Loveday Writing

Love Child is a drama that focuses on a group of pregnant young women: Viv, Shirley, Patty, Annie and Martha, who are staying at Stanton House until they give birth to their babies and are under the care of Matron Frances Bolton, and are seen by Midwife (later Dr.) Joan Millar and Dr. Patrick McNaughton. The pilot kicks off in 1969 with Viv falling pregnant and taken to Stanton House by her parents.

Season 1 – The interesting thing about the introduction of the pregnant young women was how different they all were, both as characters and what stages they were at in their pregnancies: Annie is close to giving birth, Martha is a wisecracking Indigenous resident, Patricia is a doe-eyed sweet princess, Viv is new into her pregnancy, and Shirley is older, mysterious and for some unknown reason has more privileges than the other young women living there. The pilot has Annie giving birth and the clean break theory put to work when the midwives put up a bed sheet so she can’t see the baby before it’s immediately taken away. It’s later revealed that Dr. McNaughton has adopted Annie’s baby girl.

The first season goes on to reveal that Shirley is nearing 30 and had a baby before when she was a teenager, Patricia given false hope about moving back home only to be told by her mother that she’d be going to another unwed mother’s home and subsequently stands up to her, Annie being told her baby died by Matron so McNaughton’s adoption of her remains a secret, the reveal that Martha’s pregnancy is the result of her boss raping her, and Shirley’s baby born prematurely.

Towards the end of the season, Joan uncovers the truth about Annie’s baby, Martha gives birth, and Viv discovers that Matron has a son.

The season ends with Annie kidnapping her baby from the McNaughtons, only for Mrs. McNaughton to give the baby back to her, and Joan passing her final exam and officially becoming a doctor. These stories are told with references to historical events like the Moon Landing and the Melbourne Cup.

Season 2 – The second season kicks off on New Year’s Eve 1969/New Year’s Day 1970, bringing the characters and story arcs into a new year and decade. Patty and Viv are still pregnant, and Joan is now a junior doctor at the hospital. Two new characters are introduced, Viv’s mother, and Gail, a pregnant teenager who dies from post-birth complications at the end of the episode.

The second season goes on with Viv giving birth to twins (not knowing she was pregnant with twins until she went into labour), Shirley’s boyfriend, Johnny, dying in Vietnam, Patricia giving birth to a stillborn baby, Joan marrying the father of Gail’s baby, Jim, and Matron’s son, Chris, getting together with Annie. Joan and Jim also battle for custody of Gail’s baby with Gail’s father, Greg, who has Jim bashed and threatens Joan.

The girls not only progress personally but professionally, with Viv becoming a nurses’ aide at the hospital, Patricia becoming a babysitter and opening her own creche at the end of the season, and Martha settling into her role as a hospital clerk (which Matron got her in the previous season).

Towards the end of the season, Annie finds out that she’s pregnant again and that Chris is Matron’s son, Matron revealing the circumstances behind Chris’ birth and adoption, and Martha finding her own birth mother, which reveals that Martha was part of the stolen generation.

The season ends with Stanton House closing, Martha getting together with Simon, a doctor at the hospital, Annie and Matron reconciling, and Jim going to jail after being charged with Greg’s murder (Dr. McNaughton let Greg die of a heart attack without treatment).

Much like the first season, the second season’s story arcs are also played out with historical events going on in the background such as ANZAC Day, women’s liberation protests, and Queen Elizabeth’s 1970 royal tour.

Season 3 – The third season kicks off with the introduction of Maggie, a pregnant teen who is later revealed to be the daughter that Shirley had when she was a teenager. The premiere also has Joan discover she is infertile, and Patty continuing to enjoy success.

The season goes on to have Stanton House reopened by Matron and Joan, Annie dealing with the death of her father, Martha and Simon getting engaged, Annie and Viv going to Vietnam together (Annie to be an entertainer, Viv to find her brother, Bernie), Eva falling pregnant, Jim cheating on Joan with Patricia, and Viv having to leave her orphaned nephew behind in Vietnam (after Bernie and his wife are killed).

The season ends with Jim leaving with James, Martha and Simon getting married, Chris and Annie eloping, Maggie giving birth, Joan discovering she is pregnant against all odds, and Shirley starting the process to adopt Maggie.

Season 4 – The fourth and final season takes the show in a new direction as a new group of young pregnant women enter Stanton House and become the new protagonists, while the main characters slowly start to exit.

Annie, Shirley, and Dr. McNaughton exited offscreen with little to no explanation (Annie and Chris moved after eloping, Shirley’s and Dr. McNaughton’s departures were never explained), Patricia is killed off in the premiere, and Viv leaves in the eighth episode to quit her job and travel the world.

The new group of young women include Elena, an Italian immigrant, Rita, a devout catholic, and Debbie, the wild new ringleader. The premiere also introduces the new Head of Obstetrics, Dr. Patterson, who is pretty much the opposite to Dr. McNaughton, and has Joan giving birth to her baby girl, which is accidentally switched with another patient’s baby.

The season goes on to explore the ramifications of the baby switch which happened due to an innocent mistake made by Matron, the death of the baby Joan thinks is hers, Simon hitting Ed, Elena’s boyfriend, with his car and being subsequently blackmailed over it by Debbie, the reveal that Rita’s pregnancy is the result of her stepfather abusing her, and Joan’s ex, Dr. Faber, who was mentioned in the first season, coming to Australia and entering into a brief romance with her.

The season ends with Joan discovering the switch through the autopsy report on the baby she thought was her daughter and getting her baby back, Elena and Ed getting married, Debbie completing her final high school exams, Matron resigning over the baby switch and deciding to travel, and Martha and Simon discovering that they are expecting their first child together.

I wrote in my review of the finale that it was the best finale of the entire series however the writing of the season as a whole was off-kilter due to the excessive amount of main cast departures and continuity errors. I also wrote that the second-half of the season was a significant improvement over the first-half with superb acting and character development.

I also wrote in my review of the finale that I hoped it wasn’t the show’s swan song. In December 2017, it was announced that the show was cancelled. In all honesty, I wasn’t surprised by this decision as most of the original main cast members had left and there was really nowhere else to go with this premise and its characters.

Love Child was one of the first shows I reviewed when I started reviewing in 2016. For the most part I’d review each episode and publish it on the blog shortly after it would air, and promote my reviews on Twitter. Shortly before Love Child was cancelled, I received a lovely message on Twitter from Andrew Ryan, who portrayed Simon, thanking me for my reviews. I don’t write reviews hoping or expecting the cast and crew of the shows I review to read them, but it’s a bonus when they do, and this message meant so much to me.

Behind the Reviews – Edition #15 will be released next week and will focus on Mr. Black