#christopher ellingham

This is probably one of the more poignient episodes in the show. On the one hand you have this contrast between Martin's parents - both Margaret and Christopher are despicable people but they show their assholish sides in different ways. While Christopher tries to be chummy and friendly, but it's clear he's up to something and at some point he shows disdain for Martin's career choices, Margaret is cold and distant up until she goes into full blown rant about how her son's birth ruined her marriage and sex life.

But there is also the scene soon after this rant when Roger - someone who became one of first Martin Ellingham's friends in Portwenn (he certain understood doc Martin better than most people) - happily announces that his partner is pregnant and he talks about how birth of a baby is a joyous occasion. And both Martin and the viewer are left with this heartbreaking dissonance.

Before this episode we learn that Christohper threatened to not bring baby Martin to Joan if she won't stop seeing her lover; and that he wanted his son to go to the Navy (this was probably before it was revealed that Ellingham Sr was a doctor too).

And after this episode we've had Margaret coming to his son once more, trying to butter him up, because "We are family, Martin." yada, yada. And then when he refused to fall for her manipulations, she stole his clock.

We were shown, time and time again, how their emotionally neglectful parenting impacted Martin's social development and made him worried about what kind of father he himself will be (he was great, if you ask me; from the very beginning he was very involved in baby James's upringing).

And that's why I keep on saying that I want to see Best Medicine's version of Ellingham parents. I remember this episode and I want to see how the US will do it. Especially because we have hints about some disagreement between Aunt Sarah and her brother that caused her to not see her nephew as much as she wished; and because we've established that Martin Best has a childhood trauma brought by the death of his sister.

Also the episode description didn't mention Mrs. Best in any capacity. So who knows, she might be dead/divorced.

Frankly, I remembered that when Doc Martin said: "I know, I'm not like my father...", she burst into laugh and replied: "You can say that again. He reached the peak of his career, he's charming and still handsome.", but I didn't remember that she then went into tangent about how the birth of Martin ruined her life and marriage.

Generally it's Margaret who gets a lot of hate (for good reason, really), but in this one scene Christopher Ellingham proves to be a real dick. We've had some hints about him in earlier episodes, when Doc Martin mentions his father wanted him to go to the Navy and Joan tells her nephew that Christopher threatened to not bring his son to her if she won't break her relationship with John Slater.

Christipher Elligham is overly friendly, here and there asking about Doc Martin's flat in London and about Aunt Joan's farm. He's hiding something, probably something to do with money. Therefore he's buttering up his son before he reveals what he needs him to do.