In this first episode of season 8, Constable Penhale is dumber than usual....as if most of the town apparently! It seems that with little time to think about it, he's about to marry a young lady who's already been married twice...and the entire town prepares for the wedding. But so many things go wrong, you can't help but wonder why they are marrying now. Among the many problems, the brides maids all come down with a contageous virus, the priest has disappeared and a very nervous curate is taking his place, Penhale has kidney stones and the caterer, Bert, is an idiot (more so than usual) and only provides whiskey. As for Martin and his wife, their problems actually seem very minor when their biggest concern is just whether or not to get a dog.
I have enjoyed "Doc Martin" and have seen every episode and movie before this one and I have to say the biggest thing I disalike about the show is Penhale. His character is ridiculous...no one is THAT stupid...especially a policeman. This whole quickie marriage thing seems pretty normal for Penhale, however, so the ridiculous plot kinda works. Overall, a decent beginning to season 8...but not among the better episodes because so many people show worse judgment than hamsters.
Oh, and I should mention that the Doctor's actions when there is resiratory arrest are DUMB and the writers should have known better. He literally slugs the dying person in the chest AND when he begins doing chest compressions he drops down onto her chest with his hands in a manner that probably would have crushed her ribcage. This is inexcusable for a medical show where they should have known better.