Doctor Foster
Wednesday 9pm BBC 1
went to Gloucester, in a shower of rain . . . . . .
 well, the Doctor Foster (Suranne Jones) in this new BBC1 dram, set in a small English town – in some ways remarkably similar to that in J K Rowling's The Casual Vacancy also on the same channel just six months ago – didn't  fall into a 'puddle' but rather into a maelstrom after beginning to suspect her Architect/Builder husband of having an affair: the evidence which is gradually exposed is of  not juat an affair, but a whole farrago (I've been waiting for the chance to use that) of lies and deceit going back to the very beginning of their marriage.
 
Now, I know I'm not the best one to comment on the sham of heterosexual marriage, having no direct experience of it, and I'm not normally drawn to this kind of Dreama (yes, that's right)  anyway, but I am a fan of Suranne Jones, from Corrie, Scott and Bailey, and particularly Unforgiven, which was a Belter, she can do no wrong for me. And as Doctor Gemma Foster she has got her teeth into a fascinating character – who funds herself breaking all the ethical rules which impose confidentiality on so many professions. She begins to consult a patient who is a Solicitor on the possibility of a divorce which would not only end her marriage, but also secure possession of the family home and custody of her son; she enlists the help of another patient in spying on her errant husband and then the young mistress, going so far as to befriend the girl whose pregnancy she had discovered when – in contravention of more regulations – she saw her as a patient, claiming that the girl's own GP was too busy at the time. The pregnancy, then discussed between the patient and her own doctor was due to be terminated until the husband found out about it and persuaded the girl not to go through with it,
And to cap it all, Gemma's friuend and partner in the Medical Practice is also very close to the husband, and tells him what Gemma has discovered. Meanwhile, Gemma contrives the seduction of their Accountant, in order to blackmail him into giving her access to her husband's accounts. Everyone is breaking the rules, but the pace keeps it all together and as each episode brings new information, we have to keep adjusting our picture of what is going on, and on, and on!
 
The men seem to have only one thing on their minds and their declared devotion to their wives is something they willingly set aside when tempted by another woman – and another, and another. I presume that this is what men are like: they think with their cocks and go where they lead – into as many women as possoble. If that is true, why on earth do women marry them?
I have been told by friends that it is for – and in no particular order – a home, children, and financial security. Oh, and Love! Well, so far as Doctor Foster tells the tale, they are hitching their wagon to the wrong Stallions and would be better with a Filly or even a Mare