The trailers for ITV’s Distant Shores made not very subtle allusions to Doctor Who, All Creatures Great and Small and A Very Peculiar Practice - three very succesful programs starring Peter Davison. Fair enough, as he’s also the star of Distant Shores; but as all three were on the BBC surely it’s just a little bit cheeky? Plus they all date from the 1980s.
The show plays on nostalgia for Davison’s earlier role - before the end of the first series he had his arm up a cow’s backside. Ah, that brings back memories.
Distant Shores is a classic example of the “fish out of water” genre with a big city Doctor (sometimes a different profession but often a Doctor - see Northern Exposure and Doc Hollywood for US examples) getting in touch with his emotions and his fellow men in a rural setting. Fair enough, it’s one of the classics but didn’t ITV just do the same thing with Doc Martin?