Doctor Doctor (1989 TV series)
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| Doctor Doctor | |
|---|---|
| Format | Sitcom |
| Developed by | Robert Berlinger, Peter Bonerz, Zane Buzby, Art Dielhenn, Richard Dubin, David Frankel, Michael Lembeck, John Neal, Norman Steinberg, John Whitesell, James Widdoes |
| Starring | Matt Frewer, Julius Carry, Beau Gravitte, Maureen Mueller, Tony Carreiro, Audrie J. Neenan, Anne Ramsay, Sarah Abrell, Jane Brucker, Dakin Matthews, Inga Swenson |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 39 (40 in syndication.) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original run | 12 June 1989 – 6 July 1991 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Doctor Doctor is a television sitcom starring U.S./Canadian actor Matt Frewer. It began a short run in June 1989, and was picked up for a full season the following fall. A second season followed in fall 1990, but the show was cancelled at the end of the 1990-1991 season, due to low ratings for it had to compete first with NBC's Top 20 hit Unsolved Mysteries and ABC's Top 30 hit Growing Pains, then after October, with NBC's Top 30 hit Grand (TV series). One episode remained unaired.
The show features Frewer as a doctor who belongs to the practice Northeast Medical Partners with three other doctors in Providence, Rhode Island. Most of the comedy surrounds Dr. Stratford's zany antics, tempered by his obvious commitment to his profession and his patients. His character is reminiscent of Hawkeye Pierce in M*A*S*H. Though at first serving as "straight men" for Matt Frewer's manic style of comic acting, the other characters gained more depth as the series progressed, sometimes focusing on issues such as AIDS, breast cancer, and homophobia.
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[edit] The Cast
Mike Stratford {Matt Frewer}: general practitioner, novelist, and TV medical expert, Mike is devoted to his patients, sometimes offering his services for free, much to the consternation of his partners in the practice. His many responsibilities sometimes tend to play havoc with his love life, as is exemplified in the pilot episode where his unhappy girlfriend has to resort to making a doctor's appointment to see him. The least willing to "maximize the practice," as Grant once suggested, Mike's greatest ambition is to be like Marcus Welby, M.D..
Abraham Butterfield (Julius J. Carry III): Mike's best friend and medical partner, an uptight, ambitious African-American who is anxious to have the “perfect life,” leading him to become at times overly controlling with his wife and son. Though at times exasperated by Mike's endless pranks and off-the-wall comments, Abe is usually the first to go out on a limb for his friend.
Grant Linowitz (Beau Gravitte): accomplished, ambitious heart surgeon and the medical partner with whom Mike initially disagrees with the most, Grant is at times egocentric, vain and shallow with a taste for the finer things in life, though these qualities are later downplayed somewhat as the series progressed. He becomes a good friend of Mike’s brother Richard.
Deirdre Bennett {Maureen Mueller): the medical partner who comes off as aloof, or as she puts it, “a complete bitch,” and is not above exploiting a situation for her own benefit. However, she is very protective of her patients and her partners, especially Mike. Deirdre also has a weakness for the wrong men, like her married lover Steve. At one point, prior to current events in the show, she had one tryst with Mike.
Richard Stratford {Tony Carreiro}: Mike's brother, and an English professor ("I'm an Associate Professor at a liberal arts college - they pay me in brie"), he shares a house with Mike. Having come out as gay, Richard maintains a close relationship with his brother, though Mike can't resist a good-natured jibe or two at his brother's expense.
Leona Linowitz (Anne Ramsay): psychologist and Grant's sister, Leona appears in the final season when she moves to Rhode Island with her daughter after her ex-husband writes a hit play which features a character based on her known only as "The Domineering Bitch"
Elizabeth McQueen {Jane Brucker}: Mike's sometime girlfriend, and television producer of "Wake Up Providence," Elizabeth tries to keep the show together as Mike presents one wacky medical segment after another. She leaves for New York after the episode, “Bachelor Doctor.”
Nurse Faye Baryiski {Audrie J. Neenan}:oversexed head nurse at the practice, Faye is nonplussed by Mike's jokes and strange antics, and has a fondness for The Grateful Dead and bikers like her boyfriend Dana.
Other recurring characters include:
Hugh Persons {Brian George}: host of “Wake Up Providence,” a snobby blowhard and know-it-all, Hugh has a tendency to critique plays and novels without having any exposure to the material. He’s constantly at odds with Mike during his segments, as it sometimes leads to on-air humiliation. It is later revealed that he is gay and HIV-positive, and he subsequently becomes a patient of Deirdre’s.
Pia Bismark {Sarah Abrell}: alternate host of “Wake Up Providence,” though at times frazzled by Mike’s stunts, Pia is far more congenial and easygoing.
Dr. Harold Stratford (Dakin Matthews): father to Mike and Richard, husband to Connie, Harold is a stuffy, well-established heart surgeon who disapproves of Mike's choice to be a general practitioner of medicine, as well as Richard's sexual orientation.
Connie Stratford {Inga Swenson}: mother to Mike and Richard, wife to Harold, an excellent nurse, Connie longs to return to her profession, even to the point where she works briefly with Mike as his nurse. Unfazed by Mike's goofy nature, she usually responds in kind, and is far more accepting of her son Richard being gay.
[edit] Backstory
Coming from a family of medical professionals, Mike Stratford first befriended Abe Butterfield while attending Harvard Medical School. Aware of his need for a study group, Abe invited Mike to join his, where Mike met Grant Linowitz and Deirdre Bennett. At first, Mike got off to a bad start with the group with his apparent lack of preparation, and nervous habit of clowning around. But Mike's medical skill was soon made evident when he quickly came to the aid of the study group leader, who was having an epileptic attack.
Wanting to avoid the pitfalls of working in HMOs, the four decided to start a practice together after graduation. However, this decision initially led to conflicts as Mike's approach to medicine constantly conflicted with his partners', particularly Grant's. The conflicts increased as he started a promotional campaign for his first novel “Panacea,” and began doing medical segments for the local morning news show "Wake Up Providence."
Mike made his first appearance on “Wake Up Providence” only to promote his new novel. However, he soon found himself bickering with host Hugh Persons during the live broadcast as it was plain to see that Hugh was attempting to fake his critique when he had never read the book. Producer Elizabeth McQueen liked his style (and that someone finally took the pompous host down a peg or two), and offered him a spot on the show. Though Mike tries to cover serious medical issues in his segments on "Good Morning Providence," they usually devolve into unplanned lunacy, which only endears him more to his viewers, and even raises the show's ratings, much to Hugh’s dismay.
Elizabeth: The kids at the hospital love you. They call you Dr. Doofus.
Hugh: [amused] “Dr. Doofus!” Children have such insight.
After Elizabeth's departure from the show, Mike finds himself fending off requests to do "disease of the week" pieces, or even to promote products such as a "Miracle Slimming Supplement."
Running gags in the show include:
Abe's trademark goofy laugh, which draws a comment from Grant ("I HATE that laugh!") when it's at his expense. When one episode features a flashback with the characters in medical school, Deirdre haughtily responds, "Are you gonna laugh like that for the rest of your life?" It appears to have been passed on to his son.
Deirdre's name, as she insists on the Irish pronunciation "Dehr-dra" while Mike insists on pronouncing it "Deer-dree." He is also fond of various modifications like "Dier-drops" or "Dier-drums."
Faye's crossword puzzle, as the nurse's attempts to solve the puzzle usually involve lewd and lascivious answers based on her promiscuous nature.
"Yeah, right!" The typical response when anyone muses about the possibility of Grant showing depth or compassion.
Patient exam or Dr. Mike's medical segment, Each episode begins with one of these scenes, primarily the former, where Mike has to contend with goofy scenes like a patient suffering from a bad case of the hiccups, another suffering from body odor, an Elvis Presley impersonator attempting to get Mike to declare the King is alive, or a wrestler who takes extreme issue with Mike's snide comments about wrestling being fake.
[edit] Trivia
Matt Frewer appeared in a public service announcement after the episode "Accentuate the Positive," which dealt with HIV and AIDS. He cautioned against prejudice and fear toward people dealing with HIV and AIDS, citing an example of a friend who had to endure such trials. He was referring to Ryan White, whom Matt had befriended after reading about him in a magazine interview. The photos printed in the interview featured a Max Headroom poster in Ryan's bedroom.
In the episodes "Don't Mess With the Elephants" and "Anatomy of Love," Mike's former patient and would-be flame Jenna Lathrop, is played by Amanda Hillwood, Matt Frewer's real-life wife.
[edit] The people behind the show
The crew list includes names made famous by other successful comedies, including actor/director Peter Bonerz (The Bob Newhart Show), and director James Widdoes (8 Simple Rules).
The music for the opening titles was the rock and roll song Good Lovin', written by Ahmet Ertegün, Leroy Kirkland, Jesse Stone, and Danny Taylor. It begins with the bass vocal singing "D-D-D-D-Doctor, Doctor, D-D-D-D-Doc."
[edit] Awards
| Year | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | GLAAD Media Award | Outstanding Comedy Series |
| 1991 | GLAAD Media Award | Outstanding Comedy Series |
