At any rate, I did not see the last episode from last night yet, so I don’t even know how that ends. But since the link above says it’s a cliff hanger, I’m glad there will be a way to continue the story.
Last night’s episode was the perfect end to a lovely Mother’s Day for me. Just hearing the opening music and Vanessa Redgrave’s narration lowers my blood pressure into a nice calm zone each week. Although we have one more episode left for the season, I’m going to crawl out on the limb and say this season has been the best one yet. I usually notice guest actors and think they are familiar, but can’t place them. However, last night I knew almost immediately that the mother of the little boy with no arms was the actress who plays Miriam, the butcher’s wife, on Home Fires.
I won’t spoil anything for those who haven’t yet watched, but I think it’s okay to say that was some powerful acting by the actress who plays Nurse Crayne. I continue to like where things are going for Trixie.
Without spoiling anything (I hope), last night’s episode was hardly a blood-pressure reducer. I got an incredible adrenalin spike from the central event in the episode. Apart from that, I teared up three times – when the first baby was born, when the Thalidomide parents met, and during the last conversation on the front steps of Nonnatus House. About average for a Call The Midwife episode.
I agree, this has been a very good season, although they have smoothed the edges off of all of the current characters so much that it’s a little bit cloying. Should Sister Monica Joan really be making sense as often as she does this season (which means all of the time)? When exactly did Nurse Crayne become a huggybear?
Where did they get the little girl who figured in the episode last night? If there were special effects involved . . . wow!
@2VU0609 thank you! I could not figure out where I had seen that actress before - I knew for sure it was some other British show I watched, but could not for the life of me place her. You’d think, considering I just finished watching Home Fires last week, that I would have remembered she was from that program also.
@JHS - my H was asking the same question last night. I was searching for an answer online, and found an article which says “the child playing Susan was fitted with prosthetics to give the illusion that she had suffered the affects of thalidomide.”
Wow - good for all of you who picked up that “the mother of the little boy with no arms was the actress who plays Miriam, the butcher’s wife, on Home Fires”. I missed it totally despite being very attracted to the characters of both Phillips’ Mom on CM and Miriam on Home Fires. I must have been overwhelmed with emotion watching CM last night and totally in the moment! I think I’ll go watch the PBS on-line video and analyze how I missed recognizing the actor.
For all of you who thought the actress playing Phlip’s mum was familiar, was I the only one thinking how much younger and prettier she looked on CTM? Her character endured such stress on HF and the hairstyles and fashions of the WWII era are nowhere near as attractive as those of the early '60s that we are now seeing on CTM. I think most all of the women (nuns excluded) are looking better with the clothes & hairstyles from 1962 than the late '50s when the series premiered.
I actually watched the two shows back to back (Home Fires finale followed by latest episode of CTM), so I recognized the actress (Claire Price) immediately, and given how the former ended on a cliffhanger in which she played a pivotal role, it was pretty startling!
I actually think many of the fashions on Home Fires are really beautiful, but clearly the costumer sought to portray a more natural look with that cast. I actually really like that about the show. Most of those women are attractive for reasons beyond the physical, and it felt more realistic to me. (I doubt there was a whole lot of heavy makeup being worn during that time in England.)
Back to CTM: I was born during that Thalidomide scare, and that story really hits home for me. So very well done.
And while I agree that Sister Monica Joan seems to be operating with a lot more of her faculties this season, I love her so much, I’m happy to suspend my disbelief. As far as Phyllis Crane is concerned, I think she has mellowed quite a bit from her years working at Nonnatus House - she’s learned a lot from those other women (as have they from her). And she was plenty “in character” last night before that major turn of events.
I switched to Direct TV! And lost my Sunday night shows. I spent 2 hours on phone, complaining that my now local PBS was nature shows, and if I had known I would miss my favorites, would never have switched. Any suggestions on how I can watch the last 2 shows?
Tonight is a rebroadcast for CTM for our PBS channel. See if your DirecTV program list has another PBS channel available. When you call them, ask for customer retention - they know the most and have greater ability to help you.
I have DirectTV and get two PBS channels. I also have the Amazon Fire Stick, so can access some shows after their original air date. Before I got the Fire Stick, I watched the first two seasons of Sherlock online at the PBS site during a few snow days when they were available to stoke interest for season 3.
@MaryBarbara58, I’m not sure it’s tension as much as deep concern. Mary Cynthia, after all, was Cynthia, one of Trixie’s colleagues, before she entered the sisterhood. And Trixie (a skeptic, I think, theologically speaking) is deeply troubled by what has transpired since her friend’s breakdown, but has been limited by the religious order in her ability to communicate with her.
I just heard about a new Irish WWII Masterpiece, “My Mother and Other Strangers,” starting June 18. I think it’s five weeks. Sounds intriguing:
“Hattie Morahan (Sense and Sensibility) stars as Englishwoman Rose Coyne, raising her daughter Emma and son Francis in Northern Ireland during World War II. Owen McDonnell (An Klondike) is her loving husband Michael, a Northern Irishman who realizes he never lived up to her dreams. Aaron Staton (Mad Men) is Captain Dreyfuss, the honorable American officer who upends her life.”
Just caught up again with the past few episodes. I agree with others that this season is one of the best. I regret each episode’s end as I just want to keep watching.
