"The Two of Us (Nowt So Queer)" - Season 03, Episode 06

- by Karen Haviley

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our U.S. listeners!
Here at Rock the Doc we are grateful for many things (including all of YOU!) and we hope you, too, have a long list of things you're grateful for this year. Enjoy the special Turkey Day podcast! Now pass us a few pumpkin pie martinis! (you thought I made that up!)

The Doc and Louisa are engaged. And they didn't waste any time sealing the deal either. Dave the postman catches them saying goodbye in the wee hours of the morning while he's on his route. It was only a 'little' awkward, though. But it's clear these two are pretty excited to have finally moved to the next level in their on again/off again relationship (or whatever you would call what they were doing).

The whole town is pretty happy, too. Well... all except Mrs. Tishell.

Al finally gets into the books at Large Restaurant and starts asking some questions about why Bert has lost so much money since he opened. All evidence points to some funny business by Mick. Which is what Al suspected all along. Bert is relieved but he's still out quite a bit of money and it doesn't look like Mick will be paying it back anytime soon.

The Doc's patient, Beth, is recovering from knee-replacement surgery and it's not healing like it should. She keeps insisting she's taking the medication but her sister, Janet, seems to be intercepting the antibiotics. Pauline informs the Doc of the Black Spinster's Widow's past and soon he finds himself spooked just a bit by her presence, too. After many visits to their house for well-checks on Beth, he discovers the real problem is not the antibiotics she's not taking.. it's the ones she is taking. Janet is a research scientist and poor Beth is a guinea pig for her new self-launched antibiotic trials.

Solving that mystery also takes care of another problem in the town involving Bert, Dave and Mick. It's true.. once one of them gets it, they all get it!

But enough of that. We've got a wedding to plan! And since the next episode is the last in season 3, it surely will pull out all the stops for the characters in this funky little town.

Embezzlement, a crazy old bat, love triangles and a postman who couldn't possibly finish his route in one day. Life in Portwenn is Nowt So Queer after all (yeah, right!!).... Enjoy!

TRIVIA QUESTION: What does the acronym MRSA mean?

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"Breaking Up is Hard To Do (The Holly Bears a Prickle)" - Season 03, Episode 05

- by Karen Haviley

The stage is set. Louisa and the Doc have their first date. An evening of classical music, outdoors on a lovely estate. Romantic, right? Well...

Louisa’s friend, Holly, is one of the featured performers of the evening which is why Louisa has tickets in the first place. Things start out extremely well - they compliment each other, look lovingly at each other, and then they end up pretty much as you’d expect: Louisa tells the Doc she doesn’t want to see him anymore. It’s clear that this time she means it. She’s done trying to make things work and tired of waiting for ‘them’ to begin. 

And the Doc knows it.

Bert can’t figure out why he’s in the red. Al gets suspicious but he has bigger fish to fry at the moment: Pauline’s gambling. It's really starting to have an effect on her normally pleasant demeanor and the Doc is becoming increasingly aware that there's a problem. Especially when collections comes the surgery to take away her scooter due to late payments. It’s then she admits she has a real problem... she’s not winning enough.

Meanwhile, Holly comes for a quick visit to Portwenn to admire this ‘idyllic’ place. She’s in a rush, though, and jumps down from a ladder to a rock - a moment that sets off a chain of events that leads to a seriously surprising ending with the Doc and Louisa. It's not pretty, but it gets us to where we've been patiently waiting to see these two. 

Romance grows, ends, blooms again, ends again and finally reaches it's highest point. It's clear: Breaking Up is Hard To Do... even for Doc Martin.

Enjoy!

TRIVIA QUESTION: Holly mentions a colleague of the Doc's from London, Johnny Bamford, but what is the significance of this name? 

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"The GP Always Rings Twice (The Admirer)" - Season 03, Episode 04

- by Karen Haviley

Well, well, well... isn’t this an interesting episode. The title definitely lives up to its name.

The new painter in town, Edward, has his eye on Auntie Joan. And the Doc gets an eye-full when he visits her to drop off some papers. Maybe it’s the estrogen or the news that she in fact does have osteoporosis, but folks, this part is worth watching a few times. If you’ve ever witnessed one of your elders in a compromising position, your compassion and empathy for the Doc will be overflowing; and likewise, if you were the one who was CAUGHT - well, you'll no doubt have a good chuckle about this clip. (Kudos to the writers and director!) Oh, did we mention that Edward is about 50 years her junior? 

The owner of the local hotel, Carrie Wilson (or ‘harpy’ as Mrs. Tishell affectionately refers to her), has her eye on the Doc. She makes every excuse to grab his attention. But in true Doc fashion, he’s just seriously annoyed by her. Not to worry, the Doc takes care of her... and her little dog, too.

With all of this flirting going on with Carrie and the Doc, Louisa realizes that she can no longer sit on the sidelines and wait for Martin to act. She makes the first move and asks him out to a charity concert the following week. An orchestra. Amateurs. This should be good.

Al is back in town, but he nearly gets arrested by the new and improved PC Penhale right out of the gate. Bert is happy to see him, but it’s clear he’s not feeling well after his amazing travels abroad. Or maybe they weren’t so amazing after all. Things have clearly changed in Portwenn and Al is starting to feel that it’s a good thing he came back to town when he did.

Oedipus complex, tsetse flies, more scratch-offs, tarts about town and jealousy abounds in Portwenn this week. Thank goodness The GP Always Rings Twice...  but next time he'll remember to knock... loudly.

Enjoy!

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"Love Thy Neighbor (City Slickers)" - Season 03, Episode 03

- by Karen Haviley

So the Doc and Louisa try once again to have dinner at home. It’s rather awkward as they seem to each want to say something to the other. They don’t get the chance to break the ice before the new neighbors invite themselves in -- and in turn the Doc invites himself out.

The new neighbors are definitely different -- but not in a good Portwenn kinda-way. They don't believe in 'mainstream parenting' so their son, Sam, gets to be as irresponsible as he wants without consequences. 

Lucky for them, PC Penhale is suffering from what the Doc believes to be agoraphobia. So PC won’t be leaving the station house to hunt down Sam anytime soon.

Al’s still traveling the world (or wherever) so Pauline is filling some of her time by playing scratch-offs. She wins enough cash to consider purchasing a scooter. You can sense this is not going to end well.

Sweet, little ole Mrs. Averill has come to see the Doc about a few rashes she’s developed. It turns out to be eczema but her cough is even more disconcerting. Especially when she starts to cough up blood. After some tests it turns out to be TB which has spread to one of the new inhabitants of her old house.

Must be the lack of inoculations... or it COULD be the ceremony that the new neighbors were holding over the burning badger in their yard. One can never tell what causes these things.

Lofty city folk, burning badgers, funky green soup, more gambling, and TB... it's time to give thanks that you don't have neighbors like these - and to pray you never do!

Love Thy Neighbor... easier said than done! Enjoy!

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"The Morning After (Movement)" - Season 03, Episode 02

- by Karen Haviley

In this episode we discover what idea Bert’s been mulling over these last few weeks: he’s opening a restaurant. Yes. That’s right. Bert’s opening a restaurant. That should help his depression. Or at the very least it should help him develop new medical ailments.

Pauline is heading off to her Phlebotomy course in Truro for a couple of days so her replacement, Poppy, is filling in. Things start off well with Poppy and the Doc which Pauline doesn’t see coming, so she gives her some advice to help secure her position upon her return.

A young girl is struggling with her teenage ‘physical development’ and comes to see the Doc for treatment (can you imagine?). His instincts are spot on and after initiating an innovative plan, her confidence is soaring.

Louisa invites the Doc over for dinner on the night of Bert’s grand opening. The Doc shows up, not with flowers or wine, but with a bag of yams. You know, to help her iron-poor blood since she’s anemic. I mean, c’mon, flowers die in a few days, right? And with yams you get..... nah, I’m not digging him out of that one.

The dinner doesn’t go as planned and they end up at Bert’s restaurant. The Doc makes a gruesome discovery in his salad and that ends that. Or so he thinks.

The town has come down with some kind of virus and everyone’s at the surgery the next day. The common denominator seems to be Bert’s restaurant. But not.. so.. fast, Dr. Ellingham.....

It’s another beautiful day in Portwenn! Don’t you wish your own town was so exciting on a daily basis?

Enjoy the ride, folks... we've got Movement.

TRIVIA QUESTION: (2 parts) What is the actor’s name that plays Mick Mabely AND what other show was he on with Martin Clunes?

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"Tick Tock (The Apple Doesn't Fall)" - Season 03, Episode 01

- by Karen Haviley

This looks like a good start to Season 3, no?

Not to burst your bubble, but this is about as close as they get to any kind of intimacy in this episode. Again.

Meanwhile, we get to meet the new policeman in town: PC Joseph Penhale. He has a couple of issues from the start giving you a little insight that in Portwenn... he’ll fit right in.

A young girl in town is suffering from - as diagnosed by the Doc - ACS (Annoying Child Syndrome). Or maybe it was NCS? (I’ll let you figure that one out.) In any case, she’s jumping on cars, riding around on the back of pick up trucks and flatbeds until she gets ‘dropped off’ at the corner store. Her mom begged for meds to help but decided to help herself to PC Penhale’s prescription the Doc left on Pauline’s desk.

Al is out exploring the world and now Bert is feeling depressed. Or Bipolar. He’s not quite sure, but something definitely needs changing in his life. He comes to discuss it with the Doc who gets his say on what he thinks Bert's problem might be. Good thing his remarks weren't offensive.... In any case, Bert just lets it roll of his back and you get the feeling that he has a few ideas up his sleeve to shake things up. And we can't wait to find out!

Pauline is given an opportunity to expand her position at the surgery. A new job that will hopefully help the Doc keep his lunch down each day. She can’t wait to start -- and can’t wait for a raise. But we get another glimpse of what she might be spending her money on these days.

It’s all in a days work in Portwenn. The sun, the surf, the surgery, the ever growing sexual tension between the Doc and Louisa...  Wait. Can you hear it? Yep, folks it’s the Tick Tock of someone’s clock (and it's definitely not ours!).

Enjoy the episode!

TRIVIA QUESTION: What do the initials/credentials after the Doc's name stand for?

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Special: "On the Edge - Part Deux"

- by Karen Haviley

Oh boy... Al has a big question for Pauline. And the question includes a small box he places in front of her during their romantic candlelight... luncheon.

Meanwhile...

Louisa finally gets the truth out of Terry and she feels humiliated that she’s been defending him all these years to her friends. She asks him to leave town immediately. But not before stopping to pick up Jonathan.. unsuccessfully.

The Doc’s review in front of the board doesn’t go very well which makes Louisa fear that he doesn’t care if he leaves Portwenn... or her. Which is precisely what she tells him.

Just when things seem to be calming down, Jonathan shows up demanding Louisa call her father back to town. They have business to take care of. And Jonathan hasn’t been taking his meds. So you can’t quite tell if he’ll actually use that knife he’s wielding around at everyone in the surgery or if he's just goofing around.

But our courageous Doc makes several attempts to overtake the hostage situation. 

‘Attempts’ is the operative word here, of course.

And we find out in the end that all of this commotion, including the baker’s bacterial infection, is related to a few extremely rare birds that have decided to nest on the cliffs near Portwenn -- whose eggs are worth a fortune.

Who gets to the eggs first? Did Jonathan finally find that damn microchip? Is there a candlestick maker in town? Who is leaving Portwenn? Did the Doc successfully throw a plugged-in lamp at Jonathan to divert his attention and rescue the group?

Ahh... the answers to these very exciting events and more await you in this fine conclusion to... On the Edge...

TRIVIA QUESTION: Where is Al supposed to meet the Spanish troller to pick up the package?

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Special: "On the Edge - Part 1"

- by Karen Haviley

Opening scene: Something’s amiss in Portwenn. The Doc and Louisa are tied to separate chairs and Louisa is apologizing.

This can’t be good.

Louisa’s dad is in town and we already know something's up when she introduces him to the Doc as ‘Terry’ and not ‘Dad.’ Perfect timing, too, as the Doc has just asked Louisa out on a date. Yes, a real date. But Louisa was so stunned to see her father that the question floated right over her head. Terry’s not welcome in Portwenn by the locals. This is clear.

Louisa senses Terry's not in Portwenn to see her. Especially when his Bipolar (and quite humorous) cohort, Jonathan, arrives in town much to Terry's surprise. Jonathan raises a few eyebrows when he attacks the local bar’s parrot he believes is implanted with a government microchip. 

There’s another new man in town, Gavin Peters. He's asking questions about Martin. He’s an annoyance like everyone else in Portwenn is to the Doc, but this particular annoyance can cost him his job. And ultimately, Louisa.

Auntie Joan fills in the blanks about Terry and it all makes sense. All except to Louisa who still wants to believe her dad has been ‘misrepresented’ in local gossip. But when the Doc explains what he’s heard from Auntie Joan... well, the photo above explains it all.

Oh yeah... and Bert opens 'Large Bird Watching Tours' -- using the Police car PC Mylow entrusted to him while he’s out of town. (Surprised? Didn't think so.)

Does Jonathan have a thing for Mrs. Tishell? Will Pauline be accepted to Nursing school?  Does the Colonel still have breasts? Will the Doc be removed from Portwenn? And how on earth did Auntie Joan get shot?

The mysteries keep unfolding in the first part of this special two-part episode of Doc Martin. Put the kettle on and pull up a chair because it’s time to discuss... On the Edge.
Enjoy!

TRIVIA QUESTION: Mrs. Tishell has referred to the ‘MHRA’ in a couple of episodes. What is ‘MHRA’ an acronym for? 

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