I was I admit I bit annoyed with Aunt Ruth in this episode. Doesn't it seem that she is still anti-wedding as they are walking up into the church? And, when the baby cries on cue she says "out of the mouth of babes", seeming to agree she is against the wedding?
Come on, AR, lighten up. DM and LG have changed, which you said could not happen to people, and how about trying to support them and be for them instead of against them?
Also, I know I may be alone in this, but I find Atkin's delivery of AR's lines very robotic. She uses the same stiff tone for everything she says. I know she is a marvelous actress, and I know she is very emotionally repressed as Ellinghams innately turn out, but still, I do not find her delivery that pleasant.
I know in other posts folks have said how much more they like AR now. I thought it was a good post to state how much she is now "part of the village", which is true. That was a keen observation. But, nonetheless she did irritate me a little in this episode. I may be the only one, though.
No, you're not.
I think her nose is a little out of joint about this wedding and she isn't making any secret of it. I suspect trouble ahead from that direction!
I enjoy AR immensely as a character, but I think I agree with you, mmDerdekea, about the performance -- especially after you see her in other roles and see the versatility of which she is capable. The line she has in this episode "If I hadn't been conditioned from childhood to show no emotion..." may give us a clue as to why she has chosen to play the character in the way that she does. Maybe there will be some character development with Ruth such that she becomes a little more "unbuttoned" (wouldn't that be fun?) and maybe that will include an improvement of her attitude toward M&L. As with many people who adopt that grim manner, or have learned to rein in their expectations of life and other people by expressing cynicism, Ruth's world-weariness comes across to me as a bit of a defense mechanism. She's scared to hope; she's scared to believe that people can change because she's so often been disappointed in the past (working with recidivists would do that to a person). If there was anything wrong with Ruth in S6E1 I think part of the responsibility should be borne by the writer. Actors can only sound as good as the lines they are given, and JL seemed determined to make AR a bit of flat character in this episode. Yes, we know she's a psychiatrist but do psychiatrists really have to drop the name of a disorder in every sentence that they speak? Let's see -- she speaks of abandonment in the Castle Hotel Parking Lot, of anti-social behaviour when she's feeding the baby, of delayed neurological development in her next scene with the baby, and alludes to her own early childhood conditioning and to agoraphobia and schizophrenia when speaking with Mike Pruddy. I felt I was being hit over the head a bit with "I'M A PSYCHIATRIST"!! But that's JL's fault, not Dame Eileen's. I hope she is allowed to develop more nuance in subsequent episodes.
Favourite part was when Bert said to the doc we all bunched together to pay for this and then said I will see you when you get back for your share for the lodge and the doc said to him I thought you all paid for this and Bert said back to him "we did our bit doc we're not made of money"
I actually found that quite a few of the actor's lines were "thrown away" in this episode. Maybe it was just the speakers on my laptop and all will be well when I get to watch it on the actual telly. I puzzled longest over this one, and over the word Martin says to Louisa just before she says "Well maybe caveman wasn't the right word." He's talking about the need to get the flue really hot so that it draws and something...? Anybody?
I thought the writer made a great effort to bring back the more-likeable Martin of Seasons 1 and 2 and had some success in Ep. 1. I hope the future writers continue to channel Dominic Minghella and give Martin the modicum of personality we saw in the first two seasons.
Aunt Ruth seemed against the wedding, but we were not privy to any conversations she had with Martin in the 4 months between Season 5 and Season 6. Maybe Martin confided all his inner concerns about Louisa, marriage, fatherhood and remaining in Portwenn. It seems that Aunt Ruth will be helping him with these issues later in the season, so it is likely she knew his mental state at the wedding but we did not. I think all of Ruth's comments were a major foreshadowing of what happens to Martin later.
I actually found that quite a few of the actor's lines were "thrown away" in this episode. Maybe it was just the speakers on my laptop and all will be well when I get to watch it on the actual telly. I puzzled longest over this one, and over the word Martin says to Louisa just before she says "Well maybe caveman wasn't the right word." He's talking about the need to get the flue really hot so that it draws and something...? Anybody?
I think she is referring to the fact that he just described starting a fire in an intellectual and scientific way. A regular man wouldn't be able to rattle off the science of fire starting, much less a cave man. Martin has lost pretty much all of his cave man instincts.
Regarding the sound, it probably is from the source of the video. When I watch it on ITV the sound is so-so. A friend provided me a very clean copy, and the sound is much better. It is recorded in stereo and it is crystal clear.
Sorry to be a prickly there, but saying it must be healthy to lose a lot of weight due to an illness doesn't seem quite right.
Maybe my view is tainted by all the people who complimented my aunt, who always was a "big woman", on her weight loss not caring that it came from an acute illness and two years later she was dead.
Congratulation!
Sometimes it seems to me being thin is more important than being healthy.
Sorry to be so sensitive, but...you know...
Bodmin,
So sorry to hear about your Aunt. Health and weight are difficult and individual topics.
MC lost the 2 stone deliberately and was still trying to lose more weight. Then he lost 1 stone due to the illness which was a temporary virus of some sort. Not an ongoing or long term illness.
I am coming from the point of view of a husband the same age as MC who has been told for years to lose weight because of his health (blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes risks at that age) and has finally succeeded (He's lost 15 kg and still has 15 kg to go by which time he will be down to 85kg which is about what MC is now I guess - pretty thin I think). MC has tried to lose weight when Emily was born but has put it back on again because he says he still tries to lose weight at the beginning of each DM series.
I think MC's weight will stabilise a little and if he manages to keep it off it will be good for his health in the long run. If you look at the first photo MC was definitely overweight. Let's hope he remains healthy.
Martin was so lost in his thoughts in the taxi. I sensed a little sadness there also. What do you think he was thinking about? His horrible parents or childhood?
I don't think he was necessarily thinking about either. I think he was being his very most DM serious self thinking about what he was going to be doing and maybe how he was going to handle whatever CAME. And the minute he stepped out of the taxi, there it CAME--the barrage of talk, advice, comment from the waiting ensemble.
As I write this it is almost as though he may have been preparing himself for an operation, so that nothing could surprise him. And that ensemble of characters all threw something at him, and he was prepared and volleyed right back at each one with a surety that showed no doubt in his mind, unlike the last non-wedding. I liked that a lot and it set a definite tone for me.
I do think the solemnity of his face may have been a red herring making us concerned for how this wedding was going to turn out. Who knows!
Interesting question Renee, and I like Susie's answer, suggesting that he is EITHER processing thoughts about the ordeal to come (not the marriage per se, but the indignity, the mingling! the ministrations of idiots -- he will be made to go through as part of what's "mandatory" at weddings) OR that we are meant not to know that a wedding's ahead and to guess at what his formal attire and solemn demeanor might signify and why he is even more peremptory than usual with his patients. The one remaining person in the world who had not seen any of the wedding spoilers or the trailer and who didn't know that a wedding was on the cards in the first episode, might have enjoyed the suspenseful way they built up the first few minutes, until he arrives at the festooned church. Love and death (in this episode love and blood, in the single day represented by S4E8 and S5E1, birth and death) seem quite often to be paired in this show. I remember making that comment related to the way the scene is shot in "The Holly Bears a Prickle" of Martin lying on his bed with the wilting flower in his lapel and looking for all the world like a corpse laid out for a viewing. What I project onto the "ink-blot of his impassivity" there (lovely phrase Newpark) is a stark choice between Life (Louisa) and Death (continued meaningless bachelorhood). Out of that reflection burbles up his proposal. Since we have S6 beginning with such an affirmation of Life, in that sense, I wonder if S6 will end with a death -- one which is just as unexpected as the church bells and the flower-bedecked entry-way turn out to be after those first few moments where Martin solemnly picks out his suit, gets into the taxi and looks decidedly like he is headed not to a wedding but to a funeral. A few people have said: "so you liked all that good communication, all that romantic stuff in the first episode -- don't expect it to last" and I tend to agree. It is said of the month of March that if it goes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb, or vice versa, and there may be a similar weather pattern that affects the seasonal barometric pressure in Doc Martin, and other programmes that depend upon contrast for drama. We liked S3 so much -- somebody said here that they liked S6E1 because Martin and Louisa were like they were back in S3, but that may have been a set up for the shock ending at the close of that season. Similarly, S4 was all about a self-imposed, hard-won distance that M&L stoicly decided to put between themselves, but the final moments were a collapse back into unity. We saw that one coming, but I still think this lion/lamb thing is some sort of dramatic "rule" which holds.
I think she is referring to the fact that he just described starting a fire in an intellectual and scientific way. A regular man wouldn't be able to rattle off the science of fire starting, much less a cave man. Martin has lost pretty much all of his cave man instincts.
Regarding the sound, it probably is from the source of the video. When I watch it on ITV the sound is so-so. A friend provided me a very clean copy, and the sound is much better. It is recorded in stereo and it is crystal clear.
I agree with your interpretation about the fire, but I'm still struggling to catch that final word: "the important thing is to get it as hot as possible, as soon as possible, warm up the flue, get it drawing, counteract the ????" (not that it matters). It's just you expect professional actors to be able to say each and every word audibly and distinctly, even when speaking in very low tones. (I've been watching a lot of live theatre this summer, and am always mesmerized at the way stage actors can speak in a whisper and still be audible to an audience of 2000). I have the most problems usually with Bert and Al who have a kind marbles-in-the-mouth thing going on. Nevermind. Easy to be an armchair critic -- they are amazing at what they do and I have nothing but respect...
I agree with your interpretation about the fire, but I'm still struggling to catch that final word: "the important thing is to get it as hot as possible, as soon as possible, warm up the flue, get it drawing, counteract the ????" (not that it matters). It's just you expect professional actors to be able to say each and every word audibly and distinctly, even when speaking in very low tones. (I've been watching a lot of live theatre this summer, and am always mesmerized at the way stage actors can speak in a whisper and still be audible to an audience of 2000). I have the most problems usually with Bert and Al who have a kind marbles-in-the-mouth thing going on. Nevermind. Easy to be an armchair critic -- they are amazing at what they do and I have nothing but respect...
Counteract the 'sinking.' I believe he is referring to the sinking of cold air in the chimney, which would be down the chimney and not out the top, carrying away the hot products of combustion.
And if cold air flows down the chimney, the smoke etc goes into the room. So making the fire very hot to start will get the thermal siphon running!
Interesting question Renee, and I like Susie's answer, suggesting that he is EITHER processing thoughts about the ordeal to come (not the marriage per se, but the indignity, the mingling! the ministrations of idiots -- he will be made to go through as part of what's "mandatory" at weddings) OR that we are meant not to know that a wedding's ahead and to guess at what his formal attire and solemn demeanor might signify and why he is even more peremptory than usual with his patients. The one remaining person in the world who had not seen any of the wedding spoilers or the trailer and who didn't know that a wedding was on the cards in the first episode, might have enjoyed the suspenseful way they built up the first few minutes, until he arrives at the festooned church. Love and death (in this episode love and blood, in the single day represented by S4E8 and S5E1, birth and death) seem quite often to be paired in this show. I remember making that comment related to the way the scene is shot in "The Holly Bears a Prickle" of Martin lying on his bed with the wilting flower in his lapel and looking for all the world like a corpse laid out for a viewing. What I project onto the "ink-blot of his impassivity" there (lovely phrase Newpark) is a stark choice between Life (Louisa) and Death (continued meaningless bachelorhood). Out of that reflection burbles up his proposal. Since we have S6 beginning with such an affirmation of Life, in that sense, I wonder if S6 will end with a death -- one which is just as unexpected as the church bells and the flower-bedecked entry-way turn out to be after those first few moments where Martin solemnly picks out his suit, gets into the taxi and looks decidedly like he is headed not to a wedding but to a funeral. A few people have said: "so you liked all that good communication, all that romantic stuff in the first episode -- don't expect it to last" and I tend to agree. It is said of the month of March that if it goes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb, or vice versa, and there may be a similar weather pattern that affects the seasonal barometric pressure in Doc Martin, and other programmes that depend upon contrast for drama. We liked S3 so much -- somebody said here that they liked S6E1 because Martin and Louisa were like they were back in S3, but that may have been a set up for the shock ending at the close of that season. Similarly, S4 was all about a self-imposed, hard-won distance that M&L stoicly decided to put between themselves, but the final moments were a collapse back into unity. We saw that one coming, but I still think this lion/lamb thing is some sort of dramatic "rule" which holds.
"Inkblot of his passivity" is a nice phrase, but it wasn't mine, PoorRichard. Thanks for the attribution, though.
I like the lion/lamb analogy.
Myself -- i tend to think of an accordion -- far away, then close, then far away again. At a certain point, I may have to ask myself, how many more times do I want to watch them go through this.
What do you think it means when AR brings Louisa a glass of wine at the reception and Louisa says: "Aw thank you Ruth. It's so weird being married. Do I look married." And Ruth says "you do now." Does she mean that being married requires a wine-glass in hand, because it's full of trouble?
What do you take from the bit where Louisa says: "I'll open a bottle of champagne" and then pauses and looks challengingly at Martin before she adds "whatever you say." Does she think he is going to try to stop her from opening a bottle of champagne, either because it's alcohol, or because it's fattening, or just because he's such a wet blanket upon any form of celebration?
Why does she remonstrate so much when Martin uses their champagne to douse the fire?
Louisa has always enjoyed a glass of wine. At the end of Erotomania she stops by with a hangover cure for Martin and says she couldn't handle some Monday morning classes without it. I think Louisa's descent into alcoholism would be a possible plot line for S6 or a future season, a way of introducing stress in the marriage (because we all know they haven't gone through enough already! -- actually what we know is that the producers fear that in letting them marry they have killed the dramatic tension in the series). Louisa would need a trigger to start drinking really heavily, something outside her relationship with Martin (death of parents, trouble at work), but it would certainly be in keeping with the things we know already about Louisa, and with these moments in the first episode of S6. Pauline's gambling problem was worked up to over several episodes. In the beginning it was barely perceptible, but going back and watching, you can see the signs across 4 episodes or more. Personally I hope they find sources of dramatic conflict away from the M&L relationship, maybe by letting some of the supporting cast develop more, but something tells me our producers' fear of boredom with the "happily ever after" will spell more trouble for them ahead.
Counteract the 'sinking.' I believe he is referring to the sinking of cold air in the chimney, which would be down the chimney and not out the top, carrying away the hot products of combustion.
Thanks Rob, maybe it does take a man to light a fire!:)
I agree with your interpretation about the fire, but I'm still struggling to catch that final word: "the important thing is to get it as hot as possible, as soon as possible, warm up the flue, get it drawing, counteract the ????" (not that it matters). It's just you expect professional actors to be able to say each and every word audibly and distinctly, even when speaking in very low tones. (I've been watching a lot of live theatre this summer, and am always mesmerized at the way stage actors can speak in a whisper and still be audible to an audience of 2000). I have the most problems usually with Bert and Al who have a kind marbles-in-the-mouth thing going on. Nevermind. Easy to be an armchair critic -- they are amazing at what they do and I have nothing but respect...
It sounds to me like he saying the word "nastic". It is usually associated with plants, but this link sort of makes it maybe the word he is saying?
Thanks Rob, maybe it does take a man to light a fire!:)
There are all kinds of fire...
But a lot of courses in fluid dynamics and heat transfer don't hurt either! Or just have a really good friend or family member who knows about fire and chimneys, and you can save all that tuition money.
Hasn't JH become a cute little boy? I hope there won't be any more of those weirdly gratuitous ugly baby comments this season, like we had in S5. I was thinking that there is quite a resemblance between Martin and JH in this episode, but maybe it's just because Martin's head is so prominent now that his body has dropped 3 stone. Maybe THAT'S why he did it!
What do you think it means when AR brings Louisa a glass of wine at the reception and Louisa says: "Aw thank you Ruth. It's so weird being married. Do I look married." And Ruth says "you do now." Does she mean that being married requires a wine-glass in hand, because it's full of trouble?
What do you take from the bit where Louisa says: "I'll open a bottle of champagne" and then pauses and looks challengingly at Martin before she adds "whatever you say." Does she think he is going to try to stop her from opening a bottle of champagne, either because it's alcohol, or because it's fattening, or just because he's such a wet blanket upon any form of celebration?
Why does she remonstrate so much when Martin uses their champagne to douse the fire?
Louisa has always enjoyed a glass of wine. At the end of Erotomania she stops by with a hangover cure for Martin and says she couldn't handle some Monday morning classes without it. I think Louisa's descent into alcoholism would be a possible plot line for S6 or a future season, a way of introducing stress in the marriage (because we all know they haven't gone through enough already! -- actually what we know is that the producers fear that in letting them marry they have killed the dramatic tension in the series). Louisa would need a trigger to start drinking really heavily, something outside her relationship with Martin (death of parents, trouble at work), but it would certainly be in keeping with the things we know already about Louisa, and with these moments in the first episode of S6. Pauline's gambling problem was worked up to over several episodes. In the beginning it was barely perceptible, but going back and watching, you can see the signs across 4 episodes or more. Personally I hope they find sources of dramatic conflict away from the M&L relationship, maybe by letting some of the supporting cast develop more, but something tells me our producers' fear of boredom with the "happily ever after" will spell more trouble for them ahead.
I interpreted that statement to be very erotic. He says,"I'll start a fire." She says ,"I'll open that bottle of champagne ." Big pause...."whatever you say." As in then you can tear my clothes off and use your masculine gifts to ravish my body...I surrender. Don't you think? It's amazingly sexy and seductive.
I agree that they had enough time to at least make the parts of the [wedding] ceremony that they did show true and meaningful....But I have been thinking about it and I was wondering if it is so actors don't have to actually say the vows that they don't mean? Maybe they aren't allowed to use the right words? Especially MC who takes his marriage very seriously?
I don't agree that he wouldn't do sex scenes as that's just part of acting. I don't think there will be many in DM though because it is a family show. But after W & M, given the opportunity in another show, I'm sure MC would be all for it.
Yeah, that occurred to me after I wrote what I did. Maybe it was just to avoid saying the vows that he had taken to Philippa to another woman (fictitious or otherwise) that he avoided saying them in that scene. Actors all say that sex scenes are very unsexy when you're filming them -- that it's just work -- but I can't see it myself. The sex scenes in W&M between MC and Julie Graham were actually quite tame compared with one he did with her in some other show. I don't know what show it was, I came across it when I was looking through a bunch of clips of stuff Martin had done, and I still have the image unfortunately seared on my retinas. So MC and JG are close friends and obviously pretty comfortable with one another, with nudity and with the use of their bodies in acting, but how you would do a scene like that and then look your friend and acting colleague in the eye afterwards without blushing (or your wife in the eye -- even worse!) is quite beyond me. I don't want ever to see anything that explicit and ribald in Doc Martin, and I don't think we will, though I'm quite hopeful that we shall see some tasteful suggestions of sex.
Martin was so lost in his thoughts in the taxi. I sensed a little sadness there also. What do you think he was thinking about? His horrible parents or childhood?
I think he was just scared to death, ReneeBird. Listen to the music during that time. The music is tense. He's tense. When he arrives, he sits there, and I believe at that point the music may even stop. When he gets out, everything changes. He's himself again. The church bells are ringing. We can hear his friends and family in the background. I think it was just nerves. The taxi driver snapped him out of it.
But, yes, I would love to know exactly what was going through his mind.
I interpreted that statement to be very erotic. He says,"I'll start a fire." She says ,"I'll open that bottle of champagne ." Big pause...."whatever you say." As in then you can tear my clothes off and use your masculine gifts to ravish my body...I surrender. Don't you think? It's amazingly sexy and seductive.
I didn't take it that way. I think it connects to "I'll open that bottle of champagne" rather than being a stand alone phrase, but what do others think? Martin wouldn't have replied "I didn't say anything" if that's what she meant, would he? He'd have growled like a jungle-cat and swooped her off her feet. Another reason the line is wrong if it means what you say -- I totally don't see Louisa as a submissive! (Well maybe we have to allow for JL's fantasy-life at play; boy do they ever need some female writers on this show!).
Yeah, that occurred to me after I wrote what I did. Maybe it was just to avoid saying the vows that he had taken to Philippa to another woman (fictitious or otherwise) that he avoided saying them in that scene. Actors all say that sex scenes are very unsexy when you're filming them -- that it's just work -- but I can't see it myself. The sex scenes in W&M between MC and Julie Graham were actually quite tame compared with one he did with her in some other show. I don't know what show it was, I came across it when I was looking through a bunch of clips of stuff Martin had done, and I still have the image unfortunately seared on my retinas. So MC and JG are close friends and obviously pretty comfortable with one another, with nudity and with the use of their bodies in acting, but how you would do a scene like that and then look your friend and acting colleague in the eye afterwards without blushing (or your wife in the eye -- even worse!) is quite beyond me. I don't want ever to see anything that explicit and ribald in Doc Martin, and I don't think we will, though I'm quite hopeful that we shall see some tasteful suggestions of sex.
Acting is acting. I think that if it had been appropriate to the character to recite wedding vows that they would have done it. But this is Doc Martin! He would have rather gone to the registrar and had a civil ceremony. He is most certainly an agnostic if not an atheist (in a good way) and was too impatient to listen to all the blah blah blah. I wager it doesn't have anything to do with him and Philippa.
I adored "Dirty Tricks" which is the movie that he and Julie Graham were in where they had "those scenes". Actors do these scenes and then go to the cafeteria and have lunch. It is a job. For Doc Martin I would love to see some seductive undressing or something, but we'll never see sex....although Auntie Joan did a pretty good job of it. Way hay!
Yeah, that occurred to me after I wrote what I did. Maybe it was just to avoid saying the vows that he had taken to Philippa to another woman (fictitious or otherwise) that he avoided saying them in that scene. Actors all say that sex scenes are very unsexy when you're filming them -- that it's just work -- but I can't see it myself. The sex scenes in W&M between MC and Julie Graham were actually quite tame compared with one he did with her in some other show. I don't know what show it was, I came across it when I was looking through a bunch of clips of stuff Martin had done, and I still have the image unfortunately seared on my retinas. So MC and JG are close friends and obviously pretty comfortable with one another, with nudity and with the use of their bodies in acting, but how you would do a scene like that and then look your friend and acting colleague in the eye afterwards without blushing (or your wife in the eye -- even worse!) is quite beyond me. I don't want ever to see anything that explicit and ribald in Doc Martin, and I don't think we will, though I'm quite hopeful that we shall see some tasteful suggestions of sex.
There's an interview somewhere in which MC says that these
sex scenes were quite fun to do, but not so much fun to watch with your wife.
Comments
I enjoy AR immensely as a character, but I think I agree with you, mmDerdekea, about the performance -- especially after you see her in other roles and see the versatility of which she is capable. The line she has in this episode "If I hadn't been conditioned from childhood to show no emotion..." may give us a clue as to why she has chosen to play the character in the way that she does. Maybe there will be some character development with Ruth such that she becomes a little more "unbuttoned" (wouldn't that be fun?) and maybe that will include an improvement of her attitude toward M&L. As with many people who adopt that grim manner, or have learned to rein in their expectations of life and other people by expressing cynicism, Ruth's world-weariness comes across to me as a bit of a defense mechanism. She's scared to hope; she's scared to believe that people can change because she's so often been disappointed in the past (working with recidivists would do that to a person). If there was anything wrong with Ruth in S6E1 I think part of the responsibility should be borne by the writer. Actors can only sound as good as the lines they are given, and JL seemed determined to make AR a bit of flat character in this episode. Yes, we know she's a psychiatrist but do psychiatrists really have to drop the name of a disorder in every sentence that they speak? Let's see -- she speaks of abandonment in the Castle Hotel Parking Lot, of anti-social behaviour when she's feeding the baby, of delayed neurological development in her next scene with the baby, and alludes to her own early childhood conditioning and to agoraphobia and schizophrenia when speaking with Mike Pruddy. I felt I was being hit over the head a bit with "I'M A PSYCHIATRIST"!! But that's JL's fault, not Dame Eileen's. I hope she is allowed to develop more nuance in subsequent episodes.
I actually found that quite a few of the actor's lines were "thrown away" in this episode. Maybe it was just the speakers on my laptop and all will be well when I get to watch it on the actual telly. I puzzled longest over this one, and over the word Martin says to Louisa just before she says "Well maybe caveman wasn't the right word." He's talking about the need to get the flue really hot so that it draws and something...? Anybody?
Aunt Ruth seemed against the wedding, but we were not privy to any conversations she had with Martin in the 4 months between Season 5 and Season 6. Maybe Martin confided all his inner concerns about Louisa, marriage, fatherhood and remaining in Portwenn. It seems that Aunt Ruth will be helping him with these issues later in the season, so it is likely she knew his mental state at the wedding but we did not. I think all of Ruth's comments were a major foreshadowing of what happens to Martin later.
I think she is referring to the fact that he just described starting a fire in an intellectual and scientific way. A regular man wouldn't be able to rattle off the science of fire starting, much less a cave man. Martin has lost pretty much all of his cave man instincts.
Regarding the sound, it probably is from the source of the video. When I watch it on ITV the sound is so-so. A friend provided me a very clean copy, and the sound is much better. It is recorded in stereo and it is crystal clear.
Bodmin,
So sorry to hear about your Aunt. Health and weight are difficult and individual topics.
MC lost the 2 stone deliberately and was still trying to lose more weight. Then he lost 1 stone due to the illness which was a temporary virus of some sort. Not an ongoing or long term illness.
I am coming from the point of view of a husband the same age as MC who has been told for years to lose weight because of his health (blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes risks at that age) and has finally succeeded (He's lost 15 kg and still has 15 kg to go by which time he will be down to 85kg which is about what MC is now I guess - pretty thin I think). MC has tried to lose weight when Emily was born but has put it back on again because he says he still tries to lose weight at the beginning of each DM series.
I think MC's weight will stabilise a little and if he manages to keep it off it will be good for his health in the long run. If you look at the first photo MC was definitely overweight. Let's hope he remains healthy.
Interesting question Renee, and I like Susie's answer, suggesting that he is EITHER processing thoughts about the ordeal to come (not the marriage per se, but the indignity, the mingling! the ministrations of idiots -- he will be made to go through as part of what's "mandatory" at weddings) OR that we are meant not to know that a wedding's ahead and to guess at what his formal attire and solemn demeanor might signify and why he is even more peremptory than usual with his patients. The one remaining person in the world who had not seen any of the wedding spoilers or the trailer and who didn't know that a wedding was on the cards in the first episode, might have enjoyed the suspenseful way they built up the first few minutes, until he arrives at the festooned church. Love and death (in this episode love and blood, in the single day represented by S4E8 and S5E1, birth and death) seem quite often to be paired in this show. I remember making that comment related to the way the scene is shot in "The Holly Bears a Prickle" of Martin lying on his bed with the wilting flower in his lapel and looking for all the world like a corpse laid out for a viewing. What I project onto the "ink-blot of his impassivity" there (lovely phrase Newpark) is a stark choice between Life (Louisa) and Death (continued meaningless bachelorhood). Out of that reflection burbles up his proposal. Since we have S6 beginning with such an affirmation of Life, in that sense, I wonder if S6 will end with a death -- one which is just as unexpected as the church bells and the flower-bedecked entry-way turn out to be after those first few moments where Martin solemnly picks out his suit, gets into the taxi and looks decidedly like he is headed not to a wedding but to a funeral. A few people have said: "so you liked all that good communication, all that romantic stuff in the first episode -- don't expect it to last" and I tend to agree. It is said of the month of March that if it goes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb, or vice versa, and there may be a similar weather pattern that affects the seasonal barometric pressure in Doc Martin, and other programmes that depend upon contrast for drama. We liked S3 so much -- somebody said here that they liked S6E1 because Martin and Louisa were like they were back in S3, but that may have been a set up for the shock ending at the close of that season. Similarly, S4 was all about a self-imposed, hard-won distance that M&L stoicly decided to put between themselves, but the final moments were a collapse back into unity. We saw that one coming, but I still think this lion/lamb thing is some sort of dramatic "rule" which holds.
I agree with your interpretation about the fire, but I'm still struggling to catch that final word: "the important thing is to get it as hot as possible, as soon as possible, warm up the flue, get it drawing, counteract the ????" (not that it matters). It's just you expect professional actors to be able to say each and every word audibly and distinctly, even when speaking in very low tones. (I've been watching a lot of live theatre this summer, and am always mesmerized at the way stage actors can speak in a whisper and still be audible to an audience of 2000). I have the most problems usually with Bert and Al who have a kind marbles-in-the-mouth thing going on. Nevermind. Easy to be an armchair critic -- they are amazing at what they do and I have nothing but respect...
A long pause. She says, "And I'll open that bottle of champagne."
I think he started a fire well before the one in the fireplace went up!!!
Counteract the 'sinking.' I believe he is referring to the sinking of cold air in the chimney, which would be down the chimney and not out the top, carrying away the hot products of combustion.
And if cold air flows down the chimney, the smoke etc goes into the room. So making the fire very hot to start will get the thermal siphon running!
"Inkblot of his passivity" is a nice phrase, but it wasn't mine, PoorRichard. Thanks for the attribution, though.
I like the lion/lamb analogy.
Myself -- i tend to think of an accordion -- far away, then close, then far away again. At a certain point, I may have to ask myself, how many more times do I want to watch them go through this.
What do you take from the bit where Louisa says: "I'll open a bottle of champagne" and then pauses and looks challengingly at Martin before she adds "whatever you say." Does she think he is going to try to stop her from opening a bottle of champagne, either because it's alcohol, or because it's fattening, or just because he's such a wet blanket upon any form of celebration?
Why does she remonstrate so much when Martin uses their champagne to douse the fire?
Louisa has always enjoyed a glass of wine. At the end of Erotomania she stops by with a hangover cure for Martin and says she couldn't handle some Monday morning classes without it. I think Louisa's descent into alcoholism would be a possible plot line for S6 or a future season, a way of introducing stress in the marriage (because we all know they haven't gone through enough already! -- actually what we know is that the producers fear that in letting them marry they have killed the dramatic tension in the series). Louisa would need a trigger to start drinking really heavily, something outside her relationship with Martin (death of parents, trouble at work), but it would certainly be in keeping with the things we know already about Louisa, and with these moments in the first episode of S6. Pauline's gambling problem was worked up to over several episodes. In the beginning it was barely perceptible, but going back and watching, you can see the signs across 4 episodes or more. Personally I hope they find sources of dramatic conflict away from the M&L relationship, maybe by letting some of the supporting cast develop more, but something tells me our producers' fear of boredom with the "happily ever after" will spell more trouble for them ahead.
No? Sorry about that. This I do know, that it was you who taught me the word "Rorschach" (natural connection).;)
http://www.cornwalls.co.uk/photos/bodmin-moor-signpost-1963.htm
Time for map work!
Thanks Rob, maybe it does take a man to light a fire!:)
It sounds to me like he saying the word "nastic". It is usually associated with plants, but this link sort of makes it maybe the word he is saying?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081008140447AAqUB7Y
There are all kinds of fire...
But a lot of courses in fluid dynamics and heat transfer don't hurt either! Or just have a really good friend or family member who knows about fire and chimneys, and you can save all that tuition money.
He said," to counteract the air sink." Not particularly scientific but certainly analytical.
I interpreted that statement to be very erotic. He says,"I'll start a fire." She says ,"I'll open that bottle of champagne ." Big pause...."whatever you say." As in then you can tear my clothes off and use your masculine gifts to ravish my body...I surrender. Don't you think? It's amazingly sexy and seductive.
Yeah, that occurred to me after I wrote what I did. Maybe it was just to avoid saying the vows that he had taken to Philippa to another woman (fictitious or otherwise) that he avoided saying them in that scene. Actors all say that sex scenes are very unsexy when you're filming them -- that it's just work -- but I can't see it myself. The sex scenes in W&M between MC and Julie Graham were actually quite tame compared with one he did with her in some other show. I don't know what show it was, I came across it when I was looking through a bunch of clips of stuff Martin had done, and I still have the image unfortunately seared on my retinas. So MC and JG are close friends and obviously pretty comfortable with one another, with nudity and with the use of their bodies in acting, but how you would do a scene like that and then look your friend and acting colleague in the eye afterwards without blushing (or your wife in the eye -- even worse!) is quite beyond me. I don't want ever to see anything that explicit and ribald in Doc Martin, and I don't think we will, though I'm quite hopeful that we shall see some tasteful suggestions of sex.
I think he was just scared to death, ReneeBird. Listen to the music during that time. The music is tense. He's tense. When he arrives, he sits there, and I believe at that point the music may even stop. When he gets out, everything changes. He's himself again. The church bells are ringing. We can hear his friends and family in the background. I think it was just nerves. The taxi driver snapped him out of it.
But, yes, I would love to know exactly what was going through his mind.
I didn't take it that way. I think it connects to "I'll open that bottle of champagne" rather than being a stand alone phrase, but what do others think? Martin wouldn't have replied "I didn't say anything" if that's what she meant, would he? He'd have growled like a jungle-cat and swooped her off her feet. Another reason the line is wrong if it means what you say -- I totally don't see Louisa as a submissive! (Well maybe we have to allow for JL's fantasy-life at play; boy do they ever need some female writers on this show!).
See, it's this kind of thing that is not appreciated.
As for other new folks, welcome to the group. Join on in and hang around as long as you want.
Acting is acting. I think that if it had been appropriate to the character to recite wedding vows that they would have done it. But this is Doc Martin! He would have rather gone to the registrar and had a civil ceremony. He is most certainly an agnostic if not an atheist (in a good way) and was too impatient to listen to all the blah blah blah. I wager it doesn't have anything to do with him and Philippa.
I adored "Dirty Tricks" which is the movie that he and Julie Graham were in where they had "those scenes". Actors do these scenes and then go to the cafeteria and have lunch. It is a job. For Doc Martin I would love to see some seductive undressing or something, but we'll never see sex....although Auntie Joan did a pretty good job of it. Way hay!
There's an interview somewhere in which MC says that these
sex scenes were quite fun to do, but not so much fun to watch with your wife.