Medical Sitcoms

[trymeover]

How can you watch this trash? What really leaves me flabbergasted is how smart, hardworking, well-educated pre-meds and medical students can watch this nonsense. Real life is nowhere close to what they show. Their main character is usually some Doctor who comes from an Ivy League Medical school, is a genius, but still has plenty of time to joke around all day and/or mull over relationships...

 

House: Johns Hopkins Medical School (#1 medschool in usa), caught cheating and therefore went to UMichigan... is hilarious and genius... how many people have you seen like thisin real life?

 

McUgly: Patrick Dempsy went to Columbia Medical school (Ivy league). He's super good looking and a neurosurgeon. Also, he performs more sexual intercourse at the hospital than surgery... how many people have you seen like this in real life?

 

Meredith Grey: Darthmouth for undergrad (ivy league), parties and drinks excessively and then goes to medical school and becomes a surgeon!?!... and then sets a record for relationship problems... how many people have you seen like thisin real life?

 

Elliot Reid: So JD's lover went to Brown university (ivy league) , is a super hot, super intelligent blonde, but she has super low self esteem?! and she was also in a sorority when at university... wtfff.. how many people have you seen like this in real life?

 

I don't know why i wrote this post. I think it's out of mere frustration that so many smart people can watch the stupidest, most unrealistic sh.. possible.

As Mugatu would put it, 'I FEEL LIKE I'M ON CRAZY PILLS!'

 

alleviate my pains dear pre-meds and medical students.

[Starling]

Real life is nowhere close to what they show.

 

That's exactly the point. People usually watch TV to be entertained, and for a bit of a break from real life. I know a bunch of PhDs who love the Harry Potter series, and it's not because they think it's real. A more realistic medical show might not be so entertaining. I'm picturing 44 minutes of a doctor filling out paperwork, treating an ear infection and maybe sorting out a busted toe, and perhaps going home to see what's new on the PreMed 101 forum.

 

And while many things in these shows are exaggerated (or just flat-out wrong), I don't think it's too far-fetched that doctors drink, party, have low self-esteem, have relationships and have problems with said relationships.

 

By the way, I think Scrubs is great show. I laugh every time I think about the pudding episode.

[Corsci]

Insight of the day: TV shows are not real.

 

Fees due: one rotten banana peel.

[Jochi1543]

I hate medical shows, but then again, I dislike TV in general. I'm more of a reader than an observer.

[Tango Charlie]

They're just television shows.

[thebouque]

As someone said before, realistic tv shows would be super boring, especially if the main focus of the show is a job (medicine, law etc).

 

Peace

[Renin]

No one says you have to watch them... there are other things you could do with your time

[Leon]

Maybe you're frustrated because the shows seem to give the public a seemingly false presentation of the life of medical students and practitioners? That they don't seem to be portraying the hard work and sacrifices involved?

 

Anyhow, it would be dead boring if they showed people doing nothing but studying. And it's not like that in real life anyway. Just look at Jochi.

[NewfieMike]

wait a second, I thought Grey's was based on real-life events...

 

 

are you trying to tell me the show is fictitious?

[thatonekid]

The only show I watch from that list is House, and I don't watch it for the medical aspect. It's not like I think "Ooo. I wonder what case House and his crack dignostic team are going to solve this week?!?" I watch it for the drama and humor. Really, I watch it for the same reason I watch a show like Heroes. Like others have said, it's just escapism.

[thebouque]

The only show I watch from that list is House, and I don't watch it for the medical aspect. It's not like I think "Ooo. I wonder what case House and his crack dignostic team are going to solve this week?!?" I watch it for the drama and humor. Really, I watch it for the same reason I watch a show like Heroes. Like others have said, it's just escapism.

 

You mentioned why you watch house but you forgot the most important hing: HUGH LAURIE

[trymeover]

Exactly! TV is for entertainment, and not for realistic portrayals! Thank you for opening my eyes! But then why the f--- do you watch medical dramas?

 

Do you really think House is more entertaining than Heroes?

 

Is Scrubs better/funnier than... 30 rock or The Office or Supernatural or Family Guy or the now defunct Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien?

 

Is Grey's Anatomy better than [insert name of any show of your choice in here]?

[thatonekid]

Exactly! TV is for entertainment, and not for realistic portrayals! Thank you for opening my eyes! But then why the f--- do you watch medical dramas?

I watch dramas for the characters. Not for the medical aspect.

Do you really think House is more entertaining than Heroes?

No. I find them equally entertaining for different reasons. Heroes for action and House for the characters.

Is Scrubs better/funnier than... 30 rock or The Office or Supernatural or Family Guy or the now defunct Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien?

I don't like Scrubs. The acting's not that great, imo.

Is Grey's Anatomy better than [insert name of any show of your choice in here]?

No. Because there's really no plot line. I don't like relationship shows.

[ontariostudent]

wait a second, I thought Grey's was based on real-life events...

 

 

are you trying to tell me the show is fictitious?

 

Grey's is shot live... I know one of the docs in real life. Met him in the hospital once when I was shadowing.

[smiliepie]

presumably people who work in offices shouldn't watch The Office?

[hastin11]

I hate medical shows, but not because they are unrealistic...because they are usually poorly written and overly melodramatic.

[chii]

I love Scrubs! It is one of my favourite shows. Though I must say that the last couple of seasons were kind of crap, the first few were fantastic. Very funny.

 

Otherwise, the only other medical related show I watch is Nip/Tuck.

[blind_synergy]

I watch House and used to watch Scrubs. I watch House mainly for the comedy and Hugh Laurie. I enjoyed Scrubs when I was younger and especially liked Dr. Cox, but one year I just stopped watching it for some reason. What can I say, I love smart jerks. They're hilarious. In real life, just don't take their comments seriously; they usually just say things to get a rise out of people.

 

Don't be such prudes guys. These shows are escapism. Although Grey's is pure crap (in terms of plot/writing/acting/direction; well, basically in terms of everything).

 

And for the OP; can't remember which character you were talking about (think you were talking about Elliot from Scrubs), but are you telling me you've never met a super smart person with low self-esteem, no confidence, and neuroses? That's like the classic archetype of a smart person.

 

And I don't think her character was supposed to be a genius. She was supposed to be a gunner; I remember her complaining one episode that she had to spend all her free time reviewing her med books and journals just to keep up, while the main character had a much better aptitude for information retention and would spend a good junk of his free time just having fun (you know how some subjects you can flip through the texbook once and basically remember enough to get an A on the exam; whether it's perhaps an ability to parse out the unimportant information, retain key concepts, or even the mythical eidetic memory, etc...).

 

P.S. Tell me this banter's not hilarious:

 

House, snatching the marker back from Foreman who was writing on the board: "Sorry, there's a reason they call it the Whiteboard. It's not my rule. What ties both of these conditions together?"

 

Foreman, when the others can't come up with anything that ties the two conditions together: "OK, we can all stare at each other or we can investigate what caused the heart failure. Just the heart failure. You wanna give me that Black marker?"

[blind_synergy]

I love watching Grey's. It's my guilty pleasure. The storyline is cheesy and ridiculously irrealistic, but it entertains me. Even if I'm spending most of the time making fun of Christina's sole facial expression and Meredith looks like the most ancient 30 something I've ever seen, it lets me clear my brain for a little while, not worry about life/friends/school and enjoy a fake storyline. The point of TV is not to be accurate but entertaining. And judging by the huge fanbase, it's done its job.

 

Also, I think crime shows are by far the worst for being irrealistic. I also like watching Bones and the facial reconstruction hologram thing they have is BEYOND irrealistic! The one chick looks at a skull and within 20 minutes has created a hologram of not only the person's face, along with a hand made sketch but a recreation of how they died! In CSI, a PCR takes a whole 5 minutes? And the machine magically spits out the DNA test through this handy slot in the back??

 

I dunno. Are you a girl? I just don't see the appeal of Grey's.

 

I write fiction in my spare time (both scripts and books, though I've never considered any of them polished enough to send to a publisher). I can find inspiration from nearly anything. It doesn't matter what it is. It could be a piece of work which I would consider awful on its own; however, I may feel it has a certain character or scene or theme that really resonates with me.

 

As an example, I will use Terminator: Salvation. The plot was a mess, the scenes were cut and shortened before their importance could be established, Christian Bale was underutilized, CGI was overused, etc... Perhaps the most egregious offense was that the movie was a logical black hole; once the audience passed the event horizon, the logic continued to get stretched until it became so thin that it virtually disappeared. For brevity, I won't give any examples unless someone asks me to. However, I really liked the idea of exploring the concept of our own humanity (this was where Sam Worthington's character came in). What makes us human? At what point, in regards to technological and biological enhancement do we become another being all together? What is gained and what is lost? Is it worth it? These are ideas worth exploring.

 

Now, it may seem like I've gone off on tangent here but I've actually come full circle. What exactly in Grey's resonates with you?

 

When I've been forced to watch it, I've felt that every single element has essentially become a caricature of itself; when the show tries to change gears from that kind of postmodern audience-is-in-on-the-joke attitude to pure melodrama, it fails greatly. Any suspension-of-disbelief that once existed is utterly lost. I'd actually say that Scrubs does a better job of mixing drama and comedy than Grey's. Grey's is the epitome of schizophrenic.

 

P.S. I should probably note that most people (even my best-friend) hate watching TV and movies with me. I can't help criticizing things, even things I loved. 2001: Space Odyssey is the movie I consider closest to perfect and even it had a lot of problems. Maybe I've seen so much I've become jaded. Who knows? Most people tend to take my attitude to mean that I hate everything I see. I don't. I hate nothing (hate is such a strong word) although I still think Grey's is awful. Maybe there's some unknown physical link with Grey's that is directly proportionate to the amount of estrogen in your system. Someone should write a paper on that. Could be the next breakthrough in quantum physics.

[trymeover]

Trymyover...

 

what exactly is your point???

 

Are you wondering why med shows are so silly?

 

Are you wondering why people watch them despite this??

 

Are you wondering why med students watch them despite their silliness???

 

Are you implying that med people seem to like med shows more than regular shows????

 

Like all shows, med shows are about human interactions, and medicine happens to be the vehicle of med shows, powers are the vehicle of Heroes, and well...um...some kind of magic island with monsters or something like that...(who really knows) is the vehicle for Lost.

 

Are you just looking for like minded people who think med shows are stupid??

 

In that case, you should have just started a thread saying "Medical shows are stupid and I don't see any good reason why people like them! Who agrees with me?!"

 

Ah shoot, I wish I could change the title of the thread. Fantastic suggestion and response Malkynn, you're a diamond in the rough.

[trymeover]

um.....

 

um.....

 

I *assume* you mean that as a compliment but I'm not so sure I appreciate the "but you're a little rough around the edges" that the phrase implies.

 

That's quite alright, it takes time to develop an appreciation for something.

[mattg]

trymeover, I really don't get what you're saying...

 

okay, you don't like the shows, but how do you "not understand" why premeds enjoy them... they are funny/entertaining

 

out of the shows that you named, you seem to enjoy Heroes, Supernatural, the Office...

 

well if Michael Scott existed in real life, not only would he be fired in a second, but he would probably be verging on insane... no office is actually like that... just as an aside (I love the US version as well, but), if you want something more realistic, watch the original UK office... funniest show ever in my opinion... and the office is pretty realistic, the boringness/monotony contrasted with David Brent (the boss) always trying to get a laugh out of people (similar to Michael Scott, but pure genius, and not as far gone as Michael Scott)

 

Heroes - it's about people with superpowers

 

Supernatural - it's about guys hunting downs demons and ghosts I believe?

 

Your whole thread seems to be so contradictory... you criticize everyone for watching shows like Scrubs and House because they're unrealistic, and then go on to say that these shows are better, which are actually much more unrealistic

 

fiction isn't supposed to be real life... how often do you see LOL moments throughout your day? for them to be crammed into a 20 minute show, it's not going to be realistic... it's called tv, bud

 

btw, apparently doctors say that out of all of the medical shows on tv, Scrubs most parallels real life... the medicine is pretty low-key (unlike House - where he makes a miracle diagnosis at the last second every ep - and Grey's - where someone comes in with a bomb in the chest and stuff like that every ep), the people aren't that outrageous, the dynamics between everyone are pretty realistic... the fantasies and some aspects of the show aren't, but the base is... and those are what make the show funny... if people wanted a more realistic medical experience, they would just watch TLC (and even that is selectively made to be more exciting that a doc's everyday life)

 

as per the fact that these characters all went to Ivy league schools... well why not? the average viewer only knows the names of Ivy league schools...

[discworldheavylight]

I love watching Grey's. It's my guilty pleasure. The storyline is cheesy and ridiculously irrealistic, but it entertains me. Even if I'm spending most of the time making fun of Christina's sole facial expression and Meredith looks like the most ancient 30 something I've ever seen, it lets me clear my brain for a little while, not worry about life/friends/school and enjoy a fake storyline. The point of TV is not to be accurate but entertaining. And judging by the huge fanbase, it's done its job.

 

Also, I think crime shows are by far the worst for being irrealistic. I also like watching Bones and the facial reconstruction hologram thing they have is BEYOND irrealistic! The one chick looks at a skull and within 20 minutes has created a hologram of not only the person's face, along with a hand made sketch but a recreation of how they died! In CSI, a PCR takes a whole 5 minutes? And the machine magically spits out the DNA test through this handy slot in the back??

 

lol. "irrealistic". unrealistic?

 

i think christina has more than one facial expression! at least two...

[mattg]

i agree, i think crime shows are waaay more unrealistic than medical shows...

 

find me any show though that parallels what you could find in someone's daily life...

 

this guy must really hate 24! lol

[A-Stark]

As an example, I will use Terminator: Salvation. The plot was a mess, the scenes were cut and shortened before their importance could be established, Christian Bale was underutilized, CGI was overused, etc... Perhaps the most egregious offense was that the movie was a logical black hole; once the audience passed the event horizon, the logic continued to get stretched until it became so thin that it virtually disappeared. For brevity, I won't give any examples unless someone asks me to. However, I really liked the idea of exploring the concept of our own humanity (this was where Sam Worthington's character came in). What makes us human? At what point, in regards to technological and biological enhancement do we become another being all together? What is gained and what is lost? Is it worth it? These are ideas worth exploring.

 

Ideas worth exploring, yes, but they've been done ad nauseum elsewhere and in MUCH better films. Terminator: Salvation is big budget garbage, though it did include Christian Bale's wonderfully over-the-top rant at a member of the production crew.

 

When I've been forced to watch it, I've felt that every single element has essentially become a caricature of itself; when the show tries to change gears from that kind of postmodern audience-is-in-on-the-joke attitude to pure melodrama, it fails greatly. Any suspension-of-disbelief that once existed is utterly lost. I'd actually say that Scrubs does a better job of mixing drama and comedy than Grey's. Grey's is the epitome of schizophrenic.

 

QFT. Horrible show. There's a certain fascination in watching a train wreck (with train wreck characters), so I don't blame people who watch it as a guilty pleasure. It's certainly not emotionally resonant, though, and some elements are stupid beyond belief. I recall one from the fall some time featuring a character with a gigantic spinal tumour who wants Derek to operate on him... of course, the guy's just walking around normally in no apparent pain or with any functional deficits. Screwy stuff.

 

(And Meredith is indeed one of the most ancient-looking 30-somethings around. They're certainly not looking for male viewership, that's for sure...)

 

Re: Scrubs. It's always felt closest to reality of any of the shows around, though I haven't seen any of the later seasons.