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Call the Midwife: Difference between revisions

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Call the Midwife
Created by	Heidi Thomas
Starring	Jessica Raine Miranda Hart Jenny Agutter Pam Ferris Judy Parfitt Helen George Bryony Hannah Laura Main Cliff Parisi Stephen McGann Ben Caplan
Narrated by	Vanessa Redgrave (voice of mature Jenny)
Composer	Peter Salem
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	12(list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Pippa Harris Heidi Thomas
Producer	Hugh Warren
Cinematography	Chris Seager
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	Neal Street Productions
Original release
Network	BBC One BBC One HD
Release	15 January 2012 (2012-01-15) – present

Call the Midwife is a BBC period drama series starring Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, Cliff Parisi, Jenny Agutter, Pam Ferris, Judy Parfitt and Vanessa Redgrave. It was created by Heidi Thomas based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth and set in east London in the 1950s. The first series of six episodes premiered in the UK on 15 January 2012. The series is produced by Neal Street Productions, a production company founded and owned by the film director and producer Sam Mendes, Call the Midwife Executive Producer Pippa Harris and Caro Newling.

Call the Midwife achieved very high ratings in its first series, making it the most successful new drama series on BBC One since 2001.^[1] A second series of eight episodes of the show has been commissioned and will air in early 2013 with a 2012 Christmas Special.^[2][3]

The autumn 2012 PBS broadcast of the first series of Call the Midwife in the United States received wide critical acclaim, earning a Metacritic score of 8.0. The Wall Street Journal declared that "this immensely absorbing drama is worth any trouble it takes to catch up with its singular pleasures",^[4] while The Washington Post stated that "the cast is marvellous, the gritty, post-war set pieces are meticulously recreated".^[5] TV Guide called the series "a delight to watch",^[6] while the San Francisco Chronicle described it as "sentimental, poignant and often heartbreaking".^[7]

On the 12 February 2013, Call the Midwife was officialy recommisioned for a Christmas special in 2013, and a third series in 2014, by BBC commisioner Ben Stephenson; after continously high ratings for the second series.^[8]

International distribution

In May 2012, BBC Worldwide and the American Public Broadcasting Service PBS announced that the first series of Call the Midwife would premiere in the United States on 30 September 2012.^[9] BBC Worldwide has also sold the series to SVT (Sweden); NRK (Norway); RÚV (Iceland); Yle (Finland); AXN White (Spain); ERT (Greece);^[10][11] ABC in Australia and TVNZ in New Zealand, where its debut recorded a 35% share of the audience – 20% above average. In July 2012 BBC Worldwide announced it has sold the worldwide Video On Demand rights of the series to Netflix. According to BBC Worldwide America executive vice-president of sales and co-productions Matt Forde, BBC expects to sign another 13 to 15 deals for Call the Midwife with other international download-to-own and VoD services by the end of 2012.

The second series of Call the Midwife has been sold to PBS for transmission from 31 March 2013.^[12]

In February 2013, BBC Worldwide reported that Call the Midwife had been sold in over one hundred global territories.^[13]

Plot

The plot follows newly qualified midwife Jenny Lee and the work of midwives and the nuns of Nonnatus House, a nursing convent, coping with the medical problems in a deprived area of East London in the 1950s.

Cast and characters

Main

• Nurse Jenny Lee (Jessica Raine) - Jenny was born to a respectable middle-class family. When she was 4 years old, she befriended a school mate, Jimmy. When she graduated from school, she considered many things such as being a model, air hostess, jeweller, tailor in Paris, make-up expert, actress etc. Instead she became a nurse and had just become a qualified midwife. Jenny later revealed that she came to the East End because she thought it would be easier. Upon her arrival, Jenny was shocked and appalled at the terrible living conditions of the East End. She was soon to befriend many of her colleagues. It was later revealed that Jenny had had an affair with a married man called Gerald, whom she had loved since she was 17. She had ran away to Nonnatus House to forget him. Jenny is a kind, sensible and intelligent girl. Her sub-plots often include befriending a patient and helping them with their illness.
• Miranda Hartas"Chummy" Browne (Camilla Fortescue-Cholmondeley-Browne), later "Chummy" Noakes
• Jenny Agutter as Sister Julienne
• Pamela Ferris as Sister Evangelina
• Judy Parfitt as Sister Monica Joan
• Helen George as Trixie Franklin
• Bryony Hannah as Cynthia Miller
• Laura Main as Sister Bernadette

Recurring

• Cliff Parisi as Fred
• Stephen McGann as Dr Turner
• Ben Caplan as PC Peter Noakes
• George Rainsford as Jimmy

Episodes

For a full list of episodes, see List of Call the Midwife episodes.

Reception

A second series of Call the Midwife was immediately commissioned after the drama's opening episode attracted an audience of nearly 10 million viewers. The second episode increased its audience to 10.47 million, while the third continued the climb to 10.66. Episode 4's rating of 10.89 million overtook 2010 ITV hit Downton Abbey as the largest first series audience for original drama on British television in recent years.^[14] Miranda Hart and costume designer Amy Roberts were both nominated for BAFTA Awards in 2012.

In the United States, the first series transmission on PBS drew an average household audience rating of 2.1, translating into 3.0 million viewers — 50 percent above PBS' primetime average for the 2011-12 season.^[15]

In Australia, it aired on Sunday nights starting 2 September 2012 on ABC1. It was very well received, gaining solid ratings and rave reviews.

Awards and nominations

Production notes

The ship in the opening titles is the Shaw Saville liner QSMV (Quadruple Screw Motor Vessel) Dominion Monarch in dry dock at the King George V Dock and the road is Saville Road, Silvertown, East London.^[16][17]

Many of the exterior scenes are shot at the Chatham Historic Dockyard.

DVD

The first series was released in a Region 2, two disc set on 12 March 2012.^[18]

In Australia (region 4), ABC released the DVD on 10 October 2012, shortly after it finished airing on ABC1.

In the United States, the first series was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 6 November 2012.

References

External links

• Call the MidwifeatBBC Online
• Call the MidwifeatIMDb
• PBS: Call the Midwife
• Broadcast: Midwife delivered across Europe
• The Sun: Filming starts for the second series of Call The Midwife
• Digital Spy: 'Call the Midwife' to deliver Christmas special, BBC confirms
• BBC Worldwide sells Call the Midwife Video on Demand rights to Netflix
• TV Choice Magazine: Interview with Pam Ferris and Jessica Raine
• The Guardian: Interview with Miranda Hart
• Huffington Post: Interview with Jenny Agutter