Doc Martin Complete Series 10 – Review
By Karl Hornsey
After 18 years and almost 80 episodes, the adventures of Dr Martin Ellingham, played by Martin Clunes, have finally come to an end. Well, there’s always the chance of the odd festive resurrection in the future, but for the time being, the fortunes of the residents of Cornish village Portwenn have reached their TV conclusion.
Clunes has turned into something of a national treasure over the years, and much of that can be put down to the character of Doc Martin, even though he’s turned his hand to many other roles, fictional and factual, down the years.
“Charming”
Having been seen as largely a comic turn from his days working with Harry Enfield and in Men Behaving Badly, Clunes was perfectly cast for the role of the cantankerous village doctor with a phobia of blood, and ITV have had a winner on their hands ever since.
With excellent support from the likes of Caroline Catz, Ian McNeice and Joe Absolom since the first-ever series, and the beautiful location of Port Isaac in Cornwall luring in thousands of tourists, Doc Martin has always been a charming, funny and uncomplicated watch, even gathering a cult following among devoted viewers.
“Run its natural course”
The 10th and final series picks up with events a year after the previous one, which ended with the Doc telling his wife Louisa that he was no longer practising medicine, and Louisa in turn shocking the grumpy medic by revealing that she was pregnant with their second child. So, when we join the Martins again, new daughter Mary Elizabeth has been added to the clan and the Doc is fully ensconced as a househusband – not exactly a role you’d expect to suit his particular skill sets. Eight episodes later and it’s time to say goodbye, although the recent festive special was required to really wrap up any loose ends and give the audience a treat on Christmas Day.
This final series continues in the tradition of adding a number of household names as guest stars, including Rupert Graves, Fay Ripley, Ben Miller, Hermione Norris and Kenneth Cranham, to an already outstanding cast, but everything comes to an end. With this series coming a full three years after the ninth one, then maybe even the diehard fans would accept that it’s run its natural course, but will also have been delighted that even after 10 series, it still has the power to charm and amuse in equal measure.
‘Doc Martin Series 10’ is released on DVD by Acorn Media Int
