TV on DVD Buzz

This week’s TV on DVD Season I am going through and doing wrap ups of is the four disc Doogie Howser, M.D. Season 1 set. I am posting a wrap up of one disc per day finishing the set on Thursday. Today’s wrap up is of the episodes on Disc 3.

“Attack of the Green-Eyed Monster” - The episode starts with a teenage patient running into Doogie while on a date with Wanda and getting invited to a college party, which makes Wanda jealous. Also, Doogie’s dad becomes jealous when he learns that one of his colleagues flirted with Doogie’s mom. This episode has a different sequence of scenes that are daydreaming black and white parodies of old movies. To get Wanda back he serenades her. I kind of dislike this episode because there is no real doctor aspect to it, which is really what makes this a good show.

“It Ain’t Over Until Mrs. Howser Sings” - Doogie and Vinnie find out that Mrs. Howser had a singing career in the 60s when they find old home movies while cleaning the garage. Mrs. Howser begins to wish she had gone through her dream of being a singer as she faces a possible breast cancer lump. It turns out benign, but it makes her want to pursue some of the things she had been putting off. This is another episode that kind of is boring to me, but at least it does have the hospital aspect of Mrs. Howser having a biopsy.

“Tough Guys Don’t Teach” - Doogie goes back to high school in this episode to teach safe sex to high school students. A football player gives him a hard time and Doogie ends up getting into a fight with him. Yet, again the whole doctor aspect is being played down and too much of him just being a normal teenager is in this episode. It makes the series seem like it is just a regular teen drama show and the whole thing that makes this show interesting is that he is a doctor.

“I Never Sold Showerheads for My Father” - In this episode Vinnie is being pressured into the family business and he does not understand that his father is pushing it because he is worried he might be dying due to a heart problem. This episode is a little better than the ones before it, as it actually has one scene with Doogie being a doctor and helping save Vinnie’s dad, but it really is not the same spirit of stuff that was in the beginning of the series and I almost do not want to continue watching the series because it is turning out to be disappointing.

“Doogie’s Awesome, Excellent Adventure” - In the beginning of this episode Doogie saves a guy named Griffin that Wanda and Vinnie’s girlfriend were talking about being so cool. For saving his life, Griffin, helps Doogie become cool. As part of his new cool reputation he borrows his dad’s car without permission to go to a party. He gets away with it in the end and also learns that Vinnie is a better friend than those Doogie gained by being cool. Yet, another episode with no good scenes with Doogie taking care of patients at the hospital.

“Use a Slurpy, Go to Jail” - Doogie and Vinnie end up being held up at a convenience store when Vinnie is getting ready to close it on his third day on the job there. Doogie and Vinnie end up becoming friends and they have more of a party while hostage than being scared. It is an unique type of hostage situation and Doogie does realize about prejudice for the first time, but entirely lacks the hospital aspect of the show.

“Who’s Mid-Life Crisis is it Anyways” - In this episode Doogie’s dad goes through a mid-life crisis when he learns that his research study was already published by another person and realizing that Doogie did something more meaningful of saving a man with a bullet in his heart vs. Doogie’s dad just having removed a yellow jacket stinger. Finally an episode on this disc that has some good hospital scenes including Doogie saving the man and later talking with the man later in recovery when the man ends up arrested for his past bank robberies.