Season 6 opens with the Ellingham wedding and ends with depression, disillusion, and a surgery that should never have happened. Patty came into this one off a season 5 finale she loved — and this season did not clear that bar.

She's firmly on Team Martin (Martin Clunes) at this point, though she gives Louisa (Caroline Catz) points where they're earned. Aunt Ruth Ellingham (Eileen Atkins) — stalker and all — and Joe Penhale (John Marquez) have both endeared themselves to Patty, and the Al (Joe Absolom) and Morwenna (Jessica Ransom) spark has caught her interest. She's even a fan of Mike Pruddy (Felix Scott) as a childminder, OCD and all. Bert (Ian McNeice) grates on her more every episode for how often Al has to bail him out of his own scrapes. Of course we agree that Margaret Ellingham (Claire Bloom) is despicable. And Patty thinks Mrs. Tishell (Selina Cadell) came back not quite right — and downright mean to Jennifer Cardew (Annabelle Apsion).

What she can't forgive: playgroup, and then sports day. Patty's read is that Louisa keeps putting Martin in situations where he's set up to fail, then treats the failure as evidence. "He wants to fix it. He's gonna need some help with how — but she has to wanna fix it too, and he's not the only one that has to change."

Here’s your assignment:

-          Up through season 6, were/are you on Team Martin or Team Louisa and why?

-          Are you from the UK?  How did season 6 sit with you when you saw it the first time?

-          What are your thoughts on “You’re my patient. And you’re my wife?”

[00:00] Intro to Season Six of Doc Martin with Newbie Patty

[02:11] Dramatic Wedding Episode and Initial Impressions

[06:50] Joe Has Grown On Patty

[08:26] Things Start to Sour

[08:56] Martin Really Really Tries

[09:51] Does Louisa Love Martin As He Is?

[12:20] Comic Relief, Even With A Stalker!

[13:39] Truth And  Accountability Are Important

[15:28] Disillusionment with Season 6

[16:16] Is Patty Onto Something?

[18:11] Mrs. Tishell's Return

[22:49] Martin Is Unwell - But In What Way?

[24:51] Damn That Margaret!  But Kudos to Claire Bloom

[26:18] Morwenna and Dating

[27:23] Aunt Ruth Grows on Patty

[28:21] Bert And Poor Al

[29:13] Shouldn't Louisa Help Martin More?

[32:52] Patty Is On Team Martin, But Will She Stay There?

[40:33] The Blood Phobia and Martin's Failed Marriage:  Related?

[43:05] Patty Gives Louisa Some Points

[45:20] Joe Gets Something Right And Jenny Is Better CPR Choice

[49:25] Surgery and Personal Boundaries

[52:06] Predictions

Best Medicine is scrubbing up for Season 2, and so is Podcast Portwenn! For the first time, the whole Season 2 Unspoiled panel is together. Doug from New Jersey is back from our Season 1 crew, and he's joined by Mel from Maryland and Carol from Colorado.

First things first: Sheriff Mark Mylow (Josh Segarra) finally has some fans. Mark didn't get a lot of love from last season's panel, but Mel and Carol are here to fix that. Yes, he's a doofus. He's also a good guy, and this season he's getting his due.

Now, about that love pentagon. We're picking up five months later, and let's count: Martin Best (Josh Charles), Louisa Gavin (Abigail Spencer), Mark, Eden Montgomery (Eliza Coupe) who is somehow still in town (is she commuting?), and a brand-new arrival apparently sent to keep an eye on Martin after Glendon Ross (Patch Darragh) reported those blood draws to the medical review board. How many people can be in one love pentagon? Yikes. The panel does not agree on this one, and how many are too many?

There's plenty more to chew on. Does Al Large (Carter Shimp) actually leave for college, and what does that do to him and Elaine Denton (Cree)? Did the sea urchin money change Aunt Sarah Best (Annie Potts)? And now that Martin's blood phobia is about to become public knowledge, is that finally what gets him talking to his father, Robert Best (Martin Clunes)? We have three completely different theories about how those two ever have that conversation.

Plus a little casting news: Andrea Martin is joining the show, and Greg Garrison (Stephen Spinella) and George Brady (Jason Veasey) got promoted to series regulars. (George has always been my fave, so I was very pleased.)

No answers here, just three fans on the record before the season proves us right or wrong.

Available now: I went to Dorset, England for Buckham Fair and met Martin Clunes. There’s a podcast episode for that!

So tell me. Is Louisa better off with someone uncomplicated, or is that just Martin's cue to wake up? Does Al go to NYC? And are you Team Mark yet? Leave a comment on YouTube. I read all of them, I answer all of them, and I've started bringing some into the podcast. This is my little hobby, but if you're not happy, I'm not happy.

Subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

[00:21] Introduction to Podcast Portwenn's Best Medicine Season 2

[00:51] Season Two Insights and New Panelists

[02:41] Who Is Rewatching And What's Your Favorite?

[06:15] Elaine and Al

[09:24] Eden And Martin And...

[11:51] Could Eden Be Good For Martin?

[13:55] Did The Sea Urchins Pan Out?

[16:18] Martin and Robert

[18:47] Andrea Martin

[20:29] New Characters and Plot Twists

[20:45] Baby or No Baby?

[22:36] Martin and Louisa

[24:53] Returning Characters And What Does The Future Hold?

Podcast Portwenn goes off-script for a special episode and the video version is not to be missed.  Over the last few months, Chesla invited you to donate to Buckham Fair, a fundraiser for the Dorset County Hospital's Emergency and Critical Care unit hosted by Martin Clunes and Philippa Braithwaite. You requested an update on how it went, so here it is.  This year's fair raised roughly £138,000!

So why would three Americans fly across an ocean for a fair benefiting a UK hospital they will HOPEFULLY never use? Chesla, Chris, and new friend Janice dig into it: the pull of Dorset's countryside, the chance to say thank you in person, and, for Chris and Chesla, the anchor event in a larger Dorset trip.

There's plenty of Martin Clunes and Neil Morrissey face time too. Both judged the fair's dog show categories (Fluffiest & Scruffiest, Best Six Legs, and yes, a "dog who looks most like Neil Morrissey" class), and the group compares the stiff, dog-averse Martin Ellingham of the show to the very real Martin Clunes getting mobbed by his own on-set dogs Chicken (real name Taffy) and Paddy.  

Chesla also fesses up to an accidental goosing of Martin during a photo opportunity.  And in front of her own husband!  Sorry Martin!  Setup days get their due too — tent stakes in drought-hard ground, zip-tied dog fencing, and a crash course in reading instructions.

Once it's running, the group walks through the scale of the thing: nine dog rings, a heavy horse display including Martin's Clydesdales, a horse trainer (Ben Atkinson) whose methods leave a lasting impression, and the Lamb National — a butcher-sponsored obstacle race of lambs, then kids, then adults, then one very fast sheepdog.  And that’s just a subset!

The episode closes on a Tombola raffle gone sideways, which somehow ends with Chesla going home with a cowboy hat donated by Martin. Photo credits go to friends Simo (Martin Clunes Art Project), Janice, Marisa, Chris, and Chesla whose photos and sketches show up throughout.

If you weren't able to donate before the fair wrapped, it’s not too late to donate directly to Dorset County Hospital Emergency and Critical Care Fund: https://dchcharity.org.uk/

[00:00] Introduction to Buckham Fair and Its Purpose

[01:58] Why Fly from the US to England for a Fair?

[06:06] What We Would Have Told Philippa

[07:00] Late to the Party with Martin, Philippa, and Buffalo Pictures

[09:49] Getting There, and First Impressions of Dorset

[13:52] Getting Into the Fair Itself, Including Volunteering

[18:10] What Is It Like?

[18:38] Horses

[21:49] Dogs

[26:07] Ellingham vs. Clunes with Dogs

[28:56] Oops!  Thank Goodness for Senses of Humor

[30:56] Nine! Dog Rings

[32:36] Other Events

[36:33] Heavy Horses Showing Versatility

[38:41] Patrick

[40:58] Experiences at the Fair

[41:43] It's a Small World

[42:24] A LOT of Money

[43:02] Swag and the Tomb (really, the Tombola)

[45:35] Rides

[45:58] New Friendships - One of the Best Parts

https://www.facebook.com/FayeNealPhotography

Ben Atkinson’s Horses:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100044425269749

Note that some photos and events described were part of set up, tear down, and sponsor benefits.

Doc Martin newbie Patty is back for Season 5, a favorite season for many Doc Martin viewers. 

Auntie Joan’s (Stephanie Cole) death hits Patty hard and Aunt Ruth (Dame Eileen Atkins) doesn’t seem like a very warm substitute.  Of course, Patty does laugh at Martin’s (Martin Clunes) eulogy of his aunt, which is completely true but, really?  Aunt Ruth doesn’t strike Patty as a typically compassionate mental health professional, until Chesla explains that being a psychiatrist at Broadmoor isn’t a typical mental health assignment. 

Patty and Chesla discuss whether Martin is on the autism spectrum, triggered by Aunt Ruth making the surprising statement that people don’t change.  Does she mean people who might be psychologically predisposed to missing social cues or does she just think she knows Martin well enough that he’s fixed in his ways due to his horrible upbringing?

Season 5 has other departures and arrivals:  Pauline (Katherine Parkinson) is out and Morwenna (Jessica Ransom) is in as the receptionist.  We meet Joe Penhale’s (John Marquez) ex-wife Maggie (Julie Graham) and Louisa’s (Caroline Catz) absentee mother, Eleanor (Louise Jameson). 

Patty is surprised by Martin’s willingness and aptitude at parenting, and comments again on Louisa’s coping strategy of running away instead of discussing problems. 

Both Patty and Chesla really enjoy the final scene of the season, both for it’s normally excellent acting and it’s fantastic writing. 

There’s a quick Best Medicine checkin, as well as numerous questions on US vs England ways of doing things.  Podcast viewers from England – you know the assignment!

Do you think Martin’s behavior can be entirely explained by his appalling childhood? 

Doc Martin newbie Patty is back for Season 4. Martin Ellingham (Martin Clunes) wants to go back to London — or does he? Old flame Edith Montgomery (Lia Williams) is back in his orbit too, and this time she's angling to rekindle the romance, while Martin seems interested in her strictly as a colleague. Patty is not a fan of Edith either way.

Patty isn't surprised by Louisa Glasson (Caroline Catz) showing up pregnant, but she is surprised by Martin's lack of growth — or is he actually backsliding? His blood phobia looks all but conquered by season's end... until the baby's messy arrival puts it to the test. There's a surprise of a different kind waiting at the chemist's, too: Patty did not see Mrs. Tishell's (Selina Cadell) husband, Clive (Malcolm Storry), coming. What's going on there?

Patty also digs into PC Joe Penhale's (John Marquez) brother storyline and its unexpected forgery twist, plus the Al (Joe Absolom), Bert Large (Ian McNeice), and Pauline Lamb (Katherine Parkinson) relationship tangle — is Bert actually looking for love this time? Patty is warming up to him.

Finally, the big payoff: the car chase, the birth, and Martin holding his own baby for the first time — though of course, he can't resist a comment.

Since Patty has also watched Best Medicine Season 1, we close with a compare-and-contrast: how the American version handles its own hairball patient episode differently, how the blood phobia is explained, and what it means that Best Medicine's Eden Montgomery (Eliza Coupe) is teased to return in Season 2 the same way Edith Montgomery keeps reappearing throughout Doc Martin's Season 4. Patty's paying close attention to that one.

[00:16] Introduction and General Impressions

[04:03] Character Analysis: Edith and Martin

[05:28] Martin: Duty of Care vs. Caring and Miscommunication

[07:32] Mrs Tishell and Clive

[09:32] Bert Looking for Love

[12:14] Bert, Al, and Pauline

[14:19] Joe Penhale, Comic Relief

[15:56] Martin's Treatment of Pauline's Uncle

[17:51] Specific Scenes of Interest

[23:51] Tangent on Tick-Borne Illness

[24:37] Funny Lines about Serious Topics

[26:52] So Much Miscommunication

[28:36] Improving Blood Phobia

[29:27] Pauline's 'Competency'

[31:58] Going to London

[36:36] Insults

[38:13] The Birth - Finally!

[40:34] Things to Point Out

[42:12] Best Medicine Comparisons

[45:05] Comparing Doc Martin and Best Medicine

[45:40] A Baby Plotline

[46:26] The Blood Phobia

[50:21] Future Prospects and Character Arcs

Doc Martin newbie Patty (a Best Medicine veteran) tears through Season 3, which is a season of surprises. She spends half the season hoping PC Mark Mylow (Stewart Wright) is coming back. She hasn't yet warmed up to his replacement, Joe Penhale (John Marquez). Al Large's (Joe Absolom) return partway through the season was a tease but, alas, no Mark.

Auntie Joan (Stephanie Cole) surprises everyone! IYKYK, right? Pauline Lamb (Katherine Parkinson) gets a jealousy-fueled rival at the surgery AND learns phlebotomy, making her far more useful than S1's Elaine (Lucy Punch).

Then there's the big one: the Martin-and-Louisa Glasson (Martin Clunes, Caroline Catz) will-they-won't-they finally does, um, something. Patty walks through the concert date gone wrong, the mood-swing comment, the breakup, and everything that follows. Chesla and Patty cover what's believable, what the motivations of Martin and Louisa might be, and what it might mean for their futures.

Martin Ellingham is, well, Martin: rude, blunt, whatever word you want to use — and some British terms send Patty and Chesla down a rabbit hole comparing US and UK vocabulary (Decrepit! Really?). They also start connecting the physical abuse hinted at in Martin's childhood to his bedside manner, and discuss how much compassion Martin has for patients compared to his drive to solve the medical mystery and heal.

Best Medicine chat centers around composite characters: is Elaine (Cree) a composite of Elaine and Pauline? Is Mark Mylow (Josh Segarra) a composite of Mark and Joe? Plus, inevitably, dog comparisons.

Season 3 leaves Patty more eager for Season 4 than any previous season-ending cliffhanger did. If you're English, help us Yanks out on vocabulary and whether you think the characters of Doc Martin seem genuine.

If you have questions you wished Chesla would have asked, comment. If you have future-season questions you want asked, send her an email.

[00:16] Introduction and Best Medicine Spoiler Warning

[01:03] Constable Swap

[01:59] Funny Lines and Language Use Differences

[06:38] New Revelations about Martin Plus Other Developments

[10:33] The Oakwoods Annoy Everyone!

[12:02] Getting The Medicine Right

[14:41] Martin's Social Ineptness and Miscommunications on Both Parts

[16:12] Whoa, Auntie Joan!

[18:15] The Proposal and Outcome:  Plausible?

[22:22] If Louisa Wants Martin To Change, She Needs A New Approach

[26:18] Mark/Joe, Elaine/Pauline, and Best Medicine Parallels

[29:39] Doc Martin Seems More Authentic:  British vs. US TV Preferences?

[33:10] Dogs

[35:24] He's Trying.  Really!

[39:06] Why Does Martin Say "You Won't Make Me Happy"?

[40:59] Continuing to Watch

[42:06] Best Medicine Lovers

[43:27] The Sawle Sisters

[47:17] Favorite Seasons

Doc Martin, Doc Martin season 3, Doc Martin recap, Doc Martin reaction, Best Medicine, Doc Martin newbie reaction, Martin Ellingham, Martin Clunes, Louisa Glasson, Caroline Catz, Martin and Louisa breakup, Martin and Louisa relationship, PC Mark Mylow, Stewart Wright, PC Joe Penhale, John Marquez, Al Large, Joe Absolom, Pauline Lamb, Katherine Parkinson, Aunt Joan, Auntie Joan, Stephanie Cole, Elaine Denham, Lucy Punch, Elaine Denton, Cree, Sheriff Mark Mylow, Josh Segarra, Best Medicine composite characters, Doc Martin vs Best Medicine, Doc Martin American reaction, Doc Martin dogs, Podcast Portwenn

Patty the Newbie is back for Doc Martin Season 2 with the perspective of a full season of Best Medicine behind her, and she's not shy about the comparisons. Elaine Denham (Lucy Punch) is gone, replaced by the far more competent Pauline Lamb (Katherine Parkinson), and PC Mark Mylow (Stewart Wright) gets his heart broken when his fertility test doesn't go the way he hoped. Martin Ellingham's (Martin Clunes) parents and Louisa Glasson's (Caroline Catz) father finally show up and explain a lot about why Martin and Louisa are the way they are. Patty and Chesla also cover Al Large (Joe Absolom) and Bert Large's (Ian McNeice) own paternity scare, Louisa’s complicated history with Danny Steel (Tristan Sturrock), and the two-part "On the Edge" hostage story that Patty and Chesla have a fundamental disagreement on. Plus: a full Doc Martin vs. Best Medicine face-off, a Britishisms tangent, a tribute to the late Sam Neill, and the line Chesla's been dying to use on someone in real life.

[00:16] Introduction to Doc Martin Season Two

[41:45] Best Medicine Comparisons

[52:57] Predictions

What happens when the camera turns off in Portwenn? Host Chesla Wechsler hands the microphone to retired therapist Lisa, who moderates a rare roundtable conversation among three Doc Martin fan fiction writers: Kathy, Rob, and Chesla herself.

Kathy (ke0212) is an actuary who discovered Doc Martin in 2011 and has been writing fan fiction since 2016, 5 stories and (maybe) counting, including the 200,000-word epic Just a Glimpse, which took two years to write. Rob (robspace54) found the show on PBS the same year; he has written 45 Doc Martin stories solo, plus 3 more as part of the Portwenn Hydra writing collective, across more than 10 different properties. Chesla (ccwex) came to the show in 2023, binge-watched it through the tail end of COVID, and started writing in 2024, after Rob encouraged her to give it a shot. She's written 11 stories so far.

Together they explore what draws analytical, self-described nerdy minds to creative fiction writing; the difference between "architects" (writers who outline everything) and "gardeners" (writers who tend what grows, attributed to George R. R. Martin); and why all three find it nearly impossible to let Doc Martin go.

Topics include: staying true to canon and writing alternate universes; the challenge of translating Martin Clunes's wordless expressions into prose; writing in UK English and using Microsoft Word's Read Aloud feature with a British accent to catch errors; researching wacky medical conditions to keep stories feeling like real Doc Martin episodes; the small-pond problem of overlap in a tight fandom; and what they'd say if Buffalo Pictures came knocking.

They also discuss the emotional risk of posting your first chapter, the dopamine hit of reader reviews, including readers in Ukraine finding comfort in the stories amid war, and why none of them use generative AI for their fiction.

Find Doc Martin fan fiction at fanfiction.net and AO3.

🎙️ Podcast Portwenn covers Doc Martin and Best Medicine on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
💛 Support the charitable endeavors of the Cluneses: donate to Buckham Fair at buckhamfair.com

[00:16] Introductions

[03:16] Why Did We Like The Show?

[05:38] Why Did We Write Fan Fiction?

[09:17] Why Might Nerdiness Attract Us To Doc Martin?

[12:11] Fan Fiction as a Springboard for Writing

[13:49] Our Writing Processes

[17:41] Goals or Rules in our Writing

[22:07] Favorite Stories and Inspirations

[29:00] Being a Reader and Getting Feedback from Readers

[32:13] Yikes!  Posting that First Chapter

[35:52] Understanding Canon in Writing

[36:37] Imagining Collaborations with Producers

[37:56] Favorite Story that Rob Wrote

[38:49] Rob's Take on Writing Points of View and Tenses

[39:40] Working in a Small Pond Leads to Similar Ideas

[43:11] Rob's Take on Imagined Producer Interest

[43:54] Chesla and Kathy on Playing in a Small Pond

[48:00] Rob's Multiauthor Collaboration Experience

[49:47] Writing During the Series Airing vs. After The Fact

[50:12] Doing Research for Stories

[54:46] Americans Can't Necessarily Get UK English Perfect

[57:16] Trying to Write Martin Clunes' Amazing Facial Expressions

[58:20] Thoughts on Artificial Intelligence

[01:03:59] What's Published Online Can Be Discovered

[01:06:49] How Do You Know When You're Done?

[01:14:14] A Future for Doc Martin

[01:20:20] Wrapup

Podcast Portwenn throws its support behind Buckham Fair, a fundraiser hosted by Martin Clunes and Philippa Braithwaite Clunes. Please, consider supporting them as a way to say thanks for the entertainment and educational content they've given us. Doc Martin, Best Medicine, and Podcast Portwenn don't exist without them.

Podcast Portwenn Season 2 kicks off with a fresh twist on the Doc Martin newbie experience. Chesla is joined by Patty, a familiar face from the Best Medicine playlist but this time, Patty has just finished watching Doc Martin Season 1 for the very first time. Having already seen all 13 episodes of Best Medicine, Patty brings a uniquely informed perspective: she knows the American adaptation inside and out, and now she's meeting the gold standard original.

Patty shares her first impressions of Doc Martin (Martin Clunes), describing him as oddly familiar: her background in high-tech workplaces has left her well-acquainted with brilliant people who struggle with social graces. She's immediately drawn to Aunt Joan (Stephanie Cole), appreciating how Joan holds Martin accountable with love rather than excusing his rudeness.

The conversation digs into the memorable and sometimes uncomfortable moments of Season 1: the ketchup prank that crossed a line, the cringe-worthy halitosis comment that derailed Martin and Louisa's (Caroline Catz) first kiss, the dream sequence that fooled everyone (including the dog), and the awkward teenage crush that stretched believability.

Comparing the two shows, Patty and Chesla examine how the characters translate across the Atlantic. PC Mark Mylow (Stewart Wright) comes across as shy and endearing in Portwenn, a contrast to his more blustery Best Medicine counterpart Sheriff Mark Mylow (Josh Segarra). The Elaines, Elaine Denham (Judy Punch) and Elaine Denton (Cree), share a knack for snark, but Best Medicine's Elaine showed a softer, more redeeming side much earlier. Al Large (Joe Absolom) in Doc Martin is nerdy and insecure, whereas Al Large (Carter Shimp) in Best Medicine struck Patty as warmer and more self-assured.

They also explore the blood phobia backstory, laid out early and plainly in Doc Martin versus the slow, tantalizing drip of clues in Best Medicine, and debate whether Robert Best (Martin Clunes) and the writers can afford to keep audiences waiting much longer. The social geography of the two Portwenns gets a look too: Cornwall feels genuinely working-class and rural, while the Maine version reads as considerably more upscale, narrowing the gap between the doctor and his neighbors.

Patty's predictions for Season 2: a rocky but progressing Martin-Louisa relationship, Mark as a temporary obstacle, and hopefully some growth from Elaine. She'll be back — and so will we.

⚠️ This episode contains Best Medicine spoilers throughout. Doc Martin viewers who haven't seen Best Medicine may want to take note.