Midwifery
I have helped two babies into this world, both in unusual circumstances, both babies hovered on the brink of life and death for a second whilst the viewers held their breath. A regular female character in Continuing Drama takes a huge risk by getting pregnant, the birth will not be straightforward.
A couple of weeks ago in Holby, Daisha gave birth in a lift with Joseph assisting. There was going to be a third person in that lift adding to the mix, a guest character with his own story, but he was axed by draft 2. Joseph and Daisha were to fly solo so that their intimacy could be better explored and the 'confessional' better exploited. It was I believe, the second 'birth in a lift' that Holby City Hospital has had (Casualty, unknown birth mother, Adam hyperventilating and Alice assisting). You'd think they'd place emergency birthing packs in there, or at least change the maintenance contractors by now.
The most natural thing when writing these birth scenes was to dip into my own birthing experiences - I've had two, both very different. (I'm sure it's harder for male writers, but then I've never had/performed open heart surgery but have written about it with confidence). The births of both my daughters were very straight forward in bog standard hospitals, but the timing of the various stages, the weird sensations, loss of control - I pulled on all that to add authority Daisha's experience in the lift. Mind you, I do not recall yowling in slow motion at the final push underscored by music, although I did have Bob Marley playing throughout both my births.
My Casualty birth mother was Maggie's daughter Joanne, caught short in a pub with a pissed Toby assisting. Again the baby hovered on the brink of life until Dixie gently rubbed some life into its tiny bones. Casualty is less underscored with musical interludes, but I did have a guest character put on the jukebox 'Sugar Baby Love' by the Rubettes as Joanne struggled with her labour. I can't remember whether this actually played in the episode, but it was in the script. I do have a tendency toward bathos in my music suggestions, which for some reason is often overlooked by directors - especially when it comes to the old Holby Montage.
Whilst Daisha was going through the rigors of birth with an OCD sufferer to hand, Michael Spence was dealing with dear old Gloria Rowlands who had mistaken him for her long dead GI husband. This episode was broadcast on 11th of Nov - Armistice Day and this was my nod to the hundred of stories that will have been remembered that week.
My final montage for this episode was in fact trimmed down (see previous post). I had wanted a final image of Gloria catching a glimpse of herself reflected in a window - the handsome 40's beauty she once was. Or, my editor was warming to my theme - "She could see Michael in his WW2 uniform in a brief trick of the light moment, just as she leaves the hospital.." Lovely! I added a small soft shoe shuffle for Michael in the stage directions as my montage music of choice was 'Come Dance With Me' by Sinatra - the lyrics reflecting the struggles of all the other stories of the day.
Wasn't to be.
I'm holding out for a Frank Ifield track on this current Holby I'm writing.
The script is coming along apace - I'm at executive draft stage and am (as ever) awaiting notes. This has been a very challenging episode scheduling - wise, with requests to bend the space-time continuum in various forms, not least going to 'night' earlier in the script than planned because although the episode airs in the spring, it's shot in January and light for filming will be different, or absent. I haven't fully understood this - my editor has had to explain it all several times and ... I'm still not sure I have grasped the concept.
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