realism of scrubs, nip/tuck, and house

[Drogba]

---

Members don't see this ad.

ah, yes..."our number one is your number two!"

But my favorite Scrubs episodes are the serious ones-they're very moving, especially for a comedy.

And I gave up on ER years ago. When they killed off Dr. Greene, I said "that's it!" and never really watched it again.

I think most of the medical shows on TV have very little basis in reality, but that doesn't mean they aren't fun to watch!

Up until that point, and maybe a little bit earlier, it was amazing though. ER is by far my favorite medical show and I think the people who dislike it are generally basing their opinions on much more recent seasons. I'd strongly recommend anyone interested in a good medical drama to pick up the early seasons of ER.

 

[katieo]

Up until that point, and maybe a little bit earlier, it was amazing though. ER is by far my favorite medical show and I think the people who dislike it are generally basing their opinions on much more recent seasons. I'd strongly recommend anyone interested in a good medical drama to pick up the early seasons of ER.

I agree, I loved the first 6 seasons! It's gotten pretty terrible recently, but nothing even compares to early ER. Every episode of Grey's is just ripping off of already done ER episodes.

 

[Drogba]

I agree, I loved the first 6 seasons! It's gotten pretty terrible recently, but nothing even compares to early ER. Every episode of Grey's is just ripping off of already done ER episodes.

I'm glad someone expresses their agreement. I get very defensive when people make the ludicrous claim that any current medical show even comes close to the heights of early ER (not to mention its pioneer status) .

 

[beachblonde]

I'm glad someone expresses their agreement. I get very defensive when people make the ludicrous claim that any current medical show even comes close to the heights of early ER (not to mention its pioneer status) .

I think people forget that ER was the show that made George Clooney's career! It was a long time ago, but dang the show was good then. It still gets rerun on daytime TV all the time. 🙂

 

[bjolly]

ever notice that on tv ORs are always these very dark rooms? It's like this dark cavernous room with only the operating table illuminated. Is that supposed to make it look dramatic or something? It drives me crazy.

My gf has threatened to ban me from the room during Grey's Anatomy because I keep saying "why does this hospital only have like 3 surgeons?" or "um, ob/gyn's don't actually perform brain surgery on babies" or "in real life, every single doctor on this show would have lost their license by now for ethical violations." I bite my tongue as much as I can but that show is so absurd, it makes ER look like a documentary.

 

[beachblonde]

My gf has threatened to ban me from the room during Grey's Anatomy because I keep saying "why does this hospital only have like 3 surgeons?" or "um, ob/gyn's don't actually perform brain surgery on babies" or "in real life, every single doctor on this show would have lost their license by now for ethical violations." I bite my tongue as much as I can but that show is so absurd, it makes ER look like a documentary.

Grey's is pretty bad...I like the bomb threat episode, when all the doctors are like "oh, code black, hmmmm what could that be?"

I'm sitting on my couch saying "you idiots, you're required to know the codes!"

But I generally just do my best to suspend my disbelief...I mean, come on, Patrick Dempsey is hot.

 

[Drogba]

They should just start showing ER from the beginning again for the new generation :]

 

[bjolly]

oh, the code black episode....I was like "wow, they have a code specifically for live bomb inside a patient? what a thorough code system!"

I think that was the first time she threatened to ban me from the room during the show.

 

[TopDocChick]

ever notice that on tv ORs are always these very dark rooms? It's like this dark cavernous room with only the operating table illuminated. Is that supposed to make it look dramatic or something? It drives me crazy.

Many surgeries are done in a darkened room with the light directed at the patient

 

[GoldShadow]

They should just start showing ER from the beginning again for the new generation :]

I just recently got into ER after watching a few reruns of old episodes, but it's hardly ever on and when it is, it's not in order. I can't find episodes online either like I normally would! I've gotten quite good at scouring the internet and P2P programs for shows/movies, but ER has proven to be the most elusive yet.

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

ER is so awful now that it just makes me feel sorry for them. It's just extremely obvious that it's living off its pedigree and that if it were presented as a new show as it is now, it'd be canned.

The past two seasons they've just randomly written characters in and out with the most half assed explanations with no thought to an overall plot, before having their characterization completely switched around three times, and then half of them are written out in a blink of the eye. Look at Dr. Debenko, the surgeon. They've tried to position him as "I'm a genius surgeon who's obsessed with basic science" to "Oooh, I've got cancer feel sorry for me" to "I'm socially awkward and want to bang my intern".

All episodes seem to throw in the same plot elements:

A) An improbable tragedy strikes the hospital or Chicago in general and they deal with it.
B) ER Doctor or nurse is injured and treated in the ER by their colleagues! What a twist!
C) New attending/resident is a huge rebel that everyone hates but proves he's got the stuff later on!

Bleh. Screw that show. And the sad thing is they've lost so many characters there's nobody who's departure would be big enough to legitimately end the show on a proper fashion. When Greene left, he turned the mantle over to Carter. But when Carter left, nobodies left to carry on the theme. Who's left? Abbie? She's been around forever but her character is miserable and boring. Luca? He's okay, but no way strong enough to carry it. Even those two left together it STILL wouldn't be a big enough deal. Pratt? Been arond for a while, once again, not interesting enough that his departure would mean anything. I really think the only way they can end the show now is to blow up the hospital.

 

[Drogba]

A little bird told me ER is easily accessible through bittorrent ;]

Its a shame how the show ended up. Abbey has always been worthless. I was saddest to see Benton go. The whole Benton Carter thing was probably my favorite interaction on the show. Seriously though 7 solid seasons is a pretty impressive accomplishment.

 

[simrend]

This is a pretty interesting article written by a recent Northwestern graduate. It has a pretty interesting take.

 

[Wylde]

The actress for Meredith Grey (her name escapes me) has to have THE worst voice in a popular television show. I have never heard anyone so monotone (besides Ben Stein) on primetime TV... it annoys the piss out of me!

That and most of the other main characters are absolutely hair wrenching to watch (I would love to scrape Christiana Yang's eyeballs with the little metal "can opener" thing on soda cans).

 

[Arjunsi]

(I would love to scrape Christiana Yang's eyeballs with the little metal "can opener" thing on soda cans).

Um, there is something wrong with you.

 

[Techmed07]

This is a pretty interesting article written by a recent Northwestern graduate. It has a pretty interesting take.

wow, I thought somebody who is in medical school would not have time to watch television, much less analyze it.

 

[beachblonde]

wow, I thought somebody who is in medical school would not have time to watch television, much less analyze it.

you do get some free time in medical school. not a lot, but you can certainly watch a 30 minute TV show......

 

[TheRealMD]

wow, I thought somebody who is in medical school would not have time to watch television, much less analyze it.

As a 4th year, you have more time to relax since often it's P/F.

 

[smq123]

Many surgeries are done in a darkened room with the light directed at the patient

Not that dark. Unless you're doing something endoscopic.

A lot of ORs aren't big enough (in real life) to look that "cavernous" anyhow.

 

[Nasem]

Forget all these shows,

DEXTER is soooo much cooler, and hes an MD as well 🙂

 

[ZagDoc]

wow, I thought somebody who is in medical school would not have time to watch television, much less analyze it.

I have time every week to watch House, Nip/Tuck, The Office/Scrubs, and Friday Night Lights. Of course this probably stems from a complete lack of other things in my social life haha.

 

[BlackSails]

Forget all these shows,

DEXTER is soooo much cooler, and hes an MD as well 🙂

Dexter is awesome, but not nearly as cool as House.

 

[BlackSails]

Many surgeries are done in a darkened room with the light directed at the patient

As a corollary, the observations places are large enough to hold the entire staff not in the OR.

 

[TheLesPaul]

Well, this could be true. At UTH, they fit our entire interview group into an observation area to watch an open heart surgery.

 

[Vera18]

So bottom line, medicine is nothing like TV. It won't be glamorous, sexy or funny like any of those shows.

Nooo, really? 😱

OMG this thread is lame..👎

 

[VoiceofReason]

The actual character of house is infuriating and I wonder how many people really do think its cool to be like that. I would hit that man with a titanic right hand and break his face after a day in his company.

 

[GoldShadow]

Actually, I just started watching House (from season 1) after a few friends recommended it. Besides the medical inaccuracies and questioning whether any main character but House actually went to medical school or not, I've found that I like House (the character). In fact, he's the only redeeming quality of the show. He's a jackass, but in a "giving people what they deserve" and "he does exactly what I'd want to do in real life but can't because of social etiquette and consequences" sort of way.

 

[tamashii]

What, no M*A*S*H? For shame!

And wow, I am a little surprised at how many people here dislike the show House.

I have a schoolgirl crush on Robert Sean Leonard and profound admiration for Hugh Laurie, so it's only natural that I'm hooked on House -- wish they'd show more Wilson, but House is quite the bastard, and I'm a sucker for snarky humor. I realize full well that the show is not realistic (one of the main things that bothers me is how every one of House's fellows competently runs any and all tests and procedures asked of them. Specialists? Nurses? Lab techs? Bah, who needs 'em, eh?), and I admit I mostly watch it just for the dysfunctional characters and the medical mystery. 😛

The thing that keeps me coming back even when the plot gets too ridiculous for my tastes is the verbal pingpong between House and Wilson. That, and I've always had a fondness for Sherlock Holmes, and you'd have to be blind to not notice the parallels. So the show wouldn't even have to be in a medical setting, really, you know? As long as it has the character interaction and the detective work, it'd work.

Realistically, aside from the documentary-type shows on Discovery channel and whatnot, I'd have to agree that early ER was the closest... but who's watching these shows for the realism? Everybody loves the drama, the mystery, the trauma and the tragedy. 😉

 

[deleted103644]

Everything DOES come down to poo.

 

[Drogba]

Everything DOES come down to poo.

That episode was so painful to watch. Seriously some of the worst tv i've seen. It was an ok idea for one scene but not for the entire duration of the show.

 

[Piyush]

"Is it still illegal to perform an autopsy on a living person"


That should clue you in on the realism of TV shows...

 

[alwaysaangel]

That episode was so painful to watch. Seriously some of the worst tv i've seen. It was an ok idea for one scene but not for the entire duration of the show.

Most scrubs fans would disagree. There's always one episode of music. The whole point of the musical episode was to really reinforce how much music is a part of scrubs.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Actually, I just started watching House (from season 1) after a few friends recommended it. Besides the medical inaccuracies and questioning whether any main character but House actually went to medical school or not, I've found that I like House (the character). In fact, he's the only redeeming quality of the show. He's a jackass, but in a "giving people what they deserve" and "he does exactly what I'd want to do in real life but can't because of social etiquette and consequences" sort of way.

Eh, medical inaccuracies are less frequent than one would expect.

I mean the whole structure of the hospital is ridiculous - they're always doing things doctors or other specialists would do. So yeah there are medical inaccuracies in the running of the hospital.

But most of the cases are real disease and show real (albeit ridiculously extreme) cases. I've been looking up diseases from the show for years and since I've been in med school and started learning about diseases they discuss - they've all been accurate (with the exception of the treatment to the Chronic Granulomatous Disease patient).

I'm not saying the show is realistic by any means, but they must have a couple of doctors that help the writers of the show - because all things considered they minimize the actually inaccuracies of the medicine involved.

[disclaimer: at least as far as I can tell and have researched, which as an MSI isn't much. If someone knows of a bunch of gross inaccuracies please let me know. But so far pubmed agrees with house a lot.]

 

[etf]

this season of nip/tuck has been weak so far...i'm hoping we'll see more lamborghinis and less male rear nudity...