YESSS, Mofromco, exactly!!! Although, I think I would have phrased it, "not just the structure of his body. . . ."

And I love that Mrs. Merton clip too!

Series 6 has been very hard for me to watch too. I did not foresee the drama that would deepen and darken the tone of the show, and frankly, the middle episodes seemed to me to be aimless, mostly. However, NOW I see! Now I get it. It did not sparkle for a reason. If I could speak to BP I would say "Well done! Bloody brilliant."

It was all part of a master, and masterful, plan. Hard to get thru though as the pain M and L felt was palpable.

Rob

I loved this episode!! Go on and roll your eyes while I gush and repeat much of what's already been said, but I loved:
The palpable (yes, palpable. Rob just stole my word ) longing through the bathroom door.
The way Martin put his son's toy in his pocket almost to provide fortitude as he marched towards his mother.
That Margaret was reading 50 Shades of Grey. Perfect!
Martin's face when he found Ruth, and after he did Louisa's surgery, and at the end.
His "Mm" in response to Louisa's question about the surgery and all the non-sugar-coating but support that non-word conveyed.
The line about Louisa's brain procedure being like having a cavity filled . . only it's in your brain. Needed some humor just then.
That Louisa got to tell off Margaret and tell Martin how nice his head is.
That Margaret stole the clock and in so doing gave away any power she had over them and revealed herself at the petty (emphasis on petty) crook she is.
Al and Ruth and their relationship. And Al and Bert (I need those ribs, Dad). And the possibility of Al and Morwenna.
That Mrs T is back to her normal state of crazy.
Those beautiful babies.

I agree with whomever said the bare chested scene was meant to be creepy. Even if he was sportin' a six-pack, it would have been creepy for Morwenna to walk in on that.

I also agree with whomever said Ruth had to spell out Martin's issues to him. His denial was too deep. Very sad to think of him shutting down at such a young age. Makes the loss of Joan even sadder.

I love that this ending gives them so much to jump off of for the next series. New relationship challenges for M and L. Morwenna and Al. Al's business venture (think of all the pompous people that could bring in for the Doc to play off of.)

I loved, like dcdmfan said, that Martin left the pre-op conversation unsaid at the end because it's much better if he shows Louisa how he wants to change when she comes home. And it's good that he gets that.

I kinda think we might see Margaret again. I could see her landing on her feet perhaps as a madam at a house of ill repute, or as the wife of a rich man, and coming back to show off her wealth. Just because.

In fact, the only thing missing IMO, was a scene with the/a dog!

I am curious about the shelf clock. I can't find one on the internet that even looks like his. I think it is probably 18th century, and possibly French. But that is just a supposition after a very cursory look. I would have thought it would be British, though. I didn't see anything on the internet that is nearly as beautiful as his is.

His watch is clearly antique, too. I haven't gotten a good look at it yet.

Also, I wonder who got it working so well.

Did anyone notice that when Martin's Grandad's clock showed 10 o'clock straight up they had a shot of Martin looking at his watch and it said 1 minute before 10? The antique clock was one minute faster than Martin's watch. What do you think that was? It was saying something definitely because they made such an effort to show it. I'll have to think.

Yes, Mofromco, I did notice and had the same thought you did. No, I haven't figured it out yet, either.

Did anyone catch the song playing at Bert's party: "Never Gonna Give You Up"? Reminded me of Penhale's party back in S3E4---some clever song choices in that episode too!

Adelie, I used to be a bit confused by what you meant in some of your previous comments about the show and its direction. But I think I get it now and can easily understand what I think you really were pointing to. This is no ordinary show, no ordinary love story, no fairy tale, no "I know what is going to happen in the end or next", no totally comfy dumbed-downed pillow to tune into. And I love that. It is still a dramedy--sometimes heavier on drama, sometimes more comedy--but so often true to the feel of our human existence--sometimes almost a parable for it.

I've felt the reinvigoration of the series, evident in any number of ways from Aunt Ruth moving into town and having a larger role to camera angles and some new views as well. I look forward to more in S7. Most of all I trust BP to entertain me, and that means in part, surprise me. If they show me what I can think of for myself, I can run that picture in the private studio of my brain any time. I don't need BP to make me wait 2 years for that. It is what I can't imagine that makes me the fan I've become and to appreciate the artistry of this show. I absolutely believe MC when he says "that wouldn't be our show" when interviewers ask about the Martin and Louisa story line in a silly romantic way. Expecting the unexpected is probably why many of us are really hooked into this show, whether we know it or not. It is not the norm, not the usual, and lord, help it never become that way.

And I absolutely agree about his daughter and his sense of what he is willing to show of his body at this point of his life, fit or not. Yes, he's an actor and could explain it that way, but I just think he's more sensible about it. And he's a dad--one who wants the best childhood for his kid by all accounts.

We just get carried away here in a somewhat anonymous forum and often what feels like with friends who we can say virtually anything to, including comments about our "secret" (no longer) desires.

And I love Teri's quotation. I missed it on FB evidently. I will continue to walk with my Portwenn friends through their hours, however many there may be. That's life and the way I choose it.

Absolutely, Rob, and something I just had to trust in that BP would bring it round for a reason.

It reminds me that without the down, the ups don't feel so up, and vice versa. It is contrast in life that gives it texture. And so, too, in good writing and good shows.

As Doc Martin walked down the hallway towards the light, I thought of a different piece of music. It goes:

"I'll keep workin' my way back to you babe, With a burning love inside" sung by 'The Four Seasons.'

And during the sad and awkward scene as she and James leave, Martin and she try to kiss, and miss mouths, settling on a cheek kiss... which evokes the non-wedding departure... The Doc says, "I'm sorry," very faintly. When was the last time he apologized?

And with resetting his watch, which was slower than the clock by one minute, it means it is later than he thinks!

Rob

Paperchase - so well said. I couldn't agree with you more!

He apologized to James a minute before

You all don't have to listen to me, because, as we know, George Bush is The Decider, not me. But I think we now have a moment where we have an opportunity to reset and go forward together as an engaged group of fans.

As you know, I celebrate the free exchange of ideas and opinions - it's the main reason I am on the forum. But I am hoping for less snarkiness, fewer personal attacks, and less hurt feelings than we experienced these past two months. Many of us are very good writers who are quite passionate in our beliefs. We are largely anonymous. And words can wound. So I'm for continuing to fully argue our points - to keep our critical pencils sharpened, but asking that we be more mindful of each other (as they say in business, "hard on issues, soft on people.")

My second point is connected to my first. I am thrilled by the huge number of new and veteran posters who've popped up in the last few days and weeks. Please consider this a personal invitation from at least one other longtime fan that you stay engaged. We need new voices and fresh ways of seeing things - and the joy of newbies processing things that are epiphanies to them, but something long ago processed by the vets. We'll all benefit if many or most of you stay on and keep talking with us. The forum will be less ingrown and repetitive - and I believe we'll all benefit by the freshness and vitality you provide.

Finally, I want to reiterate that being critical of the show is not an attack on any individuals here. Sometimes it was seen that way. You don't have to take a loyalty oath to participate and park your brain at the door. Most of us love the show or loved the show and find a huge attraction to it. We want to see a S7 that is engaging, true to the characters, well-written and directed, keeps or recaptures some of the past sparkle, and gives us some surprises. A tall order!

We've got two years to "live together" on this forum. I think we can do that with smart and funny exchanges, some genuine caring for relationships built, and where we don't just survive death by a thousand cuts.

The last few pages of posts have been wonderful ones to read and especially the ones giving BP credit for their wisdom in the progress of the storyline. I never lost faith in them (nor in MC's vision of how complex the character of DM can become). Now, as S6 brought back Margaret E. and Caroline Bosman, why not S7 bringing back Edith You know she is going to get wind of the doc's blood phobia returning, hence a reason to reappear! She made such an impact in S4 and really gave doc reasons to face up to working on getting him back to being a surgeon. She, unlike anyone else, knows how brilliant he is in the operating room. I would also like to see Roger Fenn, Maureen and the twins.
Too bad Margaret did not lift the Buddha statute along with the antique clock, a missed opportunity to learn the back story of how DM came in possession of same, --or else-- taken the Buddha statute instead of the antique clock!
Has anyone noticed that the wallpaper in the doc's surgery is the same as the wallpaper at the honeymoon lodge? Also, the cupboard holding the dishes in the doc's kitchen is the same piece of furniture only empty in the honeymoon lodge?
Last edited by marchrand : 23-10-2013 at 14:11

Oh, I definitely feel she took what she knew was something that DM really cared about, was his last connection to AJ. It had a monetary value to it, sure, but I think she was definitely taking it to upset DM one last time.

Thanks, Statesidefan, for saying all this.

Personally, I have never found that snarky or mean-spirited posts do anything to convince anyone of anything except that you don't want to be in a place where this happens. I don't come to an online place to be sniped at or attacked, and I don't suppose many people do. (I say this as one who has been very occasionally guilty of the online version of losing my temper, but continues to regret it.)

Facebook pages continue to thrive, and I think partially b/c they attract much larger audiences and it is the first place where people go when they want to find out more about DM, particularly Americans who have never heard of DS. Also, if you are already on FB, there is much less of a learning curve about posting, etc. Personally, I find that the ratio of wheat to chaff is a bit better here, although I enjoy both places. There are remarks on FB, and I am sure other places, that this Forum is not a friendly place to be. And this reputation must be discouraging, to say the least.

Keeping this in perspective, the Forum is not moderated, and none of this has risen to a level where a moderator would feel compelled to intervene, and disagreeing with what someone has said, even if assertively, is not the same as a personal attack. And by the way folks -- whatever negative stuff goes on here pales in comparison to what I have seen on most other forums or discussion groups or comments sections. Our reputation for throwing rotten tomatoes is much exaggerated, I think.

It is really important to have a diversity of opinion, even and perhaps especially those who have a bone to pick with writers, directors, actors, characters or directors. Because now there are only a small number of regular posters, I think we know when we see who's posting, what they're going to say, for the most part. I'd like to be surprised more ! Respectful differences of opinion do stimulate thinking and often re-thinking, at least for me, whereas attacks on one's motivations for writing such outlandish things, just shut down the conversation.

I hope that trying to keep things constructive, even as we disagree, will encourage others to join us and offer up posts with novel points of view.

When he realizes she has taken the clock, I hope he thinks it was worth it to get rid of her. It is a reminder of his past. In a philosophical way, I hope he recognizes that losing the clock is fate's way of helping him lighten the load while he works his way through the challenges ahead. Change is not going to come easy for him, he will have setbacks. As Aunt Ruth said, he is going to have to work harder than most. He has a lot of integrity and will do his best to own his mistakes and make amends when he falls back into old behavior.

Enjoyed reading your views, Rob.

But I do not think the terrible, "aimless" middle episodes were well designed to be that bad. Nor do I think the season was "brilliant". I think the middle episodes were bad due to bad writing and perhaps MC's illness. I mean, I just cannot fathom them literally sitting down and thought, let's have inconsistency in characters, and a dreary hard to fathom darkness, for a good six episodes of the season.

I really think they could have had the good E1, and then perhaps some more pertinent onset of DM's blood phobia and insomnia, perhaps more related to how he and LG were getting along--instead of in the middle of his examination of a patient--when we were clearly meant to see for four months DM and LG were getting along very well. Perhaps they had a big fight, and then his phobia returns, the fight instigating his deeply held internal fear, perhaps, of his not being good enough to be loved.

Even hidden emotional issues oftentimes make some sense when they come out.

They could have had him struggling for 3 or so episodes, and then a little breakthrough, with him working successfully and unsuccessfully with LG to improve, with those struggles, all in one season. Yes, we only have 8 episodes, but that doesn't mean six of them have to be so constantly dreary with no real progression in character development, except DM gets worse and worse. I mean, we got that by episode 4 he was having problems; did we really need it carried on in 5, 6, 7?

A cliffhanger in the finale could have been, say, off the top of my head, him really finally getting it psychologically, only to have had some serious medical problem striking LG, or DM, or JH without resolution at the end.

I think fans of the show, who fully understand DM has some "issues" but who also want an engaging, enticing season, could have created a much better season, with DM's "epiphany", than the one we just viewed. Perhaps BP and MC will have a fan or two sit on the development panel for the next season. THAT would be wonderful!

A happy ending or at least leaving the door open, I am glad. I like Ruth and Morwenna.

Poor Doc Martin though! He is even more homely now he is so skinny. I am not sure which is worse his jug ears or Louisa's cankles!

i have to admit my biggest problem with this series was that the downward spiral came out of nowhere. One minute he's fine, organizing a wedding and patching up a man's jugular on his wedding night and the next his haemophobia is back and sending him into depression. Perhaps if he had gotten a phone call about his father's death, then it would have made more sense. It also would have made his meltdown when his mother arrived more believable.

E8 did alot to repair the damage - the triggers of his family leaving, his mother "coming clean" and Ruth's blunt honesty were enough to snap him out of the malaise and start taking action and I found this believable. But I still think the it made the middle episodes confusing and disconnected.

I think it'll be about 10 seconds between landing in Portugal and Margaret taking that clock to a pawn shop...or the Portuguese equivalent. His grandfather obviously valued it as everyone in the family knew it on sight, Joan saved, Ruth gave it to Martin and he carefully repaired it, probably to give to JH.

It's a family heirloom, something to be passed down through generations - so naturally it means nothing to her except what she can cash it in for.

I don't mind that the phobia came back out of nowhere. I attribute it to his subconscious. I feel lucky that I liked this series so much. The whole thing made sense to me, but I know it disappointed a lot of fans. The episode I liked the least was the one that Ben Bolt wrote. It had the tone of series 5. I was very disappointed in that series.

[QUOTeE=mmDerdekea;69366367]Enjoyed reading your views, Rob.

But I do not think the terrible, "aimless" middle episodes were well designed to be that bad. Nor do I think the season was "brilliant". I think the middle episodes were bad due to bad writing and perhaps MC's illness. I mean, I just cannot fathom them literally sitting down and thought, let's have inconsistency in characters, and a dreary hard to fathom darkness, for a good six episodes of the season.

I really think they could have had the good E1, and then perhaps some more pertinent onset of DM's blood phobia and insomnia, perhaps more related to how he and LG were getting along--instead of in the middle of his examination of a patient--when we were clearly meant to see for four months DM and LG were getting along very well. Perhaps they had a big fight, and then his phobia returns, the fight instigating his deeply held internal fear, perhaps, of his not being good enough to be loved.

Even hidden emotional issues oftentimes make some sense when they come out.

They could have had him struggling for 3 or so episodes, and then a little breakthrough, with him working successfully and unsuccessfully with LG to improve, with those struggles, all in one season. Yes, we only have 8 episodes, but that doesn't mean six of them have to be so constantly dreary with no real progression in character development, except DM gets worse and worse. I mean, we got that by episode 4 he was having problems; did we really need it carried on in 5, 6, 7?

A cliffhanger in the finale could have been, say, off the top of my head, him really finally getting it psychologically, only to have had some serious medical problem striking LG, or DM, or JH without resolution at the end.

I think fans of the show, who fully understand DM has some "issues" but who also want an engaging, enticing season, could have created a much better season, with DM's "epiphany", than the one we just viewed. Perhaps BP and MC will have a fan or two sit on the development panel for the next season. THAT would be wonderful![/quote]

Thank you, mmDerdekea (or may I call you Mona?), this articulates many of my thoughts too. As the series wore on, I had often thought that some of our brilliant fanfic writers could have come up with better story lines. There were a few small touches that did appear to be lifted from fanfic: DM's dance lessons at boarding school, the wedding kiss, and LE being treated by a "Dr. Samuels" at the hospital. Maybe there were others that I missed. I have also wished there were a fan or two on the development panel. They may actually need us!

Did Morwenna really say, "F**k off, you nutter!" to the loathsome Mrs Tishell?! (It sounded like it!) I do hope so - what a revolting deranged creature she is, who should never have been brought back imho. (It's a pity she wasn't the one electrocuted - everyone would probably have wandered off and just left her, lol. )

I haven't been keen on Morwenna - but now I positively adore her.

I think she said 'back off' but the feeling was definitely there. Totally agree Morwenna is great.

I cannot see how much further the writers can take the character of Mrs Psycho Tishell in this show. She already over-stepped the mark when she ran off with the baby, surely in the real world such a person would never be welcomed back into a community having carried out such an act of insanity?

I would have expected her to have been lynched