January Meme: Hopes for "Call the Midwife" in 2018

[selenak]

Well, I hope to eventually get to see the Christmas Special, for starters. In recent years, Amazon put it up a day after broadcast, ditto for the regular episodes but not this year, for some mysterious reason, at least not for us Germans. Alas.

Without knowing what was in it, then:

- Phyllis Crane had a fabulous season last year, so I hope this doesn't mean she'll get back in the background this year, because she became a firm favourite for me

- fleshing out of newbie Valerie, showing her interacting with all of the other regulars, and use of the different social background she was vis a vis the other midwives

- no more separations for Patsy and Delia, those have been milked as angst scenarios enough; otoh, if Patsy and Delia come out to their colleagues, this will probably lead to at least some angst, as the show with the episode some seasons ago about the gay man proved it doesn't go the fanfic route of instant acceptance by all sympathetic characters.

- return of Sister Mary Cynthia both to the show and to her profession (again, enough angst, not that showing how mental health issues were dealt with in the early 60s didn't have a point and wasn't a legitimate storyline)

- Trixie and Christopher the Dentist so far seem to fit well together, and that he's a divorced father offers the show the opportunity to showcase changing fammily structures

- Timothy needs to be a Beatles fan

- as the 1960s turn into the Swinging Sixties: how does Sister Julienne cope in this changing world? (Since she's not that fond of change, which because she's kind and gracious comes across subtly rather than in a hamfisted "I'm a Tory, me!" way)

- what with the show being set in the East End: how would our heroines cope when faced with organized crime (read: the Krays)?

- more scenes using Shelagh's love of music and beautiful voice again, please.

The Other Days

Comments

[chelseagirl]

So much yes, especially to the return of Sister Mary Cynthia.

[contrary_cal]

I am still waiting for the Xmas Special to hit iTunes here in Australia...

newbie Violet

Do you mean Valerie? Violet is Fred's wife, who runs the haberdashery shop. But I want lots more Valerie too, she's lovely, and has such a dry and sparky sense of humour.

I will always want MORE PHYLLIS, and I'll be interested to see how Trixie and the dentist and his daughter go. Speaking of the Beatles, it would be interesting if Trixie, who's always so up-to-date with trends, finds that she can't get her head around this one...

And yes to Sister Julienne having more trouble with change, especially change that doesn't match her sense of how the world should go. It's always interesting to see the points at which her gentleness, compassion and moral strength tangle up with her conservatism and inability to handle change and leave her struggling.

I have heard a rumour that we get more of Sister Winifred this season, to which I can only say that it's about time, and that there's also another new nurse - a West Indian nurse. Finally.

[selenak]

*edits* Yes, I meant Valerie! Must have been a Freudian substitution. :)

I hear you re: Winifred. And a West Indian nurse sounds fabulous!

[contrary_cal]

I must be one of the few fans of CTM who loves Sister Winifred. A lot of people, at least over on Tumblr, turn up their noses at her for having middle-class prejudices, but I love what they've shown us of her navigating the gap between her religious vocation of nunhood/midwifery and her professional vocation of teaching (and the way she gets tripped up by those middle-class prejudices from time to time and forced to confront herself). The way she's carved out a little niche for herself as a health educator delights me. :)

[selenak]

Since I scorn historical fiction which takes the easy way of only letting unsympathetic characters display any of the bias and attitudes of the era whereas everyone meant as sympathetic shows present day attidues, I appreciate characters like Sister Winifred a lot. But you, I think tumblr fandom might simply default to the usual: Winifred is neither A Cool Old Nun nor a young Nun With Forbidden Passion (Shelagh when she was still Bernadette) nor an Evil Nun. They don't really know what to do with her, consequently.

[contrary_cal]

I think it's simpler than that: she's imperfect, so she's worthless. Tumblr fandoms are rather prone to black-and-white thinking, I've noticed.

The fans who think like that rarely notice the ways in which characters like Sister Julienne are imperfect, of course. Or the good in characters like Sister Ursula.

[daybreak]

Shelagh's voice! *gasps* How could I ever forget? More on her and Sister Julienne's friendship now that Shelagh has three kids. :-)

I hope you see it soon!