Thursday, November 8, 2012

Call the Midwife

"In the East End, I found grace and faith and hope hidden in the darkest corners. I found tenderness in 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." -Nurse Jenny

One of my regular patrons came into the library couple of days ago, and she was so excited to tell me how much she loves Downton Abbey. I had recommended that she watch it the week before because I can smell a soon-to-be Masterpiece junky a mile away. (It’s my superpower.) As she handed over season one in exchange for season two, she says to me, “Everything you recommend is so good. What am I going to do when you’re gone?” (Oh yeah, did I mention I moved to Chicago? We’ll get to that in a second.) In answer to my patron’s question, I gave her the web address for my recommendations blog. I told her that I sometimes write about my favorite things on Masterpiece Theater. Then it dawned on me… when was the last time I updated said blog?? The answer: May. Yes, it’s been a while.


I’ve just been incredibly busy. I moved this summer, and since the move I’ve been commuting to Kankakee every week and sort of living in two places at once. Hopefully, my continuous job hunting will pay off soon because my life is completely crazy right now!

BUT, I’ve still managed to make time for PBS on Sunday nights. (Of course.) Originally, I was really excited about the second season of Upstairs Downstairs that started this fall, but it was a new show, Call the Midwife, that I was most impressed with. That’s not to say the new season of Upstairs Downstairs has been completely awful, but Call the Midwife has been so wonderful, it’s managed to greatly overshadow Upstairs.

Call the Midwife is based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, a nurse who moved to the East End of London in the 1950s to work in a convent as a midwife. She had no idea what she was getting herself into. She didn’t realize the kind of poverty she’d be exposed to. But she forms relationships with the people she cares for and overcomes her fear and prejudice.

I have fallen in love with this show. If I were telling you about this in person, I’d be holding my hand over my heart and sighing. It’s just that kind of show. I love all the colorful characters and the beautiful costumes and every episode makes me cry. (In a good way.) It’s not technically a Masterpiece drama, but it could be. So if you love Masterpiece as much as I do, you’ll love Call the Midwife. And the episodes are still available on pbs.org, so you should definitely check it out!