Call the Midwife

For one night, at least, there will be A LOT on TV

Television can seem like an all-or-nothing, feast-or-famine world.
One moment, there’s little worth watching. The next, there’s an overload.
Fortunately, we’re heading into overload land. One night — Sunday, March 22 — has three debuts and two season-openers, plus the regular shows. There would be even more if ABC hadn’t made the late decision to pull “Bachelorette.”
It opens the 15th season of “Call the Midwife.” It has the third “Forsytes” series (shown here), the 40th-or-more “Count of Monte Cristo” and the zillionth (approximately) Biblical epic.
The shows vary drastically, from the glittery “Forsytes” to the dark “Monte Cristo.” But all are ambitious. Alongside the regular dramas — “Tracker,” “Marshals,” “Dark Winds” — they’re in an overstuffed night. They are: Read more…

“Midwife”: basic birthing, in a chaotic world

“Call the Midwife” is back, with a gentle journey through history – human history, medical history, even fashion history.
Yes, fashions. This series (8 p.m. Sundays, PBS) was set in 1957, then advanced one year each season. The new season (starting Oct. 3) is in 1966 – the Beatles era, when London’s “Carnaby Street” look was starting to catch on.
That’s especially clear in the fourth episode (Oct. 24), when young actress Megan Cusack arrives, playing a nursing student. She’s shown here in her uniform, but at dinner, she surprises others – including the nuns — with her flashy dress.
“It truly does feel like a costume,” Cusack told the Television Critics Association. “When you put it on, you are getting into that era and that vibe and the fact that she likes to stand out.” Read more…