Hospital Dramas

[iBender]

They come in many forms and have done through out the ages from,
'Casaulty' to 'Holby City'...

'ER'...

I haven't heard of many, not that I watch them, but if someone else is watching one, only then, do I tend to watch these shows, what 'Hospital Dramas' have you heard of? - & Do you watch any?

I'd say Scrubs is a sitcom, so doesn't count.

 

[Holdfast]

I tend not to watch these. When you've worked in real hospitals, it feels a bit too much like a busman's holiday, really. Having said that, I must credit ER for getting me through my medical finals. I remember skipping revision lectures in the run-up to my final exam, and instead waking up in time to catch the ER reruns at about 10am on C4 at the time.

No joke; I actually think they helped me, as all the cases they showed tended to have the most barn-door, stereotyped sets of symptoms, so it was pretty good practice!

 

[iBender]

'busman's holiday'?

I have been known to watch House MD, though not in a very long time.

 

[auntiehill]

I liked ER, right up until Carter left. Didn't watch it after that.

I watch House, but I'm pretty much done with it now. But I wouldn't consider that a hospital show, as the actual hospital staff and patients are fairly inconsequential to House's antics.

Doctor shows, like cop & lawyer shows, are sadly, a dime a dozen. There needs to be something more to it to get me to watch. There needs to be strong characters or brilliant writing. St. Elsewhere would be a good example. The setting wasn't important; it was the characters and the plot lines that kept me interested. I was absolutely glued to that show, back in the dark ages when I rode my dinosaur to school.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I tend not to watch these. When you've worked in real hospitals, it feels a bit too much like a busman's holiday, really. Having said that, I must credit ER for getting me through my medical finals. I remember skipping revision lectures in the run-up to my final exam, and instead waking up in time to catch the ER reruns at about 10am on C4 at the time.

No joke; I actually think they helped me, as all the cases they showed tended to have the most barn-door, stereotyped sets of symptoms, so it was pretty good practice!

I avoided medical shows like the plague for most of my life for that same reason. (Also, the corny plots and workmanlike acting. ) However, it wasn't until a few years ago that I would start watching the likes of Holby City if only to see how medically accurate they were.

 

[Bob Karo]

Not exactly a hospital show, but:

Emergency may be the most accurate medical drama ever produced.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I never watch shows like this. Almost by their nature, it is impossible to have a medical show that is as methodical, non-character-oriented, and procedural as Law & Order, since most medical shows are basically soaps. So that alone rules it out for me.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

I liked the first 2 seasons of Chicago Hope. Mandy Patinkin, Adam Arkin and Hector Elizondo were great in it.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I'll date myself here, Trapper John MD.

And I agree, Emergency was a great show too.

 

[Mysterion]

I like St. Elsewhere because of it's insane quirkiness. I liked E.R. for abou the first two or three seasons, before it turned into a soap-opera. I'll occasionally watch Grey's Anatomy, but only to look at Sandra Oh.

 

[DevilEyes]

I liked the first 2 seasons of Chicago Hope. Mandy Patinkin, Adam Arkin and Hector Elizondo were great in it.

Me too. Or rather, I remember I liked it up until halfway through season 2. Then it went downhill.

Dr Jeffrey Geiger was one of my favorite TV characters. I also liked Diane Venora in her recurring role, and the guy who played the lawyer (who was also in Ally McBeal - the name escapes me). Roxanne Hart's character was annoying though, and I don't think Peter Berg's character ever really worked - he was one of the signs of show going downhill.

 

[Witterquick]

I've heard of this show called Childrens' Hospital. Is it any good? I hate hospital shows though. They're worse than cop shows.

 

[Scrambo]

never really been able to get into these hospital dramas. Working in a hospital you tend to question their decisions and clearly their medical advisers all have the same opinion that labs are run by 1 technician (we aren't even called technicians) who look really nerdy, wear glasses and just sit there doing nothing. Besides that drs & nurses cannot just "walk" into labs.

Some of the things that happen in holby city etc just dont happen in a real life hospital. For one thing their waiting times are fantastic compared to real life

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I don't work at a hospital, but I've never been able to get into any hospital dramas. Maybe it's because there always seems to be some sickening soapy romance aspect to them. Someday there might be a hospital drama I like, the way I love Dexter (which is technically a cop show). Somebody's gonna have to get creative to think that far outside the box.

 

[Andrew_Kearley]

The first season of Cardiac Arrest was terrific. After that, it went off the boil a bit. I used to enjoy the earlier seasons of Casualty too, when it was more of a left-wing political polemic about the state of the NHS in the eighties and not a soap opera about people who worked in a hospital. Basically until Bernard Gallagher's character died.

 

[JRS]

I myself followed Casualty, ER and Chicago Hope for quite a long time
All of them well written, acted and produced.
Though I am not sure if I buy any of them on DVD, yet anyway..

 

[Mysterion]

Not exactly a hospital show, but:

Emergency may be the most accurate medical drama ever produced.

I liked it myself. Also enjoyed the short-lived Trauma, which was a sort of descendant of Emergency. Too bad they didn't last longer. And, a cameo of Randy Mantooth and Kevin Tighe at some poiunt could have been fun.

 

[the G-man]

Not exactly a hospital show, but:

Emergency may be the most accurate medical drama ever produced.

I liked it myself.

Emergency was produced by Jack Webb ("Dragnet") and, while his stuff might look dated today, he was a stickler for reality when it came to the details of how his main characters did their jobs.

For example: I think Joe Friday shot a total of one person in the entire series' run and the result was an entire episode about what happens at a shooting inquest. You didn't see that in any other cop show up to, at least Hill St. Blues.

I've heard of this show called Childrens' Hospital. Is it any good?

It's on Adult Swim, it's a sitcom and I think it's very funny. A cutting satire of medical shows, especially later season ER and Grey's Anatomy.

 

[J.T.B.]

Emergency was produced by Jack Webb ("Dragnet") and, while his stuff might look dated today, he was a stickler for reality when it came to the details of how his main characters did their jobs.

For example: I think Joe Friday shot a total of one person in the entire series' run and the result was an entire episode about what happens at a shooting inquest. You didn't see that in any other cop show up to, at least Hill St. Blues.

Yeah, but Malloy and Reid shot people quite regularly on Webb's Adam-12 and were right back on the street, sometimes within the same shift. The authenticity took a backseat to the drama there. But it was a lot more accurate when compared to other cop shows of the time.

I love Emergency!, it's one of very few shows I have on DVD. About the only "realism" complaint I have with it is that Dr. Brackett and Dr. Early (sometimes with help from Dr. Morton) do everything, not just in the ER but various surgeries later on. The stuff with the paramedics in the field seems pretty good. "D5W," "Ringer's lactate" or "sodium bicarb" seem to work in about two-thirds of cases!

St. Elsewhere is one of the best dramas on TV ever, not just hospital dramas. Like "Hill Street," it combined drama, comedy and social satire in wonderfully-written episodes with an excellent ensemble. The were some arcs handled so subtly that sometimes you thought they had dropped them, then they'd pop up again with a little scene or a few lines. What's wrong with the world that there's not a full-series DVD release?!

ER seemed like a good show but it was too soon after St. Elsewhere and it just didn't measure up so I couldn't get into it.

--Justin

 

[the G-man]

I love Emergency!, it's one of very few shows I have on DVD. About the only "realism" complaint I have with it is that Dr. Brackett and Dr. Early (sometimes with help from Dr. Morton) do everything, not just in the ER but various surgeries later on.

That was also one of the few deviations from reality on Dragnet: one week, Friday worked homocide, the next week vice and drugs, the week after that juvenile investigations, etc. Of course, that was necessitated by the fact that, otherwise, Friday would be handling only one particular type of case for the entire series.