You're not off-base at all. It's just not something I ever thought about!

I know that "wires on the floor" concern has been brought up before, but there are plenty of babies in Hollywood and as far as I know none have been electrocuted by sloppy electrical disasters. We saw a bunch of babies in the library class DM went to and they all survived lighting, sound and such contraptions all about. I really want to see JH on the floor, playing, with LG and/or DM watching or interactive with him. I want to see him be more a typical baby, so I can see DM/LG developing as parents.

Oh, as for tense lifesaving situations--working on Holly on the floor was great; even working on that overweight child who was wrongly given the ritalin, after she went through the glass door; working on that guy who fell down the stairs after he got sick eating the nasty game; save the principal who walked into the sea. I consider all those a type of heroic moment. I'd like to see more of them, when DM puts aside his gruff personality and is the savior of the day. I love that stuff. It's part of what made me, and LG, fall in love with Doc Martin.

We had it in S6 with him sewing up the carotid artery, which was great, and also wheel barrowing the wounded man how far up the road; but I'd like to see DM do that without having first CAUSED the injury to begin with!

I think probably he did at some level have a hope that by returning to London he might be able somehow to re-start his relationship with Louisa. Not only do we see him react to the schoolteacher who looks like Louisa (from the back) but Bert reminds him that "something is missing -- and you know about that." So he is aware of a huge vacancy in his life. But the key is, on what level did he hope for this? I doubt that it was consciously. And if he ever admitted it to consciousness, two things would probably become clear -- London is a very big city, so accidentally coming across her isn't very likely and he doesn't have it in him to contact Louisa directly, or even lurk in the vicinity of her school.

I just think that Portwenn has become intolerable to him, and he hopes that by returning to his life as a surgeon, that aching void will be somewhat more tolerable.

I had always thought that. In fact, I had thought he was trying to forge a path to London in the hope of winning her back! So, does that make me the one who is way off base?

Points about baby and parenting behavior well taken. Love your list of DM's heroic moments; would like to add going over the cliff to drill a hole in the baker's head in "On the Edge."

Danny's pneumothorax........brilliant and decisive.

Oh, yes, absolutely. As one of the few who ADORE "On The Edge", one of my all-time favorite DM episodes, I can't believe I forgot that scene. It was so heroic, especially when he then grabbed the shotgun out of Jonathan's hand and wouldn't give it back, and then flew the explosives over the cliff and blew up the rare birds.

Oh, yes, the tension pneuthorax scene. Yes, another superb example.

Tell us why you adore "On the Edge".... I would really like to know....it's always been a question for most of us. They had a different director of photography, but what else made it an episode to remember?

You didn't ask me, but I'll answer anyway. So many reasons. LG's father showing up, and learning about the back story between them. DM asking LG on a date, only to be ignored! The "Doctor's Friend" providing such an excellent foil for DM's dourness and later providing an heroic moment for LG when she stuck up for DM. And DM's medical heroics, as mentioned earlier. Oh, and let's not forget the comic byplay between DM and the Colonel! Such a jewel of an episode!

Yes Zarwen....great stuff and the "unctuous platitudinous eunuch". Beautiful insult...why can't you think of those when you need them?

In a behind the scenes interview, PB said that for some reason, and she did not know why, American DM fans 'get' the "soft" side of Martin better than other viewers.

Interesting. Agree? Not? I think I saw his soft side from the very first.

Rob

I agree, Rob, that I saw it quickly. Probably most prominently when he walks into the door after diagnosing her glaucoma in S1 E1. It was clear then to me, that he had a heart and was moved by the lovely Louisa, and not just being a lech.

Agree about his soft side being not difficult to see. Curious why PB thinks this.

Right, Zarwen!

What I love about "On The Edge":

1. It's funny--the office scene with Jonathan is HILARIOUS: DM's idiotic asking Jonathan to give the gun, so he can be tranquilized while the police are called; the failed throwing of the plugged in lamp; DM vomiting over his exam couch and LG's Dad asking "You alright, love?"; the whole "Super!" scene walking Gavin to the door;
2. The back and forth with DM and LG--he isn't apologizing for the "stalker remark" but then he is giving her a card and asking her to dinner...
3. Learning more of LG's back story
4. DM action man--in the office, of course on the cliff.
5. The ENTIRE cliff scene from start to finish was magnificent! Flawless in writing and action.
6. Superb acting by everyone in the episode.
7. WONDERFUL script and WONDERFUL plot.
8. Fun to watch: there's tension, betrayal, humor, mental illness, gruffness, it's got all emotions involved.
9. Greatest insult EVER in the whole DM series, which Zarwen wrote above.
10. More humor--DM's odd birthday card to LG, the ice cream cone in the head; wiping off the bird sh*t with Gavin's business card; telling Gavin, "one minute" and then walking away and going inside.
11. The "I want to be a fly on the wall" scene--after LG tells DM she doesn't want him to leave PW, we cannot hear their further conversation through the consulting room door! WHAT DID THEY SAY? Even Pauline wants to know!
12. The story is touching--LG finding out her dad really did steal the money, he is a cad, although he does, in his own way, love her. And, her defending DM at the meeting.

For me, "On the Edge" is just about the best 1.5 hours of TV I ever saw. I don't care at all about the duller photography, although I know others make it a huge problem to them. To be honest, I never even noticed it because I just watch the episode and entirely love it.

Mona

I also remember PB saying that, Rob, and it's always puzzled me that someone would be not be able to see M's soft side. From the moment he first visits Auntie Joan in S1E1, and she talks about splinters and bed wetting, it is obvious he was a sensitive child, who, if he was still wetting his bed at age 11, was most likely abused. (We find out along the way the extent of the abuse) That sensitive, wounded little boy regularly peaks out from behind the big, gruff mask all throughout the 6 series.

Maybe Americans just communicate more with shows they like, so she's hearing from more of them about his "soft" side. Which, I agree, is pretty evident, especially in S1-3.

Being shown on PBS has given the show an enormous head start with a higher calibre viewer than they would have just being a regular show in Britain. It's snobby, but PBS viewers tend to be more sophisticated that the average Joe. These type of people tend to watch and study works more than normal. In Britain it's on ITV and is just a part of the evening argument whether to watch Snooker or Broadchurch.....they watch it as a funny show where the guy with the ears is really grumpy. I could put that in quotes...it's what a British couple said to me about it down in Panama last summer...funny.

Please realize that I'm being tongue in cheek here and don't know what night or time Broadchurch is on or if there would be snooker.....I hope you get the gist of what I'm saying. Sorry

In series 6 Louisa didn't call Martin to a bunch of emergencies at the school like she did in series 5.

They only used the school in episode 2, and then outside in the school yard in episode 7.

Maybe the school wasn't available for filming in or something. We didn't get "Louisa the Teacher/Head Mistress" so much in this series.

Series 6 was more about Louisa and Martin and their home life. I wonder if BP decided that scenes at the school would detract from that.

The only big medical rescues were the "farmer" and Louisa in the final ep. In series 6 they stepped away from the tried and true formulas of the previous five. In the end, though, I really liked it. It was almost like it was a new show. I hope they continue to develop and try new things in future series.

In ep 2, Louisa is pretty freaked out by Mike when she comes home and he has rearranged her kitchen. I didn't see that until I watched it last night on television. I think that is why she doesn't want Martin to ask him to come back. She is angered by that and frustrated that Martin ran off Mel the nanny. It was plain as day to me that Mike was a better fit, but now I can see that it could be disturbing to come home and find that the babysitter had gone through all my kitchen cupboards.

I think the timing was good for Doc Martin to come to PBS. While there are some modern shows like "Lewis" most of the shows on PBS are period pieces or reruns from 70's sitcoms. I was first attracted to it because it was contemporary. It is fresh and new and different. It also helped that they had a few series already made. PBS watchers generally commit to watching shows from week to week.

WETA began running series 6 last weekend, and it is repeated on WETA-UK throughout the week. I am so happy I can watch series 6 a few times every week for the next month. I'm sure there are other people here in Washington doing the same thing.

Mona, thanks for extending the list of great moments! But I cannot take credit for the insult---that was our friend Mofromco!

Totally agree about the photography; never bothered me in the slightest, and will never begin to understand why it bothers other people. Thinking about all the brilliance that went into the scripts for this 2-part episode brings to mind MC's oft-repeated statement about how hard it is to get it right for this show. In this one, they really, really got it right. Such a stark contrast with what we have been treated to for the past three seasons. I'd gladly take a few more like "On the Edge" no matter how bad the photography---I'd watch if it were in B&W!

My initial reaction to On the Edge was that I didn't like it as much as other episodes. When I re-watched it, I found that the bits between Martin and Louisa were as interesting and fun as other episodes. I quite enjoyed the "doctor's friend" subplot, But I still found the whole sub-plot of the bipolar guy, the gun, being tied to the chair, etc., rather tiresome, actually. But then, I also didn't particularly like a lot of the "honeymoon." To me, sometimes, the show descends into farce that doesn't quite come off. But they have to fill the in the gaps between the M and L bits somehow, and apparently they feel that medical mysteries, the antics of Penhale and complications of Bert's life and Al's love life can only go so far. Personally, I wish they would focus more on the medical mysteries. I know, I'm a grinch.

I agree - I would have freaked out too. Don't forget, before Mike walked in a few hours before, neither of them had ever heard of him and only took Morwenna's word that he was the guy who fixed their electrics and helped Aunt Ruth get James settled. In fact, if you watch the scene when he walks in the front door, Martin walks up behind Louisa (who is holding James) and his body language looks like he is in "protect" mode from this stranger who just walked in.

And then, when Martin & Louisa are upstairs checking on James (and Martin tells her that he also cleaned the upstairs bathroom!!!), Martin tells Louisa, "Tidy house, tidy mind", and Louisa responds, "But it WAS tidy!" Martin (sort of sarcastically) says, "Yeah". He then bangs his head on the doorframe - which MC says he does to ME when he is being rude.

I know a lot of people have complained about Louisa in this series, but I think her initial problem with Mike was that she knew she was messy, but she didn't want a stranger coming in to point it out - and then to also be so good with the baby she had to leave everyday. She eventually got over it and appreciated Mike, but I could understand her emotions during those couple of episodes.

I'm with you on this, Shop Girl. Besides the creepiness of it, and the territoriality of most homemakers (for lack of a better word) there's the sheer annoyance of not being able to find stuff after it's been put away and reorganized.

I don't even like people loading my dishwasher different to how I do it!

And if my husband sided with the offender, that would just be the icing on the cake. Martin has a lot to learn. I thought Louisa's response. all in all, was pretty restrained.

I didn't see it as farce, NewPark. To me, it was no more "out there" then nearly all the other plots in the show.

I mean, we've got a middle-aged couple who is into sado-masochism and injuring the husband all the time. Is that farce? We've got an overweight, insecure and incompetent doctor, who used to be a nurse, unable to diagnose herself with Cushing's and collapsing on the front porch. We've got an emotionally unwell man dressing as his run-away wife, and a tag scene gift of a stuff scary dog to DM. What about Stewart, the emotionally unwell park ranger who talks to Anthony? What about DM breaking the leg of the drunken pastor and then having to help a sow give birth? A Big Yellow Sweater With Martin written on it by Mrs. Tishell Would we call any of those farce? Gosh, the list could go on and on. PW is filled with unusual people with unusual conditions.

Jonathan being bipolar was not unique to the show. I felt they played out his illness and the schemes of him and LG's dad very well.

So, we can certainly discuss farce, its definitions and how people see it played out on DM, if they do, and if they enjoy it or not. I'd like to hear you expand on the topic.

Mona