Potato Head Doctors

A new mop.

I clean wore the old one out, along with my knee.

Mary's got one, I'm sure,

but I don't want her to think I'm taking advantage.

Her sister's garden hasn't got much going for it, has it?

Could have done with you, a bit of strong arm to dig it over.

And this would've been so much easier with your help. But...

if you'd been here, then I wouldn't have to move, would I?

-Thanks.

-Want me to take your bag?

If you can manage.

Morning. Do you need a hand?

I've got it covered, thanks.

Morning.

Hello.

Hello!

You just said that.

No, the second one is, "Hello, is that a new shirt?"

Yes, it is.

Hmm. Colours and stripes, quite a departure.

It's not quite right, is it?

On the contrary, I think it suits you perfectly.

And it steals Heston's thunder into the bargain.

You're supposed to be taking it easy. We've had this talk.

There's no time for "easy".

The contracts are being exchanged. I have to leave here tomorrow,

and there's still arrangements to make.

Hasn't your sister been helping?

Oh, she's been coming over when she can, but she still works.

Pearl, it's going to take you longer to recover from your operation

if you overdo it. You're setting yourself back.

I should've postponed it,

but it was all so fast, I had no way of knowing.

Well, I'm here now, so you'll have to sit down. Come on.

Hey, do you want some side plates?

Sorry?

Or a cake dish?

I've got all this crockery, it's all going to goodwill.

They're things we used to keep for Sunday tea.

Knee first, Pearl.

Oh, the old crock before the old crockery. Right.

She's back.

No? Beryl the Peril?

Oh, yes. I've just checked my patient list for this afternoon.

But she was only here Thursday, Friday?

Friday?!

Goodness, she's back as fast as her restless leg syndrome will carry her.

"Oh, Doctor, it's like Riverdance are in my bed!

-"The cat runs for the hills!"

-We shouldn't!

"Last week it was all down this side,

"this week it's all down this side."

I felt like saying, "I bet you can't wait for next week."

THEY LAUGH

Do you think she can get Irish dance lessons on the NHS?

Like tigers.

-Sorry?

-Best viewed from a distance. That way you avoid a mauling.

I like to see my colleagues happy at work. Nothing wrong with that.

Oh, no. Too late with the warning, I see.

Still, Dr Reid is very, er, "kitten with a whip", isn't she?

-Haven't you got patients to see, Dr Haskey?

-Absolutely.

Only, er, do what you can to avoid becoming one of them, eh?

You look like a bleeder to me.

Mr Deakins?

Mrs Hollins, what's Dr Reid's schedule like for today?

-It's full, why?

-Would you mind...?

It was orange and brown when we first moved in.

-In here?

-Very '70s.

You had to be here, I suppose. I wasn't keen, it was so gloomy.

-I can imagine.

-We couldn't afford to decorate all at once,

so we did this room first. Earnest used to come back from the barber's,

barely stop for his tea and he'd be up a ladder.

Everything's healing OK, but you have got to stop overdoing it, Pearl.

A whole lifetime of memories.

I'm the only one that remembers.

What's it matter?

There's cold comfort in that.

How does that feel? OK?

Mmm.

When did he go?

Who? Earnest?

He's still here. They're coming for him soon.

Aren't they, love?

Why don't you come in and say hello?

Hello, Earnest.

Oh, it's yes/no questions these days, if you can even get an answer.

Most days he doesn't seem to know who I am.

-When did that start?

-It was quite sudden.

I went in for my operation and he was in respite.

-He had a seizure.

-Oh, Pearl, I'm so sorry.

Well, I've just had to accept it.

Even with the care workers visiting every day,

it's just got beyond me to cope.

Much as I try.

-Bye, now.

-Thank you.

-Take care.

Hiya.

Back again? I've barely touched my coffee.

I meant to ask you what you wanted for lunch.

Don't worry about it, I'll sort myself out.

-I can get it.

-I can manage.

-Why, when you don't have to?

Because I want to. I'd quite like the exercise.

If I go, you can't break the other one, can you?

Daniel.

Daniel!

I'm not holding you up, am I?

No, no. I'm OK for time.

There's a special cup for Earnest.

It should be me doing that.

Er, not on my watch.

You can't take on the whole world all of the time.

Earnest is going to need you fighting fit.

I need him more than he needs me.

He's gone, for all intents and purposes.

You mustn't think like that.

Well, I can't help it, sometimes.

Everything's gone with him. Our marriage, our home.

-Care like that costs.

-I know.

I've had to sell all his things,

all the old stuff he'd collected over the years.

-Like what?

-His old jazz records.

"It's my only other love," he used to say,

but I knew it was his first love.

You could put me in a room with Louis Armstrong,

he'd tear himself in two to know who to go to.

Oh, Louis Armstrong. Now you're talking.

Oh, I used to pretend I liked all that old stuff.

Now I don't have to bother. Small compensation.

And I kept the most important thing.

DOORBELL RINGS

-Oh, that'll be them.

-Oh, no, no, no. You take your time. I'll get it.

Mandy?

-Russell.

-Can't think why you'd be needed for an official handover.

Is there something I should know?

No, no, I'm just taking care of Mrs Pike.

Anyway, is Earnest all ready?

Here we are now, all set? We can do that, Pearl.

How's the knee holding up?

Oh, it's fine, Russell. Is his room ready?

Absolutely. We're looking forward to having him. Hello, Earnest.

Yes.

-He's taking you on a little trip, all right?

-Yes.

Hey, hey, hey! Careful, you'll have his arm off.

-Have you got his medication?

-Oh, yes. Mandy, it's on the table there.

Potato head.

What's that now, Earnest?

Sounded like "potato head" to me.

Yes, he's said that a couple of times before.

New one on me. Mind you, I've been called a few things in my time.

Where would he have got that from?

What, what do you mean?

Has somebody called him that at the home? Russell?

Look, my staff know better than that. We run a nice place.

-I should hope so.

-If I thought somebody had called him that...

Well, somebody hasn't, OK? I promise.

Righto, wagons roll.

Because if somebody had called him that, I'd have their job.

Hasn't he been robbed of his dignity enough as it is?

If I caught anyone saying anything like that,

they'd have me to answer to, before they were sacked.

-Better keep your ears open then, eh?

-This isn't helping Pearl.

-Potato head!

-You're going to your nice room.

You know, the lovely one where the...

Where the sun shines and all your friends are there.

Oh, Mandy, there's a photo on the dining room wall...

I'll get it.

I'll be following right after.

Why don't you give us a couple of hours, let us get him settled?

Come for lunch, we'll have the kettle on.

Well, if you think that's for the best...

I'm thinking of what's best for you as well as Earnest.

He's not being mistreated, I swear on my life.

There you go.

Well, would you look at that, eh? The man himself.

Always took pride of place in his shop.

Well that's what we'll give it in his room.

All right. We'll see you later.

I won't be long.

That cup of tea you made will be getting cold.

SHE SOBS

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

What? I'm not a complete invalid.

I'm not saying you are, it's just your crutches are there, and you're here.

I've been sitting down for the best part of five hours.

If I don't get some exercise I'll have a whole different set of problems.

Just as well I bought you a Greek salad, then.

I told you I wanted to get some exercise.

OK, if it's a little light stretching you want,

I can go and see if the store cupboard's free...

OK. Compromise. Hotel?

A hotel room booked for the hour under the name Mr and Mrs Smith?

Not appropriate any more.

I meant what I said last week.

It was a joke.

Although I do think "appropriate" should mean whatever we want it to.

Thanks for my salad.

It was total waterworks.

Pearl crying her eyes out, me trying not to join in.

I had her in with me just before her op.

She really didn't want to go through with it. Poor thing.

-Which one has he gone to?

-Kingsvale.

-Oh, that's near me. It's nice.

-It's one of the best.

Yeah, well, they're only as good as their staff, aren't they?

I've come across his main carer before,

and there's just something I do not like about him.

You know, calls his patients "units", that sort of thing.

Yeah, I know the sort.

I mean, I'm sure he's good with Earnest, but...

How bad's his Alzheimer's?

Oh, it's pretty bad.

It's terrifying.

Can you imagine what it must be like to be there and not "be there"?

Which is worse, going through it yourself,

or watching somebody you love go through it? If it was Rob...

Oh, don't. Poor Pearl.

I did some of my training with Alzheimer's patients

and it's really interesting to see the cognitive therapy.

-They use music with some of them.

-Oh, right.

The music taps into long-term memory or something?

Yeah. It's more miss than hit, but it makes a big difference

with the patients that have no interaction.

Mmm. I don't know if that would work with him.

He's quite far down the road, he's almost totally dependent.

With music, I mean, sometimes it's so vivid,

it can take you right back.

For me, it's school days and David Essex.

Who?

Back in the dark ages when records were records

and they had different speeds, 33 and 45.

-78...

-Oi! I'm not that old!

David Essex?

Yeah! Gorgeous. I used to kiss his poster every night.

Oh, please tell me "poster" isn't slang for something.

Come on.

Come on, you must be here somewhere.

What you doing?

Just an idea.

All I need is a blank CD and a little Louis.

No way!

What?

Oh. Room for one more?

It can get a bit much in there, can't it?

Like being in the bunker with Adolf and Eva.

Course, when it really gets too much for me

I prescribe myself a trip to the pub and get completely battered.

There's nothing like a bit of self-prescribed single malt!

Sometimes, you've got to cut your losses and say...

You don't want to talk.

It's nothing personal.

It's OK.

I'm used to it.

Is it all right? They said at reception to come straight through.

Earnest, look who's here!

We're just finishing lunch. Is it important?

Well, I was in work chatting with a colleague about Earnest,

and he was telling me about music therapy he'd seen used with Alzheimer's patients...

-We've tried that.

-One of the first things we did, wasn't it, Pearl?

We knew how much he loved his music.

He was aware that the music was playing

but he didn't seem to notice, not like he used to.

But have you tried anything specific?

Yeah. Pearl helped me draw up a whole list of things,

his favourite songs, things they danced to at their wedding.

We do know what we're doing.

Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do,

but I've stopped hoping, Mandy.

It's hard, but I've come to realise that this isn't my Earnest now.

Look, please, just one track. I think it's important.

And I think you don't understand what it takes to do this job.

You've got to be firm and unsympathetic. It doesn't mean you don't care.

I think you'll want to hear this, too.

JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS

-See?

-Just... Just give it a second.

It rarely has a reaction.

MUSIC CONTINUES

HE TAPS THE RHYTHM

Oh.

You remember this one, Earnest, don't you?

Well...I don't believe it!

What's this one called? I don't remember this.

It's by Louis Armstrong and it's called Potato Head Blues.

Potato Head.

Because she enjoys holding it over your head.

She wants power, the cow.

I...

I know, love.

I'll see you later.

Have you had any dealings with that O'Neil woman down the station?

-No, why?

-She's just making Rob's life difficult, that's all.

This box seems a bit light...

In fact, I'm supposed to be seeing Beryl Hobbs this afternoon, she's not in here.

-Karen, have I got more notes to come?

-No.

Is there something wrong, Karen?

Not that I'm aware of.

Karen, what's going on?

Nothing. Really.

OK. Howard has been asking us to lighten your load a bit.

Since when?

It's been going on for a while now. Howard's orders.

-Right, well, we'll see about that.

-He's not back from lunch yet.

But I can tell him that you want to see him when he's back in.

No, don't. Why ruin the surprise?

MUSIC: "Potato Head Blues" by Louis Armstrong

'56.

-What?

-Don't forget, yes/no questions.

Louis. I saw Louis.

I think he means 1956.

Earnest, yes, that's when you got this photo signed!

I snuck out. I was ten.

And he played this, didn't he?

Potato Head Blues.

Louis, at Birmingham.

Yeah.

# I got the heebie jeebies... #

Oh, that's another track I found!

# I got the heebie jeebie blues... #

'56.

'56.

Me...

and Louis!

What else did he play?

# When you're...smiling. #

I snuck out.

This is best he's been for ages! I didn't think...

Don't get emotionally involved, eh?

Thank you for giving him back to me.

Oh, this means everything!

Now we can have some kind of life together.

-Well, yeah, but...

-That's not how Alzheimer's works, Pearl.

But look at him. I mean, it's nothing short of incredible.

Don't get me wrong, this is brilliant and it really will help,

but Earnest will have days when it won't.

Music's a therapy, Pearl, it's not a cure.

It's just one of these things.

-But look at him!

-Pearl, look...

No! You've given me hope

-but now you're trying to snatch it away!

-It's not like that.

To see him like this after all that time, and then you say that?

What's the point?!

Pearl, you can't get upset. Seeing you upset can upset him. Look.

Play it again for him. Please.

MUSIC RESUMES

I think this is my favourite, too, Earnest.

Here we go.

I've really messed up, haven't I?

Look, everybody wants miracles with Alzheimer's

when there are none, you know that.

This is what I mean about being unsentimental.

MUSIC CONTINUES

HE WHISTLES

MUSIC: "La Vie en Rose" by Louis Armstrong

Oh, careful.

-Russell?

-Here we go, here we go.

# Hold me close and hold me fast

# The magic spells you cast

# This is la vie en rose

# When you kiss me heaven sighs

# And though I close my eyes... #

-What's the matter? Do you want to stop?

-No.

HE HUMS ALONG

# When you press me to your heart

# I'm in a world apart. #

I believe it was me...

DOOR SLAMS

-Do I look like I'm made of china?

-One moment, I'm just on...

He'll call you back.

-What are you playing at?

-My point exactly.

What do you think you're doing, taking my patients away?

As manager, I have the welfare of my staff to consider.

We both know why you're doing it, and why you wouldn't do it for anybody else.

-That's not true.

-You've made me look ridiculous!

I don't know why you don't get the fainting couch into my consulting room and be done with it!

-Now, wait...

-Not to mention acting like a hypocrite!

If anyone else had done this, you'd come down on them like a ton of bricks!

If anybody else had gone through what you have, they might accept help when it was offered!

I am not a charity case!

I don't need your help. Now, back off and let me do my job!

-Everything all right?

-Fine.

SHE SIGHS

Karen, could you do me a favour, please?

Could you put my patient list back to how it was, please,

with the full knowledge and consent of Mr Bellamy?

Yeah.

Thank you.

I appreciate YOUR help.

Oh, Mandy.

I'm sorry.

I was rude and ungrateful, and I had no right.

Just...forget about it.

Thank you for what you did.

He's happy, I think, and that's all down to you.

Well, I've got more of him now than I've had for ages.

Today's an extra day I didn't think I'd have.

Well, there'll be plenty more of those, I'm sure.

You just have to treasure them when they come along.

Bye, Pearl.

Here's the rest of your workload, save Karen bringing them in.

-Thank you.

-Anything else, you can go through her or Mrs Tembe.

As far as I'm concerned, you can do what you like.

It's not a case of doing what I like, it's a case of doing what I'm here for.

All I've done is be supportive.

Yes, I care for you, I admit it.

You don't want that? That's your choice.

Find yourself another kicking post.

You all right?

Yeah.

Oh, no. Just thinking about Pearl.

Sounds like you did a great job to me.

Not that. It's... If you had one more day with someone, what would you do?

It depends. Would I know I had one more day with them?

Oh, sorry, I didn't mean...

It's all right, you can say it. "If I had one more day with Dad..."

Cos that's who I'd choose.

I'd be the same with Freya.

You think you'd be like, OK, all-night dancing, partying,

drinking, but...it's the things you wish you'd found out before.

The things you've never had the answers to.

You never know how much time you've got.

Your chariot awaits, milady, whenever you want.

I thought we could get a takeaway or something.

Shut the door.

Sit down.

You changed your mind about stretching?

I...

I've been thinking, and I think that coming back to Letherbridge...

..was not a great idea after all.

In what way?

In practically every way.

A clean break might have been the kindest thing for both of us.

I disagree.

I'm sorry.

What brought this on?

Are you serious? After everything I said about not being able to trust you?

We talked that through. You just need more time.

No.

Look, I'm really grateful for all the help you've given me over this whole stupid ankle thing,

but I think that it has created a renewed level of intimacy that...

That you think I've read too much into? I haven't.

Regardless, I have decided that, once I've recovered, I'm going to leave the practice. For good.

OK, right.

So, forget the partnership that you fought for, all the extra money that you put in.

-You'll walk away from all of that, and from us?

-There is no "us"!

And if it means walking away from the partnership,

-then I'm prepared to do that then, yeah.

-No discussion, nothing?

What good would that do?

I'm sure that, when you think about it,

you'll have to agree it's for the best.

# Oh, when you're smilin'

# When you're smilin'

# The whole world smiles with you

# Yes, when you're laughin'

# When you're laughin'

# Yes, the sun comes shinin' through

# But when you're cryin'

# You bring on the rain

# So stop your sighin', baby

# And be happy again

# Yes, and keep on smilin'

# Keep on smilin', baby

# And the whole world smiles with you. #

-Call me Emma.

-Emma Reid? Has the investigation been reopened?

It's not paranoia, is it, if something's actually going on?

-Nothing's going on.

-What's going on, Anya?!

Hopefully we can get her in the refuge before this one gets home.

I wasn't going to hit her.

She was going to leave, take my little girl away.

Check this one out. This guy thinks you've got a sexy voice.

'And she's going to take you all the way.'

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd