Doc Martin: Martin Clunes and Caroline Catz shine in the return of this escapist comedy drama (SPOILERS)

UNREALITY PRIMETIME

September 2nd, 2013 by Matt D.

With the possible exception of New Tricks, all of the drama I seem to watch at the moment is quite dark in tone. From Southcliffe to What Remains via The Returned and Top of The Lake; all the recent drama has a fairly sinister tone with very little humour thrown in for good measure. I feel there needs to be a lot more of a good balance in drama and that’s where something like Doc Martin comes in. Though I’ve never followed the Martin Clunes drama particularly closely, it seems that it has a lighter tone to the majority of its contemporaries. Indeed, tonight’s episode has very little plot structure and plays out more like a comedy of errors than an installment of a drama series.

Anybody who’s seen the preview pictures for this new series will know that Doc Martin Ellingham is finally getting married to his long time sweetheart Louisa Glasson. In true Doc style he doesn’t spend a lot of time getting ready nor has he bothered recruiting a best man. However, nobody has told PC Penhale about Doc’s lack of a best man as he resumes the responsibility both at the wedding and later at the reception. As the gathered guests, along with those who won’t invited, wait impatiently, Martin realises that Louisa might not show up after all. Just as he’s about to leave the church, she arrives and ushers him back up the aisle. In his usual impatient style, Martin goes ahead of the vicar’s instructions and slots the ring on his new wife’s finger in record time. It is only when Martin is asked to kiss his new bride that he really starts to smile and we see that Louisa is the one thing in his life that will probably make him happy. However, this happiness doesn’t last very long and Martin gets frustrated when he learns that a lot of the villagers at his wedding reception haven’t been invited. In fact a lot of the assembled guests have only come along to the event in the hope of getting a free consultation with the Doctor on his wedding day. But Louisa is able to calm down Martin long enough to get him to participate in the first dance with her and she is shocked to discover that he is a more competent dancer than her. The people of Portwen later reveal they have a surprise for the newlyweds in the form of a one-night stay in the lodge where Bert spent his honeymoon. While James is looked after by Ruth, Martin and Louisa spend a night in the middle of nowhere without any distractions. However, very soon, things start going wrong.



READ MORE HERE: http://primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk/doc-martin-martin-clunes-and-caroline-catz-shine-in-the-return-of-this-escapist-comedy-drama/