Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989–1993)

A teenaged genius deals with the usual problems of growing up: having a girlfriend, going to parties, hanging out with his best friend, all this on top of being a licensed physician in a ... See full summary »

Creators:

Steven Bochco, David E. Kelley

Stars:

Neil Patrick Harris, Max Casella, Belinda Montgomery

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 8 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Neil Patrick Harris	...	Dr. Doogie Howser (97 episodes, 1989-1993)
Max Casella	...	Vinnie Delpino (97 episodes, 1989-1993)
Belinda Montgomery	...	Katherine Howser (97 episodes, 1989-1993)
Lawrence Pressman	...	Dr. Benjamin Canfield (97 episodes, 1989-1993)
Kathryn Layng	...	Nurse Curly Spaulding (97 episodes, 1989-1993)
James Sikking	...	Dr. David Howser (97 episodes, 1989-1993)
Markus Redmond	...	Raymond Alexander (71 episodes, 1990-1993)
Lucy Boryer	...	Janine Stewart (61 episodes, 1989-1993)
Mitchell Anderson	...	Dr. Jack McGuire (51 episodes, 1989-1991)
Lisa Dean Ryan	...	Wanda Plenn (46 episodes, 1989-1992)

Storyline

A teenaged genius deals with the usual problems of growing up: having a girlfriend, going to parties, hanging out with his best friend, all this on top of being a licensed physician in a difficult residency program.

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Plot Keywords:

doctor | best friend | genius | teenager | diary | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Doogie Howser

Filming Locations:

Stage 18, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Steven Bochco Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (97 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steven Bochco stated in his interview on the Season One DVD that had he been able to finish the series and write a "final" season (as opposed to ABC's abrupt cancellation of the show in its fourth season), he would have had a season long story arc in which Doogie becomes disillusioned with medicine and in the end, becomes a writer.

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Goofs

In the Season One opening credits, the article discussing Doogie graduating from high school says that he is 12-years-old in the first line. The next article, however, says that he graduated from Princeton, a college, at age 10. This was later changed, in Season 2, from 12 to 9-years old.

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Connections

Referenced in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)

User Reviews

Interesting and unique show that quickly flat-lined

When it first came out, "Doogie Howser M.D." was one of the more unique shows to grace the airwaves. It centered around a 16-year old child prodigy, Douglas "Doogie" Howser, who was a doctor at a Los Angeles area hospital. He lived with his parents and had a girlfriend, Wanda, and an obnoxious best friend who often came into his house via a window. Each episode ended with Doogie typing up an entry in his personal computer diary. The entry was usually a wise proverb from a lesson learned in the episode.

The show was developed by Steven Bochco who created ground-breaking shows like "L.A. Law" and "Hill Street Blues". Although not nearly as acclaimed as those two shows (the only Emmy awards it was nominated for were for Sound Mixing and Cinematography), it had a satisfying blend of comedy and drama that kept the show interesting but not too serious. Since the two main characters were both teenagers, this lead many people to dismiss it as a kid's show. However, it was much deeper than a kid's show as most of the episodes centered on adult themes such as AIDS, death, and racism. The acting was also very solid. Long before he gained recognition for the show "How I Met Your Mother", I always felt that Neil Patrick Harris was a very underrated actor. Very few teenage actors could have pulled off playing a child prodigy the way he did. It would be hard to imagine anyone else playing the Doogie Howser role.

The first and second season were terrific as they focused around Doogie's struggles to be a normal teenager despite the demands of his job. A common theme was discrimination as he was often discriminated based on his age by patients and even other doctors. He was not afraid, though, to express his views, even if it meant clashing with more seasoned and respected doctors. By the third or fourth season, the show had lost some of its novelty as Doogie was no longer a child prodigy but just a very smart adult. This must have really made it hard for the writers to come up with interesting story lines and it showed. The show began to focus more on Doogie's personal life and Vinnie quirky adventures and less on the hospital. By this time, Doogie had moved out of his parent's house to live in an apartment which meant that less time was devoted to his parents who were an integral part of the show. The ratings declined and a show that seemed like it would be on the air for many years was canceled after only four.