The Indian Doctor is a television series which premiered on British television (BBC) in 2010.
There are three seasons:
** 2010 = season one = five episodes
** 2012 = season two = five episodes
** 2013 = season three = five episodes
Here is some basic information about it:
** Created by Deep Sehgal and Tom Ware
** The number of episodes = 15
** Run time: 15 x 45 minutes = 675 minutes
The story is set in the UK in the 1960s.
Here are the details:
** Season one is set in 1963
** Season two is set in 1964
** Season three is set in 1966
The mood of the 1960s is supported by the music that is used whenever a new scene begins. Brief excerpts from famous music of the 1960s.
I will mention two examples:
** We Gotta Get Out of This Place by the Animals
** Baby, Please Don’t Go by Them
This series is about an Indian doctor and his Indian wife who travel from India to the UK where the husband is going to work as a doctor. The wife was hoping that her husband would find a job in London, because she likes to be in a big city.
But this did not happen. He has accepted a job as a GP in a small village. Where is it located? Not in England, not in Scotland, but in Wales! More precisely the village of Trefelin in South Wales.
The Indian doctor and his Indian wife are shocked when they meet the people of Trefelin. The Welsh people of Trefelin are equally shocked when they meet the Indian doctor and his Indian wife.
As you can understand, the first topic to be explored in this series is the question of cultural differences between the UK and India. However, this is not the only topic that is explored in this series.
Several other topics are explored as well. But I do not wish to spoil the viewing for anyone. This is why I am not going to say more about what happens in this series.
The cast includes the following:
** Sanjeev Bhaskar as Dr Prem Sharma – the Indian doctor
** Ayesha Dharker as Kamini Sharma – Prem’s wife
** Ifan Huw Dafyddas as Owen Griffiths – a miner
** Jacob Oakley as Dan Griffiths – Owen’s son
** Mali Harries as Megan Evans – a widow
** Erica Eirian as Sian Davies – a shopkeeper
Different episodes cover different topics and they have different characters. I have not listed characters who appear in only one or two episodes. I have only listed characters who appear in all 15 episodes or at least in most episodes.
What do reviewers say about this series?
On IMDb it has a rating of 79 per cent which corresponds to four stars on Amazon.
On Amazon there are at the moment 92 ratings of this product, 27 with reviews.
The average rating is 4.7 stars which corresponds to a rating of 94 percent.
If you ask me, the rating on IMDb is very appropriate, while the rating on Amazon is too high.
Why?
Let me explain:
This is daytime television made on a limited budget. It is not prime time television where a big budget is available. The BBC presents this series as a period comedy drama.
For me, this description (a period comedy drama) is the main problem. This series cannot decide what it wants to be.
Is it a serious drama or is it a light comedy? It is a shame, because there are many good elements here. But it is an uneven mix of drama and comedy.
I have to remove one star because of this flaw. This product deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).
PS. Each season was released on DVD. But you do not have to buy three separate sets. You can get all episodes in one pack. You can get a special box set which contains all three seasons.
*****
The Indian Doctor
A period comedy drama
On British television
Three seasons, 15 episodes
2010-2013
*****
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