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A new period drama series appearing on ABC1 is 'Call the Midwife'. It stars such accomplished actors as Jenny Agutter, Miranda Hart, Vanessa Redgrave, Judy Parfitt, Cliff Parisi, and Pam Ferris. Heidi Thomas is its creator. She based the storyline on Jennifer Worth's memoirs. The setting is 1950's East London. There are six seasons with the first one having premiered on January 15 of 2012 in the UK. It is produced by a production company called 'Neal Street Productions'. This company's founder and owner is a well-known film producer and director 'Sam Mendes' along with executive producers Caro Newling and Pippa Harris.
When the series first aired in January of 2012 it was truly an unexpected smash hit and instantly grabbed a wide audience. That brought on a commission for eight more episodes that are scheduled to air early on in 2013 after a preceding 2012 Christmas Special.
Call the Midwife's first PBS broadcast in the Fall of 2012 in the U.S. earned it broad critical acclaim as well as an 8.0 Meta-critic score.
The first episode opens with Jenny Lee (a newly qualified midwife) making her first appearance at the Nonnatus House. She is under the impression she was sent to some small private hospital and is totally surprised to see she is at a convent.
The character of Jenny is then used to introduce us to this new world and all the regular characters involved. We watch through her eyes. We are introduced to the Sisters who are Monica Joan, Bernadette, Evangelina, and Julienne. We also meet her nursing colleagues Cynthia and Trixie along with the upbeat handyman named Fred. Once the initial shock wears off from being at a convent and totally out of her element, Jenny slowly begins to find her way.
The anchoring episode focuses on Jenny's first case where she is allowed to handle it herself. The patient was a Mrs. Conchita Warren who was going through her 23rd pregnancy.
Conchita's husband is an East-end painter named Len Warren. He is a decorator as well and also did some soldiering during the Spanish Civil War. It was there he found Conchita and brought her home with him after everything calmed down.
Conchita cannot speak ANY English (Len states the reason is because she has never had a need to). She spends all her time and long days caring for her family which is huge. Her medical case seems to be merely routine but suddenly a freezing smog engulfs London and she takes a bad turn.
Conchita suffers a slip and a fall and begins her labor at only 30 weeks of gestation. She suffers from a severe concussion. Now is when Jenny has to spring into action. She is alone in the house with just Conchita and Len and no medical assistance. She must handle it on her own. She draws upon all her knowledge and skills to help the premature baby arrive safely.
The second series kicks off with Jenny Lee (played by Jessica Raine) celebrating her birthday and blowing out her candles. Nurse Chummy (played by Miranda Hart) becomes stressed from all the details that go into making a dish of steamed syrup pudding for the event.
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