Doogie Howser, M.D.

You really don't realize just how much our collective consciousness has changed until you watch some of the 80s-90s shows and cringe. Doogie Howser is no exception. I love NPH in this role, he was perfect for it. But some of the storylines wouldn't work in today's environment. Like the episodes where much older women come on to Doogie, even though in the original storyline it was probably meant to be amusing. Now it's downright creepy. Then there's Max, the constantly thinking of sex next door neighbor. Funny back then, but now comes across as a potential later-in-life sexual predator. Some shows age well (think Friends) but not Doogie. If you want to see NPH, watch How I Met Your Mother instead.

Doogie Houser, MD. Just the name brings a smile of remembrance to me. In the tradition of such television classics as L.A. LAW, NYPD Blue and Hill Street Blues, Doogie Houser, MD was a wonderfully funny with a touch of life. As a 30 something adult when I first watched Doogie in late night reruns, I was hooked by its' humor and wit while watching this "kid" with a adult mind, yet the hormones and maturity of a teenager, grow into independence. Memorable episodes include his first day, the late night skinny dip (as mentioned by another viewer), the practical joke he played on other hospital staff only to have it ruthlessly reciprocated, and the apartment with his best friend Vinny. There is some risqué humor but it is nothing when compared to today's standards. I always enjoyed seeing the relationship he had with his dad(James Sikking) and mom(Belinda Montgomery). I had the entire series recorded but sacrificed them for NFL games. BIG mistake!! Doogie Houser, MD will long be cherished by this now 40 something dad and his now 20 something daughters. I look forward to seeing Doogies journal again.

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.

I suppose it must be different when you first watched this, but I only started watching this in 2013 when there were suddenly a few cultural references to Doogie Howser on TV and in the movies.

It was fun watching it at first - a boy genius who is a doctor. It's a show about growing up pains, with the quirk that the growing boy is smarter than his father and is an accomplished and respected doctor. I enjoyed the episodes where he is saving lives and learning adult perspectives in a medical setting, but the normal growing pains part are too normal to be interesting. I actually liked Vinny better as the normal kid with the genius friend - if you think it is easy being a genius, try being his friend!

By the second half of the second season, the show did not interest me as much as it initially did. I would have given it a 5, but thought 6 was more appropriate for the excellent first season.

I loved this show! I used to watch it every week. Unfortunately, I think too many people dismissed "Doogie Howser, M.D." as kids' or teens' faire because of the main character(Doogie) and the premise(boy genius becomes m.d. at age 14).

The truth is, the writing was consistently sharp and witty, and pretty mature. Plus, this program was one of Steven Bochco's creations, as in Steven Bochco, the man behind Hill Street Blues(which won something like, I don't know, 2,000 awards). I'm surprised this last fact alone didn't get Doogie Howser more respect. Oh, well. If you get a chance,definitely check out the reruns.