Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have the Australian/Region 4 discs of the two DOC MARTIN movies which were released a few years back (and have since gone out-of-print). Firstly, these movies are really good! I don't think most people would be disappointed, HOWEVER, to fans of the TV series, I must warn you that this Doc is NOT the same surly Doc from the ITV television show. If you've ever noticed the end credits to an episode of DOC MARTIN, you might have noticed the credit "arising from the film SAVING GRACE." That is because the character of Doc Martin is based on the character Dr. Martin Bamford from that movie, who was also played by Clunes, and which was also set in the same fishing village (except under its real name of Port Isaac rather than the made-up name of Port Wenn). After the film SAVING GRACE came out, Clunes' production company decided they'd like to do some more with the character and signed a deal with Sky television to produce a series of made-for-TV movies: two a year for what was to have been a three-year deal. The two movies in this collection, "Doc Martin" and "Doc Martin and the Legend of the Cloutie" were the only two that were made (as Sky Pictures went under before any others could be produced). Both telefilms are "prequels" to SAVING GRACE and take place in the same "universe". In other words, the locations are the same and some of the supporting cast are the same. The first telefilm tells the story of how the Doc leaves behind city life to be in the country. The second film shows him as more-or-less established in the village. To use a comic-book/sci-fi analogy, these movies (including SAVING GRACE) are set in a parallel universe to the ITV show.