S11.E01: Episode 1

[OtterMommy]

Quote

Demolition work in Poplar uncovers a long-buried secret that leads to a testing and emotional case for the team. Sister Julienne takes on a sensitive delivery.

Air date (UK): January 2, 2022

[EllaWycliffe]

I'm betting dead babies buried from an orphanage/foundling hospital!

[bybrandy]

It is so rare we get to see how former patients are getting on so it was nice to see that couple again. 
The rest of the show was pretty heartbreaking, as call the midwife is wont to be.  

[LGraves65]

Was Helen George pregnant during filming?  

[dargosmydaddy]

5 hours ago, LGraves65 said:

Was Helen George pregnant during filming?  

Yes

[purist]

I really felt the constraints of Covid filming protocols during the scene when Audrey Fleming was at the clinic. She was sobbing her eyes out and the nurses were all standing back. I'm sure if we were not in a pandemic one of them would have been holding her hand.

Vanessa Redgrave's narration is becoming very wobbly. 😔

[MissLucas]

I wondered if someone else had taken over the narration 😔

That was a rather depressing episode but well acted as usual. I'm glad Nancy followed Sister Francis advice and that it went it without drama (so far). Best moment was Sister Hilda reminiscing about her wild days in the WAAFs. I'm glad show allows Fenella Woolgar to show her comedic chops a bit more. Not sure what to make of the info that Cyril does not like radishes, the monster!

I had to look up who won the 1967 Eurovision and in doing so learned that Sandie Shaw hated 'Puppet on a String' for its 'sexist drivel and cuckoo-clock tune.' Nevertheless it won. According to Wikipedia: 'The entry had one of the widest margins of victory ever witnessed in the competition; it garnered more than twice as many points as the second-placed song. Shaw intensely disliked the composition, though her attitude towards the song somewhat mellowed in later years, even releasing a new version in 2007.'

Edited January 8, 2022 by MissLucas

[Badger]

Was Sandie Shaw the one who sang barefoot?  I had one of those "history of rock music" books, and I remember there being a British girl singer who did that.

[MissLucas]

36 minutes ago, Badger said:

Was Sandie Shaw the one who sang barefoot?  I had one of those "history of rock music" books, and I remember there being a British girl singer who did that.

Yes, and Sister Julienne did not approve!

[Badger]

19 hours ago, MissLucas said:

Yes, and Sister Julienne did not approve!

It's funny, but I rewatched the episode right after I posted the question and of course there was a reference to Sandie Shaw singing barefoot.  I obviously missed it the first time.

[Good Queen Jane]

Bumping this since the PBS showing is this Sunday (March 20).

 

[Constant Viewer]

This episode was harrowing!

[ComeWhatMay]

Tough watch. A woman who delivered by Caesarean followed by an immediate hysterectomy in an emergency is not going to know how to get a baby who does not come out crying to breath. I understand the first time Marigold delivered perhaps the baby died, almost. That look when the cop asked if either child breathed. Whew. Marigold did not want them to… Chilling. It’s not respectable to cavort with a married man either. Did the married guy she had the arrangement with fail to notice she was ever pregnant having delivered two kids?! Her mother missed two pregnancies until delivery? I think the cop wanted to charge her and couldn’t. 

[BooksRule]

U.S. viewer here. I'm so glad this is back!

I thought it was interesting that the detective (I liked her), Dr. Turner, and Nurse Crane immediately thought it was the mother who had given birth many years ago and hid the babies.  My first thought was the daughter. I'm terrible at judging ages, so I didn't know how old she was supposed to be, but I assumed that she was unmarried and her mother helped her cover up a potential scandal to the family. I never suspected the mother until they asked to see her.

I'm not familiar with  with 'Eurovision' and will have to look it up when I have more time (although I do know the show title 'Top of the Pops' from other British TV shows and books).  

[susannah]

Just saw this. It is not Vanessa Redgrave doing the voiceover. It doesn't sound like her at all, and she was not in the credits. I didn't know what to think about the deceased babies. It seems unlikely that a healthy young woman would have two stillborn deliveries. I think it IS likely that her mother killed them, and that is what she can't bear to live with. I didn't understand the "arrangement" with someone who was "taking advantage of her." I don't know how old she was then, but an adult, most likely in her 20s.  It was a real reach to have the baby belong to the family who just happened to be on Nurse Crane's rounds that day.

I am glad Nancy told Colette, I think it will help the little girl alot to know she has a mother and is loved. As for the chicken pox, all of the Turner kids were at the Easter festivities, and the next we see, they are all down with it? How many people did they expose? I laughed when Sheilagh said that collating the medical information while the kids were sick would give her something to do. I think with three kids vomiting and itching and feverish, she would have plenty to do! I was happy to see Sr Julienne allow Reggie to have his party at the house, and watch the concert. It may not have been proper for nuns, but it was giving joy to others. Didn't like Trixie thinking that she was above having anyone share her room like everyone else, or anyone using her things, though it's been shown she has done the same. I didn't know she was pregnant during filming but it sure looked like it, when she was wearing that yellow jacket. Would Matthew really be the one pulling the baby, a possible murder victim, from the chimney instead of the officer?

[AZChristian]

59 minutes ago, susannah said:

Just saw this. It is not Vanessa Redgrave doing the voiceover. It doesn't sound like her at all, and she was not in the credits. 

She is still listed in IMDB as the narrator, "Mature Jenny."

[Badger]

I don't think they knew that it was the remains of a dead baby in the chimney or else I'm sure the police would have been involved.

Also, when Marigold spoke about how the babies never made a sound, I think it was one of those situations where if a professional had been there, he or she would have known what to do to possibly get the baby breathing.

A couple scenes they cut:  Sisters Frances and Monica Joan are checking out a booth with the Eurovision contest recordings and Sister Monica Joan says the songs are not jaunty or seasonal enough for her and that the tenor who is the Dutch contestant is not sincere.  She says she is looking for the song about the travails of the marionette and when Sister Frances finds out, she calls Reggie over because he likes the song and they all dance around.

The second one is after Nancy gets back from her first day as a working midwife.  She has a tray of ice cream sodas for everyone although she says she knows it isn't hot.  Nancy says when she was a little girl, there was a milk bar in Cork and she always wanted to go up to the counter and have an ice cream soda but the nuns were having none of it.

[Grrarrggh]

7 hours ago, ComeWhatMay said:

Tough watch. A woman who delivered by Caesarean followed by an immediate hysterectomy in an emergency is not going to know how to get a baby who does not come out crying to breath. I understand the first time Marigold delivered perhaps the baby died, almost. That look when the cop asked if either child breathed. Whew. Marigold did not want them to… Chilling. It’s not respectable to cavort with a married man either. Did the married guy she had the arrangement with fail to notice she was ever pregnant having delivered two kids?! Her mother missed two pregnancies until delivery? I think the cop wanted to charge her and couldn’t. 

She focused so much on "respectability" because of Britain's obsession with class and the misogyny/C of E hypocrisy of the times. The married guy didn't give a flying fart if she was pregnant with octuplets and hung them off of the Tower Bridge so long as he wasn't involved. And the mother obviously knew, but what was she to do? I think the cop was grateful she didn't have to charge her. It was a tragedy all around and Marigold was as much a victim as the infants. 

[libgirl2]

On 1/5/2022 at 7:27 AM, purist said:

 

Vanessa Redgrave's narration is becoming very wobbly. 😔

I thought the same. 

[libgirl2]

On 1/7/2022 at 8:03 PM, MissLucas said:

That was a rather depressing episode but well acted as usual. I'm glad Nancy followed Sister Francis advice and that it went it without drama (so far). Best moment was Sister Hilda reminiscing about her wild days in the WAAFs. I'm glad show allows Fenella Woolgar to show her comedic chops a bit more. Not sure what to make of the info that Cyril does not like radishes, the monster!

 

She is so funny. I'm only familiar with the actress from being on Doctor Who but I really like her. 

See, Cyril isn't perfect!! lol! 

On 1/7/2022 at 8:53 PM, Badger said:

Was Sandie Shaw the one who sang barefoot?  I had one of those "history of rock music" books, and I remember there being a British girl singer who did that.

She also did a cover of Hand in Glove! 

[JudyObscure]

5 hours ago, Badger said:

A couple scenes they cut:  Sisters Frances and Monica Joan are checking out a booth with the Eurovision contest recordings and Sister Monica Joan says the songs are not jaunty or seasonal enough for her and that the tenor who is the Dutch contestant is not sincere.  She says she is looking for the song about the travails of the marionette and when Sister Frances finds out, she calls Reggie over because he likes the song and they all dance around.

Why can't we have nice things?!  This would have been a welcome bright spot, they could have cut one of the baby skeleton scenes.

 

On 1/7/2022 at 9:03 PM, MissLucas said:

Not sure what to make of the info that Cyril does not like radishes, the monster!

I think this was a call back to Chummy embarrassing her policeman husband with that sort of thing in his lunch when they were newly weds.

 

7 hours ago, susannah said:

I laughed when Sheilagh said that collating the medical information while the kids were sick would give her something to do. I think with three kids vomiting and itching and feverish, she would have plenty to do!

This also reminded me of Chummy when we saw how simply bored to tears she was with just "young master" to care for.  The first six months of my son's life were the most  exhausting  days of my life.  I think the writers must believe that SAHM's just watch soaps and eat bonbons all day.  Most of the women in Poplar have to shop every day because their refrigerators (if they had them) were tiny, cook all three meals from scratch, wash laundry in water boiled on the stove, hang them out on those lines that go across the street, clean the rooms that are covered in coal soot, take the baby out so it can breathe some fresh air, on and on, rinse, repeat.  I know the Turners have all the mod-cons, but still.

--------

OT: One reason I was so exhausted was that my baby had colic around the clock and I never had a chance to sleep for more than an hour or two at a time.  I was breast feeding, old women told me something must be wrong with my milk, and my weight went down to 103.  I think the show has been remiss to never cover this problem seriously.  Young mothers can become suicidal over a really bad case of colic.

[Mermaid Under]

Trixie's rich friend funding the nuns might not be sustainable - and are they due for another move if this house is falling down?

I think there is foreshadowing of the nuclear father having another health crisis before the end of this season. 

I missed part of the story - was it determined that Colette's lethargy was caused by not knowing who her mother was, and that is why Nurse Nancy told her now?

 

[EllaWycliffe]

2 hours ago, Mermaid Under said:

I missed part of the story - was it determined that Colette's lethargy was caused by not knowing who her mother was, and that is why Nurse Nancy told her now?

I don't think this ever was addressed and I was like "guys HUGE RED FLAG HERE! The foster kid is constantly exhausted and skipping recess to sleep"

[screenaddict]

Oh gosh. I have waited all year for this to come to the U.S.

My father, sadly, is dying. He is my hero and one of my favorite people in the world. At the end, when Mature Jenny was speaking of grief and the circle of life, I was gutted. 

They do such a good job with this show. You care about every single character, even if you just met them.

[libgirl2]

29 minutes ago, EllaWycliffe said:

I don't think this ever was addressed and I was like "guys HUGE RED FLAG HERE! The foster kid is constantly exhausted and skipping recess to sleep"

I wonder if it will brought up later. 

16 minutes ago, screenaddict said:

Oh gosh. I have waited all year for this to come to the U.S.

My father, sadly, is dying. He is my hero and one of my favorite people in the world. At the end, when Mature Jenny was speaking of grief and the circle of life, I was gutted. 

They do such a good job with this show. You care about every single character, even if you just met them.

I am so very sorry. I also watched my father die in front of my eyes from brain cancer. He was diagnosed in April and was gone by August. He was such a good man and didn't deserve it. 

[susannah]

6 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

She focused so much on "respectability" because of Britain's obsession with class and the misogyny/C of E hypocrisy of the times. The married guy didn't give a flying fart if she was pregnant with octuplets and hung them off of the Tower Bridge so long as he wasn't involved. And the mother obviously knew, but what was she to do? I think the cop was grateful she didn't have to charge her. It was a tragedy all around and Marigold was as much a victim as the infants. 

I think to call Marigold a "victim" without further information is rather premature. We don't know what the "arrangement" was or what they got out of it. Also, no one knows for sure what happened at the births. All Marigold said was that she heard nothing. If they hid the babies' bodies in the floor and chimney, it's not a stretch for me to think that Marigold's mother killed them. That the man had zero repercussions all the way around in such a situation has always been true. I am not sure if the cop was grateful or not. I know she was sure that Marigold wouldn't make a reliable witness and her mother no witness at all.

[susannah]

10 hours ago, Badger said:

I don't think they knew that it was the remains of a dead baby in the chimney or else I'm sure the police would have been involved.

They did know. She told them where it was. and the officer came in and took the bag with the baby's remains in it from Matthew. I liked the callback to Chummy and her decorative radishes! What is it with men not liking radishes, Peter didn't like his either. Wow, did Sr Hilda get into describing smoking!

[libgirl2]

20 minutes ago, susannah said:

They did know. She told them where it was. and the officer came in and took the bag with the baby's remains in it from Matthew. I liked the callback to Chummy and her decorative radishes! What is it with men not liking radishes, Peter didn't like his either. Wow, did Sr Hilda get into describing smoking!

As a former smoker, she described it very well. 

[EllaWycliffe]

46 minutes ago, susannah said:

Wow, did Sr Hilda get into describing smoking!

She described her joy in drinking and partying rather well.... I'd like to see someone from her sordid past pop up! :D

[Cetacean]

So glad it's back, but there were some puzzling moments. Since I don't know anything about Eurovision thing I was totally lost with that.  And we never did get any explanation or resolution with Colette's lethargy.  

The two dead babies thing was odd as well but I guess we're supposed to draw our own conclusions about stillborns vs murders.

[Badger]

36 minutes ago, susannah said:

They did know. She told them where it was. and the officer came in and took the bag with the baby's remains in it from Matthew. I liked the callback to Chummy and her decorative radishes! What is it with men not liking radishes, Peter didn't like his either. Wow, did Sr Hilda get into describing smoking!

What I meant was that I don't think Matthew knew until the bag with the baby's remains were opened.  

I just remembered another scene they cut.  Mrs. Nyall heard the Asian woman (not sure what her actual ethnicity was although I think she may have been Sylheti) crying out and she saw her husband out in the hall and she told him that he must hold her hands.

[libgirl2]

28 minutes ago, EllaWycliffe said:

She described her joy in drinking and partying rather well.... I'd like to see someone from her sordid past pop up! :D

As long as it isn't too dramatic and upsetting. 

6 minutes ago, Cetacean said:

So glad it's back, but there were some puzzling moments. Since I don't know anything about Eurovision thing I was totally lost with that.  And we never did get any explanation or resolution with Colette's lethargy.  

 

They shouldn't leave that hanging. 

[susannah]

13 minutes ago, Badger said:

What I meant was that I don't think Matthew knew until the bag with the baby's remains were opened.  

I just remembered another scene they cut.  Mrs. Nyall heard the Asian woman (not sure what her actual ethnicity was although I think she may have been Sylheti) crying out and she saw her husband out in the hall and she told him that he must hold her hands.

Right, he most likely didn't know. What I don't get was why he was looking for it instead of the officer.

[susannah]

48 minutes ago, Cetacean said:

And we never did get any explanation or resolution with Colette's lethargy. 

Right. I hope it is not going to be a bigger issue down the road, like she is sick or something. She should be checked out, for sure.

[Daff]

7 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

She is so funny. I'm only familiar with the actress from being on Doctor Who but I really like her. 

She was very glib, with a dry wit in “Home Fires”, and really enjoyed her performance there, as well!

[Mermaid Under]

Quote

Right, he most likely didn't know. What I don't get was why he was looking for it instead of the officer.

When I watched it, I thought it was a sort of directorial thing where the two things were happening simultaneously, but in different places.   Miss Nyall was confessing to killing two babies, and telling the police that there was another infant's body hidden in the flue, in addition to the one they had already found.  At the same time, the demolition/renovation continued, and they had Matthew find the other body, unaware of her confession.   

I thought it was strange, because if you doing demolition, why bother to check the chimney?  You would just knock it down.  And maybe find something in the rubble.

Did they explain why Nurse Crane was allowed to stay for the questioning?  And Doctor Turner was allowed to question Miss Nyall?  

 

[susannah]

14 minutes ago, Daff said:

She was very glib, with a dry wit in “Home Fires”, and really enjoyed her performance there, as well!

I love Home Fires, and she was good in the role, but Alison made me nuts, with making one bad decision after the next, leading to the ruination of jobs and lives, just because she couldn't pay the vet bill all at once and wouldn't ask for help. I also didn't like how she pushed Teresa into marrying Nick. But FW played the part very well. I like how they are giving glimpses into Sr Hilda's fun loving past life!

6 minutes ago, Mermaid Under said:

When I watched it, I thought it was a sort of directorial thing where the two things were happening simultaneously, but in different places.   Miss Nyall was confessing to killing two babies, and telling the police that there was another infant's body hidden in the flue, in addition to the one they had already found.  At the same time, the demolition/renovation continued, and they had Matthew find the other body, unaware of her confession.

Except the officer was just there. They didn't call him.

[EllaWycliffe]

7 minutes ago, Mermaid Under said:

Did they explain why Nurse Crane was allowed to stay for the questioning?  And Doctor Turner was allowed to question Miss Nyall?  

Yeah, because the woman was known to be quite mentally unstable and had spent time in the psych ward. It was sort of understood that the woman wasn't quite right in the head.

4 minutes ago, susannah said:

I like how they are giving glimpses into Sr Hilda's fun loving past life!

It does lead me to ask why is she a nun?

[Cetacean]

16 minutes ago, Mermaid Under said:

I thought it was strange, because if you doing demolition, why bother to check the chimney?  You would just knock it down.  And maybe find something in the rubble.

Yes, that's the part that makes no sense.  And there had to have been fires in the fireplace over the years. Wouldn't the bundle either have stopped up the chimney or disintegrated by now?

[Sarah 103]

14 hours ago, susannah said:

As for the chicken pox, all of the Turner kids were at the Easter festivities, and the next we see, they are all down with it? How many people did they expose?

Do we know how much time elapsed between the Easter event and the rest of the episode? I may be overthinking this, so if I am let me know. If chicken pox was going around, do we know the Turner children were already infected at the Easter event? Is it possible they caught the chicken pox at the Easter event? 

1 hour ago, EllaWycliffe said:

She described her joy in drinking and partying rather well.... I'd like to see someone from her sordid past pop up! :D

I love this idea. Maybe one of the women Sister Hilda served with in WAAFs no longer lives in London but is back in London for plot reasons and decides to reconnect with Sister Hilda. They are now quite different people. It could make for a fun subplot. 

2 minutes ago, EllaWycliffe said:

It does lead me to ask why is she a nun?

This is why we need the prequel series or a series of movies about the backstories of the older characters. 

[Daff]

I’m thrilled it’s back, as well. I laughed at Mrs. Nyall sounding like Sister MJ, as she stood in the doorway (oh, no, not another soliloquist!). Also loved Sr. Frances’s sweet face (those striking eyes) when she was in bed with her nightcap on, and at the end, waving from the window. I was happy Sr. Julienne put aside her objections to the show for Reggie’s sake (whatever “Eurovision” was, anyway). I did chuckle at the line she had about sporting match (soccer?) being “history” vs. it’s just “pop music”.

I, too, suspected the Miss Nyall of producing those babies from the beginning, but she clearly told the midwives her mother delivered them. Guess they believed her because she was so prim and proper, and kept a neat, tidy household. I doubt they will revisit the story so we’re not going to get anymore details. I’m just taking it at face value- “arrangement” (for rent, food, or both), “took advantage” (she did say it went on for years), and finally, the fact that she had psychiatric problems and was institutionalized means she was probably unemployable. She may have wanted to make it stop, but if she complained, who would believe her? And it might have sent her back to the institution!

[libgirl2]

12 minutes ago, Daff said:

I’m thrilled it’s back, as well. I laughed at Mrs. Nyall sounding like Sister MJ, as she stood in the doorway (oh, no, not another soliloquist!). Also loved Sr. Frances’s sweet face (those striking eyes) when she was in bed with her nightcap on, and at the end, waving from the window. I was happy Sr. Julienne put aside her objections to the show for Reggie’s sake (whatever “Eurovision” was, anyway). I did chuckle at the line she had about sporting match (soccer?) being “history” vs. it’s just “pop music”.

 

Well, soccer fans take the sport very seriously! 

30 minutes ago, EllaWycliffe said:

It does lead me to ask why is she a nun?

Did you ever see the movie "Where Angels go Trouble Follows" set in a girl's school run by nuns?

Spoiler

The biggest trouble maker ends up becoming a nun. 

 

Edited March 21, 2022 by libgirl2

[Rootbeer]

38 minutes ago, EllaWycliffe said:

Yeah, because the woman was known to be quite mentally unstable and had spent time in the psych ward. It was sort of understood that the woman wasn't quite right in the head.

It does lead me to ask why is she a nun?

Lots of nuns have rather checkered pasts. So far, we know she drank a bit and smoked cigarettes; that is not at all unusual for a woman her age at that time.  My aunt's best friend was a nun, they were teens during WWII and used to go down to the USO to dance with boys and drink beer, didn't stop her from eventually entering the convent although it did change my aunt's mind about her vocation.  Nuns are not born wearing the veil, they're regular people who've lead regular lives for the most part.

[Daff]

48 minutes ago, Mermaid Under said:

Did they explain why Nurse Crane was allowed to stay for the questioning?  And Doctor Turner was allowed to question Miss Nyall?

Given her psychiatric history, the detective would be remiss to exclude the medical professionals (even back then). It might even have been grounds for a dismissal. I was very impressed with the detective (her initial unwarranted glare at Miss Higgins, notwithstanding). I like her and I hope we see more of her (reminded me a bit of Havers, from the Lindley mysteries). 

[Daff]

22 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

Did you ever see the movie "Where Angels go Trouble Follows" set in a girl's school run by nuns?

OMG, don’t get me started! One of my all time, favorite movies! I’m convinced the road trip scenes informed those written for Sister Act 2!

[EllaWycliffe]

3 minutes ago, Rootbeer said:

Nuns are not born wearing the veil, they're regular people who've lead regular lives for the most part.

I get what you're saying, but it always strikes me as interesting when someone makes such a bold and significant change in their life. Going from fun loving and doing as you like to the (at the time) restricted life of a nun is a huge change. 

[libgirl2]

6 minutes ago, EllaWycliffe said:

I get what you're saying, but it always strikes me as interesting when someone makes such a bold and significant change in their life. Going from fun loving and doing as you like to the (at the time) restricted life of a nun is a huge change. 

Maybe those are some of the best nuns. Just because a  person is fun loving and has seen it all, doesn't mean they don't love God more than themselves. 

Edited March 21, 2022 by libgirl2

[Daff]

34 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

Well, soccer fans take the sport very seriously! 

So do music historians!

[EllaWycliffe]

I'm not a Eurovision fan but I know of it, despite being American, and I have to admit, I had no idea it was so old of an event, but apparently it started in 1956.

[libgirl2]

13 minutes ago, Daff said:

OMG, don’t get me started! One of my all time, favorite movies! I’m convinced the road trip scenes informed those written for Sister Act 2!

It is one of those movies I never tire of seeing.