Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Other Doctor Lives: Call the Midwife: Series 10, Episode 0 (2020)

We’re going old-school today! I’m not explicitly seeking out projects from pre-Nine Doctors the way I am the new Who Doctors, but I’ll certainly review stuff from classic Doctors as I come upon them. Today’s review features the delightful occurrence of a former Doctor popping up somewhere I wasn’t expecting, namely the latest Call the Midwife Christmas special. Our Doctor du jour is none other than Fifth Doctor Peter Davison.

Another holiday season is upon the midwives and nuns of Nonnatus House. Shelagh runs into a woman she spent time in the hospital with during her own pregnancy – the woman, Gloria, is on her eighth pregnancy after seven miscarriages, and while she’s as close as she’s ever been to carrying to term, she can hardly bring herself to hope that it’s finally, really happening. The circus has come to town, and as Nurse Crane attends to a heavily-pregnant trapeze artist, the young woman is also concerned for the health of her father, the ringmaster. Sister Monica Joan is in the hospital after taking a bad fall, and despite what everyone else is telling her, she insists that she’ll be home in time for Christmas.

Those are the three main plots, but honestly, there are several other big threads going on. All the main characters on the show have at least a little something to do, but rather than feeling overly-stuffed and busy, it all sort of comes together. I suppose in that way, it feels a little like the holidays itself – crowded with hustle and bustle but still warm and cozy. I like both of the major midwife plots. Shelagh helping Gloria, not just through the physical demands of her eighth pregnancy but the lingering fears and grief over her seven miscarriages, is lovely, and I always enjoy Nurse Crane’s calm reassurance when things take an unexpected turn during a delivery. Side note: there’s also a fun mini-plot of Nurse Crane and Miss Higgins commiserating over the “spinster Christmas” experience and thinking about their own ideal holiday celebrations.

Peter Davison gets in on the circus plot, playing the ringmaster Mr. Percival. I’ll admit that I didn’t recognize him when I first saw him onscreen, but when he started talking, his voice set off my Doctor Who spidey sense and I exclaimed, “Five!!” His storyline is a pretty familiar one, that of an aging parent not wanting to burden an adult child with their health problems, but the particular execution with this character is done well. There’s Mr. Percival’s understandable concern over his daughter’s pregnancy rather than his own health issues, given that his wife died giving birth to her, as well as his deep love of the circus and his reluctance to any ongoing treatment or procedure that would take that love away from him. The scenes between Mr. Percival and his daughter Jacquetta are trademark Call the Midwife touching.

And once Nurse Crane gets involved, there’s the wonderful, unexpected connection between them. Not gonna lie: by the end of the episode, I was shipping Nurse Crane and Mr. Percival so hard. Not that I would want her to leave the show, and it’s not as if the nomadic ringmaster is about to settle in Poplar, but these two share something beautiful together. After the way she keeps him strong for his daughter’s sake during the delivery, they have several lovely scenes together exploring themes of dreams realized and unrealized, actions, regrets, and life. I don’t want to get too much into the details of it – just watch the episode! – but it’s excellent. Davison plays off of Linda Bassett’s Nurse Crane splendidly, and their scenes together are simply magical. One thing I appreciate about Call the Midwife is the depth and nuance granted to older female characters like Nurse Crane or Sister Julienne, and I love that Davison gets to be a part of such a lovely storyline.

Accent Watch

Same as his Doctor, not overly posh but still RP-sounding. Whether that makes sense for a circus ringmaster is up to you.

Recommend?

In General – Yes. I just recommend Call the Midwife as a rule, and while best practice would be to watch the whole thing, you can’t really go too wrong jumping into a Christmas special, even 10 seasons in.

Peter Davison – Yes. Some fine, sentimental acting from Davison here. He fits well into Call the Midwife’s style – in other words, he got me crying!

Warnings

Intense medical scenes, drinking/smoking, and thematic elements.

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