Martin's surgery officially opens for business, but patients continue to treat it as a drop-in cafe.Martin's surgery officially opens for business, but patients continue to treat it as a drop-in cafe.Martin's surgery officially opens for business, but patients continue to treat it as a drop-in cafe.
Kyla Goodey
- Nurse
- (as Kyla Goody)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJessica Ransom plays the part of a wedding reception dancer in this episode. She returns in episode 5.2, Dry Your Tears (2011), in the recurring role of Morwenna Newcross.
- GoofsThe airbags on Doc Martin's car deploy in a low speed impact with another vehicle. Not only will airbags not deploy in low speed collisions, if they do deploy, most vehicles will be disabled by an electronic interlock to ensure the vehicle doesn't remain running. This makes driving the car away impossible.
- Quotes
Roger Fenn: So you're not going to give me anything for my throat?
Dr. Martin Ellingham: No. And I'm not going to give you anything for the chip on your shoulder either.
Featured review
Caustic Lead Character Nevertheless Has Compensating Appeal
If your comedy-drama features an inherently caustic lead such as Doc Martin, then that lead had better have compensating appeal. In Martin's case, he is an absolutely dedicated physician--at one point, when asked what he does when he's not working, he looked puzzled and replies, "I'm always working"---and one with a brilliant diagnostic eye. As Doc Martin, Martin Clunes evinced that in the very first episode of "Doc Martin," when he spotted signs of glaucoma in schoolteacher Louisa Glasson, and in "Gentlemen Prefer" he continues to demonstrate his prowess while, crucially, forging a connection to a patient, Roger Fenn (Jeff Rowle), he diagnosed with throat cancer, and who is almost as acerbic as he is.
Having just arrived in the sleepy Cornish village of Portwenn, Martin is still off to a prickly start with the locals, who are nevertheless still curious about their new general practitioner: They crowd his waiting room, but there is no epidemic---they just want to meet him. However, when Martin fires his receptionist Elaine Denham for incompetence, the villagers take her side. Playing Elaine, Lucy Punch delivers a strong performance of an exasperating character---Elaine is irresponsible and petulant, with little to redeem her---and the dynamics, including the resolution that involves the wedding of Elaine's father, do seem contrived.
Granted, this is television with its restrictions and expectations, and writer and series creator Dominic Minghella writes crackling dialog that submerges the cliché in his characters. "Gentlemen Prefer" also reveals a hint of Martin's secret: While visiting Roger in the hospital, an unexpected encounter with blood compels him to vomit. Not an encouraging trait in a vascular surgeon. Smart, sharp, quirky, and funny, "Doc Martin" was off to a promising start, with sufficient character depth in both large and small roles to pique continuing interest.
REVIEWER'S NOTE: What makes a review "helpful"? Every reader of course decides that for themselves. For me, a review is helpful if it explains why the reviewer liked or disliked the work or why they thought it was good or not good. Whether I agree with the reviewer's conclusion is irrelevant. "Helpful" reviews tell me how and why the reviewer came to their conclusion, not what that conclusion may be. Differences of opinion are inevitable. I don't need "confirmation bias" for my own conclusions. Do you?
Having just arrived in the sleepy Cornish village of Portwenn, Martin is still off to a prickly start with the locals, who are nevertheless still curious about their new general practitioner: They crowd his waiting room, but there is no epidemic---they just want to meet him. However, when Martin fires his receptionist Elaine Denham for incompetence, the villagers take her side. Playing Elaine, Lucy Punch delivers a strong performance of an exasperating character---Elaine is irresponsible and petulant, with little to redeem her---and the dynamics, including the resolution that involves the wedding of Elaine's father, do seem contrived.
Granted, this is television with its restrictions and expectations, and writer and series creator Dominic Minghella writes crackling dialog that submerges the cliché in his characters. "Gentlemen Prefer" also reveals a hint of Martin's secret: While visiting Roger in the hospital, an unexpected encounter with blood compels him to vomit. Not an encouraging trait in a vascular surgeon. Smart, sharp, quirky, and funny, "Doc Martin" was off to a promising start, with sufficient character depth in both large and small roles to pique continuing interest.
REVIEWER'S NOTE: What makes a review "helpful"? Every reader of course decides that for themselves. For me, a review is helpful if it explains why the reviewer liked or disliked the work or why they thought it was good or not good. Whether I agree with the reviewer's conclusion is irrelevant. "Helpful" reviews tell me how and why the reviewer came to their conclusion, not what that conclusion may be. Differences of opinion are inevitable. I don't need "confirmation bias" for my own conclusions. Do you?
helpful•00
- darryl-tahirali
- Nov 24, 2023
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