Medical drama

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A medical drama is a television drama in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any other medical environment. In the United States, most medical dramas are usually 1-hour in length, and more often than not are set in a hospital. Most current medical dramas go beyond the events pertaining to the characters' jobs and portray some aspects of their personal lives. For example, a typical medical drama might have a storyline in which two doctors fall in love. Popular medical dramas include E.R., House, Grey's Anatomy, and Doogie Howser, M.D..

History

Dr. Kildare, which first aired in 1961, is generally considered to be the first medical drama. The show was a success, and soon medical dramas were a common phenomenon. The BBC series Dr. Finlay's Casebook (1962-1971 is an early example of another common variant of the genre in which a medical practice is used as a focus for stories detailing the life of a (usually small) community. The long running Australian series A Country Practice (1981-1993) is a later example of this sub-genre. In 1970, the first episode of M*A*S*H aired; the show's tone was generally comedic, but but dark, poignant moments emanating from the death caused by war were not uncommon. This trend of comedy with undercurrents of darkness in medical TV shows can also be seen in Doogie Howser, M.D. and Scrubs, a current-day medical sit-com on NBC. The most successful medical drama of all time is ER, with dozens of awards to its name and a multi-million dollar syndication.

References

http://www.studentbmj.com/back_issues/0501/life/157.html

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