Print
If you are going to watch only one Christmas special this year, please let it be “Christmas Special 2012 from the British series “Call the Midwife.”
Brits take Christmas television far more seriously than Americans. Along with the Queen’s speech, a plethora of holiday specials fill the BBC and iTV on Dec. 25 and the days surrounding it and in recent years Americans have been able to see many of those specials in real time as well. The Christmas specials of “Doctor Who” have become legendary enough to be regularly ranked (I wouldn’t trust any list that doesn’t have 2010’s steampunk fever dream of “A Christmas Carol,” featuring Michael Gambon, at the top), but after years of holiday viewing, both professional and personal, I have come to believe that “Call the Midwife” is the real holiday hero.