Call the Midwife: Season Two

East London in the late 1950s wouldn't be the same without the nuns and nurses of Nonnatus House, who populate this BBC hit adaptation of the partly fictionalized memoirs of midwife Jennifer Worth. As narrator Vanessa Redgrave (serving as the voice of the older Jenny Lee) puts it, “We were part of the fabric of the district.” The second season begins with the Christmas special, in which help is provided to two women isolated from their families in different ways. For all the lives saved, however, losses are inevitable, and when it is suggested that Cynthia (Bryony Hannah) may have been responsible for a newborn's death, she suffers a crisis of faith. As the year continues, Jenny (Jessica Raine) works a surgical routine with the stern Dr. Turner (Stephen McGann), while struggling with her feelings for her friend Jimmy (George Rainsford); Sisters Julienne (Jenny Agutter) and Evangelina (Pam Ferris) try to keep the foggy-minded Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) occupied; and Chummy (Miranda Hart) takes a job as a missionary, with Jane (Dorothy Atkinson) stepping into her place. A talkative vicar, the Rev. Applebee-Thornton (Jason Watkins), establishes a bond with Jane, and a parallel relationship develops between Dr. Turner, a widower, and Sister Bernadette (Laura Main), causing the latter to question her vocation. Other developments include a tuberculosis outbreak, a baby with spina bifida, and an overburdened mother desperate to terminate a pregnancy. Compiling eight episodes from 2012, extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette. Often sentimental, but solidly raising resonant questions about social issues and the benefits of community, this popular series is recommended. (K. Fennessy)