As Margaret and Christopher are leaving, Margaret turns to DM and briefly looks like she might say something, but then thought better of it. What possibly might she have thought about saying?
Maybe this is one for the next online poll ?
' I was never cut out to be a mother '
' Motherhood didn't come easily to me '
' Your father never understood MY needs '
OR
Miracle of miracles :
' You have done very well despite the disastrous efforts of your father and I. Be happy '.
As Margaret and Christopher are leaving, Margaret turns to DM and briefly looks like she might say something, but then thought better of it. What possibly might she have thought about saying?
I noticed that moment, too.
At least she had the sanity to check herself and realize that saying ANYTHING to her son was completely out of place, even "Good-bye".
Can you imagine that after that nasty revelation his parents stayed the night at his house, and he had to lie in bed knowing his mother, who despised him, was sleeping in his bed right across the hall? Awful. Poor DM!
Looking for something positive to say, I'm struck by the astonishing acting talent of Claire Bloom. Other than her devastating speech to Martin, she uttered exactly six lines:
"I'm fine."
"Um hum"
"Tea"
"No"
"Martin, the car please"
"I'll wait for you in the car"
And yet she managed to convey so much. We recognized her as an "ice queen" before she even began the horrible conversation with Martin. When she described young Martin as needy, always bullied, wetting the bed, I think we already knew that he had to have been a needy child based on the coldness of Margaret as a mother. Dad is bad, despicable, "vile", but Mummy is wicked and evil and, I think, mentally ill.
Another thing that bothers me about Margaret is that she, unlike Chris, didn't get her "due" in the episode. Martin eventually told off his father, reset the rules and boundaries, and forced Chris to slink away, banished, forever unwelcome, and despised by his only child. Margaret, on the other hand, we assume simply went back to her new boyfriend in Portugal to the villa that was put in her name for tax reasons. I find myself hoping that someday she'll be old and sickly and penniless and abandoned by the new boyfriend. It's rare for a character to bring out that kind of hatred in me. Cruella DeVille?
About dear old Dad, what a jerk! He insulted and belittled Martin throughout the episode, from the very beginning at the train station. He didn't stop until Martin took control and told him off. He repeatedly belittled his position as GP (the worst comment, I think, was "Look at you. What are you doing here? Putting drops of piss on pieces of paper.") He insulted his romantic abilities, his profession, his financial sense, his affection for AJ, even his house ("Is there room? It's like a doll's house," and, "One spare room?"). It's an interesting contrast to when Eleanor showed up three seasons later and described the surgery as a nice place and "big". The difference between DM and LG's childhood economic levels was so obvious there.
But, although Eleanor abandoned Louisa and Terry was an irresponsible crook, at least they felt some degree of love for their child, selfish and untrustworthy though it was. Martin was despised by his parents. It's horrible. It's a wonder he didn't grow up into a serial killer. As it turned out, it seems he really had no choice but to build an emotional wall around himself. It was a matter of survival.
I've given some thought to DM coming out of the surgery after his mother's awful speech only to find Louisa on his porch being chatty. I got the feeling he could hardly breathe in that moment. His "shut up" was involuntary. He did try to apologize later. And I think he took the call from Louisa (about Danny's emergency) in the kitchen in case he had a chance to briefly explain, or because he was expecting the call to be Louisa berating him for his comment.
Speaking of Danny, I think we saw in this episode how selfish he was. DM stopped to give him a ride when his car was broken down on the road. In that situation, when someone is kind enough to help, how many of us would proceed to make our rescuer sit there waiting while we unloaded the car and transferred all the contents to the rescuer's car? That business of not using a mask while working on the house was selfish too, IMO. And stupid.
A few other observations:
Danny had one significant line I hadn't previously noted. In the car, with Margaret and Chris, he said, "But we have a lot in common, don't we, Doc?" Uh, yep.
The lyrics of Maureen's song apply so well, especially since we see shots of Louisa inside, hearing it, and Martin outside with Danny. "I watch you walk away beside that lucky guy. You'll never ever know the one who loves you so, 'cause you don't know me."
Martin had a good, funny line here when he responded to Danny's, "The Lord moves in mysterious ways." "Like malaria."
Where was AJ's gazebo? We never saw it again. And it seemed to be very close to the sea.
Martin does one of those "big step" moves we see when he's frustrated or flustered after AJ told him to get out.
Margaret said, "Forty years of my life wasted because of you." Forty years? So are we to assume in this series DM is forty years old? What was MC at that time? 44?
Someone else mentioned the scene in which Doc took blood from Maureen so I paid particular attention to it. Another choreographed scene. I loved the way they simultaneously looked away, but in opposite directions.
My favorite moment, I think, in this ep was when Roger kissed Martin on the lips! The look on DM's face was priceless.
Lots of good discussion on this episode. It is such a pivitol episode for the whole show.
A couple of little things I noticed:
When Maureen first came to the surgery and bolted, I wonder what it was about that that caused Martin to hit his head on the doorframe. Usually it happens when he is really distracted.
When Martin & Chris went to the pub, it was interesting that Martin started to give Mark some advice when he said that he was planning to propose to Julie. In that whole scene he seems to have quite a bit of disdain for her. Seems he was a pretty good judge of character with her from the start.
In the conversation with Danny while Maureen was singing, along with the line about malaria, I also loved the one, "Sound like the Lord just might want you back at the ranch." LOL!
At least she had the sanity to check herself and realize that saying ANYTHING to her son was completely out of place, even "Good-bye".
Can you imagine that after that nasty revelation his parents stayed the night at his house, and he had to lie in bed knowing his mother, who despised him, was sleeping in his bed right across the hall? Awful. Poor DM!
I thought maybe she was going to say "goodbye" then thought to herself, why bother?
I was browsing through Amazon on things offered re: Martin Clunes and came upon Martin Clunes - From Doctor Who to Doc Martin (kindle edition only) written by Judy Breingan. It can be downloaded for $2.99 onto your kindle (do not possess one). Has anyone else been aware of this? Breingan also wrote a kindle version of Kate Middleton - From Commonor to Royalty, so I am guessing her writing is in this vein. It allows you to read the first chapter and it's nothing I have not known.
I decided to check out the sample because I can read it on my iPad and for $3 it is pretty cheap. Two thoughts from reading the sample. It looks to me like she has just taken information from published interviews and has done no real research. As you said, there is nothing there we didn't already know. And the other thing is that the writing is almost unreadable. In just that small sample, she jumps back and forth with the same facts over and over again. And the last thing she talks about in the sample is Martin finding out that his father had been playing away before he became ill and came back to the family. First she says that he got the shock of his life at age 18 when he found out about his father and in the next paragraph she says that his mother told him shortly after his father died. Then in the next paragraph she says that he was clueless about it because his mother never told him.
This weeks episode to watch is series 2 episode 7
"Out of the Woods"
Written by Jack Lothian
directed by Minki Spiro
PC Mark Mylow spends his stag night sleeping rough in the woods with Al Large and gets bitten by an adder. The doctor doesn't have a clue where they are and his only hope lies with the area's park ranger – Stewart.
This weeks episode to watch is series 2 episode 7
"Out of the Woods"
Written by Jack Lothian
directed by Minki Spiro
PC Mark Mylow spends his stag night sleeping rough in the woods with Al Large and gets bitten by an adder. The doctor doesn't have a clue where they are and his only hope lies with the area's park ranger – Stewart.
This is a different director so it will be interesting to see the difference.
Right, right. And you know, it's good that Danny was a complete idiot who couldn't on his own figure out that constantly immersing himself in wood dust was a problem, giving the development of his cough, and then the worsening of it. Thus, he has a medical emergency and DM is able to use medicine to keep realizing his purpose and his value to others--he gives excellent medical care and can save lives.
I wonder if this crisis--and a tension pneumothorax is a seriously life-threatenind emergent condition-helped DM get his head back on straight. After saving Danny, we see that DM is now rejecting his father, ignoring his mother and closing the door literally and figuratively on all his childhood dreams of being close to, and loved by, his parents.
He is now on his own, ready to live his own life and seek his own love and family.
When I finally did my rewatch of the entire episode this morning I was thinking about this analysis. I think you are spot on Mona. Shortly after that devastating conversation with his mother, he is in the middle of dealing with a teenager's mole (just the kind of thing his father had been needling him about - that to go with the pee on paper) when he is called out on a life saving mission. If his father had only been able to see how calmly and professionally he dealt with Danny's crisis he might have understood Martin a bit better - then again, maybe not.
But you are right in that it did give him the confidence to stand up to them. He even kind of stood up to Louisa. When he arrived at the house he was trying to apologize to her, but as he left he was able to get the dig in about the "history".
This weeks episode to watch is series 2 episode 7
"Out of the Woods"
Written by Jack Lothian
directed by Minki Spiro
PC Mark Mylow spends his stag night sleeping rough in the woods with Al Large and gets bitten by an adder. The doctor doesn't have a clue where they are and his only hope lies with the area's park ranger – Stewart.
My least favorite episode -- all that stumbling through the woods. Maybe I'll have a different reaction this time around.
As Margaret and Christopher are leaving, Margaret turns to DM and briefly looks like she might say something, but then thought better of it. What possibly might she have thought about saying?
That's a very good question. The first time I saw the episode, before I had started analyzing (or over-analyzing?) every little thing and before I really understood the characters, my instinct told me she almost said, "I'm sorry", or something like that. Now that I've studied Martin and rewatched that episode many times, I find that first thought almost ridiculous. But you know what they say about your first thought, your initial instinct. Maybe that's what she almost said. Maybe.
My least favorite episode -- all that stumbling through the woods. Maybe I'll have a different reaction this time around.
I haven't done my rewatch yet, but there are a few favorite moments to watch for. Doc gets filthy. Louisa is clearly worried about him. Mark wants Al to sing "that song from Titanic". And one of the funniest scenes of all, IMO, of every season is when Martin and Stewart get tangled up in the animal trap and, as they help each other escape, they keep getting the other one trapped.
I like it, but I understand that it's a very different kind of ep. Very unusual.
I haven't done my rewatch yet, but there are a few favorite moments to watch for. Doc gets filthy. Louisa is clearly worried about him. Mark wants Al to sing "that song from Titanic". And one of the funniest scenes of all, IMO, of every season is when Martin and Stewart get tangled up in the animal trap and, as they help each other escape, they keep getting the other one trapped.
I like it, but I understand that it's a very different kind of ep. Very unusual.
Just a few early thoughts here:
1. I've noticed when the Doc yells at Gremlin, the dog rarely, if ever, is in the scene - I think this must be an affirmative decision not to traumatize and alienate the dog.
2. Whatever happens to Al's cottage after this episode?
3. Mark is one of the few main characters who calls Louisa "Louiser."
1. I've noticed when the Doc yells at Gremlin, the dog rarely, if ever, is in the scene - I think this must be an affirmative decision not to traumatize and alienate the dog.
2. Whatever happens to Al's cottage after this episode?
3. Mark is one of the few main characters who calls Louisa "Louiser."
1. The dog trainer confirmed this in one of the behind the scenes shows. MC feeds the dogs and plays with them - he doesn't yell at them.
My least favorite episode -- all that stumbling through the woods. Maybe I'll have a different reaction this time around.
Hope so - there's an awful lot of bonding going on :
* The Doc has to leave his comfort zone- surgery/village/Lexus
* Out in the woods, DM has to rely on Al to hold the situation with Mark steady and later Al pulls Stuart firmly into line. So Al and DM are working as a team - bonding - man-stuff
* Back at the village, Louisa waits with Julie and Pauline, all worrying about their menfolk ( some more than others....)
* Upon their return, our mis-matched ' couple ' have firmly joined the village community; DM with the lads, Louisa with the gals.
* And then that final moment - interrupted, of course
Does anybody else sometimes get the sense that DM and LG -- and AL -- are the only grownups in the village?
First of all, I think DM was right to turn down Mark's request to be his best man, or at least, that it was inappropriate for Mark to ask him. He didn't consider himself a friend of Mark's, and he did think the hasty marriage was ill-advised. Although LG was correct in general that his stand-offish posture with respect to the village was insulting and he needs to get over it.
I liked the way she inveigled him into helping set up the fete. But what newspaper was he carrying? Surely not the Daily Mail?
there is a general theme of irresponsibility here -- the village boys and their daring each with the weavers, and Mark in heading out into the woods almost completely unprepared to cope. In both cases, DM has to come to the rescue, with the help of others -- Pauline and Al, and to a degree, STewart (who appears to be as psychotic as ever).
Of course, Bert is quite childishly irresponsible as well, attempting repairs that are clearly beyond his capacity.
Did Shop Girl not find Al's house in some other village? It is a bit odd that we never see it again. But it looks like Al also underestimated what it would take to make it habitable.
You had to admire MC's willingness to take the most amazing pratfalls -- his tumble in the woods was a thing of beauty, and when you think of how many "takes" must have been required, it's even more amazing.
And I did love the scene with the poacher trap.
Besides the ending doorstep scene, there was a little moment on the beach when they were walking away after the incident with the boy in shock, when LG says "I'm glad you were here" and DM responds "Well that makes a change" and she starts to reassure him, and then they are interrupted by Pauline on the phone.
That's a very good question. The first time I saw the episode, before I had started analyzing (or over-analyzing?) every little thing and before I really understood the characters, my instinct told me she almost said, "I'm sorry", or something like that. Now that I've studied Martin and rewatched that episode many times, I find that first thought almost ridiculous. But you know what they say about your first thought, your initial instinct. Maybe that's what she almost said. Maybe.
Sorry, Biff, I really think that's an impossible statement for Margaret to say; I don't believe "I'm sorry" is part of her reality at all.
Look at her eyes--they're still hard and soft, and her whole being was one of uncaring indifference. DM was a creature before her, but not her son. Whatever she was going to say, I can't imagine it was "I'm sorry" or even close to taking any responsibility for having harmed her despised son.
My least favorite episode -- all that stumbling through the woods. Maybe I'll have a different reaction this time around.
I hope you enjoy it more this time, NewPark! I really enjoy this episode. Chastising the kids playing with that painful fish was great, and it's always lovely when DM and LG are together in that regard, like with Sam Oakwood.
Biff and I were discussing some of the all time best funniest moments in DM, and the animal trap scene with DM and Stewart is definitely at the top of them. That is hilarious and I always rewind it.
I also love seeing DM enter into territory he earlier admitted he hates, the woods, with bad hygiene and dirt, just to save Mark Mylow. DM is indeed the hero in this episode, plodding on, rolling down the hill on, animal trapping on, etc, with the almost crazy Stewart, to save Mark from a snake bite on an island where only 100 people a year are bitten by a snake.
I also like seeing how strong DM is, with him and Al easily carrying out the fairly decent sized Mark on a type of handheld gurney.
For a Typical Day in Port Wenn, this episode I think really rings enjoyably true!
1. I've noticed when the Doc yells at Gremlin, the dog rarely, if ever, is in the scene - I think this must be an affirmative decision not to traumatize and alienate the dog.
2. Whatever happens to Al's cottage after this episode?
3. Mark is one of the few main characters who calls Louisa "Louiser."
In MC's book about dogs he states that he didn't really yell at Gremlin, it would be too upsetting for the dog. They would film the scene, he would pretend to yell, and they went back later and recorded the yelling and inserted it into the scene. I think that's very cool. But I bet you're right, although he didn't mention it in the book, that they filmed some of the scenes with the yelling actually taking place, but the dog was really elsewhere.
Al's cottage is another of those plot lapses that are sprinkled here and there. I suppose we're to assume he gave up on fixing it up and abandoned it. Shop Girl found it at Port Gaverne, I think, and has a photo of it on flickr. In reality it really does look like a run-down fixer-upper in need of lots of TLC.
Sorry, Biff, I really think that's an impossible statement for Margaret to say; I don't believe "I'm sorry" is part of her reality at all.
Look at her eyes--they're still hard and soft, and her whole being was one of uncaring indifference. DM was a creature before her, but not her son. Whatever she was going to say, I can't imagine it was "I'm sorry" or even close to taking any responsibility for having harmed her despised son.
Oh, no need to apologize, Mona. As I said, that was my first thought when I first watched the episode. Afterwards, I thought the idea was pretty ridiculous. That was just my first instinct.
What do you think she might have been about to say before she changed her mind? Any ideas?
Hope so - there's an awful lot of bonding going on :
* The Doc has to leave his comfort zone- surgery/village/Lexus
* Out in the woods, DM has to rely on Al to hold the situation with Mark steady and later Al pulls Stuart firmly into line. So Al and DM are working as a team - bonding - man-stuff
* Back at the village, Louisa waits with Julie and Pauline, all worrying about their menfolk ( some more than others....)
* Upon their return, our mis-matched ' couple ' have firmly joined the village community; DM with the lads, Louisa with the gals.
* And then that final moment - interrupted, of course
Oh, the torment
I still haven't done my rewatch of this episode yet (maybe tonight?) but you've touched on some of the things that most appeal to me about it. The main thing, to me, is just what you said, that Doc ends up waaaay out of his comfort zone. There he is, still in his impeccable suit, with his city shoes and fancy leather medical bag, wandering around in the woods, getting dirty, rolling down a hill, losing a shoe. It's great fun for fans.
Yes, there is a lot of bonding going on, Martin with the fellows and Louisa with the women. Even though Martin and Louisa at this point aren't officially a couple, the way the characters are aligned, Louisa waiting with the other halves of the couples, she more worried than Julie, clearly indicates to us that though they aren't a bona fide couple, emotionally, they are just that.
I hope you enjoy it more this time, NewPark! I really enjoy this episode. Chastising the kids playing with that painful fish was great, and it's always lovely when DM and LG are together in that regard, like with Sam Oakwood.
Biff and I were discussing some of the all time best funniest moments in DM, and the animal trap scene with DM and Stewart is definitely at the top of them. That is hilarious and I always rewind it.
I also love seeing DM enter into territory he earlier admitted he hates, the woods, with bad hygiene and dirt, just to save Mark Mylow. DM is indeed the hero in this episode, plodding on, rolling down the hill on, animal trapping on, etc, with the almost crazy Stewart, to save Mark from a snake bite on an island where only 100 people a year are bitten by a snake.
I also like seeing how strong DM is, with him and Al easily carrying out the fairly decent sized Mark on a type of handheld gurney.
For a Typical Day in Port Wenn, this episode I think really rings enjoyably true!
Yes! He is very heroic in this episode. And very strong and manly. He's a manly man. Super Doc in a Saville Row suit. Biff likes!
Oh, no need to apologize, Mona. As I said, that was my first thought when I first watched the episode. Afterwards, I thought the idea was pretty ridiculous. That was just my first instinct.
What do you think she might have been about to say before she changed her mind? Any ideas?
She must have recognized that this was the last glimpse she would ever have of her son -- that he would never be there for her in any respect in the future, and that she had utterly failed in creating any bond with him. Surely, that would give any mother, even one as hateful as Margaret, pause. I think she might have wanted to acknowledge that ending and perhaps even wish him well, or thank him for coming through with the money, but recognized that after her hateful unburdening to him, that was pretty pointless.
Does anybody else sometimes get the sense that DM and LG -- and AL -- are the only grownups in the village?
First of all, I think DM was right to turn down Mark's request to be his best man, or at least, that it was inappropriate for Mark to ask him. He didn't consider himself a friend of Mark's, and he did think the hasty marriage was ill-advised. Although LG was correct in general that his stand-offish posture with respect to the village was insulting and he needs to get over it.
I liked the way she inveigled him into helping set up the fete. But what newspaper was he carrying? Surely not the Daily Mail?
there is a general theme of irresponsibility here -- the village boys and their daring each with the weavers, and Mark in heading out into the woods almost completely unprepared to cope. In both cases, DM has to come to the rescue, with the help of others -- Pauline and Al, and to a degree, STewart (who appears to be as psychotic as ever).
Of course, Bert is quite childishly irresponsible as well, attempting repairs that are clearly beyond his capacity.
Did Shop Girl not find Al's house in some other village? It is a bit odd that we never see it again. But it looks like Al also underestimated what it would take to make it habitable.
You had to admire MC's willingness to take the most amazing pratfalls -- his tumble in the woods was a thing of beauty, and when you think of how many "takes" must have been required, it's even more amazing.
And I did love the scene with the poacher trap.
Besides the ending doorstep scene, there was a little moment on the beach when they were walking away after the incident with the boy in shock, when LG says "I'm glad you were here" and DM responds "Well that makes a change" and she starts to reassure him, and then they are interrupted by Pauline on the phone.
I think we can include Pauline among the grownups in this episode. As for Al, this is where we really see him change from a somewhat irresponsible boy-man into a real man. In the episodes that come later, he's taken on the stronger, more capable role in the Al and Bert relationship.
I agree with you that Martin was right to refuse the best man request. His problem, as usual, was that he was so blunt and failed to explain his refusal to Mark. That's just the way he is.
I really like that Louisa got Martin to help her set things up for whatever event was coming up. He didn't complain or even try to refuse, he just helped. What was the event, btw? When I watch it tonight I'll try to pay attention to that.
Since we know MC does his own DM stunts, it makes that roll down the hill quite impressive, doesn't it? I'm looking forward to watching that again.
So, New Park, now that you've watched this episode again, is it still one of your least favorites or do you see it in a different light? We all have our own way of looking at things and this ep is so unusual, it's understandable that some may see it in a different way. For me, last week's episode, "The Family Way", is just SO painful, it's hard to watch. It's brilliantly done, I know, and provides so much background that it's essential, but still, whew, it hurts to watch it.
More comments on this week's rewatch ep will be coming from me later, after I've actually watched it.
Comments
Maybe this is one for the next online poll ?
' I was never cut out to be a mother '
' Motherhood didn't come easily to me '
' Your father never understood MY needs '
OR
Miracle of miracles :
' You have done very well despite the disastrous efforts of your father and I. Be happy '.
What a fabulous episode this was...
Sorry it's been so long. Hope you enjoy it.
I noticed that moment, too.
At least she had the sanity to check herself and realize that saying ANYTHING to her son was completely out of place, even "Good-bye".
Can you imagine that after that nasty revelation his parents stayed the night at his house, and he had to lie in bed knowing his mother, who despised him, was sleeping in his bed right across the hall? Awful. Poor DM!
Lots of good discussion on this episode. It is such a pivitol episode for the whole show.
A couple of little things I noticed:
When Maureen first came to the surgery and bolted, I wonder what it was about that that caused Martin to hit his head on the doorframe. Usually it happens when he is really distracted.
When Martin & Chris went to the pub, it was interesting that Martin started to give Mark some advice when he said that he was planning to propose to Julie. In that whole scene he seems to have quite a bit of disdain for her. Seems he was a pretty good judge of character with her from the start.
In the conversation with Danny while Maureen was singing, along with the line about malaria, I also loved the one, "Sound like the Lord just might want you back at the ranch." LOL!
I thought maybe she was going to say "goodbye" then thought to herself, why bother?
I decided to check out the sample because I can read it on my iPad and for $3 it is pretty cheap. Two thoughts from reading the sample. It looks to me like she has just taken information from published interviews and has done no real research. As you said, there is nothing there we didn't already know. And the other thing is that the writing is almost unreadable. In just that small sample, she jumps back and forth with the same facts over and over again. And the last thing she talks about in the sample is Martin finding out that his father had been playing away before he became ill and came back to the family. First she says that he got the shock of his life at age 18 when he found out about his father and in the next paragraph she says that his mother told him shortly after his father died. Then in the next paragraph she says that he was clueless about it because his mother never told him.
Aye, yi, yi! :eek::eek::eek:
"Out of the Woods"
Written by Jack Lothian
directed by Minki Spiro
PC Mark Mylow spends his stag night sleeping rough in the woods with Al Large and gets bitten by an adder. The doctor doesn't have a clue where they are and his only hope lies with the area's park ranger – Stewart.
This is a different director so it will be interesting to see the difference.
When I finally did my rewatch of the entire episode this morning I was thinking about this analysis. I think you are spot on Mona. Shortly after that devastating conversation with his mother, he is in the middle of dealing with a teenager's mole (just the kind of thing his father had been needling him about - that to go with the pee on paper) when he is called out on a life saving mission. If his father had only been able to see how calmly and professionally he dealt with Danny's crisis he might have understood Martin a bit better - then again, maybe not.
But you are right in that it did give him the confidence to stand up to them. He even kind of stood up to Louisa. When he arrived at the house he was trying to apologize to her, but as he left he was able to get the dig in about the "history".
My least favorite episode -- all that stumbling through the woods. Maybe I'll have a different reaction this time around.
That's a very good question. The first time I saw the episode, before I had started analyzing (or over-analyzing?) every little thing and before I really understood the characters, my instinct told me she almost said, "I'm sorry", or something like that. Now that I've studied Martin and rewatched that episode many times, I find that first thought almost ridiculous. But you know what they say about your first thought, your initial instinct. Maybe that's what she almost said. Maybe.
I haven't done my rewatch yet, but there are a few favorite moments to watch for. Doc gets filthy. Louisa is clearly worried about him. Mark wants Al to sing "that song from Titanic". And one of the funniest scenes of all, IMO, of every season is when Martin and Stewart get tangled up in the animal trap and, as they help each other escape, they keep getting the other one trapped.
I like it, but I understand that it's a very different kind of ep. Very unusual.
Just a few early thoughts here:
1. I've noticed when the Doc yells at Gremlin, the dog rarely, if ever, is in the scene - I think this must be an affirmative decision not to traumatize and alienate the dog.
2. Whatever happens to Al's cottage after this episode?
3. Mark is one of the few main characters who calls Louisa "Louiser."
1. The dog trainer confirmed this in one of the behind the scenes shows. MC feeds the dogs and plays with them - he doesn't yell at them.
3. Bert calls her Louise-er too I think.
Hope so - there's an awful lot of bonding going on :
* The Doc has to leave his comfort zone- surgery/village/Lexus
* Out in the woods, DM has to rely on Al to hold the situation with Mark steady and later Al pulls Stuart firmly into line. So Al and DM are working as a team - bonding - man-stuff
* Back at the village, Louisa waits with Julie and Pauline, all worrying about their menfolk ( some more than others....)
* Upon their return, our mis-matched ' couple ' have firmly joined the village community; DM with the lads, Louisa with the gals.
* And then that final moment - interrupted, of course
Oh, the torment
First of all, I think DM was right to turn down Mark's request to be his best man, or at least, that it was inappropriate for Mark to ask him. He didn't consider himself a friend of Mark's, and he did think the hasty marriage was ill-advised. Although LG was correct in general that his stand-offish posture with respect to the village was insulting and he needs to get over it.
I liked the way she inveigled him into helping set up the fete. But what newspaper was he carrying? Surely not the Daily Mail?
there is a general theme of irresponsibility here -- the village boys and their daring each with the weavers, and Mark in heading out into the woods almost completely unprepared to cope. In both cases, DM has to come to the rescue, with the help of others -- Pauline and Al, and to a degree, STewart (who appears to be as psychotic as ever).
Of course, Bert is quite childishly irresponsible as well, attempting repairs that are clearly beyond his capacity.
Did Shop Girl not find Al's house in some other village? It is a bit odd that we never see it again. But it looks like Al also underestimated what it would take to make it habitable.
You had to admire MC's willingness to take the most amazing pratfalls -- his tumble in the woods was a thing of beauty, and when you think of how many "takes" must have been required, it's even more amazing.
And I did love the scene with the poacher trap.
Besides the ending doorstep scene, there was a little moment on the beach when they were walking away after the incident with the boy in shock, when LG says "I'm glad you were here" and DM responds "Well that makes a change" and she starts to reassure him, and then they are interrupted by Pauline on the phone.
Sorry, Biff, I really think that's an impossible statement for Margaret to say; I don't believe "I'm sorry" is part of her reality at all.
Look at her eyes--they're still hard and soft, and her whole being was one of uncaring indifference. DM was a creature before her, but not her son. Whatever she was going to say, I can't imagine it was "I'm sorry" or even close to taking any responsibility for having harmed her despised son.
I hope you enjoy it more this time, NewPark! I really enjoy this episode. Chastising the kids playing with that painful fish was great, and it's always lovely when DM and LG are together in that regard, like with Sam Oakwood.
Biff and I were discussing some of the all time best funniest moments in DM, and the animal trap scene with DM and Stewart is definitely at the top of them. That is hilarious and I always rewind it.
I also love seeing DM enter into territory he earlier admitted he hates, the woods, with bad hygiene and dirt, just to save Mark Mylow. DM is indeed the hero in this episode, plodding on, rolling down the hill on, animal trapping on, etc, with the almost crazy Stewart, to save Mark from a snake bite on an island where only 100 people a year are bitten by a snake.
I also like seeing how strong DM is, with him and Al easily carrying out the fairly decent sized Mark on a type of handheld gurney.
For a Typical Day in Port Wenn, this episode I think really rings enjoyably true!
In MC's book about dogs he states that he didn't really yell at Gremlin, it would be too upsetting for the dog. They would film the scene, he would pretend to yell, and they went back later and recorded the yelling and inserted it into the scene. I think that's very cool. But I bet you're right, although he didn't mention it in the book, that they filmed some of the scenes with the yelling actually taking place, but the dog was really elsewhere.
Al's cottage is another of those plot lapses that are sprinkled here and there. I suppose we're to assume he gave up on fixing it up and abandoned it. Shop Girl found it at Port Gaverne, I think, and has a photo of it on flickr. In reality it really does look like a run-down fixer-upper in need of lots of TLC.
Oh, no need to apologize, Mona. As I said, that was my first thought when I first watched the episode. Afterwards, I thought the idea was pretty ridiculous. That was just my first instinct.
What do you think she might have been about to say before she changed her mind? Any ideas?
I still haven't done my rewatch of this episode yet (maybe tonight?) but you've touched on some of the things that most appeal to me about it. The main thing, to me, is just what you said, that Doc ends up waaaay out of his comfort zone. There he is, still in his impeccable suit, with his city shoes and fancy leather medical bag, wandering around in the woods, getting dirty, rolling down a hill, losing a shoe. It's great fun for fans.
Yes, there is a lot of bonding going on, Martin with the fellows and Louisa with the women. Even though Martin and Louisa at this point aren't officially a couple, the way the characters are aligned, Louisa waiting with the other halves of the couples, she more worried than Julie, clearly indicates to us that though they aren't a bona fide couple, emotionally, they are just that.
Yes! He is very heroic in this episode. And very strong and manly. He's a manly man. Super Doc in a Saville Row suit. Biff likes!
She must have recognized that this was the last glimpse she would ever have of her son -- that he would never be there for her in any respect in the future, and that she had utterly failed in creating any bond with him. Surely, that would give any mother, even one as hateful as Margaret, pause. I think she might have wanted to acknowledge that ending and perhaps even wish him well, or thank him for coming through with the money, but recognized that after her hateful unburdening to him, that was pretty pointless.
I think we can include Pauline among the grownups in this episode. As for Al, this is where we really see him change from a somewhat irresponsible boy-man into a real man. In the episodes that come later, he's taken on the stronger, more capable role in the Al and Bert relationship.
I agree with you that Martin was right to refuse the best man request. His problem, as usual, was that he was so blunt and failed to explain his refusal to Mark. That's just the way he is.
I really like that Louisa got Martin to help her set things up for whatever event was coming up. He didn't complain or even try to refuse, he just helped. What was the event, btw? When I watch it tonight I'll try to pay attention to that.
Since we know MC does his own DM stunts, it makes that roll down the hill quite impressive, doesn't it? I'm looking forward to watching that again.
So, New Park, now that you've watched this episode again, is it still one of your least favorites or do you see it in a different light? We all have our own way of looking at things and this ep is so unusual, it's understandable that some may see it in a different way. For me, last week's episode, "The Family Way", is just SO painful, it's hard to watch. It's brilliantly done, I know, and provides so much background that it's essential, but still, whew, it hurts to watch it.
More comments on this week's rewatch ep will be coming from me later, after I've actually watched it.