Call The Midwife.

I was underwhelmed by the Two Doors Down Christmas special.
I think sometimes we expect too much.

MartavTaurus

My father worked in Hong Kong in the 70s It was already well developed, not the make shift shanty town the programme portrayed.
I'm not over keen on the foreign trips at Christmas, but it was good to catch up with the characters again. Timothy Turner had changed into a bit of a lad, with a posh voice!

Most was well-developed, but I think parts were still shanty towns, especially in the Kowloon area and there were refugees coming from mainland China too, living in poor, overcrowded conditions.
The Triads operated there and controlled some areas.

Aveline

I just couldn't face it.

😁

Allira

MartavTaurus

My father worked in Hong Kong in the 70s It was already well developed, not the make shift shanty town the programme portrayed.
I'm not over keen on the foreign trips at Christmas, but it was good to catch up with the characters again. Timothy Turner had changed into a bit of a lad, with a posh voice!

Most was well-developed, but I think parts were still shanty towns, especially in the Kowloon area and there were refugees coming from mainland China too, living in poor, overcrowded conditions.
The Triads operated there and controlled some areas.

I did think that the East End slums in London had been cleared by the 1970s, though, and am surprised they haven't all been transferred to one of the new towns.

Did midwives still live with the nuns in the 1970s?

Usedtobeblonde

I was underwhelmed by the Two Doors Down Christmas special.
I think sometimes we expect too much.

I agree. It looked to me as if they had just rehashed some of the late Simon Carlyle’s writing, with nothing new or particularly clever.
It certainly wouldn’t tempt me to pay the no doubt extortionate prices for the live show at the Hydro!

I found amandaland, two doors down and call the midwife pretty awful. The tv was really rubbish this year. Have seen Jaws, Home alone, shrek etc a million times.

The only good thing was called The Holdovers on Netflix. Brilliant film

Well I loved it, hankies out, and all. Yes not realistic story lines. I dont care.

I think one of the strongest things for me is the sisterhood of strong loving women,

The Hanukkah, the Jewish "Festival of Lights, featured in the most poignant way and I thought very timely, as were the reflections of life at its very end and beginning at this time of year.

I look forward to more. We "suspend belief" for so many stories, and I regard CTMW as in some ways a sort of symbolic morality tale and enjoy it as such.

(I've now switched over to a stylish murder mystery, Agatha Christie style, set in an imaginary Egypt in the past, a strong woman detective, on Channel 5. Recommended as a good lightweight stylish watch.)

I have always loved CTMW but I was very disappointed in the Christmas Day episode. The story was boring, the actors seemed to have lost their mojo and the whole thing had lost its sparkle. I always hate it when the storyline takes them abroad, it’s never as good then.
But please don’t cancel it! Just improve it - before it’s too late!

did you like the second half better? Well in mid January it starts up and is set in the early 1970's with Womens Liberation entering the scene, its catching up with times many of us remember well...

Wyllow3, I totally agree with you. I just love CTMW and am more than willing to "suspend belief" to enjoy the uplifting storylines. So much doom and gloom and violence on TV now. Allira, I grew up in the East End of London from the mid 50s and througout the 60s and 70s and believe me when I say that awful living conditions were still there right there in some areas throughout that period. So different from the gentrified trendy place it is now.

I think Joanne and Jennifer could do a sit com all about disfunctional sisters'.

Sorry that was was meant for Amandland.

I also watched Amandaland for the first time today and loved it!

I was curious to see what your verdict on Call the Midwife would be and it's as I thought....I didn't miss anything. I used to enjoy this series but they have run out of ideas. However, while it has an audience, I presume the BBC will keep on making it.

Well, Episode 2 was worse than Episode 1.

Timothy Turner looked the most uncomfortable medical student out at a party, as if he wished he were anywhere but there.

Why does Miss Millicent always wear her hat indoors at work?

I pitied the poor woman giving birth with bossy Trixie in charge of the forceps, it looked to be agony.

Didn’t realise Violet Buckle had an adult son in charge of the Hong Kong police. Thought Reggie was her only ‘child’.

I was also waiting for Doctor Turner to heroically save everyone from the Triad gangster, but we were spared that.

Let’s hope the new series is a bit more normal.

Clearly we are in "marmite" territory, here.

I watched both episodes last night and it appeared to me like a very busy piece of brightly coloured highly patterned cotton fabric. There was a lot going on in two different places and I noticed that the scene would fast swop between here and there which was confusing at times. I would have preferred a gentle segue (hate that word!) from one scene to another. They either need to give a very big head shake to the 70s and move their story along or simple end the series, in my opinion.

Time to end the series. Give new new writers and actors a chance.

CTMW I thought was very disjointed, but that was probably me as I wasn't completely concentrated on it.
I had no idea why they were in Hong Kong? Was Timothy qualified? Why the Buckle 's were there too? Lots of questions...?
So, I'm going to leave it..but I too think it's time to call it a day.

They are heading that way as Home births do become a thing of the past. Midwife led units go into Hospital settings, even few women take orders to become Nuns.

But home births came into fashion again during the 1970's. The people I knew were very into it as a "thing".

NCT classes were very positive about it. I had a home delivery in 1981 and there was no question about getting a home birth, no one tried to persuade me out of it. I did live reasonably near to the maternity hospital in Manchester, maybe 5 mins away. It was a wonderful and private experience. ☺️

Ashcombe, so did I. It was woeful.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Wyllow3

Clearly we are in "marmite" territory, here.

I like Marmite.

Well I seem to be in a minority here, as,I loved Call the Midwife and was very underwhelmed by Amandaland. Takes all sorts I guess.

PS I love marmite!