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 Call the Midwife, series 3
1 Christmas special + 8 episodes

Jenny Lee = Jessica Raine
Trixie Franklin = Helen George
Cynthia Miller = Bryony Hannah
Chummy (Camilla Fortescue-Cholmondeley-Browne) = Miranda Hart
Sister Julienne = Jenny Agutter
Sister Monica Joan = Judy Parfitt
Sister Evangelina = Pam Ferris
Shelagh Turner = Laura Main
Dr. Patrick Turner = Stephen McGann
Timothy Turner = Max Macmillan
PC Peter Noakes = Ben Caplan
Fred Buckle = Cliff Parisi
Alec Jesmond = Leo Staar
Tom Hereward = Jack Ashton
Patsy Mount = Emerald Fennell
Sister Winifred = Victoria Yeates

Season three is the last season with Jenny Lee. That may be one of the more notable things about this season in retrospect. (We also see a lot less Chummy after this season. I know she makes no appearance at all in series 5, and, I'm not sure how much she's around in series 4. But I think she is some at least.) 

Shelagh. Last season's finale saw Shelagh become engaged in Dr. Turner. In the Christmas Special, these two were due to be married near Christmas. But DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA. This episode has so much drama. Much of it being caused by the discover of an unexploded German bomb left over from the war. And then there's POLIO. This is such a heart-felt episode. How is it possible to care so much about fictional characters on a TV show?

Episode one. New Nonnatus House. New Sister midwife. I really, really like Sister Winifred although it takes a few episodes to come into her own and feel like she BELONGS. In this episode, Chummy helps deliver a baby in an emergency, and is asked to come back to work part-time as a midwife.

Episode two. Cynthia and Sister Evangelina are in conflict over "new" methods to help mothers during childbirth...Jenny gets a promotion....and viewers meet Doris a pregnant woman who is between a rock and a hard place.

Episode three. Trixie and Sister Julienne temporarily take on prison duties and serve pregnant prisoners. Sister Julienne becomes especially close to one of the young girls, and, becomes a character witness of sorts. The young woman desperately wants to keep her baby and not be forced to give it up for adoption. Trixie--well, good news, she meets Tom...and the bad news, well, she gets LICE. Shelagh and Dr. Turner learn that she cannot have children. Already several episodes this season are about adoption. So it's easy to see where this might be heading.

Episode four. The beginning of the end for Jenny's time at Nonnatus House. Alec Jesmond is in a horrible accident. PC Peter Noakes is one of the first responders, also, I believe Dr. Turner is as well. They know him as Jenny's boyfriend, making it even more difficult. They KNOW it is really bad. Bad news, the two had been fighting that day. Good news, they do get the chance to make up.

Episode five, Shelagh is back working in an administrative role at least. And sister Julianne and Jenny are both away. Nurse Patsy Mount, now a midwife, joins Nonnatus House full-time. Sister Evangelina has a jubilee party. But she has to be tricked into attending. This celebration is all the more meaningful the second time around. (If you've seen season five, you know exactly why). The pregnancy case is very troubling in this episode.

Episode six, Trixie goes on her first date with Tom. But it does not go according to plan. Shelagh and Dr. Turner begin to look into what it would take to adopt a child...and viewers get to know a little more about the newest midwife, Nurse Mount.

Episode seven, this one has DRAMA and then some. Chummy's mother comes to town. Chummy, at first, thinks this is a visit. But several things soon come to light. Her parents are separated now, her mother doesn't have much money, and she is in a LOT OF PAIN, as she has terminal cancer. Chummy has about a hundred emotions at any given moment. And it's up to Peter to know what to do. His strength in this episode and the next are AMAZING. He is such a good, good guy. Sister Julienne and Cynthia, not to be left out, deal with a VERY VERY VERY mentally troubled woman after delivery.

Episode eight, Shelagh and Dr. Turner get GREAT news during this episode. But poor Chummy spends this episode in turmoil and angst. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Sister Monica Joan in this episode. And Jenny is supportive as well. These two cluster around Chummy and her mother and it's just beautiful to watch. Painful but beautiful. Jenny--who came back in episode seven--decides to stop being a midwife and switch to what we would now call hospice care. She does help deliver a baby in this episode, I believe, and her patient's cousin, I believe, is PHILIP WORTH, her future husband. This is young Jenny's last appearance in the show.

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Downton Abbey, season 1
7 episodes

Upstairs
Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham = Hugh Bonneville
Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham = Elizabeth McGovern
Lady Mary Crawley = Michelle Dockery
Lady Edith Crawley = Laura Carmichael
Lady Sybil Crawley = Jessica Brown Findlay
Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham = Maggie Smith

Downstairs
Mr. (Charles) Carson = Jim Carter
Mrs. Hughes = Phyllis Logan
Mr. (John) Bates = Brendan Coyle
Anna = Joanne Froggatt
Gwen = Rose Leslie
Thomas Barrow = Rob James-Collier
Miss (Sarah) O'Brien = Siobhan Finneran
Mrs. Patmore = Lesley Nicol
Daisy = Sophie McShera
William Mason = Thomas Howes
Tom Branson = Allen Leech

Other Households
Isobel Crawley = Penelope Wilton
Matthew Crawley = Dan Stevens
Josephy Molesley = Kevin Doyle
Mrs. Bird = Christine Lohr

So, in the spring I was quite happy with the final season of Downton Abbey. I have never rewatched this series, so I thought this summer might be a good time. (Especially now that I've rewatched all of Call the Midwife, and there is a void in shows to binge-watch).

So, this is a rewatch. I am assuming that most people who have any interest in this one, have already seen this season, at least once. I will not purposefully come out and spoil things unnecessarily. But. I will talk freely about this season.

Equal time is spent between the upstairs and the downstairs.

People I loved downstairs = Mr. Bates, Anna, Mrs. Hughes, Mr. Carson. Now by the end of the sixth season, I can easily say that I've come to love more characters.

People I liked downstairs = William, Tom, Gwen, Daisy, Miss Patmore.

People I really DISLIKE downstairs = O'Brien and Thomas. I really LOATHE both characters. Now, O'Brien never, ever, ever redeems herself in my opinion. Thomas, on the other hand, as the series progresses, there are moments where I actually don't hate him.

People I loved upstairs: Dowager Countess and Sybil. I love the Dowager Countess!!!! Of the three sisters, Sybil is the one you'd actually want to know in real life and be friends with.

People I liked upstairs: Lady Cora, Robert Crawley, Lady Edith. Of those three, Lady Edith may be the most controversial for 'liking.' I do like Edith, however. I think Lady Mary has spent years and years and years tormenting her, without her parents ever correcting Lady Mary's behavior. I think she has dealt with a lot, not just from Mary, but from her own parents. There is a conversation in which it is revealed that neither parent thinks that anyone will ever, ever, ever want to marry Edith. Both parents assume that Edith with be the one daughter whom no one marries because no one wants, she will be the one to 'nurse' them in their old age, and, then they joke about how awful that will be to still have her around. I just CRINGED. Still, I think Robert and Cora have their redeemable moments.

People I really DISLIKE upstairs: Lady Mary. Mr. Carson may be the only person in the entire world that Mary is ever kind and respectful to. In every battle with Edith, Lady Mary seems to be the instigator. She also seems to be the one to keep adding fuel to the fire. Lady Mary is rude, hateful, spiteful, inconsiderate. Not just in private, when the two are alone, but in front of the entire family--why does her family think her rudeness is acceptable????--and as if that wasn't bad enough, in front of dinner guests as well. Lady Mary seems to exist to humiliate Lady Edith whenever, wherever possible. Now, that being said, Lady Edith, does not stand back and let Lady Mary say and do whatever without reacting and responding. I think Lady Edith was PROVOKED into doing what she did. I don't think it was inevitable. I think Mary's own actions--in more than one way--led to the gossip that 'ruined' her.

Other characters I loved: Matthew Crawley and his mother, Isobel. I honestly don't know why Matthew falls for Mary. I don't know what he sees in her, and continues to see in her, that keeps him coming around?! Mary's natural inclinations are to hurt and inflict pain at her whim. That being said, do I like Matthew in spite of his liking or loving Mary. Yes, for the most part. I do think Matthew is unnecessarily RUDE at times. For example, even though he's not interested--in that way--in Edith. He didn't have to rebuff her when she was making small talk. It wasn't as if she was saying, MATTHEW, I LOVE YOU TRULY, MADLY; FORGET ABOUT MARY, LET'S RUN AWAY THE TWO OF US, AND LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER. She was just trying to avoid an awkward situation and make the best of it. And he would have none of her small talk. Now, Edith is used to people treating her rudely, as if she is "less than." After all, her own flesh and blood treat her that way day in and day out. I think Matthew's standout moment comes when he rescues Lady Sybil, takes her to his own home, has his mother nurse her, sends for Mary, etc. When Mary seems Matthew as a HERO, that's when Mary decides that she likes Matthew after all. More than a "toy" an actual human being. Now that I think about, Lady Mary reminds me of Scarlett O'Hara.

Isobel. I really love to see her interact with the Dowager Countess. And also with Dr. Carson. She is a genuine person, and one you can't help loving.

Season 1 Highlights:

• The family learns about the sinking of the Titanic, learns about the two next-in-line heirs being killed.
• Lady Mary is upset not that her 'future husband' is killed but that she might lose what she's come to think of as her rightful inheritance.
• Lady Mary invites someone to ride/hunt at Downton Abbey, and, then ignores the guest she invited to flirt with the guest her guest invited.
• Lady Mary is NOT responsible for Mr. Kemal Pamuk coming into her bedroom--that would be Thomas who led him to her door and left him, knowing Mr. Pamuk's intentions--but she is at least partially responsible for not doing everything in her power to stop him. She was not exactly forced. She protested at first. Which makes me think that she's only partially responsible. He clearly was not a 'no' means 'no' guy. But she stopped protesting and became welcoming. To her credit, she never claims she was unwilling. Though she very well could have told her mother that he showed up in her room uninvited, and forced his attentions. Her mother might have been more sympathetic. 
• Lady Mary's secret is voluntarily kept by Anna and her mother. It is held as ammunition by Thomas and O'Brien. Daisy also witnesses something of the aftermath.
• The family accepts Matthew as the next heir, but, Mary is contrary and hates him except when she's flirting with him. But she only flirts with him a third of the time. The other times she leaves him confused and hurt.
• Miss Patmore has a health crisis.
• Daisy has an attack of conscience. And changes her mind about which footman is for her.
• Thomas and O'Brien are set on destroying Bates. In many, many episodes, they plot and scheme. Carson seems to stay a step or two ahead of them.
• Anna and Mr. Bates fall for each other, though, he likes to keep a little distance between them because his past is problematic.
• Tom starts falling in love with Sybil....but she is so busy helping out Gwen that I don't think she's really noticed the swoon-worthiness of Tom just yet.
• O'Brien reveals her evilness. And a family mourns as a result. 
• The family learns that war has been declared.  (World War I)

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Call the Midwife, series 2
1 Christmas special + 8 episodes

Jenny Lee = Jessica Raine
Trixie Franklin = Helen George
Cynthia Miller = Bryony Hannah
Chummy (Camilla Fortescue-Cholmondeley-Browne) = Miranda Hart
Sister Julienne = Jenny Agutter
Sister Monica Joan = Judy Parfitt
Sister Evangelina = Pam Ferris
Sister Bernadette (aka Shelagh) = Laura Main
Dr. Patrick Turner = Stephen McGann
Timothy Turner = Max Macmillan
PC Peter Noakes = Ben Caplan
Fred Buckle = Cliff Parisi
Jane Sutton = Dorothy Atkinson
Alec Jesmond = Leo Staar
Patsy Mount = Emerald Fennell

I LOVE and ADORE this show so much. This second series is great fun. The whole reason I'm rewatching the show in the first place, is while I had no trouble at all checking out the first two discs of season five from the library, there was a longer hold for the third disc. So I decided, well, why not use this "waiting time" to rewatch series two through four!

What you should know--there is no going slowly with Call the Midwife. I have found this is one to binge-watch.

The Christmas Special. It is Jenny's first Christmas at Nonnatus House. The episode focuses on the community and upcoming Christmas preparations--specifically a nativity play. The pregnant mother in this one is a teenager keeping her pregnancy secret from everyone....

Episode 1. Is the show issue-driven or character-driven? I think the answer is a bit of both. Both stories in this episode have their tragic side. In one story, we've got a girl literally brought up captive on her father's cargo ship--she being brought up to "service" all the men on board, including dear old dad. Trixie and Sister Evangelina are called to respond to this emergency call. This is one of the stories from the Call the Midwife memoir. In the other story, we've got spousal abuse. A pregnant mother (she's pregnant with her second child) is being abused by a horrid husband, and, Jenny can do little about it....

Episode 2. More than two stories in this one! Several stories last multiple episodes. So the show is becoming more like a soap opera. Only an actually good one. Cynthia (I was almost tempted to call her SISTER) has a rough time in this episode. Jenny thinks she's falling in love with Jimmy...only to find out that one of her new patients knows Jimmy much TOO WELL. Chummy decides to fulfill her dream to be a missionary in Africa with Peter's full support.

Episode 3. Jenny takes some time off from midwifery, conveniently just in time to save Jimmy's life. Jane comes to Nonnatus House. I really, truly LOVE Jane even though she doesn't stick around for the whole series. I can relate to her completely. And the fact that in the memoir she gets a good, happy ending makes me very pleased indeed. This episode also briefly introduces us to Nurse Mount. I thought nothing of it the first time around, it was only in rewatching I was like HEY, I DIDN'T KNOW SHE SHOWED UP IN THIS SEASON. The pregnancy case in this episode is STRANGE.

Episode 4. This episode mainly focuses on JANE and introduces the character of Reverend Applebee-Thornton. I LOVE LOVE LOVE parts of this one. A baby with special needs is born, and, the mother has a hard time accepting that her baby is not perfect. Can Jenny help? And how much help is too much help? I really love the husband/father in this one.

Episode 5. This episode is PAINFUL. Not because it's bad, but, because it is so very INTENSE. A woman is DETERMINED to end her pregnancy no matter what. And Jenny knows the woman is upset, but, can't really interfere and fix anything. Trixie gets in and out of a predicament when she starts dating a celebrity of sorts. Also SISTER BERNADETTE starts to show she has FEELINGS for Dr. Turner...and viewers see that he returns them!

Episode 6. Oh this episode gets to me. We're introduced to a single, pregnant woman estranged from her father. The woman is trying to keep her pregnancy secret from everyone--but Jenny knows what she knows. The woman is nine months along, and there's no fooling Jenny! The dying father is played by an actor I failed to recognize before...a familiar face from LARK RISE to CANDLEFORD. (He's not the only familiar face from that show we'll end up seeing....) Dr. Turner is able to get an X-Ray programme to come to Poplar, and Sister Bernadette is tested to show a little girl how easy and safe it is. SISTER MONICA JOAN has a fit in this one, if I remember rightly. And it's Fred to the rescue!

Episode 7. Chummy and Peter return from Africa!!! And their family is about to grow! Sister Bernadette is in a sanatorium undergoing treatment. Her crisis isn't just physical, but, spiritual as well. There are several cases in this one...but my interest was all on Dr. Turner and Sister Bernadette.

Episode 8. Jimmy introduces Jenny to his friend, Alec. Chummy has her baby, and, it's OH-SO-DRAMATIC. Fred gets a lot of attention in this one. His pregnant daughter visits, and, when her pregnancy becomes a bit complicated, it is up to Fred to babysit his grandson. Fred also gives Chummy some much-needed cheering up. Sister Bernadette makes a life-changing decision, and, reveals her name: SHELAGH. I love, love, love, love how Dr. Turner and Shelagh meet one another. Swoon!!!

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews