SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Best Medicine Season 1, Episode 9.

Best Medicine Season 1, Episode 9 gets most of its mileage out of the presence of Martin Clunes, as it should. This episode is the one viewers have waited for since the FOX show was announced. It’s even called “Doc Martin,” in case someone was unaware of what the creative team was going for.

Clunes, for anyone not in the know or who missed all the commercials, starred as the main character in Doc Martin, on which Best Medicine is based. For the American remake to have him on so early is a stroke of genius—firstly because it gets that big question out of the way quick, but also because Clunes and Josh Charles turn out to be an excellent comedic pair. This is not just stunt casting to make Doc Martin fans happy. It’s casting that really, really works. Best Medicine may not be high-profile enough for Clunes to earn a Guest Actor Emmy nomination in the future, but he absolutely should.

Fans of British TV (which one figures are a sizeable part of Best Medicine‘s audience) know that Clunes is a comedy legend who also won a BAFTA for Men Behaving Badly. He fits perfectly into the episode for reasons beyond the Doc Martin connection; he can play both the abrasive humor and the more exaggerated moments so well. Casting him as Martin’s father Robert may be the most obvious way to get him onto the show, yet it also works because he and Charles share similar comedic strengths. That makes it all the more believable that their characters are related. All of the best scenes in “Doc Martin” come from watching these two toss the comedy ball back and forth.

Yet one must not overlook the presence of Tony Award winner Judith Ivey as Martin’s mother Vanessa. Ivey is also well-cast, although she doesn’t get as many chances to shine. However, she makes up for that in a major way once Best Medicine reveals—to everyone in town—why Robert and Vanessa have returned to Port Wenn. The scene of Vanessa taking out her frustrations on a pinata is the episode’s top visual gag.

On a smaller note, it’s fun to hear Clunes speaking in an American accent while playing Robert, but it’s also awkwardly hilarious to hear Mark singing badly, given that actor Josh Segarra is a talented singer who portrayed Emilio Estefan on Broadway a decade ago.

Importantly, it’s not just the guest stars that make this the, well, best episode of Best Medicine to date. It’s because the script steps away from almost all of the plot crutches that the show has tended to lean on. “Doc Martin” has the same general starting point (a big community event, in this case the annual school sleep-in), but from there it avoids comedic exaggerations and finally leans more into the series’ dramatic side. The return of Robert and Vanessa naturally opens up backstory for the entire family, including a subplot for Sarah that leads to an important scene between her and Martin. The episode finally seems to end Louisa and Mark having to carry around their romantic history, and the scene in which the whole group comes together to sing the school song is emblematic of the community feeling Best Medicine has always been trying to engender.

Ultimately, though, this is an episode about Martin and his father, and Charles and Clunes also knock it out of the park when it comes time to get serious. One of the final scenes involves Martin confronting his dad about his sister Rosemary’s death, and daring Robert to say her name. It’s a very straightforward scene that allows the audience to focus on the marvelous performances by both actors. The dialogue isn’t overwritten and there’s not distracting background action or underscore. It’s just two veterans playing off one another, and it’s painfully beautiful. Once again, Charles gets to crack Martin’s hardened outer shell and he’s so wonderful at communicating that inner vulnerability—not just through dialogue, but also his expressions say even more. The episode-ending moment of Martin adding Rosemary’s name to the school memory tree is a thing of beauty and an example of how much thought was clearly put into this episode.

“Doc Martin” has only one red flag, and that’s the concern that Best Medicine is still very unsubtle with Martin and Louisa’s relationship. Doc Martin fans already know where it’s going, but especially because of that, there’s no need to rush. Yet Vanessa—despite being in town only briefly—can somehow suss out that Louisa is in love with Martin. And it feels awfully convenient that this episode ends in part with Mark saying he needs to move on, and then the Episode 10 promo teasing a moment between Martin and Louisa. This is an issue with many TV shows, not just this one; there’s a need for instant gratifiction when it comes to romantic subplots. Yet especially with actors as talented as Charles and Abigail Spencer, a slow burn could definitely be sustained. At the least, it would be nice to give at least a little break between the end of the Louisa and Mark drama and the start of Louisa and Martin—let each subplot have its space.

That, however, is the only major concern with an otherwise charming, entertaining and even heartbreaking episode. “Doc Martin” provides all the elements that Best Medicine has to offer and everything viewers could possibly ask for. There’s really solid humor, but also genuine heart and a true exploration of the Best family history. The episode feels like it seriously moves Martin, Sarah, Robert and Vanessa forward, while the audience also gets to enjoy seeing Martin Clunes. Hopefully this will not be the only time he makes an appearance on Best Medicine, as he adds something special just by stopping in.

Best Medicine airs Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on FOX. Photo Credit: Courtesy of FOX.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.