SOS Sages-Femmes

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.

It's hard to believe that anyone could be as compassionate and tender as the midwives in Call the Midwife, compassion and tenderness being rare qualities in the increasingly disconnected world of the 21st century. I suspect those qualities are a real incentive for even the casual viewer of this series, which depicts the lives of midwives toiling in the east London of the late 50s- early 1960s. The world of almost 60 years ago was a very different one from today, both from a social and technological standpoint. I'm impressed by the attention to detail in the series, which allows viewers to immerse themselves in the stories, which touch upon issues such as abortion and incest, as well as the then real threats of polio and tuberculosis. More recent stories have even addressed the thalidomide tragedy. The acting is, without exception, top notch, especially that of Judy Parfitt as Sister Monica Joan. I tend to be especially critical of shows that rely on lachrymose sentimentality to further the story. Call the Midwife is at times tender, sweet tempered and, well, nice, but never false as it displays the panorama of the human condition.

I recently found this series on Netflix and instantly fell in love with it. I have never read the books, so I have nothing else to go by. The characters are fabulous. The actors/actresses are amazing. I think every episode has made me both laugh and cry, and I'm looking forward to more!

Some of the episodes can be hard to watch, especially since I am pregnant, and I think that anyone feeling overly anxious about their pregnancy may want to hold off watching this series, because it really shows the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of pregnancy and child birth.

I found one major goof that had me laughing: In one episode they mention knitting blanket squares, and people are shown knitting them. When assembling the squares to make a blanket what they actually have are crocheted granny squares.

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!