Call the Midwife: Season Four

The fourth season of this BBC medical drama, now set in the 1960s, marks the first without Jenny Worth (Jessica Raine), the nurse-turned-author who wrote the books that inspired the series. Fortunately, all other cast members return, including narrator Vanessa Redgrave, and Miranda Hart, who shows up for two episodes as Chummy, the semi-retired nurse who married in the second year. As this season following the nurses, midwives, and nuns working at Nonnatus House begins, free-spirited Trixie (Helen George) plans a wedding to a conservative curate, while Cynthia (Bryony Hannah) considers joining the order as a nun. Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) revisits a significant encounter from her past, and Sister Evangelina (Pam Ferris) takes time off when she falls ill. New arrivals include inexperienced Barbara (Charlotte Ritchie), and Phyllis (Linda Bassett), a highly efficient nurse with poor social skills (it takes the ladies awhile to warm up to her, but the middle-aged Phyllis does have a soft side). The show also takes on the issue of homosexuality at a time in Britain's history when the penalties for discovery were steep. In one episode, a father-to-be faces conviction when caught soliciting an undercover cop for sex; in another, midwife Patsy (Emerald Fennell) must weigh how to proceed in her relationship with her girlfriend, since she can't keep it secret forever. Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) and Dr. Turner (Stephen McGann) are also on hand, and while the lack of a central character sometimes leaves the series feeling unfocused, the consistently fine ensemble acting and solid drama make this a winner. Compiling all eight episodes from 2015, this is recommended. (K. Fennessy)