S10.E05: Episode 5

[OtterMommy]

Quote

Sister Julienne is concerned when a toddler displays troubling symptoms. Shelagh and Nancy handle a teenage pregnancy, while the Turners receive exciting news.

 

[MissLucas]

Poor Miss Higgins - all her pristine records soaking wet and bumbling Fred. No wonder she asked for a 'competent individual' although that was a bit harsh.

The PKU storyline was well-written and acted yet somehow it left me cold. My tissues were reserved for the teenage pregnancy plot which was miserable and had no winners. The moment Tim and his friend confessed to each other that they would like to be back in the Cubs was really poignant.  A lot of us can probably remember one particular moment in our teenage years when we all of a sudden realize that the door to childhood is closing for good and the new land we were so impatiently waiting for was not all rainbows and sunshine. For me that was when a classmate suffered a fatal accident. 

Luckily Trixie's plot provided some relief. Then nanny montage was great, loved the glances Trixie and Hot Widower exchanged during the interviews. When one of the ladies started to blatantly flirt I thought Trixie's head was going to explode. Not (yet) with jealousy but with justified outrage. Oh, and that plant without flowers - good call, but that won't dissuade the shippers

Edited May 19, 2021 by MissLucas

[bybrandy]

On 5/18/2021 at 6:41 PM, MissLucas said:

good call, but that won't dissuade the shippers

I remain not dissuaded but would have been quite put out if it was more overtly romantic because I am fine with Trixie and Hot Widow dude but would not be if he was ready to go there already.   He loved his wife.  She's still relatively recently deceased and he has to find a peace with Jonathan before he can move on to matters of the heart.

[LGraves65]

I feel like I'm going to see Oliver Roberts on the next series of Long Lost Family.

[debraran]

Why wasn't the teen mom able to change her mind? I found it profoundly sad but is there no waiting period or grace period?

I loved this episode and how they bring in so many interesting topics and you learn so much. I know they are pushing the Trixie love affair but it's too soon and I hope he isn't shown for a bit. It wouldn't seem appropriate.

 

[Badger]

I don't think she had changed her mind about the adoption, she just thought she was  going to have some time to spend with her instead of having her taken away immediately like that.

[debraran]

5 hours ago, Badger said:

I don't think she had changed her mind about the adoption, she just thought she was  going to have some time to spend with her instead of having her taken away immediately like that.

I think "Oliver" would have been easier to give up if she knew the couple. With so many  wanting to adopt, even if you can't see them again, it would have been easier. I thought they might go to the Mom having her out of wedlock but they didn't.

[Badger]

Oops, for some reason I thought the baby was a girl.  Thanks for the correction.

I think the girl's mom might have been afraid that the girl would bond with the baby and decide to keep him and that would mean no university.

 

[debraran]

1 hour ago, Badger said:

Oops, for some reason I thought the baby was a girl.  Thanks for the correction.

I think the girl's mom might have been afraid that the girl would bond with the baby and decide to keep him and that would mean no university.

 

yes, sadly her boyfriend could have went but not her. Even if the mom brought it up (happened then too) while she went, it would be hard and confusing. As he said to Tim, "I wish I was back in Cubs" and he agreed. Sometimes being an adult too early is very hard.

[JustDucky]

Baby Jonathan is the cutest!  When he grins (which is often), my heart melts.  Also, when his dad was talking about getting "wee in his ear", it took me back to my days working at a day care and all the diaper mishaps.  I once had a baby boy get wee in his eyelash, and he giggled about it.  Good times!

I know they're probably aiming for a Trixie/Hot Widower endgame, so seeing it happen slowly - with genuine interaction and flowerless plants - makes me happy.  If they didn't start truly dating until sometime next season, that'd be fine by me!

The adoption storyline made me mad.  They jerked that poor mom around with what was going to happen with the baby. What's even sadder is that it happened so often in real life.  

I had to look up PKU - I'm assuming with regular testing that it gets treated right away nowadays without any lasting effects.  However, that poor little girl might be in for a struggle.  Wonder if we'll see her again, like we did the handful of thalidomide babies.  

It was so good to see Tim again!  Here's hoping he becomes more of a regular, and learns the ropes at the maternity home while he goes to medical school (although... didn't they mention he'd be in Edinburgh?).  

[TVFAN]

There is nothing like a Tim sighting to make my day.  I have loved the Turner family from Day 1.  (With Tim moving out, for a minute I thought they might adopt Oliver!  His mom clearly knew that you could not do better than the Turners.)

I like that hot widower continues to mourn his wife.   That's as it should be so soon after her death.  But he and Trixie have mad chemistry and baby Jonathan needs an adoring mommy.  Please give Trixie her happy ending, but find a way for her to stay on the show.

[Straycat80]

The adoption story broke my heart. I guess that happened regularly in the mid 60’s with unwed young women. Apparently the girl was young enough where she had no rights and the Mom could make all the decisions. Very sad. 
I hope Trixie and hot widower get together eventually, they have chemistry and baby Jonty is so cute. 

[Blackie]

1 hour ago, JustDucky said:

I had to look up PKU - I'm assuming with regular testing that it gets treated right away nowadays without any lasting effects

 

Back in the day, I had to do the heel pokes on babies, I think at that time it was only for PKU. Now there are may types of diseases they can screen for depending on where you live.  I called PKU before Dr Turner came up with it :)

ETA: At least the young mom wasn't sent away "to look after her blind grandmother" aka go to a unwed mother maternity home. I likes Shelaigh's talk about how everyday she tries to make it the right choice for her childrens' mothers

Edited November 1, 2021 by Blackie
eta

[LittleIggy]

The girl who said she had never heard of a “real person” named “Oliver.” Wouldn’t a British school girl have heard of Oliver Cromwell? What about Oliver Reed?

Baby Jonathan keeps on being a scene stealer! 😍

[GaT]

The whole adoption story was so sad, listening to hear scream when the took the baby away was heartbreaking. I recently watched a show on Netflix called "Found", it's about 3 Chinese girls (who turned out to be cousins) who were adopted in the US who were looking for their birth parents. They showed some parents who had to give up their daughters (apparently there were a lot) because of China's one child rule. One of the parents who they talked to had her baby in the hospital & she talked about how they took the baby away & she never knew what happened to her. It was so sad, & this storyline made me think of that.

[EllaWycliffe]

I don't know if this is the right place, but I missed this episode because a friend called and I went to PBS Passport on my streaming system and it was available.... and so was episode 6! AND episode 7! 

Guys, if you are a sustaining member of PBS you can binge watch this!

[Haleth]

Baby Jonty is so cute!  Not surprising the camera lingers on him so much.

Miss Higgins looked so wistful when the baby was taken away for adoption.  I wonder if she gave up a baby too.  Hard to believe prim Miss Higgins would have participated in any hanky panky, but you never know!  That whole story was so sad.  I'm surprised the grandmother didn't change her mind at the last minute.  That's how the story usually ends.

Loved the convo Patrick and Tim had about the advances in medicine in each of their lifetimes.

Love that Sr Julienne finally got out of the house and had a patient.

6 hours ago, GaT said:

about 3 Chinese girls (who turned out to be cousins) who were adopted in the US

I heard a story the other night about a friend's daughter (adopted from Central America, a young adult now) who found out she has a cousin (also adopted from Central America) who attends college in our little town in the Midwest.  Quite a coincidence.  

My daughter's SIL is planning on a home delivery with a midwife which could happen any day now.  Despite watching CTM for many seasons I'm still uneasy about this.

[dubbel zout]

8 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

The girl who said she had never heard of a “real person” named “Oliver.” Wouldn’t a British school girl have heard of Oliver Cromwell? What about Oliver Reed?

I took that to mean someone she had daily contact with.

[libgirl2]

Either Miss Higgins gave up a baby, which I highly suspect or she was given up. That whole storyline made me so sad. 

I laughed when Nurse Crane was talking to the student nurses about hygiene during the warmer days. 

Edited November 1, 2021 by libgirl2

[EllaWycliffe]

15 hours ago, JustDucky said:

However, that poor little girl might be in for a struggle. 

The little bit of reading I did on PKU last night says that the damage is mostly done  - the intervention has to start when the child is a baby to prevent brain damage etc.

[libgirl2]

18 minutes ago, EllaWycliffe said:

The little bit of reading I did on PKU last night says that the damage is mostly done  - the intervention has to start when the child is a baby to prevent brain damage etc.

Mid-80s I was doing my hospital lab rotation for school and I remember going with the lab tech to the nursery so they could collect a sample to test for PKU. They did it just as they did on the show. 

[EllaWycliffe]

Just now, libgirl2 said:

Mid-80s I was doing my hospital lab rotation for school and I remember going with the lab tech to the nursery so they could collect a sample to test for PKU. They did it just as they did on the show. 

I'm not in any way debating the test method. I'm saying that the three year old girl isn't likely to recover full function because PKU starts to damage the child soon after birth. They didn't realize she was ill, and now despite changing the diet etc, it doesn't seem like the little girl would have a magical recovery. 

 

[dubbel zout]

3 minutes ago, EllaWycliffe said:

They didn't realize she was ill

The parents did, but they had some willful blindness going on.

[Cetacean]

4 minutes ago, EllaWycliffe said:

'm not in any way debating the test method. I'm saying that the three year old girl isn't likely to recover full function because PKU starts to damage the child soon after birth. They didn't realize she was ill, and now despite changing the diet etc, it doesn't seem like the little girl would have a magical recovery.

You are correct.  At this point it's rehabbing and working with what limited abilities the child has.

I, too, did plenty of heel sticks in my nursery rotation.  That was in the early 70's. 

[Blackie]

5 minutes ago, EllaWycliffe said:

They didn't realize she was ill, and now despite changing the diet etc, it doesn't seem like the little girl would have a magical recovery. 

 

Yes a lot of the damage is done. Hopefully she will no longer have seizures at least. I'm surprised that Sister Julienne even suggested physio and Speech therapy because back then I think their attitude would have been 'damage done, no hope so no point with therapy". Now we know more about the brain and it is a lot more plastic then we once believed so I think with a lot of therapies she may see some improvement.

[AZChristian]

Did I miss something regarding that little girl?  In three years, had she never seen any medical professional before?  It was a midwife/nurse who saw there was an issue, and the mother was MANY months pregnant.  Did the child never have to see a doctor in three years?

WHY had no one picked up on her developmental difficulties before this?

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, EllaWycliffe said:

I'm not in any way debating the test method. I'm saying that the three year old girl isn't likely to recover full function because PKU starts to damage the child soon after birth. They didn't realize she was ill, and now despite changing the diet etc, it doesn't seem like the little girl would have a magical recovery. 

 

I didn't think you were debating the testing method. I just brought it up because as soon as they said PKU I remembered collecting the sample. I hadn't thought of it for years. And no the damage has been done. She might have small improvements in some areas but nowhere near normal. 

Edited November 1, 2021 by libgirl2

[Blackie]

4 minutes ago, Cetacean said:

I, too, did plenty of heel sticks in my nursery rotation.  That was in the early 70's. 

 

So funny that there are are few of us this thread that did the heel pokes. I was only 18 years old and had NO experience with babies, let alone newborns. I was Ok if the baby was in the cot but I was too afraid to take the baby  from the mom and carry it to the cot.

3 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

WHY had no one picked up on her developmental difficulties before this?

 

This show seems to over exaggerate things sometimes, There is no way that if not a medical professional then at least another family member or neighbour would have pointed out that something was wrong with the girl.

[Sarah 103]

15 hours ago, JustDucky said:

It was so good to see Tim again!  Here's hoping he becomes more of a regular, and learns the ropes at the maternity home while he goes to medical school (although... didn't they mention he'd be in Edinburgh?).  

Tim is fantastic. It's possible Tim will be home for visits, because there will be breaks in the school year while he's at college. What I am hoping is that when he is home he gets tagged into some of Dr. Turner's medical storylines.  

5 hours ago, Haleth said:

Loved the convo Patrick and Tim had about the advances in medicine in each of their lifetimes.

I thought it was facinating that Tim was looking backwards and talking about all the things he would never see because of vaccines and other medical advances, while Patrick was looking to the future and talking about all the things Tim would see that Patrick could never imagine.

Casting lucked out in a way they could never have imagined. They had no idea when the cast the young actor to play Tim that in 10 years he would look very much like the actor playing his father. 

[libgirl2]

4 minutes ago, Sarah 103 said:

Tim is fantastic. It's possible Tim will be home for visits, because there will be breaks in the school year while he's at college. What I am hoping is that when he is home he gets tagged into some of Dr. Turner's medical storylines.  

I thought it was facinating that Tim was looking backwards and talking about all the things he would never see because of vaccines and other medical advances, while Patrick was looking to the future and talking about all the things Tim would see that Patrick could never imagine.

Casting lucked out in a way they could never have imagined. They had no idea when the cast the young actor to play Tim that in 10 years he would look very much like the actor playing his father. 

It was such a lovely scene. 

I also thought that they really look like father and son. 

[movingtargetgal]

11 minutes ago, Sarah 103 said:

I thought it was facinating that Tim was looking backwards and talking about all the things he would never see because of vaccines and other medical advances, while Patrick was looking to the future and talking about all the things Tim would see that Patrick could never imagine.

As a doctor, Tim will be dealing with the AIDS crisis and possibly the Covid Pandemic.  Tim would be in his 70's during the pandemic, but I can see him coming out of retirement to treat the residents of Poplar during the crisis. 

[anna0852]

26 minutes ago, movingtargetgal said:

As a doctor, Tim will be dealing with the AIDS crisis and possibly the Covid Pandemic.  Tim would be in his 70's during the pandemic, but I can see him coming out of retirement to treat the residents of Poplar during the crisis. 

I want a flash forward to Future Dr. Tim!

[Sarah 103]

49 minutes ago, movingtargetgal said:

As a doctor, Tim will be dealing with the AIDS crisis and possibly the Covid Pandemic.  Tim would be in his 70's during the pandemic, but I can see him coming out of retirement to treat the residents of Poplar during the crisis. 

If Dr. Tim Turner is anything like his father, he would come out of retirement and put his own health at risk to treat residents of Poplar during the Covid Pandemic. I can see Tim getting a ton of AIDS patients in the 1980s because he is one of the few willing to treat them with respect and like any other sick patient. 

22 minutes ago, anna0852 said:

I want a flash forward to Future Dr. Tim!

Yes! I now absolutely want this is as a sequel series. I think he would be starting out on his own/joining his father's practice sometime in the early or mid 1970s. 

[EllaWycliffe]

I dunno, I have to admit that while Dr. Tim is cute, its almost too cutesy perfect. I sometimes feel like Tim never really had much opportunity to explore anything but a medical career. It'd be interesting for the Turners to deal with a *tiny smidge* of difficulty in Tim going to university and realizing he loves history or art.

I also noticed that in the discussion on choice and how Tim was *choosing* to be a doctor, May and Angela were talked about as though they would choose nursing.... women were starting to enter the doctor profession at this time. Have we ever seen a female doctor on this show?

[anna0852]

3 minutes ago, EllaWycliffe said:

I also noticed that in the discussion on choice and how Tim was *choosing* to be a doctor, May and Angela were talked about as though they would choose nursing.... women were starting to enter the doctor profession at this time. Have we ever seen a female doctor on this show?

Yes. One. A middle aged woman in the birth control clinic. Barbara saw her for a diaphragm. 

[Driad]

Questions about schooling, British vs. U.S.  adTHANKSvance!

[1] How old is Tim and how much education has he had so far? A U.S. student starting medical school would already have graduated from college/university. Is that Tim's situation, or is he about to start what the U.S. would call a pre-med undergraduate curriculum?

[2] The pregnant 16-year-old said she was about to start 6th form.  What U.S. high school grade would that correspond to?

[CrazyMoon]

Tim & Patrick were wonderful...and I liked the way Tim announced his presence as a "competent individual"...which he surely is, clothesline & pegs included! Miss Higgins seems pleased as well. Medical school is brutal...Tim will have some doubts that I hope we get to see played out...and he'll regain his confidence with Patrick & Shelagh's help, perhaps with a medical emergency he comes across by acccident and alone. 

Baby Jonathan is a scene stealer if I ever saw one...loved the nanny interviews. Trixie was shocked at the one making googoo eyes at HotDad. Fortunately he was turned off...He's been widowed now for about six months...by the end of the season there might be some action. 

I'm wondering if Miss Higgins has more experience in the adoption area than she lets on...I'm thinking she may confide in Nurse Crane...stay tuned!

[LittleIggy]

I guess I’m in the minority in thinking Tim is a bit too perfect. Can’t he ever mouth off at his parents or leave a mess in the kitchen? 

[Sarah 103]

22 minutes ago, Driad said:

Questions about schooling, British vs. U.S.  adTHANKSvance!

[1] How old is Tim and how much education has he had so far? A U.S. student starting medical school would already have graduated from college/university. Is that Tim's situation, or is he about to start what the U.S. would call a pre-med undergraduate curriculum?

Tim is about to start college, so the American pre-med undergraduate curriculum. While a U.S student would have four years, my memory is the Britsh version of undergraduate is three years. Since the series is going to have another three seasons, we may see him graduate university. 

19 minutes ago, CrazyMoon said:

Medical school is brutal...Tim will have some doubts that I hope we get to see played out...and he'll regain his confidence with Patrick & Shelagh's help, perhaps with a medical emergency he comes across by acccident and alone. 

Timothy dealing with a medical emergency alone would be perfect for a Christmas episode. It's a blizzard/intense snow storm, there's been an accident far from a house or a place with a phone, and Timothy is the only one around with medical training. 

[AZChristian]

36 minutes ago, Driad said:

Questions about schooling, British vs. U.S.  adTHANKSvance!

The pregnant 16-year-old said she was about to start 6th form.  What U.S. high school grade would that correspond to?

adTHANKSvance:  I don't think I've ever seen that before.  Loving and stealing for personal use!

From Google:  "Sixth Form means the last two years (Year 12 and Year 13) of secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Students move to sixth form at the age of 16 and remain until the end of the school at the age of 18."

 

[EllaWycliffe]

56 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

I guess I’m in the minority in thinking Tim is a bit too perfect. Can’t he ever mouth off at his parents or leave a mess in the kitchen? 

Oh I get you. Tim is basically the perfect little son and I sometimes want to bitch slap him. The Turner kids in general are way too perfect and honestly, May, Angela, and Teddy are all getting a little old to not be speaking.... you'd think someone would notice....

(I know this is likely logistical, the kids don't have anything to do with the plots so they're paid to sit there and be props for the perfect family but if this show runs two more years, they might need to recast for children that can act)

[caitmcg]

1 hour ago, Driad said:

How old is Tim and how much education has he had so far? A U.S. student starting medical school would already have graduated from college/university. Is that Tim's situation, or is he about to start what the U.S. would call a pre-med undergraduate curriculum?

In the UK, students begin medical education at the undergraduate level. Quoting:

Quote

In the UK, the study of medicine starts at the undergraduate level. Applicants declare a course in medicine when they send their university applications. Upon getting accepted, they spend between four and six years studying core science subjects and learning everyday clinical tasks. At the point they earn their bachelor’s and enter the workforce, they are considered to be junior doctors.

After completing their undergraduate education, UK medical students take two "foundation years," reinforcing what they have learned in university in a professional environment. This is considered to be a continuation of their education although it is not in a university environment. Finally, they may spend between four and eight years learning a specialization like obstetrics or surgery. These studies are completed in clinics and/or hospitals. This means that becoming a doctor in the UK takes between six and twelve years, depending on whether a junior doctor chooses to pursue a complex specialization.

By contrast, in the US, it generally takes a minimum of 11 years post-secondary school to become a licensed physician (four year undergraduate degree, four years of med school, and three or more years of residency, depending on which area of medicine), though there are a few six-year combined undergraduate and medical programs.

[J-Man]

PKU became an issue when aspartame (NutraSweet) was invented back in the '80s. It contains phenylalanine, which cannot be broken down by people who have PKU. That's why you see warning labels on Diet Coke.

[Maisiesmom]

Well I enjoyed this episode-where do they find these so cute babies?I loved the nanny interviews-Trixie needs to get with the hot widower and precious baby Jonathan. The PKU girl was sweet too- I thought at first maybe she was autistic? Too bad they didn't catch her condition earlier. But the part that got me in the feels was the teenage mom-because that happened to me. I got pregnant at 16 also but the dad wanted nothing to do with me. He even transferred to a different school so he wouldn't see me in the halls. I was so scared and didn't know what to do-many sleepless tearful nights! My parents were less than pleased, needless to say, and after a lot of soul-searching I decided the best thing to do both for me and the child was to do the adoption. So after 15 hours of rough labor, I gave birth to a beautiful 8lb3oz baby girl. I had put myself in the mind-set of "this baby is not mine" because it was the only way I could get through it. I only saw her once-right after the birth-I asked the doc if I could see her and the nurse cleaned her up and held her so I could see her. I just wanted to count fingers and toes and make sure everything was where it was supposed to be. Every day while I was in the hospital a social worker would come and ask me if I wanted to hold her-I would say no and then cry but I knew if I did, I wouldn't be able to give her away. It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. It was a "closed" adoption so I have no way of knowing what happened to her but 50 years later I still know it was the right thing to do. I cried while watching the show and the lady came in with the basket to take baby Oliver away-I felt that girls pain (sigh). Anyway, sorry for the long post but it hit close to home for me.

[MartyQui]

3 hours ago, caitmcg said:

By contrast, in the US, it generally takes a minimum of 11 years post-secondary school to become a licensed physician (four year undergraduate degree, four years of med school, and three or more years of residency, depending on which area of medicine), though there are a few six-year combined undergraduate and medical programs.

Boston University has a 6 year med school program.  I worked with one of the graduates…he seemed so young, even though he had completed residency and was working on an interventional cardiology fellowship.

I was thinking that Tim would see the advent of effective chemotherapy, and combination protocols. In 1966, there were crude drugs that could perhaps help…nowadays we have targeted chemotherapy, and cancer isn’t necessarily a death sentence.

My grandmother was born in 1896, her mother was a midwife, and my grandmother lived to be 103.  She was always astounded by the amazing strides in medicine (including the “operation” (never named) after my first uncle was born that let her have 6 more kids)!

[angora]

Okay, so between Call the Midwife: Origins, the adventures of Miss Higgins and Nurse Crane as travel buddies solving medical mysteries, and now a Dr. Tim sequel, we’re approaching Chicago Med/PD/Fire levels of hypothetical spin-offs. Step aside, MCU—it’s time for the rise of the CtMU!

[Cetacean]

@Maisiesmom, thank you for sharing a very private experience with us.  I can't even imagine going through that.

[Sarah 103]

There was something that I forgot to mention earlier. I was surprised that Trixie quoted/referenced Dr. Benjamin Spock, because I thought there was a different pediatric expert that was big in England and thier go to reference for babies and children. 

[Maisiesmom]

Thank you to everyone

[dubbel zout]

I have two adopted nieces from China, and my family is profoundly grateful to those birth mothers. It can’t be an easy decision, regardless of circumstances.