{"id":7641,"date":"2014-02-12T13:38:50","date_gmt":"2014-02-12T18:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=7641"},"modified":"2015-12-09T13:27:30","modified_gmt":"2015-12-09T18:27:30","slug":"dvd-doc-martin-season-1-2004","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=7641","title":{"rendered":"DVD: Doc Martin – Season 1 (2004)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Film: Excellent<\/p>\n

DVD Transfer: Very Good<\/p>\n

DVD Extras: Standard<\/p>\n

Label: Momentum Pictures (U.K.)<\/p>\n

Region: 2 (PAL)<\/p>\n

Released: October 31, 2005<\/p>\n

Genre: Comedy \/ TV \/ Britcom<\/p>\n

Synopsis: A city doctor with a fear of blood moves to a sleepy coastal village and becomes a blessed curse.<\/p>\n

Special Features: Disc 2 – Outtakes (13:45)<\/p>\n

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Review:<\/p>\n

After the 2003 TV movie couplet \u2013\u00a0Doc Martin<\/strong>, and\u00a0Doc Martin and the Legend of the Cloutie<\/strong>\u2013 further adventures for the lead character were were put on ice, and he was given a major overhaul in light of a major flaw in the original series\u2019 construct: by starting out with an an amiable, socially active (and sane) lead character, the writers couldn\u2019t possibly have created enough conflicts to last a full season (which in British terms, roughly means 6-8 episodes).<\/p>\n

The solution was to completely ignore the TV movies, as well as the 2000 film\u00a0Saving Grace<\/strong>where Doc Martin first appeared as the genial, pot-smoking Doctor Bamford, and reformulate him as Dr. Martin Ellingham, a brilliant surgeon who has no people skills whatsoever, and is afraid of the sight\/smell of blood. That decision ensured the pilot episode went off with a bang: within the first 24 hours of his arrival at the sleepy coastal village of Portwenn, Doc Martin (everyone ignores his last name) manages to offend the entire community.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s actually incorrect to brand the first episode as a pilot because the first season\u2019s 6-episode run was obviously conceived as a whole; characters seen in the margins eventually get their own episode to shine, and certainly by the end of the first season, we\u2019re completely familiar with the town\u2019s leading figures.<\/p>\n

Drawing from a huge pool of fine talent, the actors, writers, and directors manage to walk a very fine line and largely avoid creating small town caricatures with quirky behaviour that exists purely for one-shot gags.<\/p>\n

Martin\u2019s aunt Joan, who cuts hard and dry when scolding her nephew about his dreadful people skills and bedside manner, ultimately has her own story arc where an old flame named John Slater (John Alderton) returns to finish wooing her after a decades-long absence. His arrival necessitates Joan telling Martin of how his parents dumped him during the summer months up until they discovered Joan was having an affair with Slater. Morally repulsed, they cut familial social ties with Joan, and Martin never spent another summer with the lone family member who genuinely loved him like a son.<\/p>\n

Other key local characters include the father and son plumbing team of Bert Large (veteran character actor Ian McNeice), and son Al (Joe Alsolom), a twentysomething who wants to free himself from pipes and water and study computer sciences. There’s also forest ranger Stewart James (Ben Miller) who believes he’s co-habiting with a giant squirrel named Anthony; talky pharmacist Mrs. Tischel (Selina Cadell) who\u2019s been wearing a neck brace for decades and may be suffering from a psychosomatic illness; and radio talk show host Caroline Bosman (Felicity Montagu) who grills the good doctor on air for creating a panic about possible contamination of the village’s water supply.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also cuckolded Col. Gilbert Spencer (Zombi<\/strong>\u2019s Richard Johnson) and the young airhead his wife is boffing; local police constable Mark Mylow (Stewart Wright), and his quest to find a mate using enhancement hoodoo (\u201cBig Boy\u201d pills and related sundries); music teacher Roger Fenn (Billy Liar<\/strong>\u2019s Jeff Rawle) whose job and health come under jeopardy; and school teacher Louisa Glassen (Caroline Catz) and select schoolchildren whose sudden mystery illnesses Martin often treats with contempt.<\/p>\n

Glassen actually appears with Martin in the first scene in ep.1 as both arrive on the same small island hopping plane, and their initial dislike is set up in seconds. That friction turns to a peculiar intrigue among the characters, and the writers toy with their clunky efforts to connect socially and emotionally throughout the first season.<\/p>\n

As rude as Martin certain is, Louisa can\u2019t help being attracted to his confidence, brilliance under pressure, and problem solving skills that are driven less by ego than a compulsion to save lives, as well as show people how stupid they can be when they don\u2019t listen to a doctor\u2019s advice (namely his).<\/p>\n

When local boy Peter Cronk (Kurtis O\u2019Brien) requires serious attention at the nearby hospital, the event finally brings Martin and Louisa together in a cab, where their mutual interest coalesces with a kiss, as well as one of several utterly inappropriate statements Martin makes that deepens their divide (or, in the case of Season 1, has him kicked out of a taxi cab and forced to walk home).<\/p>\n

That season finale also provides a glimpse into the respect Martin once enjoyed while employed at a large hospital, and the ridicule he must now deflect when surrounded by peers and snotty grad students now doing the technical work he long gave up for a position of a village medical G.P.<\/p>\n

In his own surgery in Portwenn, Martin must initially deal with acclimatizing the locals to his own style of patient care, since he\u2019s taken over the all-in-one residence and surgery of a predecessor whom he regards as an idiot.<\/p>\n

The behavioral fauna within his practice includes a churlish secretary Elaine Denham (Lucy Punch) who yaps at length with her pestering boyfriend, and her regular (and costly) distribution of tea and cookies for patients. There are also chatty patients whom Martin throws out of his surgery without hesitation; and a dirty dog that repeatedly finds a way into his life, and later in Season 1 spawns a minor epidemic.<\/p>\n

The surgery set has also been designed to exploit Martin Clunes\u2019 height with all kinds of sharp angles and low doorways in clear danger of smacking Martin clear in the head (which happens with awful brutality).<\/p>\n

Martin\u2019s rude behaviour also manifests itself through horribly sharp put-downs, and one can see why Clunes kept up a rather stubborn fight to make the character work after Dr. Martin Bamford\u2019s debut in\u00a0Saving Grace<\/strong>. The TV series was created by Dominic Minghella in 2004, and alongside fellow writer Ben Bolt, Season 1 is quite frankly a perfect example of how to hook viewers on characters, and make them scream for more after the season finale.<\/p>\n

Clunes\u2019 best-known work is in broad comedy (Men Behaving Badly<\/strong>), a series of TV movies and mini-series, and the notable dramady\u00a0William & Mary<\/strong> (shot concurrently with\u00a0Doc Martin<\/strong>), but he\u2019s never played a character that becomes more complex through each subsequent season.<\/p>\n

Paring away the obvious comedic touches, the revised character of Dr. Martin Ellingham is an only child whose parents never really loved him; his only growth was in the intellectual and professional realms. He frequently says the wrong things because they feel right to him, and he genuinely doesn\u2019t care about consequences because he knows he\u2019s either right in his observations, or feels it\u2019s his job that\u2019s important; integrating oneself into a small community is just a bloody waste of time, and being branded a tosser fails to muster any tangible humility.<\/p>\n

Clunes has also physically transformed himself from the amiable, honorable fuzzy-haired bloke inWilliam & Mary<\/strong> to a rigid figure always dressed in a navy blue suit, strutting like an officer navigating through streets of untreatable mental midgets. He\u2019s always clean-shaven, and his close-sheared silver and black hair emphasizes his big ears and unique facial elements.<\/p>\n

Because of the season\u2019s 6-episode run, every nuance has been carefully plotted, so there aren\u2019t any fluffy characters or rude quips; everything he does has consequences later on. With Louisa, his inability to connect, let alone greet her in passing like a normal person, worsens, but Clunes\u2019 skillful performance ensures he remains sympathetic; we deeply want Martin to be happy, and are horrified when he\u2019s able to create social train wrecks through a sparse but brilliantly chosen bon mots.<\/p>\n

Season 1 eventually ends with the Doc almost getting the girl, as well as saving a semi-regular character \u2013 Peter Cronk \u2013 who glides through three episodes like a younger version of Martin: an overachiever whose egotism hasn\u2019t been tempered by the realities of adulthood, and the working world.<\/p>\n

The Region 2 DVD from Momentum includes clean transfers of all 6 episodes from Season 1, as does the Region 1 DVD from Image Entertainment. Momentum\u2019s extras are restricted to a blooper reel that\u2019s mildly amusing, though most of the audio is far too low in spots, and the takes need to run on before an actor stumbles.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Doc Martin<\/strong> universe includes the feature film\u00a0Saving Grace<\/strong><\/a> (2000), the TV movies\u00a0Doc Martin<\/strong><\/a> (2003) and\u00a0Doc Martin and the Legend of the Cloutie<\/strong><\/a> (2003), and the\u00a0Doc Martin<\/strong> TV series, Seasons One (2004),\u00a0Two <\/a>(2005),\u00a0Three<\/a> (2007), and Four (2009). There is also a German production,\u00a0Doktor Martin<\/strong>, starring Axel Milberg as Doktor Martin Helling, spanning Seasons One (2007) and Two (2009).<\/p>\n

Martin Clunes has also hosted two TV series thematically related to\u00a0Doc Martin<\/strong> –\u00a0Martin Clunes: A Man and His Dogs<\/strong>(2008), and\u00a0Martin Clunes: Islands of Britain<\/strong> (2009).<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 2010 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

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External References<\/em>:<\/p>\n

IMDB <\/a>—\u00a0Soundtrack Album<\/a>\u00a0—Album Review<\/a>\u00a0—\u00a0Composer Filmography<\/a>\u00a0—\u00a0Composer Interview<\/a>\u00a0
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Vendor Search Links:<\/em><\/p>\n

Amazon.ca<\/a>\"\" \"\" —<\/span> Amazon.com<\/a>\"\" \"\" —<\/span> Amazon.co.uk<\/a>\"\" \"\"—New movie releases on iTunes<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Film: Excellent DVD Transfer: Very Good DVD Extras: Standard Label: Momentum Pictures (U.K.) Region: 2 (PAL) Released: October 31, 2005 Genre: Comedy \/ TV \/ Britcom Synopsis: A city doctor with a fear of blood moves to a sleepy coastal village and becomes a blessed curse. Special Features: Disc 2 – Outtakes (13:45) \u00a0 \u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[18],"tags":[55,2520,2521],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-1Zf","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7641"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7641"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12792,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7641\/revisions\/12792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}