Doc Martin (TV Series) The Doctor Is Out (2015) User Reviews

Unusually, there is only one plot in this one.

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 17 February 2016]

This is the final episode of season 7...and fortunately, they're talking now about making at least an 8th season. In this finale, the same elderly couple that came to him last week about the husband's cancer are the main theme. When Martin is called on a case to their farm out in the middle of nowhere, it turns out to be a trap!! The wife is unwilling to accept that her husband has cancer and she isn't willing to allow him to have traditional radiation therapy. Her solution, to keep the Doc prisoner and force him at gun point to figure out SOME treatment that will keep him out of the hospital. The timing couldn't be worse for Martin because this kidnapping prevents him from a big dinner with Louisa where they'd talk about whether or not to divorce! And, sadly, for a while it appears as if rescuing will depend on Penhale, who, as usual, is a total ineffectual idiot. So what's gonna happen? See the show.

This is a very compelling episode and offers some sort of resolution to the Martin and Louisa plot. Well written and quite interesting.

Plot Holes But a Nice Conclusion to Season Seven

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 12 April 2018]

In a previous episode, a man comes to see the Doc and Martin finds he has a mass on his neck. He sends information to the hospital and a course of chemo is prescribed. The wife refuses to accept that he has cancer and confronts Martin. He refuses to budge. In this episode, Martin travels way into the country on a call for the lady, but she is there to force him to treat her husband. She holds him at gunpoint. Meanwhile, Louisa parses things out and heads out to the woman's house with the ding dong sheriff. They soon find themselves in the middle of things. Louisa and Martin were supposed to have dinner to discuss a possible divorce, and, of course, he can't show up. The conclusion of "The Doctor Is Out" is quite touching. There are some serious mistakes made in the plot, but it still works quite well.

Classic episode

[rerousseau · 8/10 · 28 April 2024]

Louisa and Martin agreed to drop therapy and divorce at the close of the previous episode, and plan to discuss terms over dinner. But then, of course, Martin doesn't turn up. However, uncharacteristically, he doesn't call to explain, so Louisa becomes concerned. Has he finally lost his composure after being rejected once too many times by someone he loves?

My favorite episodes tend to be written by Jack Lothien, as this one was. An earlier episode contained a "Bodmin" man, Stewart James, with a six-foot-tall squirrel friend named Anthony. Clearly, and hilariously, a reference to James Stewart and his friend Harvey, but with a Doc Martin/Portwenn twist!

This episode featured at least three references to classic plots that have repeated this over time. For example, threatening to kill the medical professional unless they do something to alter a terminal diagnosis in someone they love. For another classic reference, the number being held hostage grows from one, to three, to five. Soon, everyone's having a party at gunpoint!

I have felt since episode one an affinity for Dr Ellingham, having lived and compensated for four-plus decades before getting professionally diagnosed with neurodiversity and surviving childhood trauma. I've predicted next lines of dialogue or what would happen in the plot before the episode's conclusion so many times, I feel like I could write my own episode!

I can't help seeing that Doc Martin loves people. He has a difficult time expressing it in words but does it exceptionally well in actions. He saves lives all the time. Someone who doesn't like people couldn't possibly care about going out of his way to ensure their well-being, even as he complains about it or points out that stupidity increased the danger in the first place. He is right! Of course! "Normal" people, as Louisa observes, are not so honest and direct, so they have a hard time figuring him out or knowing how to respond. "Average" people also couldn't diagnose so accurately nor treat so efficiently!

I like that the show plot for season 7 pointed out his need for and acceptance of counseling. I also like that he found a friend who loves him and accentuates his positive qualities, though it's a struggle, because it helps others be more fair. The writers insightfully show that Louisa fails to see her own "social" or relationship ineptitudes, and this has led up to an end of her marriage. The conclusion of this episode is satisfying because it is what would happen if the person who feels most "wronged" in a close friendship admits their own need for personal growth.

writer really took needless risks

[A_Different_Drummer · 6/10 · 27 January 2016]

A very hard review to write -- I believe I have reviewed more than a half dozen individual episodes and generally rated this series among the best I have ever seen anywhere, anytime, any place. After seven seasons you start to develop expectations of the writing team and for this episode, which had clear designs on reaching a particular conclusion, I did not see the usual polish in the script that I am used to.

Ordinarily I would not make a fuss about this, but the job of the critic is to identify issues and themes that the audience in general will respond to, and I will do my job.

This episode is structured in such a way that the tone and flavour of the script, the mood if you like, is deliberately made to turn on a dime at the 3/4 point in the script. That is tricky writing and doesn't leave a lot of room for error.

Just before the sharp turn in the story, when, as far as the audience can tell, Martin is still being held at gunpoint against his will, his captors start discussing what to do with Martin ultimately, making it clear they cannot release him. Followed by Martin asking to use the washroom, followed by his chief captor making a comment to the effect that, by his doing a surgery on the dog previously, Martin has earned some measure of "trust." So she waves a rifle in his general direction and let's him go relieve himself.

So, to sum up, we have a turning point in the story accompanied by talk of disposing of the body (Martin's) and allowing him to use the lavatory because he had earned "trust points"....?? Good writing is taking an idea to the edge but not jumping off the edge. The dark hints in the script at that point went way too far -- I think the writer had an off day and lost perspective -- and I believe viewers would feel the error, the nasty change in vibe, even if the overall effect was subliminal.

For that reason, in spite of the highly engineered happy ending, I think this is the weakest episode in the series. A magnificent series. But the weakest episode.

This ep is plot exhaustion, shark jumping infuriation

[phlbrq · 4/10 · 27 July 2020]

Headline says it all. I loved season 1-4, but all the charm is gone. Desperation looks terrible on these actors. To be fair the desperation starts in the writers room.

Horror Movie Territory

[dbowena · 1/10 · 25 December 2021]

The writers/directors are determined to take this sweet, slightly comedic show, and ruin by turning it into a Stephen King horror film. When the insane character is restraining the most unlikable Dr., I half expected her to hobble him by breaking his ankles. Doc Martin, the character, is a spineless wimp. I am so frustrated with this show. I'm going to start using "fast forward" to get through the horror movie and see if the marriage ever gets repaired. Write it so the characters reconcile with loving affection or break up, but quit jerking me around like this!

A disappointing season finale

[nmottel · 5/10 · 17 March 2022]

I continue to stream this show for the first time in 2022 and can't help but notice the writing going downhill episode by episode. Case in point with this season finale...it was not necessary to introduce an outrageous kidnapping. The Portwenn regulars are interesting enough without this outlandish story line. Very disappointing but glad that the writers have decided to keep Martin and Louisa together.