| Doc Martin | |
|---|---|
Series title card |
|
| Format | Comedy Drama |
| Created by | Mark Crowdy Craig Ferguson Dominic Minghella |
| Starring | Martin Clunes Caroline Catz Ian McNeice Joe Absolom Selina Cadell John Marquez Jessica Ransom with Louise Jameson and Eileen Atkins |
| Theme music composer | Colin Towns |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 38 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Philippa Braithwaite |
| Running time | 37x 50mins 1x 92mins |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV (ITV1/STV/UTV) (also ITV1 HD/STV HD/UTV HD) |
| Picture format |
576i (2004 - 2009) 1080i (2009 - Present) |
| Original run | 2 September 2004 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Doc Martin is a British television comedy drama series starring Martin Clunes in the title role. It was created by Mark Crowdy, Craig Ferguson and Dominic Minghella.[1] The show is filmed on location in the fishing village of Port Isaac, Cornwall, United Kingdom, with filming of most interior scenes and production in a converted local barn. Five series aired between 2004 and 2011, together with a feature-length special that aired on Christmas Day 2006.
Contents |
Clunes plays Dr. Martin Ellingham, a brilliant and successful vascular surgeon at Imperial College London who develops haemophobia (a fear of blood), and as a result is forced to leave the profession. After retraining, he obtains a post as the "GP" or General Practitioner in the sleepy Cornish village of Portwenn, where he spent childhood holidays with his aunt. Upon arriving in Portwenn, Dr. Ellingham (called "Doc Martin" by the locals), finds the surgery in disarray. He inherits an incompetent receptionist, Elaine Denham (played by Lucy Punch), who resents his coming. Her character is replaced in Series 2-4 by new receptionist and later phlebotomist Pauline Lamb (played by Katherine Parkinson).
The show revolves around Ellingham's interactions with the local Cornish villagers. Despite his medical brilliance, Ellingham is a gruff man, lacking social skills. His cold, abrasive manner offends many of the villagers and leads to frequent misunderstandings. He seems to be short tempered and lacking in a bedside manner, however going about his duties in a no nonsense attitude, not believing in wasting time chatting with the villagers. His haemophobia, which results in frequent and debilitating bouts of nausea and vomiting, becomes a matter of gossip and ridicule amongst the villagers. His aunt, Joan Norton, portrayed by Stephanie Cole, provides emotional support in the face of the disquiet his abrupt manner causes among the villagers. Caroline Catz plays primary school teacher Louisa Glasson, for whom Doc Martin finds it difficult to express his romantic feelings.
Martin Clunes originally played a character called "Dr Martin Bamford" in the 2000 film Saving Grace and its two made-for-TV prequels, Doc Martin and Doc Martin and the Legend of the Cloutie, which were made by British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB). The prequels show Bamford, a successful obstetrician rather than surgeon, finding out that his wife has been carrying on extramarital affairs behind his back. After confronting her with the news, he escapes London and heads for Cornwall, which he remembers fondly from his youth. Shortly after he arrives, he is involved in the mystery of the "Jellymaker" and, following the departure of the village's resident GP, decides to stay in Port Isaac and fill the gap. In these three films the village is not known as Portwenn.
The original deal was to produce two such television films per year for three years, but Sky Pictures folded after the first two episodes were made, so Clunes' company tried to sell the franchise to ITV. ITV felt the Martin Bamford character should be portrayed as a "townie", out of his depth and uncomfortable in the country. They also wanted something edgier, so Clunes suggested the doctor be very grumpy and socially inept. The new doctor's surname was to be Ellingham, an anagram of the last name of the new writer, Dominic Minghella, who was brought in to rework the doctor's background and create a new cast of supporting characters.
Along with Clunes the only actor to appear in both versions of Doc Martin is Tristan Sturrock.
Interviewed about the release of the Series 3 DVD, Clunes indicated he would take a break from acting in 2008, to allow his daughter a family summer holiday, which she missed during the programme's filming. Clunes' wife is Philippa Braithwaite, Doc Martin's producer. In February 2009, ITV confirmed plans for a fourth series with eight episodes.[2] Series 4 aired on ITV1 from 20 September to 8 November 2009,[3] and was a ratings success for ITV. STV originally did not broadcast Series 4 in Scotland due to financial issues surrounding a dispute with ITV.[4] In 2011 STV resolved its issues with ITV [5]and has since broadcast Series 4 during July and August 2011.
Series 4 was released on DVD in the UK on 1 March 2010.[6]
In the US American Public Television (a US syndicator that supplies the programme to public television stations) confirmed that Series 4 would be available to stations from 1 March 2010.[7]
In New Zealand, Series 4 began broadcasting on 25 January 2010 on TVNZ.[8]
In Australia, Series 4 began broadcasting from 12 June 2010 on ABC1.[9]
In an interview published in the Manchester Evening News on 15 September 2009,[10] Clunes said, "It looks like ITV will give the go-ahead to a fifth series but that won’t be filmed until 2011."
On 2 March 2010 during an interview on the BBC's The One Show, Clunes stated that Series 5 will be filmed in 2011.[11] ITV confirmed the commissioning of a fifth series of Doc Martin in a press release on 1 April 2010. Dame Eileen Atkins will join as Doc Martin's Aunt Ruth and Jessica Ransom is the new surgery receptionist, Morwenna Newcross. Martin Clunes, Caroline Catz, Ian McNeice, Joe Absolom, John Marquez and Selina Cadell will all return to the series.
[12] Series 5 was produced in 2011 and has eight episodes.[13] The series began airing on all ITV regions on Monday 12th September.[14]
In Australia, Series 5 began broadcasting from 15 October 2011 on ABC1.
In the UK, Doc Martin has been a ratings success for ITV1 with the third series achieving ITV1's best midweek drama performance in the 9 PM Monday slot since December 2004.[15] The final episode of the third series was watched by 10.37 million viewers, which is the programme's highest-ever viewing figure for a single episode.[16]
In 2009, Doc Martin was moved to a 9 PM Sunday time slot for the broadcast of Series 4. That change meant that it followed-on from ITV's The X Factor programme. Series 4 ratings were adversely impacted by STV not screening the majority of ITV drama productions in Scotland. The final episode of Series 4 had ratings of 10.29 million[17] viewers. STV went back on its decision not to screen ITV drama in Scotland. Series 4 of Doc Martin was broadcast on Sunday afternoons in August 2011.
Notro Films produced a Spanish version under the title Doctor Mateo for Antena 3 Televisión. It aired in 2009 and was shot in Lastres, Asturias, with the fictional name of San Martín del Sella twinned with Portwenn.
French television producers Ego Productions, in cooperation with TF1, have produced a French version of the series starring Thierry Lhermitte as Dr Martin Le Fol, with the series based in the fictional Breton town of Port-Garrec, twinned with Portwenn.[18][19]
In Germany, Doktor Martin an adaptation of the original series, airs on ZDF with Axel Milberg as Doktor Martin Helling, a surgeon from Berlin. The counterpart of Portwenn was the real existing village of Neuharlingersiel in East Frisia.
In Greece, Kliniki Periptosi an adaptation of the original series, will be aired in November 2011 on Mega Channel with Yannis Bezos as Markos Staikos, a surgeon from Athens.
In the United States, Hart of Dixie is based on a similar premise, in which a gruff big-city surgeon becomes a GP in a rural town, antagonizes the locals, and uses her diagnostic skills to identify otherwise unknown conditions.
Thirty-eight episodes aired on ITV1 in the UK between 2004 and 2011. Episodes are 50 minutes, except the 2006 Christmas special which is 92 minutes. In the US, many PBS stations edited the Christmas special to fit a normal 50 minute schedule. Martin Clunes said there will probably be a Season 6 for Doc Martin, but that is likely to be the final one.[20]
| Actor | Character | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Martin Clunes | Doctor Martin Ellingham M.B. B.S. F.R.C.S. | 2004– |
| Caroline Catz | Louisa Glasson | 2004– |
| Ian McNeice | Bert Large | 2004– |
| Joe Absolom | Al Large | 2004– |
| Selina Cadell | Mrs. Sally Tishell | 2004– |
| John Marquez | PC Joe Penhale | 2007– |
| Dame Eileen Atkins | Aunt Ruth | 2011– |
| Jessica Ransom | Morwenna Newcross | 2011– |
| Louise Jameson | Eleanor Glasson | 2011– |
| Actor | Character | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Lucy Punch | Elaine Denham | 2004 |
| Felicity Montagu | Caroline Bosman | 2004–2005 |
| Stewart Wright | PC Mark Mylow | 2004–2006 |
| Stephanie Cole | Aunt Joan | 2004-2009 |
| Angeline Ball | Julie Mitchell | 2005–2006 |
| Tristan Sturrock | Danny Steel | 2005–2006 |
| Katherine Parkinson | Pauline Lamb | 2005–2009 |
| Joseph Morgan | Mick Mabley | 2007 |
| Lia Williams | Dr Edith Montgomery | 2009 |
Guest stars include Celia Imrie, John Alderton, Hugh Lloyd, Jeff Rawle, Doreen Mantle, Christian Rodska, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Mary Woodvine, Miriam Margolyes, John Woodvine, Stephanie Leonidas, Ben Miller, Chris O'Dowd, Kenneth Cranham, David Bamber, Claire Bloom, Mathew Horne, Gwen Taylor, Sylvestra la Touzel, Anthony Calf, Richard Johnson, David Haig, Phyllida Law, Benjamin Whitrow, Louise Delamere, Nicholas Le Prevost, Sophie Thompson, Mathew Baynton, Andrew Lee Potts, Julie Graham, John Duttine and Tony Maudsley.
Series 1, 2 and 3 and "On the Edge" were released separately on Region 2 and in the "complete Series 1 to 3" box set. Series 4 was released for region 1 on 6 July 2010.
In region 4, Series 1, 2, 4, and "On the Edge" were released separately and in a nine-disc boxset entitled "Doc Martin: Comedy Cure", as well as an earlier seven-disc boxset not including Series 4. The two Sky Pictures telefilms were individually released in Region 4 (as 'Doc Martin: volume 1' and 'Doc Martin: volume 2, the Legend of the Cloutie') on the Magna Pacific label, but are now out-of-print.
Series 1 and Series 2 (including "On the Edge" as a bonus feature) have been released in Region 1. Series 3 was released on 2 February 2010 and Series 4 is scheduled for release on 6 July 2010.[21]
In 2004 Doc Martin won the British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Drama, having also been nominated as Best New TV Comedy. In the same year, Martin Clunes won the Best TV Comedy Actor award, primarily for his portrayal of Doc Martin.