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Ugh! 7 episodes in and I am reminded why I prefer British dramas over the dreck that's come out of Hollywood in the past years. An American-ized remake of the beloved drama Doc Martin, it fails on almost every level. In the UK, Portwenn was a charming, quiet Cornish village. In the US, Port Wenn is a hyperactive little village in Maine, where the idiots have never left for greener pastures.
Josh Charles and Abigail Spencer adequately fill the main roles of Doc Martin and his love interest, Louisa. And that's where the American version goes off the rails:
- The initial "meet cute" moment between Martin and Louisa occurs during his interview to replace the now-deceased town doctor. Unless Maine has moved to government-run medicine (like the UK), why is he being interviewed by the town's leadership and not a healthcare system? A plot contrivance that was shoehorned into this to copy the UK version?
- The assistant in Martin's office? In the UK, over the years, two characters filled the role, each with their own personal foibles. The US version, it's a hyperactive chipmunk addicted to social media as her way out of the town.
- The local cop? In the UK version, he was bumbling, well-meaning, socially-awkward, but went about with a quiet dependability. In the US, he's a hyperactive mash-up of a B-level character from Super Troopers and Reno 911.
- His aunt? In the UK version, she's a local fixture, a quiet matron and gentlewomen. In the US, she's a hyperactive town figure, played almost to typecast by Annie Potts.
- The local restaurant/center of town society? In the UK, it was run by a father/son scheming duo, always chasing the latest get-rich-quick idea to improve their station in life. In the US version, the restaurant is owned by a same-sex, AND bi-racial couple of, you guessed it, hyperactive over-the-top stereotypical queens direct from LGBTQ central casting (not that there's anything wrong with that,...)
The romance between Martin and Louisa was a slow-burn that built up over the years in the UK version. In the US, Martin is already pining for Louisa in a quiet (for a change) sort of way.
Where it fails the most? Every episode so far seems centered around some major annual festival or event, designed to highlight the "eccentricity" (in a hyperactive way) and uniqueness of the town.
I doubt this show will make it through a full season, but given the dumbing-down of US commercial television, who knows?
