S12.E05: Episode 5

[OtterMommy]

UK Air date: January 29, 2023
US Air date: April 16, 2023

A pregnant mother with a chronic heart condition falls unwell. Nancy grows suspicious of a young father's erratic behaviour, and Matthew prepares for a visit from his father.

[katisha]

The storyline with the schizophrenic new dad was pretty harrowing.  Poor Cyril, getting stabbed and then finding out Lucille's going to be gone for some time.  😢 I'm glad the writers telegraphed that Lucille was really struggling mentally in the first couple of episodes because otherwise it would seem so very out of character for someone like her to leave her husband for this length of time. 

[debraran]

It still seems out of character although the writers had to do something.  This to me was one of the best this year although crowded. Matthew still seems "stiff" to me but liked his scenes with Tim.

I hated to think of the care the new dad would get but it was very "real" for the time. So sad. I also thought it was very real to show not every woman married or single finds pregnancy a blessing all the time. The fact Shelagh would need some time to adjust was honest and reminded me of some "late" mom's in my family who thought they were done.

  I'm saddened only 3 more to go and one is the wedding. I like weddings, but they tend to take up a lot of the show with before mishaps and excitement.  I hope they can weave some other stories in too.  i can't imagine they will do anything that different with Trixies but time will tell.  I know she will look smashing. ; )

 

[Badger]

I'm adding the cut scenes early under a spoiler tag:

 

Spoiler

scenes they cut:

They cut a scene right after Timothy talks to the woman about the bathing attendant job.  It's Reggie and Cyril going to visit Mrs. Wallace at her new drycleaning business.  Reggie has a picture and Cyril has a plant they brought to celebrate the new business.  The picture is of Jesus and Mrs. Wallace says that's the best kind of picture to have.  She asks if Cyril has any work for her, and he says he'll have his preaching suit for her on Monday.

She asks him about Lucille.  He says he got a letter from her yesterday and that she sounded on top of the world.  He thinks she will be booking her return flight any day now.

Right after the scene with Trixie and Matthew, they cut a really cute scene with Shelagh and the children in the Turner kitchen/dining area.  Shelagh scolds Teddy, telling him he's going to have to learn to like salad.  She then gives him a carrot for Genevieve saying that she loves her vegetables.  Angela observes that Genevieve is a rabbit.  Just then, Shelagh sees May pinch Angela.  She scolds her saying that if they don't stop this silly argument, neither one is getting a turn with the egg slicer.  Angela says cowboys and Indians is for boys.  May says that it's her birthday party.  Shelagh says May can have any kind of party she likes. Angela says everyone is going to make fun of her.

Timothy walks in and Shelagh greets him. He asks if it's salad and Shelagh says, yes, it is salad.  By the look on Timothy's face, Teddy isn't the only Turner male who doesn't like salad.

They cut a scene of Matthew and his father having a meal at Nonnatus House.  Sr. Julienne offers him some steak and kidney pie and he takes a big ladleful while Matthew grimaces.  Trixie says it's such a treat to have him there and she pats Matthew's hand; he agrees with her although he's obviously not sincere.  Nancy says it must be like meeting all the crazy relations up in the attic, and Sir Brigham says it's good to place faces with names and that next time, he'll bring his wife Lavinia.

Sr. Veronica says she might want to see Lisbon Buildings to see all the care Matthew has taken in the renovations as well as the money he's poured into it.  Sir Brigham observes, "Has he now" and it's clear he is not pleased.  Matthew looks somewhat chagrined.

 

[Bunnyette]

A bit inconsistent on the characters- Lucille would have told Cyril she was staying in Jamaica not left it to a random phone conversation with her sister.

Lovely scene at the end with the new mum and her MIL after the tactless Sr. Veronica told her she’d be a single Mum now that her schizophrenic husband would be hospitalized indefinitely.  Good for Nancy to shut her up.

[JustDucky]

It was good to see Shelagh in a spotlight this episode, even if it was a bit distressing for her.  The show has never shied away from "unplanned, unwanted" pregnancies, and to see one of the regulars looking at one was a new take.  That said, I'm glad nothing else is being added to her plate - she's admirable with what she does, but boy does she do a lot!  Hey Dr. Turner, you spoke of vasectomies quite warmly...

The schizophrenia story was heartbreaking, too.  Especially with Sister Veronica trying to tell the new mother "it's gonna suck to be you" and Nancy stepping in to say "how?"  I kind of hope they come back to that family to follow up - that was a brave couple of women, and a very pretty baby.

Speaking of babies, how cute was the new boy that the heart patient delivered?  Well done, casting!  Five stars, no notes.

The old coot gleefully aiming to close Nonnatus House can go to Jamaica without sunscreen.  And send back Lucille, perhaps?  Cyril had a job to do, and did it admirably, but it hurts to see him so lonely, especially after the phone call.

And as meh as I've often been about Matthew (a bit boring, even when he tries not to be), I felt for him.  Glad his dad wasn't a complete hardass - just mostly so.  That made Dad's relationship with Trixie believable to the last.  

[Badger]

14 minutes ago, Bunnyette said:

A bit inconsistent on the characters- Lucille would have told Cyril she was staying in Jamaica not left it to a random phone conversation with her sister.

Lovely scene at the end with the new mum and her MIL after the tactless Sr. Veronica told her she’d be a single Mum now that her schizophrenic husband would be hospitalized indefinitely.  Good for Nancy to shut her up.

I think Sr. Veronica's point was that as a single mother, she would be getting help from the "welfare state."   The problem would be that she would have to live alone with little Mylene Florence and she didn't want to do that.

[Blackie]

What the actual F am I watching? Is there something in the editors contract that if they can squeeze in as many 2 second scenes as possible they get a raise?  I have watched a lot of British dramas with intricate plots and characters and they are able  to pace out the show so the scenes make sense and stories more forward and drama builds. I am getting fed up with this show.

Edited April 17, 2023 by Blackie
spelling

[Badger]

When I originally watched this,  I noticed they had changed the credits in the beginning.  Nothing major, but Georgie Glen is now bracketed with Annabel Apsion, Megan Cusack, and Rebecca Gethings.  Daniel Laurie has been bracketed with Zephryn Taite and Olly Rix.  

That made me think Lucille was out.

BTW, if you're wondering where you saw Matthew's father before, he played the Vicar on "Downton Abbey."

I wonder where Matthew did his national service. Christopher did his in Korea. Tom did his in Kinloss.

 

 

[statsgirl]

Kudos to the show for the storyline of the new dad developing schizophrenia.  There is a body of research findings that people from Africa and the Caribbean are more likely to develop psychosis than other ethnic groups when migrate to the UK or the US but it's not that well known. The drugs for schizophrenia in the 60s had some nasty side effects. I remember when I was a child seeing people walk by on the street shaking with tardive dyskenesia.

Poor Matthew. He's a good guy, he doesn't deserve the burden his father's death has put on him.

I liked Shelagh's storyline. She loves her children but having a fifth children while working and at her age is more than she needs. But the pregnancy test shouldn't have taken that long. I remember working in a family doctor's office in the late 60s and he did the pregnancy tests there in the office.

[statsgirl]

1 minute ago, LtKelley said:

Did we get the results? is she knocked up with another Turner?

No. Her period came late and heavy. She said that maybe she's doing into menopause.

[GaT]

8 hours ago, Badger said:

She asks him about Lucille.  He says he got a letter from her yesterday and that she sounded on top of the world.  He thinks she will be booking her return flight any day now.

 

4 hours ago, Bunnyette said:

A bit inconsistent on the characters- Lucille would have told Cyril she was staying in Jamaica not left it to a random phone conversation with her sister.

That scene was important to the storyline, why did they cut it? That random phone conversation seemed so abrupt without a setup.

The schizophrenia story turned out way different than what I thought it was going to be, I thought it was going to be about race, which didn't even enter it at all.

[Haleth]

Wow, I was afraid Cyril would be more seriously hurt, thus giving the character an end to his story.  Maybe he'll decide to move to Jamaica too.  It's heartbreaking seeing him so lonely without Lucille.

Whew, close call, Shelagh!

[Daff]

6 hours ago, GaT said:

 

That scene was important to the storyline, why did they cut it? That random phone conversation seemed so abrupt without a setup.

The schizophrenia story turned out way different than what I thought it was going to be, I thought it was going to be about race, which didn't even enter it at all.

They made it pretty apparent from the start that he was suffering some sort of mental illness. His disengagement, fear, and talk of they/them pointed to schizophrenia.

[Daff]

1 hour ago, Haleth said:

Wow, I was afraid Cyril would be more seriously hurt, thus giving the character an end to his story.  Maybe he'll decide to move to Jamaica too.  It's heartbreaking seeing him so lonely without Lucille.

Whew, close call, Shelagh!

“Dr.” Timothy did an excellently succinct triage job of telling us Cyril would be quite alright. 

[Blackie]

7 hours ago, Haleth said:

Maybe he'll decide to move to Jamaica too.  It's heartbreaking seeing him so lonely without Lucille.

 

Maybe they will move to Canada together, I think at that time there was starting to be migration from the Caribbean to Canada

12 hours ago, GaT said:

That scene was important to the storyline, why did they cut it? That random phone conversation seemed so abrupt without a setup.

 

Yes so random if you weren't able to come on here and read the deleted scenes. Also the 2 sec seen of Teddy running into the kitchen and Shelagh running out to the garden, I had no clue what was going on.  Also more bad editing with one scene in Dr Turners office immediately to another scene in Dr Turners office at a totally different time. They either splice in 2 sec scenes of other storylines into a dramatic scene, or run together scenes filmed in the same location, so you can't tell if it is the same scene, same day or what.  I think this year is getting worse for that.  

Edited April 17, 2023 by Blackie
oops Teddy not Tim

[cinsays]

I guess I missed something in the beginning of the episode, It looked to me like the man's  schizophrenia first showed after the baby came.  Sad ending for that family, but glad the mother and his mom can stay together.

I must be in the minority but I love Matthew and I think he is making good effort to atone for his father's financial and emotional stinginess. Will he finish out his 10 day commitment to the care taking/bathing of the poor?

[Daff]

Loved seeing Timothy and Matthew take their bath gig on the road! I absolutely guffawed when Mrs Perrins said, “I don’t mind.” Sad about Matthew’s father, but because he called Trixie, and had that heartfelt conversation with her, she can relate to Matthew his sentiments, especially the “good chap.” I like to think that had he survived, Dad might have deferred to Matthew regarding the disposition/reuse of the East End properties.

That despicable BoH oligarch WILL have Mother Mildred to contend with if he thinks he has authority to “reallocate” the Nonatus nuns! However, why on earth go after the Turners and the clinic? I really want them to uncover graft and payoffs surrounding his position.

Fred, Reggie and the autoclave reminded me of what little gets done in a state run bureaucracy. Fred sells himself short as he’s probably got more knowledge and expertise in his little finger than 10 certified, approved, board licensed mechanics have in their combined brains. So, Mr. Chairman of BoH, what did YOU do in the war!

[ShelleySue]

16 hours ago, Badger said:

I'm adding the cut scenes early under a spoiler tag

 

8 hours ago, GaT said:

That scene was important to the storyline, why did they cut it? That random phone conversation seemed so abrupt without a setup.

I have PBS Passport and can watch all of the episodes right now -- But I don't. It's been a tradition to watch a new episode every Sunday night. If I watched it on Passport would I be able to see the deleted scenes or is it edited like the broadcast?

[iMonrey]

Quote

Is there something in the editors contract that if they can squeeze in as many 2 second scenes as possible they get a raise?  I have watched a lot of British dramas with intricate plots and characters and they are able  to pace out the show so the scenes make sense and stories more forward and drama builds.

Actually I've noticed a trend in UK shows to have short, efficient scenes, and I appreciate it. Downton Abbey was kind of like that too. Don't know about the editing though, nobody has ever explained why PBS does that.

Quote

I have PBS Passport and can watch all of the episodes right now -- But I don't. It's been a tradition to watch a new episode every Sunday night. If I watched it on Passport would I be able to see the deleted scenes or is it edited like the broadcast?

No, apparently you have to buy the DVDs to see unedited versions.

I always get a kick out of Tim. It's amazing to me he's still on the show after all these years. So many characters have come and gone, and yet this character was just a little kid when the show started and he's now a grown up character and still played by the same actor. I've always appreciated that he looks to Shelagh as his mother, too.

[jah1986]

1 hour ago, ShelleySue said:

 

I have PBS Passport and can watch all of the episodes right now -- But I don't. It's been a tradition to watch a new episode every Sunday night. If I watched it on Passport would I be able to see the deleted scenes or is it edited like the broadcast?

PBS Passport has the edited broadcast, which is really sad and makes you wonder what you're paying for. It's ridiculous that so much of the show is left on the cutting room floor. Sorry, posted at the same time as iMonrey.

I really love seeing Timothy on this show and watching him grow up. Same with Angela, they case her as a baby and it's still the same actress all these years later.

Edited April 17, 2023 by jah1986

[JudyObscure]

Well, I've always kind of liked Vanessa Redgrave's little sermonettes at the end, tying everything up in a theme with a few inspirational words, but this time I was rolling my eyes. 

In an episode where Timothy and Matthew gave baths to needy people, Matthew's father died,  Cyril got stabbed while braving a young man in the midst of a psychotic episode to save a baby, and a sweet young man, Spencer, comes down with schizophrenia, which I consider a fate worse than death -- what does Vanessa wax poetic over?  How wonderful women are, how much they sacrifice. 

We have schizophrenia in our family.  I see it every day, so I was excited to see they were touching on it in the show, but touch on it was all they did because we had to have five other stories that repeated things that have been covered before. 

How absolutely horrible that they all talked about Spencer as though he was dead and should be written off sooner rather than later.  Even at that time there were medications that allowed people to go home, even if they were sedated to an extreme, they could have some semblance of a life.

Edited April 17, 2023 by JudyObscure

[AZChristian]

Very soap opera-ish.  As soon as "Pops" headed upstairs, we knew he was a goner.  Whenever an older character heads for a nap, they're gonna die.

[Teriacky]

Maybe Lucille has written a letter to Cyril explaining that she isn’t yet ready to return. It took a while in 1968 to get mail sent from another country. (Even airmail).

[mmecorday]

Quote

We have schizophrenia in our family. 

Both my mother and father had schizophrenia in their respective families. The storyline really hit home with me because right before my grandfather on my father's side was about to have a psychotic break, he would get up in the middle of the night and loudly recite scripture.

[dubbel zout]

16 hours ago, JustDucky said:

Hey Dr. Turner, you spoke of vasectomies quite warmly...

I half expected him to admit that he'd had one.

4 hours ago, Daff said:

That despicable BoH oligarch WILL have Mother Mildred to contend with if he thinks he has authority to “reallocate” the Nonatus nuns! However, why on earth go after the Turners and the clinic? I really want them to uncover graft and payoffs surrounding his position.

At this point he's a cartoon villain, twirling his mustache as he plots the end of Nonnatus House. It's a bore, IMO. Fish or cut bait with this story.

[Sarah 103]

IWhen Matthew's father talks about the fact that Matthew never did "an honest day's work in his life," why doesn't national service count? Could his national service have been some sort of cushy office job so he never had to do "real work?" Hopefully someone who knows more about this can explain it.

11 hours ago, GaT said:

The schizophrenia story turned out way different than what I thought it was going to be, I thought it was going to be about race, which didn't even enter it at all.

I thought it was amazing that the mother was willing to have her son treated by a real doctor. She could have just as easily gone the route of "all we need is faith, prayer, and Jesus." 

4 hours ago, Daff said:

That despicable BoH oligarch WILL have Mother Mildred to contend with if he thinks he has authority to “reallocate” the Nonatus nuns! However, why on earth go after the Turners and the clinic? I really want them to uncover graft and payoffs surrounding his position.

I don't think there's another doctor with a practice serving the same area, but maybe there is and I just don't remember it. Also, what is the connection between Dr. Turner and Nonatus House? I know he is the doctor they call for more serious cases, but is his practice officially tied to/part of Nonatus House?

[Blackie]

2 hours ago, AZChristian said:

Whenever an older character heads for a nap, they're gonna die.

 

Oh No! My husband just went upstairs for a nap!!

[proserpina65]

2 hours ago, LtKelley said:

Its a control problem. There's also been some fair and reasonable concerns. I mean, I like Fred and Reggie too, but the guy fixing the instrument sterilizer was never trained to do it, and is being assisted by someone mentally challenged. One of the midwives is past retirement age and isn't doing educational updates. One midwife recently left due to a nervous breakdown. There's an octogenarian nun who theoretically isn't allowed to treat but....Thats how Nonnatus is rolling. The maternity home recently was shut down due to a massive outbreak. This is where the push to have women give birth in hospitals was gaining traction and all the joy and love aside, hospital birth is more likely to lead to a live baby and a live mother as the end result. We rarely see a mother or baby die on this show - and I'm ok with that - but really, its safer and less painful in the hospital. If there's an emergency, you're already IN the hospital. 

I mean, yeah he's a cartoonishly evil dick twirling his evil mustache but is he really just being an asshole for the sake of it?

Yes, despite the odiousness of the BOH character, there are some serious issues with how Nonnatus House runs things.  If they're operating under the cloak of the National Health Service then it's not unreasonable for the BOH to want some standardization.  Same with Dr. Turner's practice.  As much as I love Sister Julienne, more love is not the answer.

[JudyObscure]

Someone on the, "All Creatures Great and Small," thread had a great name for officious types like the BOH man.  What was that?

[Daff]

2 hours ago, LtKelley said:

I mean, yeah he's a cartoonishly evil dick twirling his evil mustache but is he really just being an asshole for the sake of it?

In that location, in that time, yes. He’s so fatheadedly (yes, I just made up a word, but I’m not schizophrenic) determined to force the changes IMMEDIATELY, that he doesn’t care who or what gets steamrolled to achieve that. In effect, he will leave the population he’s attempting to serve with no services they can access at all.  I don’t even think he considers them (not one iota) as he’s only interested in checking bureaucratic boxes for his own aggrandizement. No one is saying the changes shouldn’t be implemented; all are laudable, as you pointed out, but he needs a good dose of the vinegar he’s using. The “authorized” mechanic would take one look at the autoclave and have not one clue how to fix it. He wouldn’t even try, because he wasn’t trained to work on such an old appliance, so enter Fred. As for what he did in the war, my sarcasm was meant to imply that while Fred probably worked his butt off for his fellow soldiers, keeping things working, doing what was needed, whatever it took, I imagine Herr Bureaucrat spent his war well behind the front lines, sending out orders which undoubtedly ended in tactical errors and avoidable losses. 
Rant over, no disrespect intended. What we’re seeing is the beginning of “progress for progress’s sake”. It has left so many worthy samaritans and helpless victims flailing in the dust. Yes, change can be beneficial, but only if it is implemented with care, on a realistic timeline, with all possible consideration of unintended consequences.

3 hours ago, jah1986 said:

makes you wonder what you're paying for

Never,, ever enough for it all.

[AZChristian]

28 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

Someone on the, "All Creatures Great and Small," thread had a great name for officious types like the BOH man.  What was that?

"Minister of Pointless Paperwork"

[eel21788]

16 hours ago, LtKelley said:

Did we get the results? is she knocked up with another Turner?

16 hours ago, statsgirl said:

No. Her period came late and heavy. She said that maybe she's doing into menopause.

Did I imagine it, or did she say that it was possible the sample she gave him would turn out positive, but it wouldn't be positive now?

The symbolism of the pet rabbit dying just before Shelagh came into the office saying she was pregnant seems to imply that she was "with child" and lost it, possibly due to her age.

18 hours ago, JustDucky said:

 Hey Dr. Turner, you spoke of vasectomies quite warmly...

I think he was lamenting "I should have done this myself." His comment about "I thought this was all behind us" implies that they weren't using anything for birth control, yet he was trying to explain to his men's group that they are just as responsible for birth control as the women are.

[Daff]

28 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

Someone on the, "All Creatures Great and Small," thread had a great name for officious types like the BOH man.  What was that?

Oh! Yes, Minister of (?) Paperwork.

[eel21788]

6 hours ago, cinsays said:

I guess I missed something in the beginning of the episode, It looked to me like the man's  schizophrenia first showed after the baby came. 

Severe symptoms of schizophrenia can be brought on by stress in someone who otherwise had the symptoms under control. Just having a baby is enough of a stressor to cause an exacerbation. Having an out of wedlock biracial baby would certainly add more to that stress.

16 hours ago, statsgirl said:

The drugs for schizophrenia in the 60s had some nasty side effects. I remember when I was a child seeing people walk by on the street shaking with tardive dyskenesia.

Back then, schizophrenia meds were used more to mask the symptoms than treat the disease. The side effects they caused were considered to be less disturbing than the symptoms they were supposed to mask.

[Daff]

7 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

Did I imagine it, or did she say that it was possible the sample she gave him would turn out positive, but it wouldn't be positive now?

 

She was saying that a NEW sample would test negative (awkward wording as the sample taken can only have one result).  She then went on to imply that she didn’t think she had miscarried. She’s a nurse, yes, but short of taking a microscope to the discharge, I don’t think she could know for sure. All of her symptoms, pregnancy/PMS could easily be exacerbated by late menses.  I do believe that Dr. Turner will be having the vasectomy as soon as it’s approved. Even if they’re both in their 40s, they’ll be in their 60s when the current brood leaves the house.

[eel21788]

4 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

In an episode where Timothy and Matthew gave baths to needy people

Why couldn't they bathe themselves? How often do people come into their homes to bathe them? What was Shelagh afraid Timothy was going to see that was inappropriate?

[Daff]

10 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

Why couldn't they bathe themselves? How often do people come into their homes to bathe them? What was Shelagh afraid Timothy was going to see that was inappropriate?

I think it was more the vermin he would encounter, and that it would likely be carried home. Such as,  scabies, head lice, body lice, ringworm, pinworm, etc., ad infinitum.

[jschoolgirl]

2 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

When Matthew's father talks about the fact that Matthew never did "an honest day's work in his life,"

Also, what was the word Pops used for an honest day's [began with "g"]? "Grunt"?

[Ceindreadh]

1 hour ago, jschoolgirl said:

Also, what was the word Pops used for an honest day's [began with "g"]? "Grunt"?

Graft?

 

[Kindred Spirit]

“Graft”, which is slightly ironic, since in American slang, that would be dishonestly or corruptly acquired goods or services, while Pops was disparaging Matthew for never having done an honest day’s work. At least in terms of hard labor. From what we’ve seen, Matthew was a successful barrister, which involved putting his  expensive education to use. We certainly saw him do his best for the mother fleeing domestic abuse. 

[dubbel zout]

17 minutes ago, Kindred Spirit said:

Matthew was a successful barrister

That's what confused me about his father's contempt. It's not as if Matthew spent his days at his club drinking and smoking. His father seemed to want it both ways: Matthew having a job that involved getting his hands literally dirty while also having one that reflected prestige on his father.

[Blackie]

3 hours ago, Daff said:

think it was more the vermin he would encounter, and that it would likely be carried home. Such as,  scabies, head lice, body lice, ringworm, pinworm, etc., ad infinitum.

 

When Matthew offered Tim a ride, he scratched his head just before he got in the car. I hought he was going to spread some vermin to Matthew's car and then pop's would end up getting it 🤣.  Or maybe that did happen and they cut the seen out.......

[AZChristian]

Back in the old days (up to the early 60s), rabbit tests were used to determine pregnancy.  The phrase, "Well, the rabbit died" was one way of acknowledging a pregnancy.

Maybe the dead bunny in the first scene was a way of saying, "pregnancy?"; I do NOT think the Turners would kill their kids' pet rabbit to run the test, especially since they had sent off for a blood or urine test.

 

[Sarah 103]

When Shelagh started listing her symptoms, I was sure she wasn't pregnant but was starting menopause. I thought it was interesting her first thought was pregnancy, not menopause, unless she's way too young for the start of menopause. 

[Badger]

Quote

6 hours ago

IWhen Matthew's father talks about the fact that Matthew never did "an honest day's work in his life," why doesn't national service count? Could his national service have been some sort of cushy office job so he never had to do "real work?" Hopefully someone who knows more about this can explain it.

Matthew trained as a medic during his national service.  In the Season 11 finale, after he tells Lucille that he thinks one of the patients that were brought to Nonnatus House from the train crash may have a compound fracture, she asks him if he has medical training.   He answers yes, from my national service.  

[JustDucky]

34 minutes ago, Sarah 103 said:

When Shelagh started listing her symptoms, I was sure she wasn't pregnant but was starting menopause. I thought it was interesting her first thought was pregnancy, not menopause, unless she's way too young for the start of menopause.

My first thought was "Wow, Shelagh and Patrick sure do like each other even after all these years!"

(But then, there's over 15 years between my mom's oldest sister and their youngest brother, so I tend to think like that anyway.)

[Badger]

5 hours ago, Daff said:

She was saying that a NEW sample would test negative (awkward wording as the sample taken can only have one result).  She then went on to imply that she didn’t think she had miscarried. She’s a nurse, yes, but short of taking a microscope to the discharge, I don’t think she could know for sure. All of her symptoms, pregnancy/PMS could easily be exacerbated by late menses.  I do believe that Dr. Turner will be having the vasectomy as soon as it’s approved. Even if they’re both in their 40s, they’ll be in their 60s when the current brood leaves the house.

Dr. Turner is about a decade or older than Shelagh.  In real life, I think they have a 19-year age gap.  

[Salacious Kitty]

3 minutes ago, Badger said:

Dr. Turner is about a decade or older than Shelagh.  In real life, I think they have a 19-year age gap.  

I just looked them up. IRL he's 60, she's 46. I assume they are meant to be younger on the show. 

(I also discovered that I share my birthday with Helen George. Knew there was a reason I liked her. 😀)

[howiveaddict]

9 hours ago, AZChristian said:

Very soap opera-ish.  As soon as "Pops" headed upstairs, we knew he was a goner.  Whenever an older character heads for a nap, they're gonna die.

I thought he had prostate problems with how he had to go to the bathroom so much.  I was getting ready to diagnose him with prostate cancer.  But I also said heart attack when he was sitting on the couch talking to Trixie.  After all he just had a heart to heart talk.

Also, surprised Trixie didn't try some form of cpr. It was in use then.  Unless he was already too blue.  It probably wouldn't work anyway.  Or...maybe she spiked his tea.  

50 minutes ago, Sarah 103 said:

When Shelagh started listing her symptoms, I was sure she wasn't pregnant but was starting menopause. I thought it was interesting her first thought was pregnancy, not menopause, unless she's way too young for the start of menopause. 

My first thought was menopause.  That seems to be the trope on sitcoms when 40s year old women think they are pregnant. I don't know how old Patrick is, but didn't he serve in the war.  Hubby even commented that Shelaigh looked too old to have a baby. Of course he thinks most of the women look too old for babies on there.  I think it's the 60s hair style and the hard life they have all had.