TMP Television Edition: Medical Drama

I've spent more time in and around hospitals than I care to. I've spent long nights in the ER that turned into mornings that turned into an admittance requiring daily visits. I've eaten too many meals in hospital cafeterias, contemplated the irony of scarfing down a burger and fries in an environment dedicated to getting people healthy. All the while, I've talked and listened to lots of doctors, nurses, attendants, and anyone else wearing scrubs and/or a lab coat. I was paying attention directly to them and to the always noisy backgrounds. I was listening for some catastrophe to explode, doctors and nurses to knock me over as they rushed passed me on the way to saving the day, yelling "STAT" at the top of their lungs. It never happened.

It's Thursday, and this week's topic for Thursday Movie Picks, hosted by Wanderer at Wandering through Wandering Shelves, has me thinking about all those trips in search of health care. That topic, medical drama. Since this is the last Thursday of the month, we're actually talking television not movies this time. Thankfully, in TV land, shows about doctors are almost as ubiquitous as cop shows. That means there are lots of ways to go here. To narrow it down just a bit, how 'bout we combine doctor shows and cop shows. Hmmm, let's see what I came up with.


Quincy, played by Jack Klugman, is a coroner who does autopsies and takes the information he's learned from them and solves murders. As a tyke, this was THE medical show. Everyone seemed to be into Quincy, at least all the adults I knew. It took a while before I could appreciate it, but it is an intriguing show.


Emily Deschanel plays the eponymous Bones. a forensic anthropologist. Basically, she does autopsies, or examines the bones of the long deceased, takes the information she's learned from them and solves murders. More accurately, she works with special FBI Agent Booth (David Boreanaz) to solve murders. Sure, it's a CSI knock-off, but it's a good one. It just wrapped up its final season and is one of those shows I've gotten to know over the years, thanks to Mrs. Dell. She wasn't a hardcore devotee of the show, but she'd watch it from time to time. I joined often enough to develop a liking for it, too.

Speaking of Mrs. Dell, this pick is purely for her. Not that I don't like the show because I do. It's just that she likes it way more than I. Let me rephrase that. She LOVES this show. What's the primary reason for her undying affection, you ask? Morris Chestnut. Morris F'n Chestnut. He plays Rosewood, a pathologist who works as a consultant for the police. In other words, he does autopsies and takes the information he's learned from them and solves murders. My wife's feelings about Mr. Chestnut aside, this is a solidly entertaining show I'd like to see continue for the foreseeable future.