I was delighted and surprised today when I discovered that Doc Martin is back for a seventh season starting this week. Who is Doc Martin you ask? Doctor Martin Ellingham (played by the talented Martin Clunes) has made me laugh with dry wit for six previous seasons in a uniquely British comedy-romance-drama created by Dominic Minghella. Martin is one part Basil Fawlty, one part Bernard Black, and one part… well… Doc Martin. Three of my most favourite grumpy, curmudgeonly heroes. Secretly I want to have dinner with them all just so we can complain about the state of the world while drinking far too much claret.
The basic premise if you’ve not discovered the show is that a high flying London surgeon develops a fear of blood. You can imagine how that might put a crimp in his career. To stave off the embarrassment and pressure he retreats to a posting in a small Cornish seaside village where his favourite aunt resides and friction between his pinpoint suits and the local town folk guarantee that comedy ensues. His infatuation with a most attractive local school teacher, Louisa (played by the delightful Caroline Catz), adds just the right amount of romantic tension and the local plumber and his son another layer of comedic interaction. A quirky receptionist in series one was a bit of a weak link but the producers wisely rewrote and recast the role for all the later seasons to complete a fine ensemble cast. All in all you can see why the series has become popular much farther and wider than just the UK. I believe the somewhat picky-in-their-selections American Public Television (PBS) rebroadcasts the series right next to other popular imports like Downton Abbey but don’t quote me on that. Doc Martin is certainly funnier.
If you’ve not seen any of the show I strongly suggest you watch them in order from the beginning as the plots build on each other. Here’s the very first episode on Daily Motion entitled “Going Bodmin” for introduction but of course such free viewing might not last so watch it quick. The rest of the series is widely available
I think the writers have perfectly captured the comedy that always exists when you toss two vastly different cultures, personalities, or lifestyles into a bin and shake them wildly so they’re forced to mix. Sometimes I feel a bit “Doc Martin” myself out here in the Maritimes but I think they’re slowly warming up to me. Maybe.
