a passion for the best reason of all – I did it for love. (Mature Jenny)
2. The English Accent. I do love an English accent – any kind of English accent. I love when Chummy says “ballynormous” or “glamourpuss.” Other words/phrases I like are: air-hostess, ring (as in, “ring for the doctor”), straight away, avocado pears. I could listen to English people speak all day.
1. The Babies/Child Birth. Each week I cry as a baby is born. Sometimes I weep with joy, sometimes I’m ugly crying and rocking in a corner, wondering WHY!?
“Birth was, and will always be, the most commonplace of miracles – an event at once familiar and phenomenal, timeless and immediate, briefly making angels of us all.” (Mature Jenny)
Do you watch Call the Midwife? What do you love about the show?
List 10 things you love about your favorite show.
The fashion the romance and CHUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love this show and I have you to thank!!!
Okay, looks like I'm going to have to check this show out. 🙂
I've never heard of this show, maybe time for a binge watch for me too!
OMG – Kat! It's so worth the binge watching. Not sure if you're a Downton Abbey Fan (I am) but if you are – Call The Midwife is SO MUCH BETTER! You have to watch it.
Started my Call the Midwife marathon last night! Love it!
Oh, I love it and for all the reasons you outline here! When they hop on those bikes and fly through the crowds I am on pins and needles waiting for where they will take us next.
Had no idea the show was based on someone's memoirs. Must read!
I haven't made it that far in the series. I am just discovering this series. I had it saved on my Netflix for a long time but did not pay any attention to it.
The lovely way human stories unfold naturally and very delicate matters are woven in for the story and not for shock value. It's beautiful, showing birth and death and the life in-between.
it's hard to articulate how refreshing it is.