To a pretty English village, even during UK travel ban

There is no shortage of shows shot in New York or London. Thanks to Anurag Kashyap, Pankaj Tripathi and their kind, there is no shortage of shows shot in the Indian cow belt either.

Similarly, in terms of genres, there is no dearth of crime and drama shows. And their pull is strong. But every now and then, for the sake of your sanity, you need a break from them. You need to do with the remote what you do with your news, skip the crime and misery parts.

‘Doc Martin’, a feel-good series about an eccentric doctor, and filmed in the heavenly Cornwall region of England, has therefore become a favourite way in some households of “satisfying the cocktail hour”, to borrow a phrase from a Grey Goose vodka ad. Doc Martin, or Dr Martin Ellingham, is the brilliant but curt physician of Portwenn village, in reality Port Isaac, a collection of houses and boats around lush green cliffs and a cul-de-sac filled with an estuary.

The show has a lilting title track, with montages of seagulls and Port Isaac. Rare is the programme where you don’t want to skip the title. ‘Doc Martin’ is one such show, where relaxation starts the moment you hear the first strains of the opening tune.

Almost every episode has a predictable pattern. Somebody has a medical emergency, and the socially stiff, no-nonsense doctor, always dressed in a suit, dashes to the spot carrying his medical kit. The life in danger is almost always saved. Very few people die in the show. The extent of crime or scares in it rarely exceeds Enid Blyton levels.

The show has a lilting title track, with montages of seagulls and Port Isaac. Rare is the programme where you don’t want to skip the title.

Viewers also feel for the doctor’s wife Louisa (Caroline Catz). While there is honour and respect in their marriage, there is also a lack of warmth due to the doctor’s nature. Louisa loves this intelligent and loyal man, at the same time is frustrated by his monosyllabic answers and forced to suppress her needs for intimacy.

On the humour side, there is the town’s clumsy policeman who has lofty notions of himself but can land neither a criminal nor a date, a neck brace wearing chemist who is obsessed with the doctor, a gaggle of teenage girls who are always walking around throwing insults at people. Even the venerable doctor is not spared and is frequently bestowed with a “You tosser!” And there is a dog who loves the doctor but is hated by him. In reality, Clunes is a dog and animal lover. If a scene required him to shout at the dog, he would mouth the words and dub them later, so as to not scare the dog.

Port Isaac too is a star of the show. It’s blue skies, endless green hills, pretty houses and azure sea are like a soothing breeze that temporarily lift you out of your worries.

Doc Martin is not always the most intense, well-plotted show. But it is endearing. Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, once dropped by to meet the cast. And Port Isaac is now on the world map, with Doc Martin tours on offer.

Give the show a try. If you like it, avoid the temptation to binge, even though there are nine seasons of it, with a 10^th on the way. Instead, make it last. You are going to need it in these times.