24 Favorite TV Doctors
After a detour into the dark world of arms dealing for AMC’s excellent The Night Manager, Hugh Laurie is back with a medical degree — to the delight of House fans everywhere. Except this time, he’s playing for thrills in Hulu original Chance, based on the acclaimed novel by Kem Nunn and now available on the streaming service. In honor of the new release, let’s review some of our favorite doctors from TV history.
One of the first on the scene of our current addiction to star misanthropes and anti-heroes, House tackled unsual diseases via subtle observation and unconventional practice. The bloodier the orifice, the better for this guy!
Precocious to say the least, Doogie (Neil Patrick Harris) graduated from Princeton in 1983 at age 10, started medical residency at 15, left the hospital four years later and resurfaced in 2008 to steal John Cho’s car.
Giving desperate housewives something to do on Saturday evenings, Dr. Quinn (starring Jane Seymour) demonstrated the tenacous American spirit as a frontierswoman who sets up a practice in the wild west.
Alan Alda played Korean War Army doctor “Hawkeye” Pierce for 11 seasons on M*A*S*H, who behind his sad eyes imbued the character with weary cynisim, quick wit, and empathy.
M*A*S*H has a few spinoffs, the most (only) successful one following Trapper John to his own private medical practice in San Francisco. Pernell Roberts played the affable character in this series, which is noted for its more dramatic writing compared to the previous incarnations of this universe.
ER was the longest-running medical drama in American history, catapaulting many of its actors into stardom, including George Clooney, who played the womanizng but highly generous and ethical Doug Ross.
John Carter of Chicago was played by Noah Wyle, who was there the longest of the original cast. Carter is compassionate but green at the beginning of the show, making his arc the most accessible for viewers.
A forerunner in taking the longest-running medical drama crown away from ER, Grey’s Anatomy has starred Ellen Pompeo for the last 12 seasons as the eponymous Meredith Grey, an ambitious doctor initially living in the shadow of her world-renowned surgeon mother.
The relationship between Grey and hot doc Derek Shepherd aka McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) is one of the critical highlights of the show, though certain recent events in season 11 have put the kibosh on that.
Continuing our “Hot Docs” series, here’s Mark Sloan aka McSteamy (Eric Dane) whose friendship with McDreamy was once the most preeminent medical bromance on TV (outside of J.D. and Turk on Scrubs).
Turns out if your name’s Mark Sloan, you ought to pursue a career in this field. This Dr. Mark Sloan is played by Dick Van Dyke, who would help his police officer son solve cases outside the hospital.
Chris Parnell uses his indoor authoratative voice to dispense all sorts of medical quackery as Dr. Spaceman, whose lack of ethics is matched only by his nonexistent professional knowledge.
Crusher was the chief medical officer aboard the starship Enterprise and harbored a not-so-secret infatuation with Captain Picard. Actress Gates McFadden was fired after the first season, but came back for season three with the writers subsequently giving more depth to her character. Beverly: crushing it since 1987.
The original medical officer of the Enterprise, Bones is an old-fashioned feller who gave the world a great catchphrase: “I’m a doctor, not a
Emulating the template of MGM’s Kildare movies of the ’30s and ’40s, Dr. Kildare starred Richard Chamberlain starred as the titular intern working his way up the medical chain and improving the lives of his patients both inside and outside the hospital.
Hi, everybody! Here’s Hollywood Upstairs Medical College’s most famous alumni Dr. Nick, a man whose hilarious incompetence often leaves a pile of bodies for the coroner to deal with.
Though that’s not to say Springfield’s other doctor is perfect. The Simpsons’ longtime family physician, Dr. Hibbert, is trusted in the community but shows occasional flashes of derangment, like subtly offering to sell baby Maggie on the black market for $60,000.
By far the most accurate portrayal of a doctor in this gallery, Zoidberg is a hiedous upright crustacean that is poor, eats garbage, and usually lives in the streets. Need someone to maim you due to his lack of understanding in human anatomy? Why not Zoidberg?
Starring Robert Young as the title doctor, Marcus Welby came out at the tail end of the hippie era and dealt with once taboo subjects like homosexuality and STDs with medical acumen.
Jack Klugman was Dr. Quincy, whose emphasis on forensic pathology would pave the way for future shows like CSI and Bones.
Denzel Washington was there for every episode of St. Elsewhere as Philip Chandler, a highly ethical but stiff and uptight doctor.
Picket Fences was a police show set in the quirky town of Rome, Wisconsin with a habit for quirky deaths. Kathy Baker, as the warm and friendly Jill, also played wife to main cop Jimmy (Tom Skeritt).
Dr. Wordsmith aka the Literal Doctor had a penchant for turning phrases on their heads, and delivering good news as bad and bad news as good to the Bluth family, frequent visitors to his hospital.
