In Doc Martin: Series 4 (for a refresher, see reviews for Series 2 and Series 3), the good but cranky Dr. Martin Ellingham (the sublime Martin Clunes) is recovering from his non-marriage to Louisa and re-focusing on conquering his debilitating blood phobia so he can become a surgeon in London once more.   Unfortunately for him, Portwenn still has the clumsiest (and often most foolish) people around who keep clamoring for medical attention and interfering with his plans.  Meanwhile, former fiancée Louisa, who left the village shortly after the wedding that wasn’t, suddenly returns, very pregnant with his child and insisting she wants no help from Martin.  To further complicate matters, Dr. Edith Montgomery, Martin’s former flame who left him years before, wants to rekindle their affair and uses her work and her connections in London to get closer to Martin.  Add in Aunt Joan’s usual misadventures, including her money troubles and resulting turn as an innkeeper, receptionist Pauline’s romantic woes and daily tangles with Martin, and Bert’s horrifying roadkill cuisine, and you have eight jam-packed episodes.
 

Because Series 5 is scheduled to air next year, the season-long storyline of Martin preparing to leave Portwenn and Louisa behind loses some dramatic tension and there is more predictability to some of the plots than in series past, but I still enjoyed every twist and turn.  The tension between Louisa and Martin can be difficult to watch, especially because Martin gets downright nasty on more than one occasion, but it all feels real and true to character.  Martin spends most of the season torn—between London and Portwenn, between life as a surgeon and life as a father, and he reacts as you would expect—badly.  Clunes and Caroline Catz infuse each Martin and Louisa scene with so many emotional undercurrents and betraying glances, that you can’t help but root for them.
 

The downside to giving Martin such a meaty season-long arc is that less time is spent on the actual villagers and I missed their crazy antics.  One big upside is that it gives Katherine Parkinson some meaty work of her own as Pauline faces a Doc Martin who doesn’t need her for blood work and who may be leaving altogether.   Overall, while Doc Martin: Series 4 has plenty of laughs, it also has more emotional weight than seasons past with almost as many bittersweet moments as straight-up funny ones.
 

Text only special features include cast filmographies and some fun trivia, but are of limited value overall.  The video transfer is excellent, showcasing the gorgeous Port Isaac (doubling for Portwenn) scenery.  The Dolby 2.0 audio is adequate with crisp dialogue.
 

Doc Martin: Series 4 assumes great familiarity with the characters, so if you’re a newbie, this is not a good place to start.  Watch Series 1 and go from there.  You won’t be sorry.   For fans, all the character and plot development, not to mention the laughs, make this a must.  As always, Doc Martin contains graphic medical scenes, so if blood makes you as squeamish as Martin, beware.