DEAR SUN SPOTS: I’m hoping you can provide us with some information on one of our favorite PBS series, “Doc Martin,” starring Martin Clunes as Dr. Martin Ellingham. PBS has been running several seasons of this series, but also has aired two movies under the “Doc Martin” title, also starring Clunes.

One was on last year and Clunes’ character, finding his wife had been unfaithful, wound up in the Cornwall village, where he encountered an odd mystery. Someone in town was leaving pies on doorsteps which included a message about a secret concerning the home’s owner.

“Doc helped out area residents now and then. After first being suspected as the deliverer of the pies, he learned who did it, was accepted by the villagers and decided to stay as the town doctor. He was not the surly, curt, man depicted in the series, who has no social skills whatsoever.

“This past week, another movie called “Doc Martin” aired. Clunes was considerably younger looking and his last name was different. He had come to Port Isaac (same town, real name, not “Portwenn” as in the series) to buy a farm there and practice medicine. The storyline had smuggling, odd objects called “cluties” which were endowed with magical powers, etc. Again, this Doc Martin was smiling, personable and interacted with the townspeople, who helped him get the property he wanted.

We would like to find out when the two movies were made and in what order. How much earlier were they done than the series and why/how did the series change Doc into such a cranky guy who faints at the sight of blood?

The only things all three have in common are Doc as an excellent physician, the Cornish village and a host of odd characters — most if not all of whom cast in the movies are not regulars in the series. Any information you might hunt up would be much appreciated. Thanks! Love your column! — Fans from Casco

ANSWER: Sun Spots has also enjoyed some episodes of “Doc Martin” on Netflix, but she has not seen the movies. It is not unusual for producers to launch a pilot episode or movie and then make changes in the characters. On Wikipedia, the following explanation for the changes are offered.

“Martin Clunes originally played a character called ‘Dr Martin Bamford’ in the 2000 film “Saving Grace” and its two made-for-TV prequels, ‘Doc Martin’ and ‘Doc Martin and the Legend of the Cloutie,’ which were made by British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB).

“The prequels show Bamford, a successful obstetrician rather than surgeon, finding out that his wife has been carrying on extramarital affairs behind his back. After confronting her with the news, he escapes London and heads for Cornwall, which he remembers fondly from his youth. Shortly after he arrives, he is involved in the mystery of the ‘Jellymaker’ and, following the departure of the village’s resident GP, decides to stay in Port Isaac and fill the gap. In these three films the village is not known as Portwenn.

“The original deal was to produce two such television films per year for three years, but Sky Pictures folded after the first two episodes were made, so Clunes’ company tried to sell the franchise to ITV. ITV felt the Martin Bamford character should be portrayed as a ‘townie,’ out of his depth and uncomfortable in the country.

“They also wanted something edgier, so Clunes suggested the doctor be very grumpy and socially inept. The new doctor’s surname was to be Ellingham, an anagram of the last name of the new writer, Dominic Minghella, who was brought in to rework the doctor’s background and create a new cast of supporting characters.

“Along with Clunes, the only actors to appear in both versions of Doc Martin are Tristan Sturrock and Tony Maudsley.”

According to the Internet movie database imdb.com, the first movie was in 2001, the second in 2003, and the series began in 2004. You can read more about the series and the actors at wikipedia.org and imdb.com. To watch the series and movies, visit Netflix.com.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I am looking to buy a Suzanne Somers’ ab unit to do situps. — Irene, 784-6538

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