Doc Martin (Part 15 — Spoilers)

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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 33
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    dmptrader wrote: »
    S5 E2 Dry Your Tears

    This has been discussed in bits and pieces already, but I'm going to pick Aunt Ruth to concentrate on. I liked Aunt Ruth from her very first line. She's a respectable, intelligent woman and her lines give a glimmer into a very witty woman.

    First off: Just as Aunt Ruth is climbing out of her "Merc" DM is looking at her then he abruptly turns away and has a look -- I can’t figure out what he’s thinking? Is he not happy to see her? Or just perturbed that he has to communicate with yet another human.

    Here are my fav's from AR
    1. Condolences that sort of thing. Well you’ll have to, he won’t.
    2. Sorry I’m no good at small talk. My upbringing gifted me with a chronic case of social awkwardness. Middle child syndrome, distant mother overbearing father and a succession of quasi-sexual encounters at a very young age. I either alienate or overshare, just like now in fact. (This conversation set the tone for us accepting Ruth. It gave us a look at her wit and her analytical skills. How funny that she was introducing her self with her psychiatric evaluation. LG was probably thinking oh boy another strange Ellingham. (good facial expressions from LG)
    3. Ruth Ellingham: Psychiatrist (to Bert)
    4. That Bloody Woman: and I only gave her slippers for Christmas.
    5. To Al: Well it doesn’t look very difficult, I’m sure I can throw food around Just as well as anyone
    6. If they leapt up out of the ground and cleaned themselves I might be tempted to cook them
    7. I get simply furious if I don’t have my dinner on the table by six

    Very funny lines and awesome delivery.

    Great lines, great delivery, great actress but no friend for LG. She sets L up with "I'm sure Martin told you all about me" What was L suppose to say? "Oh yes, yes" "Don't lie dear, if you must do it with conviction" Gotcha

    and "Are you going to have another go at wedding" "You look the type" Really? and just what is that look?

    So far BL is L best bet for support
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 123
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    Great lines, great delivery, great actress but no friend for LG. She sets L up with "I'm sure Martin told you all about me" What was L suppose to say? "Oh yes, yes" "Don't lie dear, if you must do it with conviction" Gotcha

    and "Are you going to have another go at wedding" "You look the type" Really? and just what is that look?

    So far BL is L best bet for support

    I really don't think AR said those things with malice. "I'm sure Martin told you all about me" was a little dig at Martin and how she knows he didn't mention her at all. Very sarcastic. The next quote about the wedding I'm not sure. What do you all think?
  • dcdmfandcdmfan Posts: 1,540
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    dmptrader wrote: »
    I really don't think AR said those things with malice. "I'm sure Martin told you all about me" was a little dig at Martin and how she knows he didn't mention her at all. Very sarcastic. The next quote about the wedding I'm not sure. What do you all think?

    I think AR sometimes doesn't have a "filter" and speaks her mind, much like Martin often does. Her comment about having another go at a weding is one of those instances, and is meant to show that her personality is much like Martin's. That's my take on it, anyway. Most people probably wouldn't mention the breakup at all, let alone at their own sister's funeral. Given Louisa's reaction that "It's a bit complicated", and the juxtaposition of the inappropriateness of the timing of the question, it's supposed to be funny, IMO.
  • marchrandmarchrand Posts: 879
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    cc.cookie wrote: »
    I've been noticing babies lately cos my neice just had one and it is very difficult to guess ages. Some look like new borns and they're 3 months old while others are HUGE and a few weeks old. They come in enough variations for PB to pick & choose I think, without getting real new borns.

    I don't mind the variation on the show generally but the one DM was holding in the hospital was definitely too big!

    I think the baby DM was holding in the hospital in S5E1 was meant to be a visual joke, and I didn't "get it" at first. After all, that hospital scene took place only a few hours after the birth scene at the pub. As seen throughout the series, all sizes were brought in, my favorite was Thomas - a real scene stealer, even from MC, who always manages to add a little something, gesture-wise, to keep your eyes glued on him. (Notice how DM after washing his hands in the kitchen sink always snaps open a folded towel to dry his hands.)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 153
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    dmptrader wrote: »
    I really don't think AR said those things with malice. "I'm sure Martin told you all about me" was a little dig at Martin and how she knows he didn't mention her at all. Very sarcastic. The next quote about the wedding I'm not sure. What do you all think?

    I think all of AR's comments were reflective of Martin's personality and meant to show how different she was from her sister, Joan. Her comment about Louisa looking the type to be married may be based on Ruth being single and developing a view of women who have serious professions versus women who have what she may consider the not-so-serious profession of teaching. Ruth may think that Louisa would value marriage over Ruth's "more serious" profession of psychiatry. Remember Martin does not respect Louisa as a teacher, and Ruth's comment would reflect Martin's opinion.
  • marchrandmarchrand Posts: 879
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    I disagree that BL would be best for support. I think, given AR's educational background and being a member of the Ellingham family and along the lines of her nephew, would gain the support of DM and LG as far as this disfunctional couple could cope together. I hope she has a stronger role in S6 in regard to this relationship. Al, on the other hand, I wonder if there will be more to this in S6. I'll leave the Al and Aunt Ruth relationship thoughts to the rest of you.
  • mmDerdekeammDerdekea Posts: 1,719
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    larablair wrote: »
    Yes, I hadn' t noticed but I see your point. Even Aunt Ruth got just a gIance when she arrived. Two birds, one stone so focus back on the road.

    DM's relationship with Aunt Ruth is interesting in the 5th series. Apparently, I think we can infer that when he was a child, it was AJ alone who gave him comfort and love and that he had a very distant or even non-relationship with Aunt Ruth. They had one phone call a year, at Christmas, right?

    Aunt Ruth may have been much more damaged from her upbringing than Aunt Joan, having apparently retreated into a career and perhaps never married. At least AJ was able to experience love (to both her husband and John Slater), and marriage and live for her what was a rich life. One wonders why she never had children herself.

    When DM sees AR showing up for the funeral, their innate awkwardness and distance is clear. But, then, I guess both of them have grown up, and perhaps being thrust together as they were, they much more naturally come together in a rather quick period of time.

    One wonders if AJ left her home to AR to get her out of her solo career mindset, and to bring her into the "family" of Port Wenn, and take over her job of supporting, counseling, and perhaps even loving Martin. That is, even though AJ became an unpleasant woman in some of the later episodes, she still loved Martin and she left her home to her sister, so her sister could continue to be the family that DM always craved and needed.

    And, Aunt Ruth picked up that responsibility almost immediately, and in her hug of DM in his surgery after he corrected her mistaken misdiagnosis, we see that inside Aunt Ruth is the same need for love and connection inside DM. That hug for me was one of the sweetest things ever seen in all the DM episodes. Two seriously emotionally damaged people still being able to love, still wanting love, and able for just that one moment to express it in a sweet way. From then on, I was cheering for Aunt Ruth.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 123
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    mmDerdekea wrote: »
    DM's relationship with Aunt Ruth is interesting in the 5th series. Apparently, I think we can infer that when he was a child, it was AJ alone who gave him comfort and love and that he had a very distant or even non-relationship with Aunt Ruth. They had one phone call a year, at Christmas, right?

    Aunt Ruth may have been much more damaged from her upbringing than Aunt Joan, having apparently retreated into a career and perhaps never married. At least AJ was able to experience love (to both her husband and John Slater), and marriage and live for her what was a rich life. One wonders why she never had children herself.

    When DM sees AR showing up for the funeral, their innate awkwardness and distance is clear. But, then, I guess both of them have grown up, and perhaps being thrust together as they were, they much more naturally come together in a rather quick period of time.

    One wonders if AJ left her home to AR to get her out of her solo career mindset, and to bring her into the "family" of Port Wenn, and take over her job of supporting, counseling, and perhaps even loving Martin. That is, even though AJ became an unpleasant woman in some of the later episodes, she still loved Martin and she left her home to her sister, so her sister could continue to be the family that DM always craved and needed.

    And, Aunt Ruth picked up that responsibility almost immediately, and in her hug of DM in his surgery after he corrected her mistaken misdiagnosis, we see that inside Aunt Ruth is the same need for love and connection inside DM. That hug for me was one of the sweetest things ever seen in all the DM episodes. Two seriously emotionally damaged people still being able to love, still wanting love, and able for just that one moment to express it in a sweet way. From then on, I was cheering for Aunt Ruth.

    All great points. The fact that Ruth over shares (something DM absolutely does not do) makes me think that she is a hybrid between Joan and DM. I felt that at the church. Her analysis of her childhood felt a little like self deprecating with a hint of humor. Maybe I'm reading too much into it?

    Joan' s interactions with Al don't seem awkward to me in fact they feel a little flirty. Al is not running for the hills either.;)

    Intentional or not Ruth has taken over some of Joan' s duties in regards to Martin.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 33
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    marchrand wrote: »
    I disagree that BL would be best for support. I think, given AR's educational background and being a member of the Ellingham family and along the lines of her nephew, would gain the support of DM and LG as far as this disfunctional couple could cope together. I hope she has a stronger role in S6 in regard to this relationship. Al, on the other hand, I wonder if there will be more to this in S6. I'll leave the Al and Aunt Ruth relationship thoughts to the rest of you.

    LG has no family support in this village. Her father came and went to jail, pretty much ending L denial of his true character. An absent and self absorbed mother. It was BL who belted out a warm "Welcome back Louisa" when she returned pregnant and feeling a bit awkward, starred at, whispers behind her back. It was B who brought the traditional pram, the diapering demo. Oh, the baby shower,too. Where are her friends ?
    DM has always had family support. I'm missing AJ but AR is stepping right in almost seamlessly. Lucky Martin
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,389
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    AR is another character that they haven't got consistently right throughout the series or I just don't get. She seems sometimes to support LG and want therm to be together and at other times she downright discourages their getting together. Whether that's a reverse psychology ploy by ARs or not I'm not sure.

    I think she's trying to be funny about having another go at a wedding but she's serious when she tells DM she thinks he's doing the right thing getting back to serious medicine (unless she's referring to being a GP as serious medicine which is a possibility as the scene is a bit ambiguous). Later in the series she is a bit dismissive of LG when AR and DM are discussing schools.

    Maybe AR is another of these "flexible" characters who is there to provide the alternative view of situations.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 137
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    dmptrader wrote: »
    The fact that Ruth over shares (something DM absolutely does not do) makes me think that she is a hybrid between Joan and DM.

    I think the over-sharing thing is a common theme with both AR and DM, the only thing different is the words they are saying. AR was uncomfortable, maybe, in the situation, so she began to talk about her personal life. When DM is uncomfortable in a situation, he over-shares medical information and knowledge. Neither one is necessarily appropriate to the situation.
  • mmDerdekeammDerdekea Posts: 1,719
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    cc.cookie wrote: »
    AR is another character that they haven't got consistently right throughout the series or I just don't get. She seems sometimes to support LG and want therm to be together and at other times she downright discourages their getting together. Whether that's a reverse psychology ploy by ARs or not I'm not sure.

    I think she's trying to be funny about having another go at a wedding but she's serious when she tells DM she thinks he's doing the right thing getting back to serious medicine (unless she's referring to being a GP as serious medicine which is a possibility as the scene is a bit ambiguous). Later in the series she is a bit dismissive of LG when AR and DM are discussing schools.

    Maybe AR is another of these "flexible" characters who is there to provide the alternative view of situations.


    I agree, cc.cookie. The presentation of AR has not been consistent in the 8 episodes of S5. Her supporting them and then supporting DM leave to return to surgery is hard to figure--one cannot really clearly see if she is doing some sort of psychology or if she is waffling on her opinions.

    Her belief no one can change is an odd statement from a psychologist/psychiatrist (can't recall which one she is) who works to change people all the time; that's her career! Unless she is mostly about prescribing medications and doesn't believe the criminally mentally ill people she works with can be different people. After all, she's focused at Broadmor, and hasn't apparently worked with "regular" people at least for many years. But, if that is the case, her belief people cannot change, then what type of book is she writing? What is it's intent, I wonder.

    She's been consistent with Al, though.

    I hope they solidify her character regarding DM and LG in S6, and keep her viewpoint consistent and steady.
  • NewParkNewPark Posts: 3,537
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    I agree, she is somewhat hard to figure. My take on her is that she is presented often as a contrast to Louisa. She doesn't want anything to do with babies; Louisa is maternal. She is all neatly tailored, Louisa's style, whatever it is, is not tailored (except once with Holly when she wore a blazer). She is sophisticated and an urbanite -- Louisa is definitely not an urbanite and while not naive, sophisticated is not a word that comes to mind to describe her. She is pessimistic and somewhat cynical, Louisa isn't. She thinks people can't change (she's been working too long at Broadmoore, I think), Louisa has faith that they can. She likes Louisa well enough, but I don't think she can really see her and Martin together. The last scenes at the Castle point up this contrast very strongly -- Louisa is "wise" and has the right answers from her heart, while Ruth is educated and rational, and has the wrong answers. (I think we can call that a trope.)

    Some of the fanfiction has a pretty clear picture of Aunt Ruth as very definitely unfriendly to Louisa, especially once she gets the drift that Martin is staying in Portwenn for her.
  • NewParkNewPark Posts: 3,537
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    One of the oddest scenes (to me) in S5E2 is when Martin declares that he's sick of the after-funeral affair that he's presumably hosting, doesn't want to see any more villagers free-loading, and takes off. It's beyond speaking without a filter -- it's just so rude and ungracious. I don't think he's overcome by grief -- he just has very little tolerance of any kind of socializing and has no inhibitions about expressing this.
  • dcdmfandcdmfan Posts: 1,540
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    Now that we are on series 5 in the re-watch, I am reminded of how many of us were frustrated by the inconsistencies of the series. This discussion of AR reminds me how frustrated I was with her when the series first aired. But now I realize that it is the inconsistency that is the real problem. We don't really know where she stands on things because she has a different perspective in each episode. She is consistent in her scenes with Al. Maybe her varying attitude towards Louisa can be chalked up to her not knowing how she feels about Louisa? Maybe she is a bit territorial in that she wants what's best for Martin and she feels that is in London?

    The show has always required the audience to fill in the gaps. In series 5 I feel like the gaps are due to the characters changing from episode to episode. I love series 5, it's probably my favorite, but it doesn't stand up well under minute scrutiny. There are moments, though, that are simply astounding, that still blow me away. Like Martin's line "Can I stay?". The line about the school being fine "if you died". Martin coming down and making the warm milk for her. Martin and the baby at Joan's house. The list just goes on.

    When Martin bumps his head (it was a hard hit, too), Ruth barely notices, but Louisa is very sympathetic.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 330
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    I don't know if this is a prediction, but I would like to see the opening shot of series 6 go something like this:

    Hello,

    I was follwing DigitalSpy for years, but this question finally made me register. I had a bit of a hassle to be able to post after registration. So here's my belated answer, although I'm sure it'll be nothing like that.

    Evening shot of the Doc's surgery. Everything's dark except for the bedroom window. We just see the outside of the cottage.
    We hear Louisa prattle on about the events of the day. After a while we hear her say "What?", the way she often does.
    A deep husky voice whispers "Louisa."
    Then there's a pause.
    "Martin?"
    Another pause.
    Then we hear Louisa giggle. A bed sqeaks.
    Then we hear a mobile ring. DM groans. Louisa urgently whispers: "Ignore it. Ignore it just for once!"
    A short pause. Then an exasperated "I can't. Sorry." From the Doc. Then he bellows really annoyed "ELLINGHAM!"
    Just that moment, James starts to bawl. Louisa groans.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 330
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    #1: Doc's wedding ring and Prediction subject
    #2: Doc's best man

    ad #1: I think the exchange of rings will be shown. The ring on MCs right hand will just disappear from the show from then on

    ad #2: I also go with Al or Chris I cannot see really anyone else
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 330
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    whale wrote: »
    Knowing MC and PB they will have something comical during the wedding, ..

    Maybe part of it is the reason why DM approaches the church in a taxi. Maybe there's some mayhem with his car and he is almost too late. Louisa's already afraid that she might be stood up again.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 330
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    NewPark wrote: »
    That should be a prediction too: Louisa is the one to propose this time, or, DM proposes again.

    I also think it'll be Louisa. First, I am not sure the Doc has the confidence again to ask. Second, they do like to reverse situations in the show.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 330
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    Biffpup wrote: »
    Ack! Sniff! :cry: I want Mrs. T!

    Until Mid-May Selina Cadell is in a play at the National Theatre
    http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/people

    That doesn't really proof anything, but I personally doubt that she's in DM then.
    Besides, I think they have brought that storyline to an end. I cannot really see DM, LG and Mrs. T living in the same village, ever!
    I will miss Mrs. T, too.
    Maybe a dashing male pharmacist in his late 30s will take over, ogling Louisa.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 330
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    cc.cookie wrote: »
    And now to the dark side...

    This weekend try and watch
    Series 5 e1
    Preserve the Romance

    I know I'm late. Just one point I can't remember being mentioned.
    I simply love the look on DM's face in the opening scene. He simply doesn't understand what hit him. He is absolutely stunned. Just by holding his son - and I think the family thing is settled just then.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 330
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    dmptrader wrote: »
    Yes, agree. LG is in a great mood, which we don't see very often when she's around him from now on.

    You made me think. Yes, Louisa is a funnier, life-loving person in the beginning. However, she's in control. She's flirting.
    Only when it becomes emotionally serious for her, her abandonment issues kick in. After the non-wedding those are dominating her behaviour.
    I personally think she was a bit relaxing beginning of series 5, but the return of her mother was definetely refreshing it.
    So she simply waits for desaster to strike - that's what always happened.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 330
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    Hod wrote: »
    The Doc Martin Series 6 Blog is up and running,...

    Thanks a lot!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 330
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    mmDerdekea wrote: »
    But, if the only person in the world who ever loved me, and whom I loved, suddenly died, and my partner was standing a foot or two away, with whom I had had sex and made a beautiful baby, and with whom I was going to spend the night, yeah, I'd want him to sit down next to me, and touch me in SOME kind and not extravagant way, anything that let me know he was there for me, in the way I needed him to be.

    I completely agree. I also found that scene a bit awkward. I also didn't expect any big emotions and I would have found a hug or so maybe a tad too much. But silently putting her hand on his shoulder or covering his hand with hers or something like that would have been right.
    I think it shows that Louisa still doesn't know how to treat him and is on eggshells. Can you imagine Louisa not giving comfort to any other villager in Portwenn? No, I think just the father of her child won't get any comfort.
    But then again, Louisa is always very much on the receiving end of the relationship. I am not sure that she has accepted that Martin needs help sometimes, too. She is most drawn to him when he is her hero. But even heros have to have their wounds from the battlefields cared for. I haven't got the feeling in the series so far that Louisa can support Martin.
    I think the little pause before he touches James is telling. Maybe he waits for her reaction and if there isn't any, he gets the comfort he needs from someone who cannot deny him this need.
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