He becomes increasingly antisocial and a caricature of the initial character as the show progresses. Anyone noticed?
shareI noticed that after I got the DVD set of all the seasons. It was more about an insensitive bedside manner early on and then morphed into overall emotionally closed off when the series became more about Martin and Louisa's relationship. It's all out of dramatic necessity.
shareI just finished Season 6 last night. My wife asked me to put on the first episode again so we could see how things evolved. Twice Doc almost cracked a smile. HE made a couple of jokes. He came across as a man unhappy with where his life wound up but in the later episodes he seems completely joyless. Unable to relate to other people at all. Like an angry Rainman or something.
I wish the hadn't taken him so far from where he started. He was funnier as a relatable character.
That's funny because I watched it from the 3rd season onwards because of family and now I'm watching the first episodes and the first things I noticed were what you mentioned. He made jokes and almost smiled. I also wish they hadn't turned him into such an exaggerated character afterwards. He was more realistic initially. He still would've had problems in relationships. You don't need to be borderline Asperger's to have trouble with intimacy.
Watching it 3rd and onwards, I hadn't seen him smile at all. It was like seeing two different characters.
Yes, you're totally right! I just finished season 6 and I saw again the first episode of the series and he is not that grumpy. He even went to the wedding of Elaine's father. He made jokes, smiled and gave advices to Elaine about her father. I don't understand why he became so socially awkward later. I didn't notice that until now.
shareYeah, this is really a hot-topic on the DM board.
As hilarious as it is to see Doc in one of his awkward exchanges, I feel the romance between him and Louisa would be a lot more believable if he still were more like he was in Series 1.
As others have mentioned on this board, later-season Martin is so emotionally repressed and awkward that it seems implausible he'd ever have even been with a woman at all, let alone written love poems to Edith and been able to successfully put the moves on Louisa.
Yes, I thought it was an intentional.
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He was a different person - Dr Bamford as opposed to Ellingham!
No tears please, it's a waste of good suffering.share
his people skills seem fairly poor in the early episodes. He is very brusque and manages to alienate several people. Frankly i don't think he is really cut out to be a GP. I would walk out on one who talked to me the way he talks to his patients.
shareNot being cut out to be a GP is one of the themes of the show. If it wasn't for the hemophobia he wouldn't be.
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