Doc Martin Season 4 Newbie Reacts: Total Miscommunication, a Threat Named Edith, and a Baby

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