Originally Posted by Biffpup:
“I fell behind due to other interferences and was only able to get to a viewing of E7 last night. I've had a lot of catching up to do here at DS and thought instead of responding to individual posts (so many!) I would just put down a few of my own responses and opinions here.
I understand the angst of several people who are upset at the direction the show has taken, especially in E7, but personally I'm satisfied with it. We've long known that Martin has emotional issues lurking mostly in the background. We've met his parents, heard about the abuse he suffered as a child. We've assumed that much of his behavior, his inability to be "social", his difficulty in initiating and then maintaining a healthy relationship with the woman he loves, his failure to "get" things like jokes and simple conversations were caused by his miserable childhood & horrible parents. In the past he's built a kind of wall around himself and maintained a sense of control. I always figured eventually we would see that wall come down and he would face an emotional crisis. In order to get this character to any kind of resolution, this had to happen.
So now it is. He's coming apart. He's lost control. He's in the throes of a deep depression. I think this is why he looks so sad, on the verge of tears, when he's forced to say, "No, I can't. Thank you." to Louisa when she suggests a long weekend away. He's barely functioning, almost rooted and immobilized in this scene. He can't eat. He can't sleep. He can't face a long weekend alone with his family. The damage Ruth mentions later in the ep is doing it's work. It's all coming to a head.
This is especially evident at the sports day. Paperchase, you mentioned that he's probably suffering from anxiety. I agree with you. In fact, that's exactly what I see when I watch that scene. I don't believe Martin has any control at all over his own behavior at sports day. He's completely lost it, and this comes across, as you said, as anger.
He's at his absolute worst at sports day, and so is Louisa. He's correct when he tells her she's hysterical. But, of course, he's the one who has caused the hysteria. It's a wild scene and it's cringe-worthy and painful to watch. Here are these two beloved characters showing us their very worst sides at the same time, and in front of half the village.
The thing is, this show is no longer a comedy-drama. It's an intense, heavy drama. I can accept that and go with it and enjoy it the way one enjoys intense and sometimes dark dramas. What's problematic is that the PTB failed on one level. They turned it into a drama, but continued to include the goofy slapstick of Penhale, which no longer fits. Frankly I've never been a fan of the Penhale character. He was too much of a clown. I've managed to accept this in the past, to just sort of overlook this, but now it's jarring and unsuitable. BP failed to face the reality of their own decision to turn it into a drama. A little occasional comic relief is helpful in dramas, but not this over-the-top kind.
So there are good and bad aspects of this episode. It's flawed in some ways but intensely emotional in others. We don't quite understand what Martin is going through because he isn't verbal. We have to speculate. I know this is the way this show goes, and the way this character is portrayed, but they could have used Ruth to translate for us, or employed some means to help us out. Maybe this will happen next week. In fact, this "feels" like a two-parter to me, with absolutely everything left unresolved. Well, except for Mike.”
“I fell behind due to other interferences and was only able to get to a viewing of E7 last night. I've had a lot of catching up to do here at DS and thought instead of responding to individual posts (so many!) I would just put down a few of my own responses and opinions here.
I understand the angst of several people who are upset at the direction the show has taken, especially in E7, but personally I'm satisfied with it. We've long known that Martin has emotional issues lurking mostly in the background. We've met his parents, heard about the abuse he suffered as a child. We've assumed that much of his behavior, his inability to be "social", his difficulty in initiating and then maintaining a healthy relationship with the woman he loves, his failure to "get" things like jokes and simple conversations were caused by his miserable childhood & horrible parents. In the past he's built a kind of wall around himself and maintained a sense of control. I always figured eventually we would see that wall come down and he would face an emotional crisis. In order to get this character to any kind of resolution, this had to happen.
So now it is. He's coming apart. He's lost control. He's in the throes of a deep depression. I think this is why he looks so sad, on the verge of tears, when he's forced to say, "No, I can't. Thank you." to Louisa when she suggests a long weekend away. He's barely functioning, almost rooted and immobilized in this scene. He can't eat. He can't sleep. He can't face a long weekend alone with his family. The damage Ruth mentions later in the ep is doing it's work. It's all coming to a head.
This is especially evident at the sports day. Paperchase, you mentioned that he's probably suffering from anxiety. I agree with you. In fact, that's exactly what I see when I watch that scene. I don't believe Martin has any control at all over his own behavior at sports day. He's completely lost it, and this comes across, as you said, as anger.
He's at his absolute worst at sports day, and so is Louisa. He's correct when he tells her she's hysterical. But, of course, he's the one who has caused the hysteria. It's a wild scene and it's cringe-worthy and painful to watch. Here are these two beloved characters showing us their very worst sides at the same time, and in front of half the village.
The thing is, this show is no longer a comedy-drama. It's an intense, heavy drama. I can accept that and go with it and enjoy it the way one enjoys intense and sometimes dark dramas. What's problematic is that the PTB failed on one level. They turned it into a drama, but continued to include the goofy slapstick of Penhale, which no longer fits. Frankly I've never been a fan of the Penhale character. He was too much of a clown. I've managed to accept this in the past, to just sort of overlook this, but now it's jarring and unsuitable. BP failed to face the reality of their own decision to turn it into a drama. A little occasional comic relief is helpful in dramas, but not this over-the-top kind.
So there are good and bad aspects of this episode. It's flawed in some ways but intensely emotional in others. We don't quite understand what Martin is going through because he isn't verbal. We have to speculate. I know this is the way this show goes, and the way this character is portrayed, but they could have used Ruth to translate for us, or employed some means to help us out. Maybe this will happen next week. In fact, this "feels" like a two-parter to me, with absolutely everything left unresolved. Well, except for Mike.”
See, I don't see it that way. I saw that DM had his blood phobia return. We saw it bother him a few times. We know he isn't sleeping, but we don't really see it impact him day by day at all. We see him getting grumpier. We see him wondering if he is physically sick when he's obviously not, and he knows he has something psychologically wrong with him.
And, then, we see him in E7 apparently not eating, not able to talk to Louisa, but still seeing patients normally, and talking to them. He's not "catatonic". As usual, there is nothing consistent about his behavior, his actions (he won't eat with his wife, but he'll put her hair up) in this episode. DM is just a total pill, in a poorly written, poorly constructed episode, and series, in which we have to over and over make allowances for how badly the series has been put together.
Someone, I think, Biff, said that we haven't seen the Doc like this before. Well, yeah, we have. He was uncommunicative, unromantic, unable to discuss his feelings, repressed all throughout season 5, causing terrible problems with LG, who left him for her mother, remember, until his big castle "breakthrough". Wasn't that because he was SO overwhelmed and stressed out with being a new dad, living with messy LG, having AJ die, and trying to decide where to live and work?
Um, in this series, aren't we just watcing DM being uncommunicative, unromantic, unable to discuss his feelings, repressed, because he is SO overwhelmed and stressed out by the return of his blood phobia and a mysterious insomnia problem causing terrible problems with LG, who left him for her mother, until perhaps he has a(nother) big "breakthrough"?
If some people like the darkness of this series, that's fine. I understand some people are attracted to stuff like this.
However, what most astounds me is anyone not seeing how repetitive, unoriginal and lacking creativity this series is. That is what confuses me the most.
I have all these on my iPhone as well as the music from the old you tube DM fan videos like: why don't you kiss her, L-O-V-E, baby I love you (ronnettes), I can't help falling in love (Elvis), I'm shakin' (Jack White my current favourite), make you feel my love (Adele) and more...
