Don't Let Go

Nothing Martin does has pleased the biotching Louisa since this series started. She knew he was this way early on but continues to cluelessly think she can changing him by her continuous cloying. I was hoping she wasn't going to come back from wherever she went. Can't remember where. But no. She had to come back and continue torturing Martin and everyone around her.

Does this continue for the rest of the seasons? She's almost as annoying as super biotch scorned Dr. Foster. Wish she would go somewhere and die. *sigh* Penhale continues his depressing daftness to the point of complete disfunctionality. I don't know how he manages to even get out of bed in the morning and dress himself.

Need more chess from the Aunt Ruth and Al.

There are a trio of things going on here. The first, and most tiresome for me, is the case of Joe Penhale and his ex-wife. He is wearing thin as a character. Maggie has been cleared to leave, her amnesia being eliminated (probably). Her memory is coming back, including thinks about her marriage to Joe. The whole thing between them is rather frightening and very sad. He is so weak and pathetic. Secondly, we have the whole thing that is going on at the elementary school. A janitor, who comes back from a holiday, begins to act in the most bizarre way. Soon children are becoming ill and, indeed, acting in a rather undisciplined way. The third is the relationship between Martin and Louisa. As awful as he is, Martin is what he is. Louisa thinks she can change him. He is one of those people that has always been on his own, with his own ideas being the "only" ideas. The baby is a heavy weight on Louisa's day to day existence. The two characters and their occupations seem to be non-negotiable. I know this is a television show, but my advice is for them split completely.

I haven't had so much fun watching an episode of Doc Martin as this one. PC Penhale provided great amusement with his efforts to impress his ex-wife. I thought it was sweet he was trying. Doc Martin is evolving as a human being, finally! The show is becoming interesting as a result. Although he starts out being his usual rigid self, the Doc reflects upon things and takes corrective action.

We have seen what influenced Martin to turn out the way he did when we met his parents, especially his cold, verbally brutal mother (played amazingly by Claire Bloom). We also see in flashbacks that Martin's father wasn't a whole lot better. When he and Louisa fight over the Christening, Martin makes a decision, and it really is the correct one and shows he is becoming a good husband.

By asserting herself, Louisa is only trying to maintain her identity and not play the traditional role. Doc Martin is trying to change his destiny by wanting to be a better father to his son than his own father was to him. This is huge! He knows that Louisa, as annoying as she is, is a much better mother than Doc Martin's mother was to him.

When Louisa comes home and finds Martin reading to their son out of a medical journal, "The Cytotoxic Treatment of Cancer" "Here is a picture of Dr. Henry Wolfstein," the baby is loving it! Truly clever writing.

The main plot in this episode involves Police Constable Penhale and his ex-wife. She now knows that she's had a memory loss and is divorced from Joe and you slowly realize why she left him--he's a complete weenie and a wimp. So, he tries pathetically to convince her he isn't--by arranging to have folks have fake confrontations with him. Then, she'll see him behave manly and want to stay. Oddly, this does work...for a while.

Additionally, Louisa is at her wits end. A lot of kids come down with poisoning at school and Martin cannot identify the cause at first. And if this isn't bad enough, Martin keeps telling her how to discipline the kids and tells her they're all ill-behaved monsters! And, to further alienate himself from her, Martin arranges for a christening without telling her first!

This is a pretty typical sort of episode though not quite as memorable as many from season five. Worth seeing, though.