Remember that she was in the tall house at the top of Rose Hill for S1 & 2 and then moved into Rose Cottage in S3. I suspect that she bought Rose Cottage after becoming Head Teacher because she probably got a substantial raise in pay.
Wonder if her change in style in the bedroom has anything to do with her growing passion for a certain someone?:rolleyes:
Yes, but he tried to run away when he saw her in there and was outed by Al. I think he has spent several days doing his best to avoid her after being thrown out of the taxi.
I think he is very nervous about his feelings toward Louisa and is embarrassed that things ended so badly when he returned her advances.
We are saying the same thing in different ways, Shop Girl. It IS unusual for them not to meet and I think LG is saying that with a suspicious tone. We know it's because he has been avoiding her by that interaction at the door opening. LG, we learn, has been thinking "avoidance" as well, thus her line it's unusual not to see each other. We can infer that before the taxi incident, they were running into each other fairly regularly as they would in a small village.
Hellooooo, PoorRichard! Long time, no see. Good to see you back at the forum.
I agree with the first part of your post, that he's on the sidelines, not speaking up, and jealous as can be. I think I disagree, however, that the reason he doesn't do something about it is because he's slothful and/or proud. In my opinion, he simply doesn't know what to do or, if he could figure it out, he wouldn't know how to go about it.
Later in S2, when AJ prods him to go talk to Louisa because she's heard that Danny is "keen", he does go to talk to her, but mucks it all up. In that episode (not sure which one), Louisa gives him the perfect opening when she talks about admiring Mark for not holding back, for going for it. I think she's clearly giving Martin a big, fat hint. Just say it, Martin, and I won't be with Danny. I'll be with you. But he ends up saying something that upsets her, of course, because he's hurt and jealous and hasn't a clue how to read her clues.
Yes, Biff, I agree, it wasn't sloth/pride, but he is very clueless. And, on top of that, he is shy and insecure around LG, too, and when he does try, he usually mucks it up and upsets her. That's pretty constant and reliable feedback to miserably stand and watch.
I noticed in the rewatch of S2 E1 that Mrs. Tishell's infatuation with Martin hasn't yet appeared, at least not overtly. When Louisa verbally slams Martin right there in front of Mrs. T, she covers all the bases, talks about having kittens over Peter, drinking hospital coffee, and even specifically says she can't believe he kissed her and then implied she had bad breath.
What I noticed is that Mrs. T. doesn't react. She goes about her business, asking Louisa if she wants a bag, ringing up her purchase, mentioning a discount, and tut-tutting because Louisa left without her change.
When does Mrs. T's crush on Martin grow to the point that it becomes noticeable? I know in S1 there were at least a couple of instances when she tried to lure him into discussions of medical bulletins, along with tea and cake or biscuits, but that's as far as it goes. We don't see her going all gooey-eyed over Martin yet. In this first ep of S2, things seem the same. So when does it change? This is something I'll be looking for as we continue the rewatch, but I wondered if anyone has already noted the episode in which we first actually see evidence of her crush.
I noticed in the rewatch of S2 E1 that Mrs. Tishell's infatuation with Martin hasn't yet appeared, at least not overtly. When Louisa verbally slams Martin right there in front of Mrs. T, she covers all the bases, talks about having kittens over Peter, drinking hospital coffee, and even specifically says she can't believe he kissed her and then implied she had bad breath.
What I noticed is that Mrs. T. doesn't react. She goes about her business, asking Louisa if she wants a bag, ringing up her purchase, mentioning a discount, and tut-tutting because Louisa left without her change.
When does Mrs. T's crush on Martin grow to the point that it becomes noticeable? I know in S1 there were at least a couple of instances when she tried to lure him into discussions of medical bulletins, along with tea and cake or biscuits, but that's as far as it goes. We don't see her going all gooey-eyed over Martin yet. In this first ep of S2, things seem the same. So when does it change? This is something I'll be looking for as we continue the rewatch, but I wondered if anyone has already noted the episode in which we first actually see evidence of her crush.
Fascinating that Sally's crush becomes actionable when Martin in S5 becomes more rigid, removed, stoic, and angry.
Poorrichard54 - Glad your back! We missed you and your interesting posts. I thought you took time off to write a fanfiction for us. You know there is one swimming around in your mind. Perhaps you are waiting for S6 to air, giving you more material with which to weave your story.
I noticed in the rewatch of S2 E1 that Mrs. Tishell's infatuation with Martin hasn't yet appeared, at least not overtly. When Louisa verbally slams Martin right there in front of Mrs. T, she covers all the bases, talks about having kittens over Peter, drinking hospital coffee, and even specifically says she can't believe he kissed her and then implied she had bad breath.
What I noticed is that Mrs. T. doesn't react. She goes about her business, asking Louisa if she wants a bag, ringing up her purchase, mentioning a discount, and tut-tutting because Louisa left without her change.
When does Mrs. T's crush on Martin grow to the point that it becomes noticeable? I know in S1 there were at least a couple of instances when she tried to lure him into discussions of medical bulletins, along with tea and cake or biscuits, but that's as far as it goes. We don't see her going all gooey-eyed over Martin yet. In this first ep of S2, things seem the same. So when does it change? This is something I'll be looking for as we continue the rewatch, but I wondered if anyone has already noted the episode in which we first actually see evidence of her crush.
I'm going to say Erotomania. Mrs. T really doesn't form a substantial part of any sub-plot in the series until that episode (it's the one where she tries to remove her collar), and in a few episodes of S2 she doesn't appear at all. In Aromatherapy, the Doc compliments her (well, in a Doc-ish sort of way) for having required a prescription before giving fluconocil to Caroline Bosman. She responds with an invitation to look at journals over a Cornish pasty which is the sort of thing she has been doing all along, but I fancy she is becoming more clamourous to have this fantasy fulfilled, and more visibly disappointed when the Doc puts her off. I think the progression from that scene in Aromatherapy to the next point we really see her, which in Erotomania, is quite believable. She has taken confidence from that compliment the Doc gave her, and by the beginning of the Erotomania episode is telling the Salvation Army man that "our Doc is a wonderful man." Erotomania is also the first time, I think we see Sally outside the chemist's shop. To me this signals a conscious decision on BP's part to escalate her role in the series from a villager we see occasionally, and whose shop provides a convenient setting in which encounters between the Doc and other villagers can occur, and in which village gossip can be retailed, to a minor character who has a story-line of interest in her own right. I believe it's in "On the Edge" (the next installment after Erotomania) where Sally says "I could just eat him with a spoon" and where she effuses about the Doctor when Gavin Peters (the Doctor's friend) comes asking. So I think a decision must have been taken following Erotomania that this "crush" story-line was one that they would run with. Mrs. T's appearance does really alter in S5, in a few episodes leading up to her psychotic break in the season finale -- she is changing her hair colour and style, her lipstick, her style of dress purposely to appear more attractive for the Doc (and he notices! "What's happened to your face?"). By that point we are well away, but I'm thinking it starts with Erotomania. (It's not just Martin's diagnosis of Louisa with Erotomania that is alluded to in the title of that episode, but also what is going on in several of the subplots (Mark and Julie, Mrs. T and Martin), as we have seen in other episodes before).
Hellooooo, PoorRichard! Long time, no see. Good to see you back at the forum.
I agree with the first part of your post, that he's on the sidelines, not speaking up, and jealous as can be. I think I disagree, however, that the reason he doesn't do something about it is because he's slothful and/or proud. In my opinion, he simply doesn't know what to do or, if he could figure it out, he wouldn't know how to go about it.
Later in S2, when AJ prods him to go talk to Louisa because she's heard that Danny is "keen", he does go to talk to her, but mucks it all up. In that episode (not sure which one), Louisa gives him the perfect opening when she talks about admiring Mark for not holding back, for going for it. I think she's clearly giving Martin a big, fat hint. Just say it, Martin, and I won't be with Danny. I'll be with you. But he ends up saying something that upsets her, of course, because he's hurt and jealous and hasn't a clue how to read her clues.
Yes, Biff, I agree, it wasn't sloth/pride, but he is very clueless. And, on top of that, he is shy and insecure around LG, too, and when he does try, he usually mucks it up and upsets her. That's pretty constant and reliable feedback to miserably stand and watch.
Poorrichard54 - Glad your back! We missed you and your interesting posts. I thought you took time off to write a fanfiction for us. You know there is one swimming around in your mind. Perhaps you are waiting for S6 to air, giving you more material with which to weave your story.
Thanks for having missed me and for your enthusiastic welcome back! I wasn't trapped under a large beam unable to get to a computer or anything dramatic like that, just a case of "real life" becoming more demanding, and before I knew it I was out of the habit of daily check ins to DS. Marchrand, thanks for the vote of confidence that I could actually write some fanfiction! Dorothy Sayers once divided the creative process into three parts: idea, execution and power, and said that most people have creativity adapted to one of those levels. Mine is so much at the level of idea (yes, many leviathans writhing in the watery places of the mind), that the transition to execution, much less the production of anything having the power of some of the offerings we have seen, seems to me quite difficult.
...Which is not a reason not to try, but in fact there was no attempt made during my communicative hiatus, and alas I have nothing so satisfyingly tangible to show for the considerable work I was doing.
I floated pride and sloth once before as descriptors of Martin and they didn't ring true with folk then either. I guess whatever it is with Martin, then, it's not those vices. I buy "clueless," but somehow I feel there's more than that going on with him in S2 -- something which makes him somehow more blameworthy. There is a moral failing involved in his inability to stand up and fight for Louisa, it seems to me, as well as just that lack of confidence, and that gormlessness which we know he has to contend with. What name would you give it?
Mona, in reading back through the thread to see what I'd missed, I noticed you were in Truro NS. That's so close to my childhood home, and you all the way from Arizona! In fact your cabbie might have been related to me, or would certainly have known some of my aunties (it's that kind of place). I hope you enjoyed some downtime aside from whatever business brought you there. NS is glorious in the Fall, and the Fundy tides were in the running for the "new" 7 wonders of the world.
Poorrichard54 - Glad your back! We missed you and your interesting posts. I thought you took time off to write a fanfiction for us. You know there is one swimming around in your mind. Perhaps you are waiting for S6 to air, giving you more material with which to weave your story.
We do need some more fanfic! I think RobSpace's current story is finished -- or very close -- or do you have plans, Rob, to follow them in PortWenn.
Bodmin has finally got them on the train going to PW, but not happily and I am enjoying her M-rated followup to All Gone.
But we need more! I guess the new episodes will be a spur to creativity.
BTW, I've checked out Louise Jameson's website and she hasn't posted anything about appearing in S6. She sort of gave the game away about this time two years ago by posting that she would be appearing in Doc Martin as "the mother-in-law from hell." (maybe she's been warned not to do that again.)
We had a brief discussion a few pages ago about whether Louisa was right to call Martin "selfish" because he was so stand-offish.
I think the consensus then was that this was not an appropriate term. (If I remember correctly and often I don't, I think I was on the side that thought it wasn't.) But now, I wonder if that's not a better descriptor than sloth or pride.
In this sense: he prefers to risk nothing of himself. He's not going to share himself -- as a companion, friend, or lover -- to the extent that he might have to expose his own core insecurities and face possible rejection. People might ask things of him -- like being a friend, best man, dropping by for a drink -- that he simply can't or won't give them. Of course, he did make a striking exception for Roger Fenn, and for Louisa in the ambulance.
So, in the sense of being with-holding -- emotionally constipated as AJ labeled it -- that has something of selfishness about it.
But I guess I would agree that he is prideful. Slothful, no.
Also -- I think there is something of cowardice. Maybe that's covered by his being afraid to risk himself. Certainly he is heroic in treating his patients in spite of his obvious fears and he overcomes it in defense of people he cares about. But still to me, the scene of him legging it away from Louisa's door the morning after she has broken up with him, is emblematic of this in him. .
Really, I don't mean to be this denigrating of him. But he obviously has character flaws, as do we all, and the question here is, how would we best characterize his?
We had a brief discussion a few pages ago about whether Louisa was right to call Martin "selfish" because he was so stand-offish.
I think the consensus then was that this was not an appropriate term. (If I remember correctly and often I don't, I think I was on the side that thought it wasn't.) But now, I wonder if that's not a better descriptor than sloth or pride.
In this sense: he prefers to risk nothing of himself. He's not going to share himself -- as a companion, friend, or lover -- to the extent that he might have to expose his own core insecurities and face possible rejection. People might ask things of him -- like being a friend, best man, dropping by for a drink -- that he simply can't or won't give them. Of course, he did make a striking exception for Roger Fenn, and for Louisa in the ambulance.
So, in the sense of being with-holding -- emotionally constipated as AJ labeled it -- that has something of selfishness about it.
But I guess I would agree that he is prideful. Slothful, no.
Also -- I think there is something of cowardice. Maybe that's covered by his being afraid to risk himself. Certainly he is heroic in treating his patients in spite of his obvious fears and he overcomes it in defense of people he cares about. But still to me, the scene of him legging it away from Louisa's door the morning after she has broken up with him, is emblematic of this in him. .
Really, I don't mean to be this denigrating of him. But he obviously has character flaws, as do we all, and the question here is, how would we best characterize his?
This is interesting. When one is closed, withdrawn, ungiving - I guess that could be considered selfish but I tend not to blame them as much because they're hurting themselves so much. A deeper character flaw I think is Martin's overt anger and how he unfairly lashes out at people verbally. That I very much blame him for. Perhaps I put a greater weight on sins of commission rather than sins of omission - but not sure why?
BTW, I've checked out Louise Jameson's website and she hasn't posted anything about appearing in S6. She sort of gave the game away about this time two years ago by posting that she would be appearing in Doc Martin as "the mother-in-law from hell." (maybe she's been warned not to do that again.)
We need to figure out about Selina Cadell also.
I've occasionally checked Louise Jameson's website too, hoping for something, a hint, or more than a hint. I remember that she said she was told she may be asked back for S6 (not sure I'm glad about that), but I guess it's possible that nothing has been mentioned because maybe she isn't coming back.
As for Selina Cadell, I hope, I wish, keeping my fingers crossed.
I floated pride and sloth once before as descriptors of Martin and they didn't ring true with folk then either. I guess whatever it is with Martin, then, it's not those vices. I buy "clueless," but somehow I feel there's more than that going on with him in S2 -- something which makes him somehow more blameworthy. There is a moral failing involved in his inability to stand up and fight for Louisa, it seems to me, as well as just that lack of confidence, and that gormlessness which we know he has to contend with. What name would you give it?
So, in the sense of being with-holding -- emotionally constipated as AJ labeled it -- that has something of selfishness about it.
But I guess I would agree that he is prideful. Slothful, no.
Also -- I think there is something of cowardice. Maybe that's covered by his being afraid to risk himself. Certainly he is heroic in treating his patients in spite of his obvious fears and he overcomes it in defense of people he cares about. But still to me, the scene of him legging it away from Louisa's door the morning after she has broken up with him, is emblematic of this in him. .
Really, I don't mean to be this denigrating of him. But he obviously has character flaws, as do we all, and the question here is, how would we best characterize his?
So we're looking for a word, or a phrase, that wraps up his cluelessness, insecurity, gormlessness, lack of confidence, cowardice (I agree with that--in many scenes he reminds me so much of apprehensive adolescent boy), shyness, which was considered recently, with a dash of moral failure (not so sure I agree with this--it sounds like it's his fault that he's the way he is, and my compass points to Chris and Margaret)? That's a tall order. If I were Katharine Hepburn in "The Desk Set", I would type all of those descriptions into ENERAC (is that right?) and the giant computer would spit out the perfect word or phrase. Unfortunately, google isn't quite as cooperative as ENERAC (but at least it doesn't take a massive room and full time staff to run my laptop).
I think one thing we need to consider is that moment after the overheard conversation between Pauline and Al in which Doc thinks they're talking about him. This tells me he's thinking, trying, hoping he can figure out a way to win Louisa. PoorRichard, could this offset the moral failure? He's trying to figure out what to do. I think he's simply at sea in a new world. This is all brand new to him and his resources are limited. I know we later discover that he had a serious relationship with Edith, but I figure she ran that show and I think it was a very, very different kind of relationship. This is a man who can't read social (or romantic) clues and who, until now, didn't need to. He's like a kid without a teacher or textbook who has been presented with an algebra exam. Figure out what to do? Based on what?
I do so wish I knew what he decided to say to Louisa. When he encountered her outside the store and said, "Louisa", in that voice, he intended to deliver the message he had decided on. Before Danny showed up, was he on the verge of apologizing? Was he about to say something emotional from his heart? Or was Danny's interruption a blessing? He could have been about to tell her that her bad breath that day wasn't her fault because she was about to start her period!
Oh. A word. My little ENERAC here selects awkwardness. Here are the synonyms:
amateurishness, artlessness, boorishness, cloddishness, coarseness, crudeness, gawkiness, gracelessness, greenness, ignorance, inability, incompetence, ineptitude, ineptness, inexpertness, maladroitness, oafishness, rudeness, tactlessness, uncoordination, uncouthness, ungainliness, unskillfulness
It's a simple and common word, but many of the synonyms describe this Doc I love, in his social world, not necessarily his medical world.
Mona, in reading back through the thread to see what I'd missed, I noticed you were in Truro NS. That's so close to my childhood home, and you all the way from Arizona! In fact your cabbie might have been related to me, or would certainly have known some of my aunties (it's that kind of place). I hope you enjoyed some downtime aside from whatever business brought you there. NS is glorious in the Fall, and the Fundy tides were in the running for the "new" 7 wonders of the world.
Hello, Poorrichard! Welcome back! I did not know you were/are from Nova Scotia. I did not get into Truro, was just in Halifax, but did see the roadway sign to Truro. It caught me and my tired mind by surprise!
I did not have much down time, but my hotel suite had a marvelous view of the harbor, the hills in the distance and also downtown Halifax. Super great views of a very pretty area.
Oh. A word. My little ENERAC here selects awkwardness. Here are the synonyms:
amateurishness, artlessness, boorishness, cloddishness, coarseness, crudeness, gawkiness, gracelessness, greenness, ignorance, inability, incompetence, ineptitude, ineptness, inexpertness, maladroitness, oafishness, rudeness, tactlessness, uncoordination, uncouthness, ungainliness, unskillfulness
I've occasionally checked Louise Jameson's website too, hoping for something, a hint, or more than a hint. I remember that she said she was told she may be asked back for S6 (not sure I'm glad about that), but I guess it's possible that nothing has been mentioned because maybe she isn't coming back.
As for Selina Cadell, I hope, I wish, keeping my fingers crossed.
Some news along these lines would be nice.
I would love to see Mrs. T, and I hope we aren't bothered with more drama from the mother-in-law. I hope they move on and we don't see Eleanor again. I'm not sure what else they can do with her character and what I like about BP/MC is that when a character has no more useful purpose or innovative way to move the plot, the character disappears.
I may be alone, but I hope Eleanor stays out of S6.
Another thing I find interesting about the series is the color of the bedsheets. In the dream about the earthquake LG's sheets are flowery and girlie. In the episode about Holly's fall and the morning after the proposal the sheets are red. In S5E1 Louisa's sheets and comforter are flowery, then moving into DM's bedroom the pillowcase for him is flowery while LG's is blue, then later on there are navy pillowcases and sheets, and beige, whatever. Is this some sort of an indication as to where this romance is going at that point in the series?
Another thing I find interesting about the series is the color of the bedsheets. In the dream about the earthquake LG's sheets are flowery and girlie. In the episode about Holly's fall and the morning after the proposal the sheets are red. In S5E1 Louisa's sheets and comforter are flowery, then moving into DM's bedroom the pillowcase for him is flowery while LG's is blue, then later on there are navy pillowcases and sheets, and beige, whatever. Is this some sort of an indication as to where this romance is going at that point in the series?
I think it probably is. I think the set dressing is almost in aid of some plot point or another and in this case, the beige and navy bed linens must reflect that the relationship at the moment is not vibrant or passionate but neutral (at least on the surface).
I would love to see Mrs. T, and I hope we aren't bothered with more drama from the mother-in-law. I hope they move on and we don't see Eleanor again. I'm not sure what else they can do with her character and what I like about BP/MC is that when a character has no more useful purpose or innovative way to move the plot, the character disappears.
I may be alone, but I hope Eleanor stays out of S6.
I think it probably is. I think the set dressing is almost in aid of some plot point or another and in this case, the beige and navy bed linens must reflect that the relationship at the moment is not vibrant or passionate but neutral (at least on the surface).
They could blow our minds by giving them patterned bedsheets with little buddhas, onions, and finches.
I'm going to say Erotomania. Mrs. T really doesn't form a substantial part of any sub-plot in the series until that episode (it's the one where she tries to remove her collar), and in a few episodes of S2 she doesn't appear at all. In Aromatherapy, the Doc compliments her (well, in a Doc-ish sort of way) for having required a prescription before giving fluconocil to Caroline Bosman. She responds with an invitation to look at journals over a Cornish pasty which is the sort of thing she has been doing all along, but I fancy she is becoming more clamourous to have this fantasy fulfilled, and more visibly disappointed when the Doc puts her off. I think the progression from that scene in Aromatherapy to the next point we really see her, which in Erotomania, is quite believable. She has taken confidence from that compliment the Doc gave her, and by the beginning of the Erotomania episode is telling the Salvation Army man that "our Doc is a wonderful man." Erotomania is also the first time, I think we see Sally outside the chemist's shop. To me this signals a conscious decision on BP's part to escalate her role in the series from a villager we see occasionally, and whose shop provides a convenient setting in which encounters between the Doc and other villagers can occur, and in which village gossip can be retailed, to a minor character who has a story-line of interest in her own right. I believe it's in "On the Edge" (the next installment after Erotomania) where Sally says "I could just eat him with a spoon" and where she effuses about the Doctor when Gavin Peters (the Doctor's friend) comes asking. So I think a decision must have been taken following Erotomania that this "crush" story-line was one that they would run with. Mrs. T's appearance does really alter in S5, in a few episodes leading up to her psychotic break in the season finale -- she is changing her hair colour and style, her lipstick, her style of dress purposely to appear more attractive for the Doc (and he notices! "What's happened to your face?"). By that point we are well away, but I'm thinking it starts with Erotomania. (It's not just Martin's diagnosis of Louisa with Erotomania that is alluded to in the title of that episode, but also what is going on in several of the subplots (Mark and Julie, Mrs. T and Martin), as we have seen in other episodes before).
You may be right. Erotomania is the one in which Mrs T ends up on the floor of her shop with her head supported by the Doc's big hands. She looks blissful in that moment. Something is tickling at the back of my mind, though, telling me we start to get hints of her feelings before that episode. I may be thinking of the scene you mentioned in Aromatherapy. Maybe the first hints we see are somewhat subtle and Erotomania is the first ep in which we know for sure. This is one of the reasons the rewatch is fun.
Comments
Of course !
Together with her plans to get him up there...
It worked !
We are saying the same thing in different ways, Shop Girl. It IS unusual for them not to meet and I think LG is saying that with a suspicious tone. We know it's because he has been avoiding her by that interaction at the door opening. LG, we learn, has been thinking "avoidance" as well, thus her line it's unusual not to see each other. We can infer that before the taxi incident, they were running into each other fairly regularly as they would in a small village.
Yes, Biff, I agree, it wasn't sloth/pride, but he is very clueless. And, on top of that, he is shy and insecure around LG, too, and when he does try, he usually mucks it up and upsets her. That's pretty constant and reliable feedback to miserably stand and watch.
What I noticed is that Mrs. T. doesn't react. She goes about her business, asking Louisa if she wants a bag, ringing up her purchase, mentioning a discount, and tut-tutting because Louisa left without her change.
When does Mrs. T's crush on Martin grow to the point that it becomes noticeable? I know in S1 there were at least a couple of instances when she tried to lure him into discussions of medical bulletins, along with tea and cake or biscuits, but that's as far as it goes. We don't see her going all gooey-eyed over Martin yet. In this first ep of S2, things seem the same. So when does it change? This is something I'll be looking for as we continue the rewatch, but I wondered if anyone has already noted the episode in which we first actually see evidence of her crush.
Hah! Sure did. Now, maybe I should get out the old paintbrushes and shop for some red, red, red paint.:D
Why not go mad and splash out on some new paintbrushes too
Fascinating that Sally's crush becomes actionable when Martin in S5 becomes more rigid, removed, stoic, and angry.
That should be applied to your bedroom walls, Biff, not yourself...
I hope you won't be all red during our visit to PW next year during filming....
I'm going to say Erotomania. Mrs. T really doesn't form a substantial part of any sub-plot in the series until that episode (it's the one where she tries to remove her collar), and in a few episodes of S2 she doesn't appear at all. In Aromatherapy, the Doc compliments her (well, in a Doc-ish sort of way) for having required a prescription before giving fluconocil to Caroline Bosman. She responds with an invitation to look at journals over a Cornish pasty which is the sort of thing she has been doing all along, but I fancy she is becoming more clamourous to have this fantasy fulfilled, and more visibly disappointed when the Doc puts her off. I think the progression from that scene in Aromatherapy to the next point we really see her, which in Erotomania, is quite believable. She has taken confidence from that compliment the Doc gave her, and by the beginning of the Erotomania episode is telling the Salvation Army man that "our Doc is a wonderful man." Erotomania is also the first time, I think we see Sally outside the chemist's shop. To me this signals a conscious decision on BP's part to escalate her role in the series from a villager we see occasionally, and whose shop provides a convenient setting in which encounters between the Doc and other villagers can occur, and in which village gossip can be retailed, to a minor character who has a story-line of interest in her own right. I believe it's in "On the Edge" (the next installment after Erotomania) where Sally says "I could just eat him with a spoon" and where she effuses about the Doctor when Gavin Peters (the Doctor's friend) comes asking. So I think a decision must have been taken following Erotomania that this "crush" story-line was one that they would run with. Mrs. T's appearance does really alter in S5, in a few episodes leading up to her psychotic break in the season finale -- she is changing her hair colour and style, her lipstick, her style of dress purposely to appear more attractive for the Doc (and he notices! "What's happened to your face?"). By that point we are well away, but I'm thinking it starts with Erotomania. (It's not just Martin's diagnosis of Louisa with Erotomania that is alluded to in the title of that episode, but also what is going on in several of the subplots (Mark and Julie, Mrs. T and Martin), as we have seen in other episodes before).
Thanks for having missed me and for your enthusiastic welcome back! I wasn't trapped under a large beam unable to get to a computer or anything dramatic like that, just a case of "real life" becoming more demanding, and before I knew it I was out of the habit of daily check ins to DS. Marchrand, thanks for the vote of confidence that I could actually write some fanfiction! Dorothy Sayers once divided the creative process into three parts: idea, execution and power, and said that most people have creativity adapted to one of those levels. Mine is so much at the level of idea (yes, many leviathans writhing in the watery places of the mind), that the transition to execution, much less the production of anything having the power of some of the offerings we have seen, seems to me quite difficult.
...Which is not a reason not to try, but in fact there was no attempt made during my communicative hiatus, and alas I have nothing so satisfyingly tangible to show for the considerable work I was doing.
I floated pride and sloth once before as descriptors of Martin and they didn't ring true with folk then either. I guess whatever it is with Martin, then, it's not those vices. I buy "clueless," but somehow I feel there's more than that going on with him in S2 -- something which makes him somehow more blameworthy. There is a moral failing involved in his inability to stand up and fight for Louisa, it seems to me, as well as just that lack of confidence, and that gormlessness which we know he has to contend with. What name would you give it?
Mona, in reading back through the thread to see what I'd missed, I noticed you were in Truro NS. That's so close to my childhood home, and you all the way from Arizona! In fact your cabbie might have been related to me, or would certainly have known some of my aunties (it's that kind of place). I hope you enjoyed some downtime aside from whatever business brought you there. NS is glorious in the Fall, and the Fundy tides were in the running for the "new" 7 wonders of the world.
We do need some more fanfic! I think RobSpace's current story is finished -- or very close -- or do you have plans, Rob, to follow them in PortWenn.
Bodmin has finally got them on the train going to PW, but not happily and I am enjoying her M-rated followup to All Gone.
But we need more! I guess the new episodes will be a spur to creativity.
BTW, I've checked out Louise Jameson's website and she hasn't posted anything about appearing in S6. She sort of gave the game away about this time two years ago by posting that she would be appearing in Doc Martin as "the mother-in-law from hell." (maybe she's been warned not to do that again.)
We need to figure out about Selina Cadell also.
I think the consensus then was that this was not an appropriate term. (If I remember correctly and often I don't, I think I was on the side that thought it wasn't.) But now, I wonder if that's not a better descriptor than sloth or pride.
In this sense: he prefers to risk nothing of himself. He's not going to share himself -- as a companion, friend, or lover -- to the extent that he might have to expose his own core insecurities and face possible rejection. People might ask things of him -- like being a friend, best man, dropping by for a drink -- that he simply can't or won't give them. Of course, he did make a striking exception for Roger Fenn, and for Louisa in the ambulance.
So, in the sense of being with-holding -- emotionally constipated as AJ labeled it -- that has something of selfishness about it.
But I guess I would agree that he is prideful. Slothful, no.
Also -- I think there is something of cowardice. Maybe that's covered by his being afraid to risk himself. Certainly he is heroic in treating his patients in spite of his obvious fears and he overcomes it in defense of people he cares about. But still to me, the scene of him legging it away from Louisa's door the morning after she has broken up with him, is emblematic of this in him. .
Really, I don't mean to be this denigrating of him. But he obviously has character flaws, as do we all, and the question here is, how would we best characterize his?
This is interesting. When one is closed, withdrawn, ungiving - I guess that could be considered selfish but I tend not to blame them as much because they're hurting themselves so much. A deeper character flaw I think is Martin's overt anger and how he unfairly lashes out at people verbally. That I very much blame him for. Perhaps I put a greater weight on sins of commission rather than sins of omission - but not sure why?
Oh? Too late!
I've occasionally checked Louise Jameson's website too, hoping for something, a hint, or more than a hint. I remember that she said she was told she may be asked back for S6 (not sure I'm glad about that), but I guess it's possible that nothing has been mentioned because maybe she isn't coming back.
As for Selina Cadell, I hope, I wish, keeping my fingers crossed.
Some news along these lines would be nice.
So we're looking for a word, or a phrase, that wraps up his cluelessness, insecurity, gormlessness, lack of confidence, cowardice (I agree with that--in many scenes he reminds me so much of apprehensive adolescent boy), shyness, which was considered recently, with a dash of moral failure (not so sure I agree with this--it sounds like it's his fault that he's the way he is, and my compass points to Chris and Margaret)? That's a tall order. If I were Katharine Hepburn in "The Desk Set", I would type all of those descriptions into ENERAC (is that right?) and the giant computer would spit out the perfect word or phrase. Unfortunately, google isn't quite as cooperative as ENERAC (but at least it doesn't take a massive room and full time staff to run my laptop).
I think one thing we need to consider is that moment after the overheard conversation between Pauline and Al in which Doc thinks they're talking about him. This tells me he's thinking, trying, hoping he can figure out a way to win Louisa. PoorRichard, could this offset the moral failure? He's trying to figure out what to do. I think he's simply at sea in a new world. This is all brand new to him and his resources are limited. I know we later discover that he had a serious relationship with Edith, but I figure she ran that show and I think it was a very, very different kind of relationship. This is a man who can't read social (or romantic) clues and who, until now, didn't need to. He's like a kid without a teacher or textbook who has been presented with an algebra exam. Figure out what to do? Based on what?
I do so wish I knew what he decided to say to Louisa. When he encountered her outside the store and said, "Louisa", in that voice, he intended to deliver the message he had decided on. Before Danny showed up, was he on the verge of apologizing? Was he about to say something emotional from his heart? Or was Danny's interruption a blessing? He could have been about to tell her that her bad breath that day wasn't her fault because she was about to start her period!
Oh. A word. My little ENERAC here selects awkwardness. Here are the synonyms:
amateurishness, artlessness, boorishness, cloddishness, coarseness, crudeness, gawkiness, gracelessness, greenness, ignorance, inability, incompetence, ineptitude, ineptness, inexpertness, maladroitness, oafishness, rudeness, tactlessness, uncoordination, uncouthness, ungainliness, unskillfulness
It's a simple and common word, but many of the synonyms describe this Doc I love, in his social world, not necessarily his medical world.
Hello, Poorrichard! Welcome back! I did not know you were/are from Nova Scotia. I did not get into Truro, was just in Halifax, but did see the roadway sign to Truro. It caught me and my tired mind by surprise!
I did not have much down time, but my hotel suite had a marvelous view of the harbor, the hills in the distance and also downtown Halifax. Super great views of a very pretty area.
As a whole, those words'll do!
I would love to see Mrs. T, and I hope we aren't bothered with more drama from the mother-in-law. I hope they move on and we don't see Eleanor again. I'm not sure what else they can do with her character and what I like about BP/MC is that when a character has no more useful purpose or innovative way to move the plot, the character disappears.
I may be alone, but I hope Eleanor stays out of S6.
I think it probably is. I think the set dressing is almost in aid of some plot point or another and in this case, the beige and navy bed linens must reflect that the relationship at the moment is not vibrant or passionate but neutral (at least on the surface).
You're not alone.
They could blow our minds by giving them patterned bedsheets with little buddhas, onions, and finches.
You may be right. Erotomania is the one in which Mrs T ends up on the floor of her shop with her head supported by the Doc's big hands. She looks blissful in that moment. Something is tickling at the back of my mind, though, telling me we start to get hints of her feelings before that episode. I may be thinking of the scene you mentioned in Aromatherapy. Maybe the first hints we see are somewhat subtle and Erotomania is the first ep in which we know for sure. This is one of the reasons the rewatch is fun.