Monday, June 6, 2011

There's Always Room for a Little Shakespeare

"Happily Ever After" [a.k.a. "In Sickness and in Health"]. By Jack Lothian and Dominic Minghella. Perf. Martin Clunes, Caroline Catz, and David Ryall. Dir. Ben Bolt. Doc Martin. Season 3, episode 7. ITV. 5 November 2007. DVD. Acorn Media, 2011.
Shakespeare is, in one sense at least, like dessert: there's always room for a little Shakespeare.

Although it took until almost the last moment in Season Three, the British Comedy Drama Doc Martin finally squeezed in a little.

There may be more later on, but I haven't yet watched much further than that point—for example, Season four, episode two bears the title "Uneasy Lies the Head," a quote from 2 Henry IV (if you're keeping track, it's III.i.31), and I hold out great hope for additional Shakespeare.

But one line (a quote from Henry V—III.i.1, if you're keeping track) is all we get in this one. A reluctant priest has been convinced to return to the church for one last service. Here's what he says upon entry:

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends!" (Henry V, III.i.1)

And that's all—at least for now!
Links: The Episode at IMDB. Watch the Episode at Hulu.

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Bardfilm is normally written as one word, though it can also be found under a search for "Bard Film Blog." Bardfilm is a Shakespeare blog (admittedly, one of many Shakespeare blogs), and it is dedicated to commentary on films (Shakespeare movies, The Shakespeare Movie, Shakespeare on television, Shakespeare at the cinema), plays, and other matter related to Shakespeare (allusions to Shakespeare in pop culture, quotes from Shakespeare in popular culture, quotations that come from Shakespeare, et cetera).

Unless otherwise indicated, quotations from Shakespeare's works are from the following edition:
Shakespeare, William. The Riverside Shakespeare. 2nd ed. Gen. ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
All material original to this blog is copyrighted: Copyright 2008-2039 (and into perpetuity thereafter) by Keith Jones.

The very instant that I saw you did / My heart fly to your service; there resides, / To make me slave to it; and, for your sake, / Am I this patient [b]log-man.

 —The Tempest