Last Christmas in Portwenn

Christmas is coming to town and this coincides with a tough event in Dr. Ellingham's life...the death of his mother. She was an incredibly horrible mother...detached, vicious and worthless as a parent. While he denies her death has any impact on him, the episode ultimately show he's not being truthful to himself. Deep down, he worries he'll be like her as a parent...and provide his kids with yet another horrible Christmas...just as his had been.

Much of the Doc's time is spent with the town's Santa. But, as you'd expect when they introduce a new character, the guy has medical issues...necessitating the Doctor to make an emergency call during a snowstorm. What follows is deadly...but also ultimately very touching..

This is just a lovely episode...much like "Doc Martin" fused with "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"! Well written and wrapping up several character's stories very well...not just the Doc's.

Do things ever really change in Portwenn? Yes and no, at least according to "Last Christmas in Portwenn," disguised as a holiday special to tidy up loose ends and induce closure without having to restart "Doc Martin."

Not surprisingly, Jack Lothian, who served as creative consultant producer during the last three seasons, scripted this satisfying postscript to a fascinating if frustrating medical comedy-drama centered around brilliant but emotionally stunted Dr. Martin Ellingham, and it seems to be a winking parody of Lothian's patented escalating train-wreck narrative paradigm whose misdirection enables this series stalwart to camouflage his unabashed sentimentality toward the denizens of Portwenn--most assuredly including Martin himself.

Fittingly, he presents Martin, who, in rejecting a prestigious position in London in order to stay in Portwenn, seemed to have achieved a significant transformation in the Series Ten finale, as back to his brusque, officious self when he closes down a Christmas grotto for being a public health hazard because he suspects Leonard (Ron Cook), costumed as Santa Claus, of having a contagious disease, thus disappointing everyone especially his young son James.

Next, Lothian trots out two of Portwenn's usual punching bags--Joe Penhale and Sally Tishell--to perpetrate the kind of buffoonery that had long been tiresome and exasperating. Mrs. Tishell, believing she might have throat cancer, annoys Martin when she kisses him under the mistletoe she has hung up in her chemist's shop; needless to say, Louisa is not thrilled to hear about this. Meanwhile, Joe, upon learning that Janice Bone's favorite song, not just her favorite Christmas song, is "The Twelve Days of Christmas," plans an avian-themed surprise for her that really ruffles her feathers when she thinks a psychotic stalker is siccing vicious birds on her.

James's disillusionment grows when Leonard seemingly imbibes too much Christmas cheer and clambers up onto the Ellinghams' roof to teach Martin about the spirit of Christmas; that prompts Louisa to organize a Christmas Eve lantern parade with Joe's help, at least until bureaucratic local councilwoman Agatha Higgins (Emma Amos) threatens to nip it in the bud although, in typical Portwenn fashion, she has an accident before she can tell Louisa whether her lantern parade has her stamp of approval.

Throw in the results Martin gleans from the biopsy he performed on Leonard, the news he receives about his mother Margaret's (Claire Bloom) death, and Morwenna Newcross's oddly maternal attachment to "Toby," the turkey Bert Large is offering to anyone who can correctly guess its weight--after buying their opportunity to do so, of course--and Lothian has you set up for the riveting second half.

It's only when Martin must journey out in snowy weather to Leonard's home outside town to treat him for a serious accident that those train-wreck elements Lothian had planted previously crystallize into a gripping existential crisis for Martin, one that even finds him confronting his dead mother while in a hallucinatory state caused by hypothermia, which dovetails with the dream of Christmas during his childhood he had had earlier as Bloom delivers a brief but appropriately chilling performance that lifts the veil on the geniture of Martin's aloof air of clinical disdain.

More importantly, Martin Clunes performs brilliantly, a bravura turn that finally musters empathy for his character, even more so than his experience in the previous "Our Last Summer" when he was in danger of bleeding to death. Furthermore, Leonard reveals himself to be not just another gormless Portwenn casualty injured in a fit of carelessness but a candid, insightful, sympathetic widower whose advice is just what Martin needs as Cook matches Clunes note for note.

Despite its expanded running time, "Last Christmas in Portwenn" casts its eye about selectively, with Martin's journey paramount while overemphasizing Joe's attempt to charm Janice even if Robyn Addison does supply lugubrious comic relief. This means that even Caroline Catz does little more than carry water--and she does seem to be phoning it in here--as does the chronically underused Eileen Atkins although her Ruth is integral to Sally Tishell's breakthrough as Selina Cadell, reduced to overwrought parody in "Our Last Summer," turns in a quietly uplifting performance.

As for Joe Absolom, Ian McNeice, and Jessica Ransom, they largely facilitate the main threads along with Catz and Atkins although Morwenna's nurturing of Toby the turkey hints at the news she has for Al while Joe's avian-themed effort might not have flown the coop either. Delivering a surprisingly effective emotional payoff without undue mawkishness, "Last Christmas in Portwenn" also introduces the first, and likely only, glimpse of Portwenn in its winter livery, with the combustible final scene slyly illuminating the wry accidental happenstance and ensuing chaos that had exasperated Martin when he had first arrived in Portwenn, even if now he--well, best to see for yourself.

Presumably the last word "Doc Martin" has to say about Doc Martin, "Last Christmas in Portwenn" exemplifies what every exit line aspires to: it leaves you wanting more.

POINT TO PONDER: Confirmation bias is the tendency to accept only facts and opinions you agree with. It is extremely difficult to avoid. Are reviews "helpful" only if they validate your confirmation bias? Are they "not helpful" if they contradict it? Thanks to the pervasiveness of confirmation bias, a simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down is essentially useless as an indicator of whether a review is or isn't "helpful."

This is especially true of episodic television series such as "Doc Martin" whose ardent fans cannot stand to have their beloved show criticized. The negative reaction to reviews posted prior to this one that are not filled with glowing praise makes this embarrassingly obvious. No show is perfect, and "Doc Martin" is far from perfect. Nevertheless, it is well worth watching even, and especially, when it is not strong or effective.

If you don't learn from mistakes or failures, you don't grow, and reading reviews critical of your "baby" is not a personal affront but a chance to broaden your perspective. Are you up to that challenge? Or do you still need to have your confirmation bias validated?

Mostly this had a good plot with Christmas having so much importance. Little James seems to run the show, but I guess he is the reincarnation of the Doc. I think there should have been some middle ground here. All the events work well. We knew Doc would have none of the Santa thing when the guy is obviously sick. He's a stickler for preventing disease. The down side of this is the Doc, going off half cocked to get to the farmhouse. He is totally unprepared for what he faces. He also smashes up the Lexus--nice car. His conversation with the ersatz Santa is pretty good. Louisa hears he's alive but has no reaction to his hypothermia. The rest of the cast are just there to move things along. The final five minutes is pure schmaltz and doesn't do much. Still, I'm hoping there will be a return to Portwenn for a single episode now and then.

Doc Martin has been my favorite show since I first saw it. So sad it's come to an end. But what a farewell!

The writers wanted to give us a gift, and did they ever. The fine cast and script, the scenery, and the chemistry between characters bring together the perfect Christmas program.

There were moments when I laughed out loud, not because of silliness, but the low-key humor that is so delicious in this program.

It's a few days before Christmas, and Doc Martin disappoints the village by shutting down the local Santa grotto because of health concerns. That's all I need to say. Now sit back, put your feet up, and enjoy the Christmas ride.