July 2007 | Back to Table of Contents
Perspective
Playing Doctor
From Ben Casey to Gregory House, a look at the evolution of the television doctor.
Compiled by the Editors
1961-1966 | Ben Casey
An idealistic young surgeon (Vince Edwards) takes on the establishment at a county hospital.
1961-1966 | Dr. Kildare
A young internal medicine intern (Richard Chamberlain) tries to learn the profession, deal with patients, and earn the respect of his elders. The television series was based on a series of movies made in the 1940s.
1969-1976 | Marcus Welby, M.D.
One of the most popular doctors in television history, Marcus Welby (Robert Young) was a folksy family practitioner who addressed the health issues of the time and helped educate viewers.
1969-1976 | Medical Center
Dramatic television series about the lives of surgeons working in an unnamed Los Angeles university hospital. At the center of the story was the tension between youth and experience, as demonstrated by Joe Gannon (Chad Everett) and Paul Lochner (James Daly).
1969-1973 | The Bold Ones: The New Doctors
Starring E.G. Marshall and David Hartman, episodes dealt with topics such as embryo transplants, the right to die, and mental illness, which were cutting-edge at the time and haven’t lost their relevance.
1972-1983 | M*A*S*H
Comedy/drama about the Korean War that chronicled the hijinks of Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce (Alan Alda),“Trapper John” McIntyre (Wayne Rogers), and the doctors and nurses of the 4077 Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.
1979-1986 | Trapper John, M.D.
A spin-off of M*A*S*H, the story is set 28 years after “Trapper John” McIntyre (Pernell Roberts) returned from Korea. McIntyre has mellowed from his earlier days practicing meatball surgery for the 4077 and is now chief of surgery at San Francisco Memorial Hospital.
1982-1988 | St. Elsewhere
Described as Hill Street Blues in a hospital, the series was set in Boston’s fictitious St. Eligius Hospital. Unlike earlier dramas with doctors who could do no wrong and grateful patients, St. Elsewhere featured a gritty, urban hospital with a staff that had personal problems and patients who often did not recover.
1989-1993 | Doogie Howser, M.D.
A teenaged genius (Neil Patrick Harris) copes with growing up and being a licensed physician taking part in a difficult residency program.
1990-1995 | Northern Exposure
Quirky comedy about the experiences of Joel Fleishman (Rob Morrow), a New York–born physician who finds himself working as a general practitioner in remote Cecily, Alaska, to pay off loans.
1993-1998 | Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
Set in the 1860s, Dr. Quinn is the story of sophisticated East Coast doctor Michaela Quinn (Jane Seymour), who moves west to start her own practice in a frontier town.
1994-2000 | Chicago Hope
Surgeons Jeffrey Geiger (Mandy Patinkin) and Aaron Shutte (Adam Arkin) tackle ethically complex, highly sensational cases and often go head to head with the hospital’s administration.
1994-present | ER
Set in the emergency department of a fictitious Chicago hospital, this long-running dramatic series tells the stories of doctors and nurses who confront the realities of an overcrowded, financially strapped county hospital while training the next generation of physicians.
1998-2004 | Becker
John Becker (Ted Danson), a talented Bronx physician, isn’t exactly a model for bedside manner; yet he goes out of his way to help those in need.
2001-present | Scrubs
Described as being like ER only “half as long and twice as funny,” the show centers on the personal and professional life of J.D. (Zach Braff), a resident at Sacred Heart Hospital.
2004-present | House
Infectious disease specialist Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) is a brilliant diagnostician who is the poster doc for lousy bedside manner.
2005-present | Grey’s Anatomy
The story of five surgical interns in one of the country’s toughest residency programs. All are young, motivated, and sexually charged.