I also saw it as an echo or a response to Louisa's disappointed statement when she realized that he hadn't told her about the return of his phobia "But I'm your wife." Now, he gets it -- when it's almost too late. Although I recognize that Jack Lothian did not write that particular episode, only the first and last.
Yes, by chance I just watched that episode tonight again and was immediately struck by the relationship between the two "wife's". Tuned in here and read your mention of it. Neato!
I have watched all of "William and Mary" a couple years ago, and didn't really care for it much. Or rather, it was OK but not compelling and at times I found it over-saccharine. I started watching again, and this time it crystallized something for me that I have been feeling, which is that Doc Martin is Martin Clunes' best acting job. I know there are many fans of his other performances, but I think this is his best work.
If it is the case (and not just my imagination) I think it has to do with the care with which the role is written for him, and the creative control BP exercises on the whole production.
I agree that it is his best role. He aged into the role very well and was able to leave his younger comedy roles behind and become a serious dramatic actor. I think S 7 will show even more the depth of his acting skills. I wonder if he has also been studying acting or taking master classes. That would be a good question if anyone ever has access to him or an interviewer
I have watched all of "William and Mary" a couple years ago, and didn't really care for it much. Or rather, it was OK but not compelling and at times I found it over-saccharine. I started watching again, and this time it crystallized something for me that I have been feeling, which is that Doc Martin is Martin Clunes' best acting job. I know there are many fans of his other performances, but I think this is his best work.
If it is the case (and not just my imagination) I think it has to do with the care with which the role is written for him, and the creative control BP exercises on the whole production.
I think we have the idea that William is Martin Clunes, no acting, just playing himself (no one can possible be that nice!) Doc Martin is someone/thing totally different from MC and the development of this fictional character is fascinating to watch. I can't wait to see what they do with DC next.
I agree that it is his best role. He aged into the role very well and was able to leave his younger comedy roles behind and become a serious dramatic actor. I think S 7 will show even more the depth of his acting skills. I wonder if he has also been studying acting or taking master classes. That would be a good question if anyone ever has access to him or an interviewer
The master class is the production of Doc Martin - he has surrounded himself with some of the best older actors/actresses available. What a learning environment.
The master class is the production of Doc Martin - he has surrounded himself with some of the best older actors/actresses available. What a learning environment.
I agree with you storyweaver. Some of MC's best acting has been with Claire Bloom, Eileen Atkins and the array of guest stars, such as Lia Williams, who bring a theater tradition to television. I love, love, love Carolyn Catz as Louisa, but she needs to step up her acting if she is going to match MC in the next series. CC came out of television instead of the theater and can't match MC's new level of competence.
I agree with you storyweaver. Some of MC's best acting has been with Claire Bloom, Eileen Atkins and the array of guest stars, such as Lia Williams, who bring a theater tradition to television. I love, love, love Carolyn Catz as Louisa, but she needs to step up her acting if she is going to match MC in the next series. CC came out of television instead of the theater and can't match MC's new level of competence.
Hopefully the storylines in S7 will allow CC to shine. She's hanging on the edge of greatness but not quite there yet. I think S7 will be her opportunity to shine if she can step up her game a couple of notches.
Will Louisa's wedding ring magically reappear on her finger after she leaves the hospital, or does Martin have her ring in his pocket for safekeeping until he can return it to her?
The master class is the production of Doc Martin - he has surrounded himself with some of the best older actors/actresses available. What a learning environment.
I recently saw a Dame Eileen Atkins and Michael Gambon interview on Charlie Rose's show about their New York play they were doing. Dame Eileen told a story about being in the dressing room of another actress who got hurt on her way out the door and made a certain movement due to the injury. DE said that instead of worrying about the injury, she and the actress' husband (an actor, too) both exclaimed to each other immediately about the movement and that they must remember it. Constant learning, I would say.
Will Louisa's wedding ring magically reappear on her finger after she leaves the hospital, or does Martin have her ring in his pocket for safekeeping until he can return it to her?
I didn't notice that her ring was not on her finger. In which scene was the ring absent?
Not a good sign, although I guess they make you take off all jewelry before an operation.
I didn't notice that her ring was not on her finger. In which scene was the ring absent?
Not a good sign, although I guess they make you take off all jewelry before an operation.
The last scene of E8 when she was sitting up in the hospital bed. She wasn't wearing either one of her rings. I suspect it was because of the surgery, she had them on before they went to the hospital. I figured M might have (could have?) pocketed it for safekeeping. Whether or not the writers or producers use the opportunity in the future is yet to be seen. I think it would be somewhat meaningful for him to return the ring to her finger, again re-emphasizing the fact that she is still his wife and he her husband. But, it's such a small detail that I'm sure it will just magically reappear on her finger without a second thought.
I'll have to re-watch S6E8 on my DVD on my bigger flatscreen TV to see if it shows up better than on my laptop screen.
Hopefully the storylines in S7 will allow CC to shine. She's hanging on the edge of greatness but not quite there yet. I think S7 will be her opportunity to shine if she can step up her game a couple of notches.
I do think that she is also doing her best work in DM, although I have only seen her in a few episodes of Murder in Suburbia and Inspector Banks. It seems like putting together all those good actors draws out good stuff from all of them.
I agree with you storyweaver. Some of MC's best acting has been with Claire Bloom, Eileen Atkins and the array of guest stars, such as Lia Williams, who bring a theater tradition to television. I love, love, love Carolyn Catz as Louisa, but she needs to step up her acting if she is going to match MC in the next series. CC came out of television instead of the theater and can't match MC's new level of competence.
I don't think it is Caroline Catz's acting that is deficient - I think she's every bit as good an actor as MC (and that's saying a lot!) Look at her virtuoso performances in E8. The problem IMO has been how they have written and directed the Louisa character since the inception of S5. Louisa has been inconsistent - petty and snarky to docile and victimized to humorous and generous. In trying to convey that Louisa is somehow as screwed up as the Doc in the last two series, they have failed to give her a center. And many fans have wondered exactly who she is - as she is frequently different from episode to episode (e.g. S6E1 to E2.) Again, if one wants a master class in acting, take another look at CC in E8, particularly the range of emotions she conveys in the last 10 seconds or so of her role. But, frankly, she can only act what she's given.
While I was not unhappy with S6, I just finished a re-watch of it and must say that I am much more appreciative of it this time around. Probably because I wasn't so caught up in what was going to happen in general but could concentrate more on so many of the things that happened or were done in a new and different way. Watching 3 eps over two nights brought a realization of the really unique and different ways and angles they showed Portwenn. Portwenn almost became a scene (character) in itself (albeit a very short one) each time. I also appreciated the other characters' stories so much more. And was really struck by the cutting from one story to another, cutting scenes and interweaving them in a very entertaining way that somehow seemed more complex but satisfying to me. I won't talk about M and L, as those were masterpieces, but the electrocuted Caroline scene with Al, Morwenna, Mrs. T., Jennifer, and Doc on the phone was amazing for the dialogue and acting as well. Quite complex, like the earlier company dinner table scene. Quite a dynamic to those types of scenes and different from ones with just a character or two in them.
I don't think it is Caroline Catz's acting that is deficient - I think she's every bit as good an actor as MC (and that's saying a lot!) Look at her virtuoso performances in E8. The problem IMO has been how they have written and directed the Louisa character since the inception of S5. Louisa has been inconsistent - petty and snarky to docile and victimized to humorous and generous. In trying to convey that Louisa is somehow as screwed up as the Doc in the last two series, they have failed to give her a center. And many fans have wondered exactly who she is - as she is frequently different from episode to episode (e.g. S6E1 to E2.) Again, if one wants a master class in acting, take another look at CC in E8, particularly the range of emotions she conveys in the last 10 seconds or so of her role. But, frankly, she can only act what she's given.
Yes, Louisa has been shown a lot of different ways and become a more rounded character due to expressing different aspects of being human more forthrightly, I think. But I see it as part and parcel of an episodic story, emphasizing quite different things in different episodes, but which taken all together across the series, make a more rounded picture of a very human character.
I am curious about what you would call or define or show as "a center"? Can you explain more, please?
While I was not unhappy with S6, I just finished a re-watch of it and must say that I am much more appreciative of it this time around. Probably because I wasn't so caught up in what was going to happen in general but could concentrate more on so many of the things that happened or were done in a new and different way. Watching 3 eps over two nights brought a realization of the really unique and different ways and angles they showed Portwenn. Portwenn almost became a scene (character) in itself (albeit a very short one) each time. I also appreciated the other characters' stories so much more. And was really struck by the cutting from one story to another, cutting scenes and interweaving them in a very entertaining way that somehow seemed more complex but satisfying to me. I won't talk about M and L, as those were masterpieces, but the electrocuted Caroline scene with Al, Morwenna, Mrs. T., Jennifer, and Doc on the phone was amazing for the dialogue and acting as well. Quite complex, like the earlier company dinner table scene. Quite a dynamic to those types of scenes and different from ones with just a character or two in them.
I am honestly somewhat confused about Louisa. We know that the love story took over the series in a way that wasn't originally intended -- and I think her original portrayal was of a relatively straightforward, attractive woman, on whom DM had a crush more or less from afar.
She has always been portrayed, it seems to me as the emotional antithesis of Martin -- hot where he is cool, emotional where he is rational, intuitive where he is logical, impulsive where he is blocked, messy where he is neat, waffling where he is decisive. If anything, that is her "center." I think most of their troubles stem from this -- they are attracted to each other b/c of the opposite traits, but at the same time, they get in the way of building their relationship.
But at the same time, I think she has become more "complex" and not always, or mostly, in a good way. And the Louisa of S6 seems somewhat changed again. Whereas even throughout S5 she was almost endlessly patient with Martin (until she wasn't) -- here, starting in E2, she was crankier, quicker to fly off the handle, maybe less intuitive about what was going on with him. Perhaps living with him as a married couple was more stressful than she had anticipated. Certainly, as he shut down and withdrew, it must have been harder and harder to tolerate his eccentricities. The last scene showed that the sweet and loving Louisa is still there, and we can hope more in evidence in S7.
Sorry, this might seem a bit scrambled as thoughts are flowing freely. Must be the guck finally loosening up in my head after that nasty headcold.
Looking back at S6E1, the whole of it seems to spell out what happens all of S6 and potentially S7--
The trials and tribulations of married life plays out through the adventures of the honeymoon.
The deterioration of the wedding dress seems to symbolize the deterioration of their relationship in S6 or the deterioration of Martin's mental health in S6.
Louisa standing up to the farmer while she's holding the rifle defending Martin (perhaps the funniest scene for CC this series) and how she stood up for Martin when she saw Margaret at the airport or how she always stands up for Martin no matter what others say.
The emergency surgery on the farmer's neck and the eventual emergency surgery on Louisa (through the vein in her neck & the blood involved).
The two of them toting the farmer in the wheelbarrow together equates to the emotional baggage they've been forced to carry around but have stuck by each other.
The big truck that comes down the road could symbolize the "third party" who might emerge in S7 to counsel them both.
How they seem to connect despite the chaos swirling around them in the end scene, they are together and life goes on...
Comments
Yes, by chance I just watched that episode tonight again and was immediately struck by the relationship between the two "wife's". Tuned in here and read your mention of it. Neato!
Yup, home it is, but just busy mostly just reading DM stuff.
For your enjoyment, I thought I would put up the following - there is a Christmas greeting to you from Martin and Louisa and Pauline.
www.docmartinonline.net/therapy
RobSpace is adding chapters and has a new Xmas story; also ReallyBodmin is working away on a post S6 scenario which is quite enjoyable. ("Clues")
I hope the writer of Resolutions has time over Xmas to return from his/her hiatus and finish it up!
Thanks to all the FF writers.
If it is the case (and not just my imagination) I think it has to do with the care with which the role is written for him, and the creative control BP exercises on the whole production.
I think we have the idea that William is Martin Clunes, no acting, just playing himself (no one can possible be that nice!) Doc Martin is someone/thing totally different from MC and the development of this fictional character is fascinating to watch. I can't wait to see what they do with DC next.
The master class is the production of Doc Martin - he has surrounded himself with some of the best older actors/actresses available. What a learning environment.
Sorry, just returning from the nearly dead after a bout with a nasty cold virus.
Kudos to all of the FF writers out there!
I agree with you storyweaver. Some of MC's best acting has been with Claire Bloom, Eileen Atkins and the array of guest stars, such as Lia Williams, who bring a theater tradition to television. I love, love, love Carolyn Catz as Louisa, but she needs to step up her acting if she is going to match MC in the next series. CC came out of television instead of the theater and can't match MC's new level of competence.
Hopefully the storylines in S7 will allow CC to shine. She's hanging on the edge of greatness but not quite there yet. I think S7 will be her opportunity to shine if she can step up her game a couple of notches.
Will Louisa's wedding ring magically reappear on her finger after she leaves the hospital, or does Martin have her ring in his pocket for safekeeping until he can return it to her?
I recently saw a Dame Eileen Atkins and Michael Gambon interview on Charlie Rose's show about their New York play they were doing. Dame Eileen told a story about being in the dressing room of another actress who got hurt on her way out the door and made a certain movement due to the injury. DE said that instead of worrying about the injury, she and the actress' husband (an actor, too) both exclaimed to each other immediately about the movement and that they must remember it. Constant learning, I would say.
I didn't notice that her ring was not on her finger. In which scene was the ring absent?
Not a good sign, although I guess they make you take off all jewelry before an operation.
The last scene of E8 when she was sitting up in the hospital bed. She wasn't wearing either one of her rings. I suspect it was because of the surgery, she had them on before they went to the hospital. I figured M might have (could have?) pocketed it for safekeeping. Whether or not the writers or producers use the opportunity in the future is yet to be seen. I think it would be somewhat meaningful for him to return the ring to her finger, again re-emphasizing the fact that she is still his wife and he her husband. But, it's such a small detail that I'm sure it will just magically reappear on her finger without a second thought.
I'll have to re-watch S6E8 on my DVD on my bigger flatscreen TV to see if it shows up better than on my laptop screen.
I do think that she is also doing her best work in DM, although I have only seen her in a few episodes of Murder in Suburbia and Inspector Banks. It seems like putting together all those good actors draws out good stuff from all of them.
Just 15 months until they start filming Doc Martin Series 7...
I don't think it is Caroline Catz's acting that is deficient - I think she's every bit as good an actor as MC (and that's saying a lot!) Look at her virtuoso performances in E8. The problem IMO has been how they have written and directed the Louisa character since the inception of S5. Louisa has been inconsistent - petty and snarky to docile and victimized to humorous and generous. In trying to convey that Louisa is somehow as screwed up as the Doc in the last two series, they have failed to give her a center. And many fans have wondered exactly who she is - as she is frequently different from episode to episode (e.g. S6E1 to E2.) Again, if one wants a master class in acting, take another look at CC in E8, particularly the range of emotions she conveys in the last 10 seconds or so of her role. But, frankly, she can only act what she's given.
Yes, Louisa has been shown a lot of different ways and become a more rounded character due to expressing different aspects of being human more forthrightly, I think. But I see it as part and parcel of an episodic story, emphasizing quite different things in different episodes, but which taken all together across the series, make a more rounded picture of a very human character.
I am curious about what you would call or define or show as "a center"? Can you explain more, please?
I am honestly somewhat confused about Louisa. We know that the love story took over the series in a way that wasn't originally intended -- and I think her original portrayal was of a relatively straightforward, attractive woman, on whom DM had a crush more or less from afar.
She has always been portrayed, it seems to me as the emotional antithesis of Martin -- hot where he is cool, emotional where he is rational, intuitive where he is logical, impulsive where he is blocked, messy where he is neat, waffling where he is decisive. If anything, that is her "center." I think most of their troubles stem from this -- they are attracted to each other b/c of the opposite traits, but at the same time, they get in the way of building their relationship.
But at the same time, I think she has become more "complex" and not always, or mostly, in a good way. And the Louisa of S6 seems somewhat changed again. Whereas even throughout S5 she was almost endlessly patient with Martin (until she wasn't) -- here, starting in E2, she was crankier, quicker to fly off the handle, maybe less intuitive about what was going on with him. Perhaps living with him as a married couple was more stressful than she had anticipated. Certainly, as he shut down and withdrew, it must have been harder and harder to tolerate his eccentricities. The last scene showed that the sweet and loving Louisa is still there, and we can hope more in evidence in S7.
Looking back at S6E1, the whole of it seems to spell out what happens all of S6 and potentially S7--
The trials and tribulations of married life plays out through the adventures of the honeymoon.
The deterioration of the wedding dress seems to symbolize the deterioration of their relationship in S6 or the deterioration of Martin's mental health in S6.
Louisa standing up to the farmer while she's holding the rifle defending Martin (perhaps the funniest scene for CC this series) and how she stood up for Martin when she saw Margaret at the airport or how she always stands up for Martin no matter what others say.
The emergency surgery on the farmer's neck and the eventual emergency surgery on Louisa (through the vein in her neck & the blood involved).
The two of them toting the farmer in the wheelbarrow together equates to the emotional baggage they've been forced to carry around but have stuck by each other.
The big truck that comes down the road could symbolize the "third party" who might emerge in S7 to counsel them both.
How they seem to connect despite the chaos swirling around them in the end scene, they are together and life goes on...