To be sure, there are some great TV shows about the world of medicine, and there are also some not-so-great shows. In my opinion, the shows listed in this article are some of the best medical shows on the air, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t others. It just means I’ve never seen them. So here they are, in no particular order: the best medical TV shows in my opinion.
Doctor Doogie Howser
Anyone who hasn’t seen this show in the early 90’s really missed out on some excellent comedy and drama. Doogie Howser was a child prodigy and a surgeon at Eastman Medical Center on the show. He became a licensed physician at the age of 14, which is absolutely unheard of. The show followed his medical journey as well as his emotional journey through acceptance by his colleagues and children his age. This was definitely one of the best shows of the early 90’s.
Doctor Quinn, healer
Another show from the 1990s was Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman. Dr. Michaela Quinn practiced medicine in the small town of Colorado Springs. The show took place in the 1800s, so there wasn’t much in the way of absolutely clean official hospitals, which is what made it unique. Dr. Quinn was not very well received in the small town, since she was a doctor, but she showed that her ability was unmatched in each episode. Finally, everyone called “Dr. Mike”, as she was nicknamed.
I did not know she was pregnant
The worst part of this show is that all the episodes are true stories. The title says it all: a woman ends up pregnant and doesn’t recognize her signs, so when she goes into labor, she absolutely freaks out. The stories are amazing because you see these women going through very little pregnancy symptoms, but because they don’t suspect they’re pregnant, they tend to chalk it up to something else. As a woman who is currently pregnant with her first child, I can say with certainty that she knew she was pregnant based on all the typical signs, which is why I have a hard time watching this show and understanding these women. However, it is definitely fascinating, especially if you don’t know any other women who have been through something like this.
House MD
The doctor we all love to hate, Dr. Gregory House, is absolutely on this list. The show is categorized as a medical drama, but it’s easy to find humor in many scenes simply because Dr. House can be outrageously ridiculous at times. He is a diagnostician with a team of interns who take on interesting and seemingly unsolved cases of patients with strange symptoms. Dr. House and his team generally believe they have solved the disease or problem, but then a key is thrown into the game in the form of a seemingly random symptom that is unrelated to his diagnosis.
scrubs
Dr. John Dorian, also known as JD, and his best friend, Dr. Chris Turk, or simply Turk, are part of the best and funniest cast on television today. Scrubs is a medical comedy with a bit of drama. JD tends to daydream about the funniest situations, and his mentor who doesn’t want to be his mentor, Dr. Perry Cox, is absolutely brilliant and cocky. The dynamic between these two is so much fun to watch.