Doc Martin

[Honeybee]

So, I'm home for the holidays, and my mom's absolute favorite show ever is Doc Martin. We've been watching her favorite episodes.

It must do wonders for the tourism of Cornwall.

If you haven't seen it, it's of the urban person moves to quirky village genre that the Brits do really well. In this case, it's a London surgeon who moves to a picturesque village in Cornwall, naturally filled with eccentrics.

[Mr Smith]

That's the one with Martin Clunes, isn't it? I've never seen it, but we do exactly that type of show way too often, especially in the comedy genre (see: The Vicar of Dibley), and our good old murder mysteries. We're always so nostalgic for the British countryside, but the way they portray it on TV is nothing like reality.

Cornwall is beautiful though. My family used to go there often on holiday when I was a child and my paternal Uncle and cousins live in Devon, so that part of the world has a special place in my heart. Now I'm intrigued as to this show's take on it, but programmes on ITV are generally very hit and miss so I must've been subconsciously avoiding it.

[Glory1863]

Absolutely love this! His bedside manner ticks people off left and right, and yet he always comes through when the chips are down. I think I'm also nostolgic for the days when I had a small town family doc who had cared for my grandparents, my folks and my siblings and me instead of sending everybody off to some specialist at the drop of a hat. There was care in healthcare then, even when he had to sit you down and say, "Now look . . .," and you didn't want to hear it.

[Honeybee]

Yes, Mr. Smith - we have shows of the same genre here. Northern Exposure, Men in Trees, Ed - all thematically about a sophisticated city person reluctantly moving to a small town and becoming better people for it. Of course, no small towns are as quirky and loving and wonderful as portrayed - it's the ultimate city person's fantasy, though.

That said, Martin Clune's performance is so acerbic and weird that it makes the show. And the scenery is gorgeous. Although, I have to keep reminding my mother that England is not really like that - no more than you'd find an American town like Star's Hollow on Gilmore Girls. Just doesn't exist, sadly! Or, if it does, it's out of my price range.