The Indian Doctor

I'm not a daytime TV viewer but I block-recorded this from a Sky channel because the trailers of beautiful rural Wales, Sanjeev Bhaskar and BBC Drama looked intriguingly promising. It's certainly delivered. Sanjeev Bhaskar is always good, in my opinion, and coupled with an excellent and fabulous Ayesha Dharker and a very solid cast, they bring the stories to life nicely without getting clichéd or all Heartbeat. The simultaneous claustrophobia and freedom of their situation is clear but not overworked. There's no sixties tracks lazily ladled over every scene, possibly because the lovely Welsh village and breathtaking scenery are a far better way of creating the atmosphere. Period drama that doesn't feel like a period. Look out for the quality from Mali Harries and Naomi Everson and immerse yourself in a good story.

The first couple of series are great. Plenty of humour and Deana in equal measure as new arrivals begin to fuse in rural Wales. The third series is one too many for me. The humour had gone, some cast members had left and the music sequences somewhat short for nostalgia fans with the story basically following on the same way as before, short on ideas. A great watch for those of a certain vintage in a similar vain to the long-running Heartbeat. Good escapism for everyone except the baddies.

The strength of the series lies mainly in the casting. Both of the two leads, Sanjeev Bhaskar as Dr. Prem Sharma and Ayesha Dharker as his wife Kamini, have wonderful charisma - you can't help but like and admire them. In the first series, Mark Williams was born to play the nauseating Richard Sharpe. (He plays him so well I wish a spin-off series could be created for this character everyone loves to hate.) The second series, that I have just finished, features Mark Heap as an intensely irritating vicar who has a 'Jesus is my penicillin' attitude during a small-pox outbreak in the village. My favorite, however, is Mali Harries who plays Megan Evans, the lady in the village who carries a torch for Prem so bright it could light the way from Piccadilly to Hadrian's Wall!

The Indian Doctor consists of three seasons all of which are five episodes long. To be honest I really liked every single one of them. The best part I find is that nobody tries to camouflage or disguise their accents here - many of the cast being Welsh just helps to authenticate everything further. At first some may feel this takes a little getting used to but allow for this and prepare to be rewarded for doing so. There are a few wooden performances to watch out for but as the seasons progress these characters disappear into life's rich pattern. Watch out for Sanjeev Bhaskar whose totally transformed from comedy roles such as The Kumars At Number 42 in the most wonderful way within his role as the Doctor. Also watch out for effective performances by Mark Williams and Will Houston as villains - bad guys. Also the coal mine is in Blaenafon and is now a museum whilst locations-wise Blaenafon town and Llantrisant appear to be used. Would I recommend to a friend? Without Hesitating.

I noticed this on a Canadian television schedule one Wednesday evening and I taped it to watch later. I had seen it on the TV guide before but had not looked at it closely. Once I did I realized I recognized the two Indian actors from previous work and knew they were British. I love the British dramas so was ticked off I'd obviously missed the first episode.

Nevertheless I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a pretty good show and I figured out the characters and story lines quickly. Beautifully shot and acted, I'm very impressed. I do miss Heartbeat and The Royal and this is a good replacement. The first series just finished and I'm looking forward to series 2 starting next week.