Call the Midwife

Obviously I am a man, and will say without any hesitation that we are hooked on this series! My wife and I are best friends and there is nothing more we enjoy than finding a good British series to immerse ourselves together. We have done this for many years, initially finding them in our travels to Britain, and find that British shows seem to "out weigh" our American television on many levels.

The subject matter is really unique and absorbing and the acting superb! The complexity of the characters and their interaction, the humor, the secrets, the context, and the weight and undercurrents of its gracious messages have impacted us and continue to do so.

So many times it seems that these British series don't last and are canceled just as we are dedicated to them. It is rewarding to see "Call the Midwife" continuing on and we hope it does so for many years to come. We will continue to be fans as long as "Call the Midwife" lives!

This is one of the most beautiful shows I've ever watched. The writing and acting are both superb, and the incredible stories take us on a journey to show us the true meaning LOVE. Do people with this much compassion actually exist? They do, and Call the Midwife reminds us of that.

This show epitomizes acceptance, patience, and perspective. It's the unconditional love and nonjudgemental views of the characters that make your heart swell while you watch.

I'm rewatching and this time with my 13 year old daughter. I recommend the show to all my friends and get excited when they tell me they've started.

Whether or not this series' depiction of the East End in the 50's is completely accurate or not seems of little relevance to me. The characters are very likable and the acting, even by the guest actors, is brilliant. However, the main reason I love and wholeheartedly recommend Call the Midwife is because it is so well written, without avoiding the harsh realities of life yet filled with hope and incredible human connection. Miraculously, it manages this without ever becoming cheesy. Every episode leaves me feeling proud to be a human being. I don't think many TV series are able or even try to achieve this and it feels especially important in our times when faith in humanity seems to be in decline.

As I was a student nurse in the East End of London during the mid fifties,(now an ex-pat living in Mexico) this series brings back many memories. I'm glad that some episodes include general nursing and even male patients as well as midwifery. Perhaps doctors were not always as good as the nurses in those days.I even remember an anaesthetist who sat doing his crossword puzzles during operations and no one dared utter a word of reproach.

Now that the East End is suddenly fashionable, even Shoreditch and Brick Lane, what has happened to Wapping where I trained and which used to be so scruffy?

One thing has changed for the better. In those far off days when a woman was admitted with an attempted abortion, euphemistically called "incomplete abortion", the police had to be notified and a policewoman would sit by the bed (drinking tea with the night nurse) until the unfortunate patient (who probably already had half a dozen children at least) was well enough to be arrested.

I would have scored 10 for this series, except for the fact that it doesn't truly follow the accounts written in the book from which it is taken.

Some of the diversions from the book are to allow the characters other than Jenny Lee to have stronger story lines, which I can accept to an extent. But some of the story lines have been expanded for dramatic effect, so they are not relying upon the original author's memoirs, but rather the imagination of the scriptwriters, which I think is somewhat regrettable.

Having said that I am finding the series entirely watchable, and enjoyable. All the cast seem to be good, but I must say I am most impressed with Miranda Hart as Chummy, what a brick she is.