A starry but sleepy series finale: Doc Martin, review

This ever-popular, televisual equivalent of a hot water bottle returns for a ninth and final series next year. It's so gentle that it could end by simply nodding off.

The curse of the penultimate episode in a comedy-drama season: setting up the big storyline that will power the finale means there is too much dramatic legwork and not enough comic relief. The supporting players in this show are too good, however, for there to be no pleasure. Everything John Marquez says as dumb copper Joe Penhale is funny, so pressing him into service as an umpire-commentator for Portwenn's annual, injury-plagued gig race is gold.

The gentle comedy series continues. Day-to-day life is complicated by Dr Ellingham's uniquely abrupt people skills and the strands of the plot stretch out from there. Tonight, Morwenna's absence from work becomes a dubious research opportunity for her replacement, while there is friction on Louisa's course when an ex-pupil shows up. And what is up with her co-student Tina, exactly? In other news, Al and Morwenna go glamping, with faintly humorous consequences.

Doc Martin review

The first five minutes of Doc Martin (ITV, Wednesday) always have a whiff of Casualty (BBC1, Saturday) about it.

A particularly fine episode of a comedy-drama that has 5 million discerning fans. Yes, it's quaint and tells the same tale every time, but the array of reliably funny minor characters gives it more laugh-out-loud moments every week than most sitcoms. At its centre tonight is Caroline Quentin as the rogue veterinarian Angela, whose blase approach to both the disruptive behaviour and scarlet fever of her nephew Toby (Rocco Peacock) results in a classic DM clifftop caper.

Meet the doggy stars of Doc Martin

Doc Martin animal trainer Sonia Turner has revealed that there will be not one but two star dogs in tonight's episode of the hit ITV drama.

Eileen Atkins: 'I wish Aunt Ruth was even ruder!'

Eileen Atkins tells TV Times, the fun fan reactions to her stern character, and why she would love to see Aunt Ruth's traits played up even further, with a bit of extra tartness thrown in...

Doc Martin is like receiving a warm hug

The ever-excellent Eileen Atkins is often underused as Aunt Ruth but here she was given some proper acting to do.

This week's visit to Cornwall finds Martin suspicious that Crab & Lobster landlord Ken (Clive Hollister), a recovering alcoholic, may be back on the sauce. Why else should he show symptoms of having fluid on the liver? Elsewhere, Ruth considers selling her farm, Art Malik guests as a B&B guest suffering from adult-onset asthma and Louisa considers a career change. Martin, a man who treats any kind of change with huge suspicion, isn't keen on the idea.

Two years Doc Martin's been off our screens and I find, somewhat head-scratchingly, that I've somewhat missed it. A rather welcome fainting lady vicar came to town, and failed to marry dunderhead Joe, and Al's fat dad poisoned everyone, and thus all was back to normal among the usual yahoos and googans of Portwenn.

At heart, despite the clotted-cream fantasies, this still revolves around the Doc and the fact that the problem of living in any paradise, anywhere, will always, surely, simply be people and relationships. At one point, poor Louisa asked her husband, famously filter-free to the point I'm always staggered he passed any GMC screenings, of their son, James Henry: "Do you think he likes me?" Answers the now-peerless Martin Clunes: "Who knows?" A tragedy stuck inside a comedy, as so many fine British comedies have ever been at heart.