I watched an old episode of Call the Midwife today, and I had a good chuckle at how freaking grim this deceptively gentle production gets. It's generally sweet, because everyone's more or less striving to do the best they can in hard circumstances, but the episode in question had this hardluck story about four children put through horrific neglect... then saved! But as a throwaway closer, the narrator informs us they were sent to Australia, where they would be horribly abused again. THE END. 🙃
@MLClark The early seasons were far more stark than the later seasons. They've fallen into a formula where everything and everyone is sweet and nice and there's a happy ending.
I know they're just providing what their target audience wants, but some of the early risks have gone poof.
Sister Monica Joan was going cuckoo -- but not any more.
The lesbian couple left town.
Sister Mary Cynthia disappeared.
Nurse Barbara faked her death so she and her husband could open a haunted B&B. 😊
I have an English student who told me they were watching the show for practice, so I wanted to jog my memory to see what kinds of vocabulary and cultural issues they might need clarity on while watching. It seems a decent choice for my student, though: clear delivery, and not too many confusing accents along the way!
Sounds like the plot points will remain simple enough, by and large, for her to focus on her English practice, and that's good enough for me!
@MLClark You read my "Tomorrowland" fan fic. David's early life is in Stepney because my writing mentor Sheila Finch suggested I watch "Call the Midwife" to get the tone. Stepney is just west of Poplar. There's a lot of "Call the Midwife" in young David Nix.
Hee hee. Aw, the writer life is great. Everything we watch is "research", isn't it? Where are you in your Elementary rewatch?
@MLClark Just ended S3. Will start S4 tomorrow. John Noble as Morland Holmes just nails it. He's one of those actors who knows how to chew a scene without you caring. A wonderful contribution to the canon, kinda like how "Smallville" created Lionel Luthor.
Elementary's my favourite adaptation, too. The writing, casting, and acting are pitch-perfect - especially through that delicate juggling act of episodic mysteries and longterm story and character development. :)
@MLClark "Elementary" executive producer alumnus Craig Sweeney is creating a new series set in modern times but about John Watson. No connection to "Elementary."
Personally, I think the premise is rather weak. Maybe Sherlock faked his death like the canon and shows up at the end of S1. Unless we see a body ...
https://tvline.com/news/watson-series-cbs-release-date-cast-morris-chestnut-1234927591/
@MLClark Having worked in law enforcement, I'm very critical of cop shows and generally don't watch them. "Elementary" got the flavor right, and the procedures are generally spot on. That helps sell the show's realism.
"Hill Street Blues" is the only other cop show I felt got the flavor right. We used to watch HSB during briefing on Thursday nights; we got our briefing during the commercials.