Martin Clunes

Haven't we been here, done this before? There's a strong sense of déjà-vu wafting in the sea breeze over Portwenn as wedding bells ring out for the second time to celebrate the happy union of Doc Martin (Martin Clunes) and the long-suffering Louisa (Caroline Catz).

As the sixth series opens for business, they're taking a second stab at tying the knot after their plans unravelled back in series three.

Quite why Louisa has shown such dogged devotion to miserable Martin is a bit of a mystery. Yes, he's got a certain inept charm but he's a grumpy old man before his time. Perhaps the prospect of Happy Ever After will put a smile on his face.

It's two years since we last saw flinty curmudgeon Dr Martin Ellingham and when we return to the pretty Cornish village of Portwenn nothing has changed - he's still a miserable git. Even the prospect of his much-anticipated wedding to his beloved Louisa doesn't put a song in his heart. The couple's first attempt at matrimony fell apart, but at last they are successful (this isn't a spoiler, the nuptials are in the opening minutes).

The ceremony is smartly dispatched by a very impatient groom and we spend the rest of the episode with the happy couple (Martin Clunes and Caroline Catz) as they confront a string of disasters on a hopeless honeymoon. There's not much of a story, just a series of increasingly weird and barely credible incidents. Back home Aunty Ruth (splendid Eileen Atkins) is babysitting, and has her fair share of troubles, too.

It might have started out as a three-way pun involving the popular boot boy footwear, the profession of its main protagonist and the christian name of its star. But Doc Martin is into a somewhat implausible sixth series now and tonight we begin with something as close to a bang as this curious show gets. For a start, Martin Clunes's titular lead is getting married to the long-suffering Louisa. But that's just the half of it as the couple's honeymoon turns first disappointing and then nearly disastrous.

Odd to say for such an enduring series but it feels like Doc Martin still struggles with its tone - at times it seems to aim for sitcom chuckles, at others a degree of dramatic heft. Still, Clunes is likeably lugubrious and it makes a pleasant change to see a primetime ITV drama that doesn't seem too desperate to please everyone.

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