Recommended Free Tools
Best Medicine keeps the central setup of Doc Martin, but it does not reproduce the British series’ sharper, more abrasive feel. Critics describe FOX’s remake as gentler and more whimsical: that shift makes it less intense for viewers seeking the original’s edge, but potentially more appealing as cozy comfort television.
Is Best Medicine as good as Doc Martin?
That depends on what made Doc Martin work for you. If you value its prickly lead, sharper writing and more lived-in sense of place, the remake may feel like a softened substitute. If you want a light small-town medical comedy designed to soothe, its gentler approach may be a feature rather than a failure.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Are You Being Served? Again! (The Complete Series) | $11.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Are You Being Served? The Complete Series (DVD) | $42.23 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Spaced: The Complete Series | $39.06 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
BBC Holiday Comedy | $32.24 | Buy on Amazon |
Robert Lloyd, reviewing for the Los Angeles Times, calls Best Medicine “cuter, milder, more cuddly,” but “less real, less intense and less sharply written” than the original. Lucy Mangan’s Guardian review also sees a softer, formulaic series, but frames its comfort as the point: cozy television meant to soothe rather than unsettle. Those are different judgments of the same tonal choice.
What is Best Medicine about?
Best Medicine is FOX’s American adaptation of the British series Doc Martin, not a separate medical comedy with a coincidentally similar premise. In the original, Martin Clunes plays a brilliant London surgeon who develops a blood phobia and becomes a general practitioner in the Cornish fishing village of Portwenn. FOX’s version follows Martin Best, played by Josh Charles, a surgeon who leaves Boston for general practice in a small East Coast fishing village where he spent summers.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →#1 Best Overall
The original ran for ten seasons, from 2004 to 2022, according to the Los Angeles Times. FOX lists the Best Medicine second-season premiere as September 22, 2026, on its official series page. That listed date has passed; episode access can vary by market, so check local listings or the service carrying FOX programming in your area.
What changed from the British original?
The remake preserves familiar foundations while Americanizing the setting and adjusting its lead. Martin Ellingham becomes Martin Best, and Portwenn becomes Port Wenn, Maine. Familiar roles and relationships remain, including Louisa, the pharmacist, the father-and-son handymen, and the local peace officer. The adaptation also adds characters and storylines.
Rank #2
- Factory sealed DVD
The premise and pilot are close
Lloyd says the remake’s pilot closely follows the original pilot. That overlap gives Best Medicine a recognizable starting point, but the Los Angeles Times review also points to changes that shift the emotional balance of the story.
Best is given a more sympathetic explanation
In the remake, Best’s blood phobia is tied to a childhood trauma. Lloyd argues that this makes him more conventionally sympathetic than Clunes’s Martin Ellingham, whose prickliness and opacity are central to the original’s character. The change can make Best easier to understand, but it also reduces some of the awkward friction that distinguishes the British lead.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Rank #3
The town feels more polished
Lloyd describes the remake’s doctor and town as more polished and upscale. That is his critical assessment, not a neutral measure, but it captures one reason the Maine setting may not feel as lived-in to viewers attached to the original’s Cornish village texture.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Does the gentler tone work?
It works best if you approach Best Medicine on its own terms. Mangan sees a formulaic series that succeeds as comfort viewing; Lloyd finds an ordinary feel-good celebration of small-town values and togetherness. Their difference is less about whether the remake is gentle than about whether that gentleness is satisfying: Mangan treats it as an intentional appeal, while Lloyd finds it a loss of intensity and sharpness.
Rank #4
For a documentary-focused audience, the distinction is also useful as a way to think about adaptation: fidelity is not only a matter of keeping character names or plot beats. Tone, social texture and the reasons a character behaves as they do shape how a familiar premise feels. Here, the pilot’s close resemblance to Doc Martin sits alongside changes that make the American version warmer and more explanatory.
Quick Recap
Who should watch it?
- Try it if you want a light medical comedy set in a small coastal community and enjoy stories about local ties and togetherness.
- Temper expectations if you want the more acerbic lead, sharper writing and stronger intensity that Robert Lloyd values in Doc Martin.
- Compare the two if you are curious about how an adaptation can keep a premise and familiar roles while changing characterization and tone.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →
