“But you know, 20 years have gone by, so I don’t know what happens today. So long, boys: it was fun while it lasted. “The Catholic priest,” Agutter snorts, “says to her: ‘You know God will never give you a burden that you can’t carry.’ Well, that in itself is a burden. Fred’s dropping Vi off at the council, so Reg is told to stay at home. And then she stubs out her cig and walks out of there like a goddamn boss. “‘It’s such a beautiful thing,’ they said.” She pulls a face and laughs. Fred asks Bird Guy (who's actually called George, but too late, his recap name is Bird Guy) to come do a talk for the CDC (Civil Defense Corps, not THAT CDC), because obviously Fred's pack of weirdos *would* be into a bird talk. I think it’s a personal moment, actually; it’s a very intimate and personal moment. She packs up for bed just in time to hear this exchange: Val: I do love a hot doctor! Sister Julienne and Phyllis agree: everything went surprisingly well. Tom Bateman stars as John Beecham in the new drama coming to MASTERPIECE. The faith – I don’t know. After child stardom and 45 years on screen, Jenny Agutter is now best known as Call the Midwife’s Sister Julienne – but her views on God (and breastfeeding) don’t quite echo her character, Last modified on Wed 29 Nov 2017 22.14 EST. Sister Frances is a novice and newly qualified midwife in her early 20s. I can’t work out if she is deliberately and skilfully taking care to say nothing that could jeopardise the universal public affection that has sustained her career for half a century. Like this article? Neither she nor anyone else dreamt it would become the BBC’s most successful new drama for a decade, or a worldwide hit in more than 100 countries. Fred points out that the tower blocks are impersonal and boring, but Reggie lands on the real problem: the birds can't live in a flat. Dr. Turner gives Bird Man the diagnosis, and some good news: after a couple of months of treatment he’ll be totally fine. Call The Midwife finale trailer hints at trouble, Call The Midwife fans have one big question about season 7, Call The Midwife fans fear season 9 finale death, Call The Midwife finale leaves viewers emotional. Trixie attends her AA meeting, the no longer Ill-Gotten Family watches TV, including Ill-Gotten Husband, who's given up his night-crime to be with his family, and Shelagh and Dr. Turner have a conversation about how they might need to hire another doctor for the practice because he's TIRED. When they then let her ship off to Hollywood at 21, “the only thing I can think is they thought, well, I’d get married and it would be all right anyway.”. I mean, it’s not as though I was having sex, but it just didn’t make sense to me. Because we now know about workplace lung disease, you know where this is going: the beloved uncle started coughing up blood, and much like Bird Guy, he was initially, and incorrectly, assumed to have TB. Yes that sucks, but Val reminds him that some people will always have to work harder, and he should know that since he's also from the wrong side of the tracks. She is still happily married, and her 24-year-old son, who recently graduated in medicine from Cambridge, is so close to his parents that he has his own apartment in the same converted schoolhouse in Camberwell where they live. You’re expecting a new playmate at home, and, being a little girl, one’s terribly interested in all those things, and then suddenly it doesn’t happen. Her parent’s first-born baby had died in infancy of cystic fibrosis, and the same condition took her younger sister’s life before she had even been brought home from hospital. As Call the Midwife returns this week, it's all change at Nonnatus House with a new face in charge. She doesn’t rise to the bait, because you know who else smokes? Of course, this only goads Dr. Sherlock into behaving like a jackass. I’m here to recap the season as it happens just in case you, dear reader, miss an episode and haven’t yet been able to catch up on WGBH Passport. Dr. Sherlock apparently has a famous dad who literally wrote the book on obstetrics and gynecology; at least he has the good grace to be embarrassed about it. Ever since the lovely Cyril came on the scene, it's been clear he and Lucille share a special connection, however due to their busy work schedules, it's not been smooth sailing for their romance. She's telling Trixie that one of the b-squad docs talks too much and goes to the bathroom too often when they hear someone reaching the end stages of labor in the other room. I like Agutter best when she lets rip like this with a forthright opinion. The first guy's sidekick, who I'm calling Baby Doctor, apologizes for being late, and gets razzed for his navigational skills by Dr. Sherlock. But if we do this again, they are NOT staying at Nonnatus House. The most interesting thing about Call the Midwife is the surprisingly progressive message it often smuggles out beneath a twee veneer of sentimentality. Search. Let's hope not. The strategically crowd-pleasing answer calculated by a star of a show about babies, who has been famous for nudity for 45 years, would probably not be this one: “I breastfed my son, but I just stuck him under a sweater so nobody really knew. Bless you, Trixie. Dr. Sherlock: I watched you all yesterday, your compassion is amazing, and I don’t feel that. Mrs. Pike tells Val that she appreciates what her husband does to support them, but really wishes he would lay off the illegal stuff, because she's pretty sure he's going to get caught and she'll be left alone with the girls. Baby Doctor invites himself along, and they take Dr. Sherlock’s car, whilst he sulks in his room smoking and looking at his dad’s book. She wishes she could be as selflessly non-judgmental as the nun she now plays, but her real-life experience of the church had been less inspiring. Lucille finds them celebrating their first one, and is not impressed: the patients are not just boxes to check! Phyllis: Oh good, you CAN read. The run of episodes has featured joy thanks to the blossoming romance of Nurse Lucille (Leonie Elliott) and Cyril (Zephryn Taitte) as well as despair due to the prospect of little May leaving the Turner family and health problems for Nurse Valerie's imprisoned grandmother. Things move relatively quickly. Their patient, Mrs. Pike, used to be a model and feels like something is different with this baby — maybe it's bigger? In the other room, Val insists that Baby Doctor give himself a mark on the baby board. Across town, Fred, who's been around enough medical professionals to know that pulling a Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge isn't a sign of peak health, calls Dr. Turner to snitch on Bird Guy. If my character had gone into the water in her bra and pants it would have made you feel people were watching. Dr. Turner: But you’re an integral part of the community!Sister Julienne: Just because you’re used to us doesn’t mean we’re secure here, bro. Sign up to our newsletter to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox. Trixie: You can make your own choices, you’re an adult. The plotlines are wholesomely heartwarming, the characters are good eggs, the uniforms are primly starched, and the narrative subtext is a beguiling celebration of the amazing new welfare state. It would probably have plodded on quite respectably had she not met Johan Tham, a Swedish hotelier, at an arts festival in Bath in 1989. Is It Farewell To Sister Julienne? The baby shows up pretty fast, and Dr. Sherlock does an adequate job, even though he struggles with being too formal with mom. Val insists that Phyllis take her bed, because that’s the kind of person she is, and also because competitive suffering is practically a sport in the UK (and in most modern offices!). Obviously, Bird Man is very upset, but has to concede that Reggie has a good point: you can't keep a pet that's making you sick. Julienne arrives to show everyone to their rooms and let them know that she saved them some food. Or will the call of duty to help the families she cares for be too strong? You can’t carry a child for nine months and then lose it and not feel that desperately. Baby Doctor approaches Val — shouldn’t she be teaching him something? She did read Germaine Greer in the 60s and 70s, “of course”, but never saw any evidence of gender inequality in her own life, and seems to find manifestations of sexism today more puzzling than offensive. Baby Doctor pulls out some monster scissors to try and do an episiotomy, but Val shuts him down: we don't need 'em. And in case you wanted to hear more, we then get to see Bird Guy's presentation for Fred's civilian defense club. Despondent, she told her fellow Sister and Midwives, who came to the rescue. Phyllis seems to approve, and even tells them where the good biscuits are stashed. After dinner, the doctors gather around a leader-board they've made to track who delivers the most babies. They suspect a break in, so Phyllis heads downstairs to catch the culprit. Val obviously tells him to get his act together and speak up, and when Baby Doctor continues to be, well, a huge baby about it, she forces his hand. Does this mean that next series we'll see the end of the order? The doctors are here, and they look just as excited to live with a bunch of nuns as Team Nonnatus is to have them move in. He doesn’t want to because he almost screwed up catastrophically, but Val reminds him that he didn’t, so it's all good. Across town, Mrs. Pike's dodgy husband continues with his plans to sell off his ill-gotten goods. Dr. Sherlock: But we need hot water to shave! The birds are his family! At clinic, Trixie and Dr. Sherlock tag team a patient. 1 Overview 2 Biography 3 Quotes 4 Gallery Sister Julienne is always shown to be the voice of wisdom to the other nurses of Poplar, kind and empathetic, she often helps her fellow Sisters and nurses through personal crisis with gentleness and acceptance. Dr. Sherlock: Wait, we’re last on the list? Dr. Turner: Yeah but this is the kind of work where we mold our future coworkers! The show has confirmed we'll be seeing a Christmas special in late 2020 (set in Poplar rather than elsewhere) and a tenth series following on in early 2021. Even without the stethoscope, we can hear that his lungs are real messed up. They spoke with Kevin about how he'd be going to a clinic to receive help and didn't rule out the prospect of him getting back to work someday. Welcome back to Poplar, where Sister Julienne just can't catch a break. Bird Guy tells him about Dot’s nan Nelly: a champion bird. It’s mutual: Dr. Turner is happy to have some actual dudes around. Well, all except one: Dot is still there, because he's giving her to Reggie! Dr. Turner shows up to check in, and asks Baby Doctor what he thinks is happening, because this is a classic teachable moment. Why is there that fascination? But it wasn’t discussed.”, The person her mother turned to for comfort and counsel was her priest. Then he added: ‘Saw you naked.’” Agutter’s eyes widen indignantly. I also feel like you should know that Vi is wearing a very cute hat. Sister Julienne: We have tons of on the ground training that they don’t have. And my own feeling is I wouldn’t want to share it with an awful lot of people. She moved back to Britain, married him the following year, and went into labour five weeks early on Christmas Eve 1990. “Oh, everything from not swearing to not having sex. Well done, Trixie. He’s sweet though. Imelda Staunton and Francesca Annis star in a juicy mystery about the perils of late-life, Ballot Question 1: A High-Cost, High-Stakes Clash Of Automotive Titans, Arts This Week: 'Salem Witch Trials 1692,' Watertown Historical Moving Plays And The Roxbury International Film Festival. But, oddly enough, Agutter gave birth on Christmas Day, and it wasn’t an entirely festive experience. Dr. Turner is sending his samples off for tests and wants to do an x-ray. When we meet them again will they be going strong and preparing for wedding?