Having penned the first of his nine "Doc Martin" episodes back in Series Six, Julian Unthank has learned to apply creative consultant producer Jack Lothian's train-wreck template into a number of complex, nuanced, multilayered scripts that provide dimension to the regular cast and the guest stars alike while skirting both caricature and repetition.
Indeed, his "Everlasting Love" delivers a gem laden with disasters large and small that avoid both contrivance and exaggeration, humanizing their victims instead of targeting them for risible contempt, which enables the regulars to flex their ranges, with Martin Clunes, whose Doctor Martin Ellingham bears the brunt of the disasters, especially expressive within his straitjacketed demeanor that epitomizes the best and the worst of this medical comedy-drama set in the Cornish seaside village of Portwenn.
True, three red flags go up almost immediately, two of which involve a pair of Portwenn's usual punching bags, chemist Sally Tishell and police constable Joe Penhale. When Sally's friend Irene Moore (Lesley Moore), who has resumed her swimming regimen, sees Martin for her migraine headaches, who tells her to stop swimming until he can rule it out as a trigger, she realizes that she really misses the water, so Sally devises a way to get them both out onto the waves, and no surprise that her plan goes unexpectedly awry. Then Joe, hoping to rekindle the flame with former fiancée Janice Bone (Robyn Addison), first agrees to try her "fish pedicure" of red garra "nibble fish" before enticing her to his romantic dinner, where he appears to inflict food poisoning on her.
The third red flag involves visiting herbalist Jane McRae (Dorothea Myer-Bennett), and by now regular "Doc Martin" viewers know that she is automatically marked for negation as a rival healthcare provider whose non-traditional remedies endanger a pregnant woman (Sophie Ford) and business owner Caitlin Morgan (Angela Curran), who rented her shop space. But here's the kicker: Jane's teenage daughter Daisy (Hattie Gotobed) poses as the mother of infant Emma, who is actually Jane's daughter, to see Martin because Emma is sick despite Jane's herbal ministrations--and her anti-vaxxer stance is certain to come back to bite her.
Things on the home front aren't much smoother for Martin and Louisa. Yes, Ruth has returned from Mexico as Eileen Atkins makes her first appearance since the series opener, but James's (Elliott Blake) new dog Chicken's seeming hostility toward Ruth may portend a concealed concern about her. More troubling is James's hostility toward infant sister Mary Elizabeth as his jealousy manifests itself in various, rather creative ways. However, Louisa's interest, if not jealousy, is piqued when a hitherto-unknown old flame of Martin's, Sophie Trent (Hermione Norris), visits unexpectedly.
That's a lot of plates to keep spinning in-air, but Unthank's rich, interwoven narrative stays aloft thanks to smooth helming by director Philip John, displaying a surer hand his second time out. Guest star Myer-Bennett has the unenviable task of standing in the crosshairs of Martin's wrath as an alternative health provider although she strikes credible sparks in her scenes with Clunes as Gotobed generates admirable dimension in a catalyst role and Norris's brief but meaningful appearance is sure to herald a return in an upcoming episode.
As for the regulars, Clunes delivers a surprisingly rich range of emotions given Martin's limited palette--even Ruth makes a remark about his behavioral growth--as he spars with Jane in a pointed highlight regarding vaccinations, among other sly, varied interactions with Portwenn's denizens. Atkins makes her previous absences feel keener with assured command of her character. And even if Morwenna's presence is strictly background support, Jessica Ransom continues to make every expression and gesture worthy of full attention.
But as might be fitting for a working mother unsung as she carries her heavy burden, Caroline Catz continues to underscore how crucial she is as the backbone alongside Clunes, whether it's Louisa's subtle yet variegated byplay with Martin, her seamless interaction with Elliott Blake's James both in character as a mom informed by her training and burgeoning experience as a child counselor needing to educate her son--who, don't forget, bears traits from his on-the-spectrum father--and as an actor working with a young child actor. In essence having to play the straight woman to Clunes, Catz carries "Doc Martin" as much as he does. And check out her reaction shot to Penhale's crack about "fishie heaven" in Janice's salon.
(Un)thank your lucky stars that, at its Series Ten midpoint, Julian Unthank's "Everlasting Love" puts "Doc Martin" back on track.
POINT TO PONDER: Confirmation bias is the tendency to accept only facts and opinions you agree with. It is extremely difficult to avoid. Are reviews "helpful" only if they validate your confirmation bias? Are they "not helpful" if they contradict it? Thus, a simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down is essentially useless as an indicator of whether a review is or isn't "helpful."
