What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1226496
T10 WHATS UP! March 29 - April 4, 2020 itive perspectives and empa- thetic attitudes have shined a light on female struggles and brought the stories of many forgotten women back into the public consciousness. The show has informed viewers about major health issues and good birthing practices, and it has been used to showcase midwifery, which is often mis- understood, as a credible and important career. Most notably, the drama has educated viewers by featuring diseases and encouraging vac- cination, and some experts at- tribute a rise in vaccination rates to the effect of the show. Due to its overwhelming pop- ularity and critical acclaim, the series has been renewed for at least two more seasons, through 2022. Following the lead of other British shows on PBS, Season 9 has already aired in the U.K. earlier this year. Because of this, it's easy to find out what to expect from the next eight episodes (no spoilers here, though). The new season be- gins in January 1965 and fea- tures the characters receiving news of the death of Winston Churchill. With the '60s in full swing, your favorite midwives put their best foot forward when it comes to fashion this season, sporting time-trendy hair and colorful outfits. The nurses also deal with some new equipment and changes to medical proce- dures, as well as an evolving landscape as the East End is rebuilt around them. But there's a lot more than clothes and equipment on the horizon for these women — for all women, in fact. The show's timeline is getting ever closer to the 1967 Abortion Act, which legalized abortion by li- censed practitioners in certain areas of the U.K. in the hopes of ending the dangerous, and often fatal, back-alley proce- dures that were common be- fore that time. We certainly saw the set-up for these changes towards the end of Season 8, when Nurse Valerie (Val) found out that her grand- mother had been performing unhygienic, illegal abortions for money. It was a storyline that divided viewers and crit- ics. This fascinating time period is also when the revolutionary idea of contraception for all began to gain serious traction. Plus, last season we saw Nurse Trixie step up as an advocate for the Brook Advisory Cen- tre, which is a fictional version of an actual center started in 1964 to help promote sexual health and safe-sex practices for unmarried youth. It's exciting to see how the show's writer and creator, Heidi Thomas, works these is- sues into the plotline for the riveting new season. There are so many powerful stories to tell, and there are new chal- lenges, and even new charac- ters, to keep you hooked. A team of four handsome doc- tors arrives at Nonnatus house to shake things up, and we're sure to see some friction as ev- eryone gets adjusted, not to mention storylines highlight- ing gender struggles and the sometimes fraught doctor- nurse relationship. Could there be a chance for romance as well? The first episode of the new season features a diphtheria outbreak and a baby abandoned in a dustbin — and things get even more dramatic with each episode. Deaths and departures pepper this installment, and you'll need to tune in to find out which characters could be on their way out. Season 9 of "Call the Midwife" premieres Sunday, March 29, on PBS. Jenny Agutter in "Call the Midwife" continued from page T2 Special delivery: PBS presents the ninth season of 'Call the Midwife' TV FEATURE