Top 10 Favourite TV Doctors

By Brent Furdyk. 17 Apr 2020 5:17 PM

Doctors, lawyers and cops are said to be television’s trinity, and every TV season brings new legal, police and medical dramas. When it comes to the latter, there have been so many it’s tough to try to recall them all. But with that in mind, here are 10 that stick out as some of TV’s all-time favourites.

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Dr. Doogie Howser
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Neil Patrick Harris starred as boy genius Doogie Howser, who graduated from Princeton at age 10 and obtained his medical degree at 14 — which meant he could prescribe drugs, but couldn't buy beer.
Dr. Meredith Grey
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Fans of "Grey's Anatomy" have gone through the ups and downs of Meredith Grey's (Ellen Pompeo) personal and professional triumphs and travails. With the show's 16th season in the works, it doesn't look like this TV doctor will be stopping her Thursday-night house calls anytime soon.
Dr. Hawkeye Pierce
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For more than a decade, viewers of TV classic "M*A*S*H" tuned in to watch Hawkeye (Alan Alda) perform meatball surgery while wisecracking his way through the Korean War — which, fun fact, lasted eight years less than the show that spent 11 years there.
Dr. Nick Rivera

While some might point to hearty-chuckling Dr. Julius Hibbert as the favourite M.D. on "The Simpsons", we have a soft spot for larcenous Dr. Nick, who obtained his medical degree — or something — from the dubious Hollywood Upstairs Medical College. Best known for inventing the Juice Loosener and his iconic catchphrase, "Hi everybody!"
Dr. Shaun Murphy
ABC
Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) of "The Good Doctor" doesn't let his autism hold him back — in fact, he's discovered it's a kind of medical superpower that enables him to look at patients from a different perspective that allows him to come to diagnoses that elude his colleagues.
Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy
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During three seasons of the OG "Star Trek", DeForest Kelley's Dr. "Bones" McCoy was contractually obligated to yell crankily at Leonard Nimoy's Mr. Spock at least once an episode. However, the character never actually uttered what is now his most iconic line — "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor not a [insert random non-medical profession here]!" — although he did come close, with such lines as "I'm a doctor, not a coal miner," among others.
Dr. Doug Ross
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George Clooney catapulted to superstardom thanks to his role as the rakishly handsome and perpetually rule-bending Dr. Doug Ross on "ER". Interestingly enough, Clooney had previously played a doctor on a short-lived sitcom — that was called "E/R", starring Elliott Gould, which was axed after its first season.
Dr. Mindy Lahiri
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As writer/creator/star of "The Mindy Project", Mindy Kaling decided to make her titular character an OB-GYN to pay tribute to her mother, Dr. Swati Chokalingam, who was likewise an OB-GYN. Luckily for her patients Dr. Lahiri was far better at medicine than she was handling her shambolic personal life.
Dr. Greg House
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When compiling a list of favourite TV MDs, the doctor at the centre of "House" cannot be omitted. A grumpy, pill-popping medical genius, House rankled both patients and fellow doctors, yet had a knack for always coming through by the end of each episode. And if those episodes felt formulaic — he'd diagnose a patient, order a course of treatment that nearly killed said patient and then have an epiphany while insulting his team and come up with the correct diagnosis — it was a formula that viewers loved.
Dr. Michaela 'Mike' Quinn
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When it comes to frontier doctors in the Old West, it's tough to beat Jane Seymour in "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman". At first, the denizens of the Colorado town in which she settles aren't sure what to make of a female physician, but she wound up winning them over with a combination of charm and seriously good doctoring.

Top 10 Favourite TV Doctors

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