Our local PBS station has just started showing a series called Doc Martin. We watched one episode last night and liked it a lot; that actor playing the titular character is certainly familiar.
What do you think about this series? And where have I seen the Doc before?
Martin Clunes. Men Behaving Badly.
I love it, a nice charming quirky show, with great characters.
We watched on Netflix and really enjoyed it.
Martihn Clunes got his big break in the sitcom ‘Men Behaving Badly’, after which he did a few straight dramatic roles on TV before being cast in ‘Doc Martin’.
I think it’s an excellent show. It’s very well-written and acted, and the production values are sky high. What I think is especially clever is that each episode is self-contained and can be enjoyed on its own, but there are also longer-running story lines that can last a whole series or in fact across more than one series. There is no lazy ‘reset’ at the end of every episode - some things can and so change forever in the Doc Martin world.
The only slightly lazy aspect of the writing (but entirely understandable) is the way some characters magically appear one week as dictated by the needs of the plot, seemingly an intrinsic part of village life and known to many of the other characters, and are then never seen again.
BTW, the series is loosely based on a movie called ‘Saving Grace’. Mark Crowdy wrote the movie, and went on to be the producer on ‘Doc Martin’.
Hm. I guess nobody gets to taste the curb in this one.
Perhaps one episode is too small a viewing to make this observation, but it reminds me vaguely of House, in that the doctor seems to have a deep social disconnect from other people, yet he’s spot-on and respected in his profession.
I belatedly thought to run the name Martin Clunes through imdb, and I see that he was in several episodes of Jeeves and Wooster, so that must have been where I’ve seen him before. You couldn’t forget a mug like that!
Yeah. Doc Martin? I’m thinking Romper Stomper. Sounds like … not so much.
Banal fact: one of the creators of the series was Dominic Minghella; the Doc’s surname, Ellingham, is an anagram of Minghella…
The Doc Martin series came from a movie, though it was retooled, called Saving Grace, written by and starring Craig Ferguson.
See my post #4, above!
Oh yeah. Sorry. Still, you didn’t mention Craig Ferguson.
You can watch the first 10 minutes of the first episode on youtube. If you like Doc Martin, you might like Kingdom starring Stephen Fry. Both shows happen in small summer towns and have similar feel to them. Youtube link to first episode of Kingdom.
I haven’t seen as many episodes as I’d like, because I keep forgetting when it’s on… but the episodes I have seen, I’ve really enjoyed.
It was really enjoyable for the first couple of series and then it got a bit tired and repetitive as they found new ways to keep Martin from getting together with Louisa played by Caroline Catz.
One thing I did enjoy was the fact that it co starred Stephanie Cole as his Aunt Joan, she was also in Waiting for God (another UK sitcom).
Also enjoyed the whole “blood phobia”. The plumbers were quite amusing too.
I don’t think it’s based on a movie called “Saving Grace”. I believe the character of Doctor Martin Bamford appears in that though. Can’t comment much on it, never seen it… However, the synopsis was about someone growing pot to make money…
There was however a TV movie called Doctor Martin, and a sequel Doc Martin and the Legend of the Cloutie. Which pretty much makes up the format of the series.
The series was then a reboot of the character, starting from the beginning again. Theres been three series of this, and I agree with another poster, its dragging a bit there…