The Indian Doctor

Dark Comedy, Melancholic drama, the acting is brilliant, the backdrop is as apt as apt can be. It has a very LOTR-shire like characteristics. It takes you to a different world, yet its a real world. The cast is small but intricately woven so you know the characters in and out. There always a background story line "noise" - which stays with you all the time yet does not let you get preoccupied with the outcome. Its probably the most "human" show i have seen in a long time. Sanjeev Bhaskar has managed to shed his image as a slapstick comedian in this venture. I am sure most people will be pleasantly surprised, and those who are not, give it some time. You'll get involved before you know it. Hope BBC recommissions it.

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.

I was pleasantly surprised by the wonderful cast, stunning scenery, accurate and thoughtful storytelling, and gorgeous HD picture quality. This really belongs in prime-time on a Sunday night because there are so many storyline threads that were not able to be resolved in just five 45 minute episodes, and I need to know what happens next to all the characters! With ITV foolishly cancelling Heartbeat and The Royal, the BBC should take advantage of this and commission another series of this feel-good family drama now. The cast were wonderful, very likable, and the 1963 setting - complete with a musical soundtrack of the day - was pure heaven.

Please, please, please BBC - let's have more of this series please and preferably in an early Sunday evening time-slot.

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!

I loved this programme! The casting is excellent, from the doctor and his wife, to the receptionist and her boyfriend, to the mine boss and his wife, to the miners, to Dan, the little boy.

There is no shortage of subplots in this series. We meet a supercilious mine boss with his pathetic wife. We meet a young receptionist in her search for love. We meet an Indian doctor and wife who are newly-arrived in a small Welsh village, suffering the difficulties of fitting into a new culture, and the townspeople who, in many ways do not know what to make of the foreigners. In addition, a young boy and his father are struggling with life with little money and troubles of their own.

The music in this series is of its time. Excellent choices of music run throughout, adding to the authenticity of the series.

I recommend The Indian Doctor highly, and hope that the BBC sees fit to continue it. There are many loose ends left to tie up!