Here's another thing I got from the library. I've become fixated with UK TV for some reason and when I saw the Doc Martin dvd with it's "Thoroughly charming" label I figured I'd checked it out. It's a two disc set that has the two tv movies that Sky Broadcasting produced in 2001 and 2003. There was a 2000 movie called Saving Grace that doesn't seem to be at the library, Amazon or NetFlix. That was the first version of the fish out of water when a London doctor sets up in Cornwall.
The first of the movies is Doc Martin and Martin Clunes plays the doctor, who's name is Martin Bamford. As the movie opens he joins his three doctor pals at a resturant for lunch. There he learns that they're all shagging his wife. After tossing their table he leaves and confronts his wife. She doesn't seem to care about it but she's an awful person and Martin should be glad to be well rid of her. He takes the train to Cornwall to be on his own. After the cab breaks down he has to hoof it into town on foot, in the rain. He looses his shoes. There's some bad ass shit happening to this guy for much of the movie. There's some comedy mined from his pain. Ha ha. He gets a room in the pub, has some drinks, meets the locals and winds up lobster fishing. He also falls right into the mystery of the jellies. Some unknown person has been making jello and leaving the molded dessert on people's front steps with incriminating evidence inside. Enough people have gotten them that the town is pretty upset and people are blaming each other. Some stuck up old cow is even blaming the doctor but she's a great big busy body asshole so what are you going to do, huh. The Doc makes some friends and comes to like the place. Since the local doctor is unfit he decides to stay, even after his wife comes to take him back. She won't sleep with him, instead she wants to go to couples counciling. Martin wises up and bolts. Who could blame him.
In Doc Martin And The Legend Of The Cloutie the Doc has settled in somewhat. He tries to buy a property but is cheated by a stuck up rich bitch who wants to tear down the shitty old cottage and turn it into a 2o house estate. The Doc's plan is to scare them away but the locals say he should use a Cloutie. That's a bit of cloth that you tie to a tree. After that you make a wish and when the cloth rots off the tree, you get your wish. There's a price for the magic. Eventually the doc gets his house and the horrible woman is driven off of the farm.
Both were funny, a bit sad, and fairly well told. They were fun to watch but after reading about the changes to the series when it aired a year or so later I'm not so sure that I might want to bother with them. The re-imagined character, now with ITV, is supposed to faint at the site of blood, be somewhat grumpy, socially inept and selfish. That makes him less of a likeable character, so I'm waffling on the other 5 series on dvd. Maybe when I start to run out of better old shows. These I'd watch again but I'm not interesting in buying them.
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