Doc Martin continues his misanthropic adventures in the idyllic seaside village of Portwenn. The fourth season of the hit dramedy sees two unexpected arrivals that complicate the good doctor's already messy life. Contains eight episodes.
Episode 1. Martin's fear of blood has not decreased and he almost gags when he has to remove a crayon from a school-girl's ear. For all this he is still interested in returning to surgery. Louisa has left town and a visit from ex-student colleague Edith, now a high flyer in private practice, helps sway him. However when Joan's friend Barbara has an accident caused by Mrs. Tishell's husband Clive, who has gone deaf working on oil rigs, Edith wants to operate on her but Martin over-rules her, feeling, correctly, that Barbara can be treated at home. Edith comes to apologize and has not been in Martin's house for more than a few minutes when Louisa returns, extremely pregnant. Episode 2. Louisa tells Martin she wants to be independent of him and moves into the pub. Tongues wag; Martin's admirer Sally Tishell is cold towards Louisa but Joan welcomes her with open arms and tells Martin to do his duty by her. Joan also offers Louisa accommodation as she has rented her house to new head Mr. Strain, who is acting VERY oddly, telling Martin that Louisa, who has gone back to the school as a teacher, wants his job. Joan takes Louisa for a scan - by Edith. Joan recalls Edith from the past and has never liked her. Strain has porphyria, hence his lunacy, and Martin slaps him and has him carted off after he has hit Louisa. Episode 3. P.C. Joe Penhale's older brother Sam arrives and Martin employs him to paint the waiting room and surgery, but his lack of coordination leads the doctor to believe he is not well. Joe panics, believing the brothers have an hereditary disease but Sam's illness is actually caused by lead poisoning, as a result of his illegal side-line. Louisa gets nearer to renting a house in town, owned by an old hypochondriac whilst Martin is strangely touched when he sees her X-ray photo of the baby. Episode 4. Mr. McLynn asks Martin to help him apply for a disabled sticker for his car, claiming that he has been in a wheelchair for just over a year but Martin finds out that it's more like seven years and when Mrs. McLynn bangs into Joan's truck, it becomes obvious which partner really needs the doctor's help. Martin falls out with the rest of the PTA when he disapproves of Louisa getting her old job back and becoming a single working mother, but he does kiss Edith after she has recommended a therapist for his haemophobia.
Episode 5. Martin lies about his haemophobia while interviewing for a surgeon's job in London, which he gets. Returning to Port Wenn by train, he sits next to Jim Selkirk, who drops down dead. Jim's widow visits the surgery, claiming Jim is telling her that she is ill which she is, but not in the way she thinks. A grasping couple try to sue Joan when their brattish son falls sick after a visit to her farm but Martin proves their own lack of hygiene is the cause. A session with a very young therapist to cure the haemophobia is less successful however and Martin walks out on him. Episode 6. New midwife Molly O'Brien arrives in Portwenn and instantly clashes with Martin over care of Louisa. Fortunately Louisa comes to see that Molly is exploiting the situation for her feminist views and that it is Martin who really has her interests at heart. Martin tells Joan he has got the London job and Joan stresses the importance of staying in touch with his child. He drives to Truro to clinch the appointment but is side-tracked when he has to attend to an emergency involving Bert's cook's husband but Edith comes to his house to confirm the news, and Louisa overhears her. Episode 7. Annoyed that the reference Martin has given her terms her merely 'competent', Pauline works to rule. Chaos ensues. Joan starts a bed and breakfast, her first guest being Ted Nugent, a neighbour who has lost his farm. His breath smells vile and, after he collapses, Martin finds that it is due to his eating his hair in worry. Martin accompanies Edith to a conference where she is giving a speech. She has plans to spend the night with him but, after administering to the ills of the hotel staff, he returns to Portwenn instead. Episode 8. It's Martin's last day in Portwenn and the surgery is packed. Edith turns up, expecting an apology from Martin for walking out on her but of course does not get one and Joan again rebukes him for distancing himself from his child. As he is about to leave, Tasha, a school-teacher friend of Louisa, collapses. She has been inhaling fumes from an illegal bio-fuel used by her cab driver husband Tommy. She is all right but Tommy, who is driving Louisa to hospital for the birth, also collapses at the wheel and crashes the car. Martin races to save him and to help deliver the baby. It's a boy, and the whole of Portwenn, who have been listening via Pauline's amplified mobile phone, cheer Martin and Louisa and their new offspring.
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