SANDCASTLE

Distributor DRG has recently secured a third season format deal with French prodco Ego Productions for TF1's adaptation of ITV1's ratings juggernaut Doc Martin.

The French Doc Martin stars Thierry Lhermitte as Dr Martin Le Foll, the curmudgeonly GP of a picturesque Breton village called Port-Garrec. Private channel TF1 aired the first 6 x 52-minute series of its Doc Martin in january 2011, with an average of 7m viewers. Then Dr Le Foll returned from november to december of the same year with a second six-part series whose ratings suffered against Castle, aired by pubcaster France 2. The first two episodes caught 6.2m and 5.3m viewers (23%) (1), below the launch of series one (2), and the final two got 5.9m and 5.6m (22%) (3).

While the pleasant first series of Doc Martin succeeded in delivering an enjoyable French transplant, series 2 took a number of liberties with its Brit equivalent, using the original episodes more as a "toolbox" and getting closer to TF1's usual monday night comedy series. The format sold by DRG has been adapted locally by ZDF in Germany (Doktor Martin), Antena 3 in Spain (the excellent Doctor Mateo), and most recently on Mega in Greece as Kliniki periptosi. It could also be adapted in Russia.

The original Doc Martin, starring Martin Clunes and Caroline Catz, will be back on ITV1 for a sixth series in 2013. In the meantime Catz will join the cast of DCI Banks as the new sidekick of the character played by Stephen Tompkinson.

(1) http://www.ozap.com/actu/audiences-tf1-et-m6-decoivent-canal-tmc-et-france-2-puissantes/437840
(2) http://www.ozap.com/actu/audiences-doc-martin-cold-case-taken-amour-humour/389974
(3) http://www.ozap.com/actu/audiences-france-2-leader-m6-et-france-3-faibles-w9-et-arte-puissantes/438094

http://www.drg.tv/News.aspx?NewsItemID=752
http://www.c21media.net/archives/78648
http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/international/doc-martin-to-be-remade-in-russia/5039512.article

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2011/11/docs-disorders.html

DOC'S DISORDERS

Doc Martin, the French adaptation of ITV1's ratings juggernaut, is back. Private channel TF1 aired yesterday the first two episodes of the 6 x 52-minute second series with Thierry Lhermitte (The Dinner Game) as Dr Martin Le Foll, the curmudgeonly GP of Port-Garrec.

Adapted initially by scriptwriter Eric Kristy from ITV's dramedy Doc Martin, starring Martin Clunes, the Gallic transposition is the third foreign version of the format sold by DRG (distributor of the original). Doktor Martin, starring Axel Milberg as Dr Martin Helling, ran in 2007 and 2009 on German pubcaster ZDF. In Spain, Gonzalo de Castro starred as Dr Mateo Sancristóbal in Doctor Mateo from 2009 to 2011 on Antena 3. French channel TF1 aired the first series of its Doc Martin, produced by Ego Productions, in January 2011 (with an average of 7m viewers). And since this month there's also a Greek version called Kliniki periptosi, aired on Mega.

While series one of TF1's Doc Martin succeeded in delivering an enjoyable French transplant, the second series's first couple of episodes take a number of liberties with their Brit equivalent. They swap events from an episode to another (and vice versa), alter an essential new character and try to rebalance the whole thing with "fresh" elements and transitions. They also rely very heavily on the cop character, played by comedian David Strajmayster - aka Doudi (revealed by the shortcom Samantha Oups! ) - to provide most of the comic relief.

The result is definitely uneven: the gallicization stays fun within the limits of the situations and dialogues of the original, but loses its appeal when the episodes play Meccano with the structure of the source material or walk away from it. Movie and stage actor Thierry Lhermitte remains an excellent Doc and the fictional Breton village of Port-Garrec (actually Clohars-Carnoët and the Port of Doëlan) is as magnificent as ever.

Episode one and two caught respectively 6.2m and 5.3m viewers below the first series's launch (8.9m and 8.2m).

http://www.newstele.com/article-inedit-la-saison-2-de-doc-martin-arrive-le-lundi-21-novembre-sur-tf1-87681199.html (In French)
http://www.ozap.com/actu/audiences-tf1-et-m6-decoivent-canal-tmc-et-france-2-puissantes/437840 (In French)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZnH_k3Xyks (Trailer of the Greek version)

LIFE, DEATH, INFINITY

There are dramas you must really deserve. Doc Martin came back yesterday night on ITV1 after a two-year hiatus, with the beginning of its highly awaited Series Five.

« They'd manage without you. They'd manage if you died. »

Martin Clunes is back as Dr Martin Ellingham, the grumpy GP of the picturesque village of Portwenn, after a two-year break to allow him to pursue other factual and drama projects (including Reggie Perrin for BBC One). Series Four of the ITV1 hit dramedy left the doc as he was about to take on a consultant's position in London but Louisa (Caroline Catz) gave birth to their son.

In the start of the fifth series, social disaster Martin adapts to fatherhood by dealing with it through its medical aspects. PC Joe Penhale (John Marquez) has a problem he's hesitating to reveal to the new GP, Dr Di Dibbs (Joanna Scanlan). But she and her husband Gavin (Robert Daws), the practice manager, have problems of their own and some may affect the Portwenn community. The still unnamed baby, Dr Di's incompetence and a personal tragedy force Martin Ellingham to stay in the village a little longer.

« She wants to be here. You want to be there.
- That's none of your business. »

A superb return written and directed by Ben Bolt, with all the necessary subtle balance between comedy and emotion, and also this stunning ability to relaunch Doc Martin after the interruption. Episode One of the 8 X 60-minute new series averaged an impressive and deserved 8.43m (32.4%) for ITV1 in the 9pm hour. Meanwhile, the French adaptation of the show's format ends filming its second series this week for TF1.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a340120/doc-martin-returns-to-itv1-with-nearly-85m.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2035156/Doc-Martin-s-known-sunny-disposition-years-baby-later-TV-s-grumpiest-GP-adopt-better-bedside-manner.html
http://www.ouest-france.fr/ofdernmin_-Doc-Martin-le-retour-a-Quimperle-en-Finistere-sud_40771-1966280-pere-bre_filDMA.Htm (In French)

RETURN OF THE MARTINS

ITV has just announced that Martin Clunes will start filming the fifth series of Doc Martin in Cornwall this week. His French counterpart, Thierry Lhermitte, will begin filming the second series of TF1's Doc Martin in May.

After a two-year break to allow him to pursue other projects, Martin Clunes is back as Dr. Martin Ellingham, the grumpy GP of the picturesque (and fictional) village of Portwenn, in the ITV1 hit dramedy. 8 X 60-minute episodes will be filmed around the magnificent settings of the North Cornwall coast.

The French Doc Martin, Docteur Martin Le Foll (Thierry Lhermitte), will start filming the second series of the excellent Gaullic adaptation in the equally magnificent South Finistère from May to June and from August to September - with studio sequences filmed in between.

TF1's Doc Martin is the third adaptation of the format sold by Digital Rights Group (distributor of the original with Clunes) and is produced by Ego Productions. A German version, Doktor Martin, ran in 2007 and 2009 on pubcaster ZDF. And Spanish viewers have their own version, Doctor Mateo, since 2009.

http://www.itv.com/presscentre/pressreleases/programmepressreleases/docmartin/default.html
http://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/actuDet_-Pays-de-Quimperle.-Doc-Martin-de-retour-au-mois-de-mai_40821-1725231_actu.Htm (In French)

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2011/01/comite-de-jumelage.html
http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2011/01/personne-ne-tombe-malade-port-garrec.html
http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2011/01/portwenn-effect.html

THE PORTWENN EFFECT

[9.26 - French Time] Private network TF1 aired yesterday the last two episodes of the French Doc Martin's first series, starring Thierry Lhermitte (The Dinner Game) as Dr Martin Le Foll.

The fifth episode of this French version was adapted from episode four of the first series of ITV1's Doc Martin and was the weakest of the six in terms of writing. It was watched by around 6.7 million viewers (24.5%) (1) and the sixth and final episode was watched by 6.6 million (27.3%) (2).

Produced by Pascale Breugnot's Ego Productions, Doc Martin is adapted by scriptwriter Eric Kristy from the original dramedy sold by DRG and starring Martin Clunes. TF1 ordered eight new scripts before the end of the initial six-episode run (3), so we'll see now if the ratings of the first series satisfy them enough to confirm the commission of a second series.

Anyway, the production team, the writers, the directors and the cast have succeeded in making the French version an enjoyable transplant. This Doc Martin is as engaging as Doctor Mateo, its Spanish counterpart. And Martin Le Foll's Port-Garrec (actually Clohars-Carnoët and the Port of Doëlan) is magnificent.

« En vous souhaitant! »

(1) http://www.ozap.com/actu/audiences-doc-martin-cold-case-vivre-willis-italienne/392866 (In French)
(2 ) http://www.toutelatele.com/article.php3?id_article=30335 (In French)
(3) http://www.tele-2-semaines.fr/contenu_editorial/pages/echos-tv/7840-doc-martin-8-nouveaux-episodes-si-l-audience-est-au-rendez-vous (In French)

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2011/01/personne-ne-tombe-malade-port-garrec.html
http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2011/01/comite-de-jumelage.html

PERSONNE NE TOMBE MALADE A PORT-GARREC (PENDANT LES VACANCES)

[9.35 - French Time] French private network TF1 aired yesterday episodes two and three of its excellent adaptation of Doc Martin, which stars Thierry Lhermitte (The Dinner Game) as Dr Martin Le Foll.

The second episode of this French version was actually adapted from episode five of the first series of ITV1's Doc Martin, whose third episode became episode four here. The giant squirrel storyline of the original fourth episode (The Portwenn Effect), which guest-starred Ben Miller in a wonderful performance, is in fact source material for the French fifth.

TF1's Doc Martin started last week with 8.9 million viewers for the first episode and 8.2 million for the second (1). This week 7.3 million viewers watched episode two and 7 million episode three (2), versus pubcaster France 2's US hit Cold Case and private rival M6's rerun of Die Hard.

Produced by Pascale Breugnot's Ego Productions, Doc Martin is adapted by scriptwriter Eric Kristy from the original format sold by DRG. Thierry Lhermitte succeeds in creating his "own" Doc, surrounded by a great supporting cast. And the writers (Eric Kristy, Stéphane Kazandjian, Mathieu Missoffe, Alexis Le Sec & Raphaëlle Roudaut) (3) bring a nice French flavour to the original stories.

See also: http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2011/01/comite-de-jumelage.html

(1) http://www.ozap.com/actu/audiences-doc-martin-cold-case-taken-amour-humour/389974 (In French)
(2) http://www.ozap.com/actu/audiences-doc-martin-cold-case-piege-cristal-bellemare/391386 (In French)
(3) http://www.scenaristes.biz/article-3230-un_doc_martin_pour_eric_kristy_et_thierry_lhermitte.htm (In French)

COMITE DE JUMELAGE

Filmed in Brittany for private network TF1, the French adaptation of ITV1's hit Doc Martin arrived yesterday with the first two episodes of a 6 x 52-minute series. Thierry Lhermitte (The Dinner Game) stars as Dr Martin Le Foll, a misanthropist surgeon from Lyon whose hemophobia forces him to become a GP in a Breton village called Port-Garrec.

Martin spent his childhood holidays there with his aunt Jeanne (Dominique Mac Avoy) but his total absence of social skills and bedside manner quickly become a problem with the local population. At first he doesn't get along with neither Julie Derville, the schooteacher (Natalia Dontcheva), nor with zany cop Mario Gratsky (Doudi). He inherits of Clementine Vincenti (Justine Bruneau de la Salle), an incompetent receptionist. His surgery is in total disarray but Bernard Groslay (Joël Lefrançois) and his son Romaric (Bruno Gouery), plumbers and handymen, will not be of any help.

Produced by Pascale Breugnot's Ego Productions, Doc Martin is adapted by scriptwriter Eric Kristy from ITV's dramedy Doc Martin starring Martin Clunes. "Doc Martin" originated in the 2000 comedy Saving Grace (written by Craig Ferguson and Mark Crowdy), as jolly marijuana smoker Dr Martin Bamford. Bamford was spun off into two "prequel" 2003 TV movies for Sky: Doc Martin and Doc Martin and the Legend of the Cloutie, where Martin was an obstetrician who left London for the village of Port Isaac in Cornwall after learning that his wife has been unfaithful to him with three of his best friends.

Martin Clunes's Buffalo Pictures had a deal with Sky for two television films per year. But when Sky Pictures folded Clunes took the concept to ITV, which asked for some changes in Martin's backstory and brought writer Dominic Minghella on the project. Dr Martin Bamford then became the less social Dr Martin Ellingham, a London surgeon whose career collapses when he develops a blood phobia. The grumpy Ellingham decides to become a GP in the picturesque Cornish village of Portwenn.

Launched in 2004 on ITV1, Doc Martin is a huge hit and its French adaptation is the third foreign version of the format sold by DRG (distributor of the original). Doktor Martin, starring Axel Milberg as Dr Martin Helling, ran in 2007 and 2009 on German pubcaster ZDF. In Spain the talented Gonzalo de Castro is Dr Mateo Sancristóbal in the excellent Doctor Mateo since 2009 (on Antena 3). French network TF1, which has some experience in rural dramedies (Père et Maire) airs Doc Martin in its successful primetime Monday night comedy slot.

Like its German and Spanish counterparts, the French adaptation sticks to the original storylines. Le Foll's first patient is Capitaine Delalande (Pierre-Marie Mosconi), who's embarassed by a pair of growing breasts like before him Colonel Spencer (played by Richard Johnson in Going Bodmin). There are some variations - Martin's car is a wreck with a mad sat nav, not a Lexus, some short cuts and advanced character situations but the tribulations of the iconic GP are astutely and funnily transposed, helped by great dialogues and the charm of the South Finistère locations (Clohars-Carnoët and the Port of Doëlan).

The Cornouaille française is the perfect match for the fictional town of Portwenn - but Collioure in the Pyrénées orientales was also considered (1) - and once the original show aptly adapted in the ideal setting it's the casting which makes the difference. Movie and stage actor Thierry Lhermitte nicely succeeds in giving Doc Martin a French cultural identity, surrounded by an aptly chosen supporting cast. With a very special mention for the irresistible David Strajmayster - aka Doudi (revealed by the shortcom Samantha Oups! ) - as head of the Municipal Police Mario.

8.9 million viewers watched the first episode and 8.2 million the second (2). The hotels and restaurants in the area of the locations will certainly adore the series and maybe somewhere, in an office, someone will consider the idea of morphing Stephen Fry's Peter Kingdom (ITV's Kingdom) into "Pierre Leroy". Oh, and a face off between the two Martins, Le Foll and Ellingham, would be pretty cool someday. Because after all Port-Garrec is twinned with Portwenn - like Doctor Mateo's San Martin del Sella in Spain.

« En vous souhaitant! »

(1) http://www.letelegramme.com/ig/generales/regions/finistere/tournage-doc-martin-hesite-entre-doelan-et-collioure-15-01-2010-737731.php (In French)
(2) http://www.ozap.com/actu/audiences-doc-martin-cold-case-taken-amour-humour/389974 (In French)

EN VOUS SOUHAITANT

[22.42 - French Time] French private network TF1 aired tonight the first two episodes of the local adaptation of ITV1's Doc Martin, with Thierry Lhermitte (The Dinner Game) as Dr Martin Le Foll.

Doc Martin, a 6 x 52-minute series, will be during three weeks in TF1's usual primetime Monday night comedy slot and we'll see tomorrow how it translates in terms of ratings. But judging from the couple of episodes shown today, the atmosphere of Brittany suits rather well to the iconic character.

This third adaptation of the format sold by Digital Rights Group (distributor of the original show, starring Martin Clunes) is produced by Ego Productions. A German version, Doktor Martin, ran in 2007 and 2009 on pubcaster ZDF. And Spanish viewers have their own version, the excellent Doctor Mateo, since 2009 (on Antena 3).

Update - Review: http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2011/01/comite-de-jumelage.html

http://www.wat.tv/video/doc-martin-2011-bande-annonce-395ab_2ey1r_.html (Trailer)

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2010/12/bienvenue-port-garrec.html

BIENVENUE A PORT-GARREC

Filmed in Brittany for French network TF1, the French adaptation of ITV1's Doc Martin arrives on January 10, 2011.

Doc Martin, a 6 x 52-minute series, stars Thierry Lhermitte (The Dinner Game) as Martin Le Foll, a misanthropist surgeon from Lyon whose hemophobia forces him to become a GP in a village called Port-Garrec (actually Doëlan in South Finistère). TF1 will air each week two episodes during three weeks in its usual primetime Monday night comedy slot.

The French Doc Martin is produced by Ego Productions (a Groupe Carrere subsidiary) and is the result of a deal between DRG - distributor of the original show starring Martin Clunes - and TF1. A German version, Doktor Martin, ran in 2007 and 2009 on pubcaster ZDF, and Spanish viewers have their own version called Doctor Mateo since 2009 (on Antena 3).

The incoming French version raises a lot of interest and curiosity both in France and in the United Kingdom - where Doc Martin is a huge hit. Series 4 aired in Autumn 2009 on ITV1 with strong ratings against Waking the Dead or the Emma starring Romola Garai. Martin Clunes will be back as grumpy Dr Martin Ellingham in 2011 for a fifth series.

http://www.tf1.fr/doc-martin/
http://videos.tf1.fr/doc-martin/les-premieres-images-de-doc-martin-6191900.html (Trailer)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hbWOCJsK3U (Doktor Martin - DVD Trailer)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBL466InLlg (Doctor Mateo - Promo)

Update - Review: http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2011/01/comite-de-jumelage.html

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2011/01/en-vous-souhaitant.html

ITV OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES DOC MARTIN SERIES FIVE

[15.15 - French Time] ITV has officially confirmed that its comedy drama hit Doc Martin has been recommissioned for a fifth series.

Martin Clunes will be back as grumpy Dr Martin Ellingham, GP in Portwenn, a picturesque Cornwall village. Clunes announced last month that Doc Martin would return for a fifth series next year (http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a207483/clunes-confirms-fifth-doc-martin-series.html).

8x 60-minute episodes will be produced in 2011, as the series goes into production every two years due to Martin Clunes commitments to other projects like the BBC's Reggie Perrin. France will have its own version of the show's format, adapted by Ego Productions for TF1. Docteur Martin will star Thierry Lhermitte and filming begins next week in Brittany.

Doc Martin is produced by Buffalo Pictures in association with Homerun Productions for ITV1.

http://www.itv.com/presscentre/pressreleases/programmepressreleases/itvrecommissionsdocmartin/default.html (Press Release)
http://www.c21media.net/resources/detail.asp?area=74&article=54753 (Docteur Martin)

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2010/03/more-doc-martin.html