Time Out

It has been over a month since I have written an entry on this blog site.
And the only excuse that I can offer is that I am suffering from an addiction.
I know, that is a shocking admission, but I am afraid there is no cure. You see, I
am addicted to British television. What is it about the British sense of humor?
I think it is because they are so preposterously outspoken, and their words are so
perfectly matched with preposterous facial expressions.

Most recently I discovered a series that had been on BBC for four seasons, and
was one that I had never seen before. It is called "Doc Martin," and I found all four seasons that could be watched instantly on Netflix. Well, you guessed it, instead of spending any time writing or doing much of anything else, I have spent most of my free time this past month watching all four seasons of "Doc Martin" from beginning to end.

I have yet to discover anyone, friends or family, who have ever seen or heard of this series. I first noticed the title because they received almost a 5 star rating on Netflix, and I had never seen any title that had much over a 4. So it immediately caught my attention, along with the fact that I could watch instantly.

It is a series about a highly regarded London surgeon who develops a deadly fear of
blood - not a good phobia for a doctor to have. It is necessary for him to give up his surgical practice and retrain as a general practitioner. He decides to move from London to the small seaside village of Portwenn in Cornwall. He buys a surgery that is in a terrible state of disorganization with, perhaps, the worst office girl on the face of the earth.

Doctor Ellingham, or Doc. Martin, as the villagers call him, is certainly the proverbial fish out of water in this small village. They are very simple village folk who know one another's business WAY TOO MUCH. He is a brilliant Londoner who has absolutely no bedside manner whatsoever. Picture Dr. House with a neat haircut in a suit, white shirt, and tie. I mean he is ALWAYS in a suit, white shirt, and tie. And he always says exactly what he thinks. If he thinks they are ignorant, he tells them they are ignorant. Get the picture? Of course, the twists of the plots always make the outcomes seem like his fault, and the whole village knows and talks about it!

The medical situations are fascinating. The plot twists are at times hysterical. And you have to feel sorry for poor Doc Martin, even if he is thoroughly obnoxious.
Stir in a little love interest, or maybe a big love interest that finds him always with foot in mouth. Set all these happenings in a beautifully quaint English village, and you will see why I have been hooked for the last month.

The only ray of hope is that while doing research about the series, I read that they will soon be filming season five.