The Hospital Genre Theresa Haider Jennifer Sellers Good

The Hospital Genre Theresa Haider & Jennifer Sellers

Good Looking Doctors • The actors who portray the doctors often have extreme good looks.

Doctors in Relationships • On hospital dramas, the doctors are currently in relationships with each other, or they’ve had past relationships with one or more of their colleagues. Very few are in relationships with people they don’t work with. • On Grey’s Anatomy: Derek and his ex-wife Addison, Derek and Meredith, Izzy and Alex, George and Cally, Mc. Steamy and Cally, Kristina and Dr. Burke, Meredith’s mother and the Chief. • On ER: Dr. Kovac and Abby, Dr. Kovac and Sam, Neela and her husband, John Stamos and Sam, Ray likes Neela, Morris likes a new intern, etc, etc.

The Older Doctors • Often standoffish, the older doctors are occasionally friends with the younger doctors, but most often they are to be feared, yet respected. • It’s usually the older doctors whose husbands or wives, lovers or girl/boyfriends do NOT work at the hospital. Their love lives aren’t as essential to the storylines as their younger counterparts are.

Re-Located Doctors • Apparently doctors move around a lot. Luca is from Croatia (ER takes place in Chicago) Dr. Sloan is from New York (Grey’s Anatomy takes place in Seattle) Neela is from England (ER) The Shepards are from New York (GA)

Storylines • Dealing with mortality and death • Doctors take a personal risk with one another or patients (Addison with Catholic woman, Izzy and Denny, Neela and Gregory) • Role reversal: doctors as patients • Moral obligation and potential hippocratic oath violations • Dating fellow doctors • Co-workers as family

Storyline features • Two relationship issues between or involving 2+ doctors • Traumatic or interesting medical cases (usually 2 -3 different patients with a major focus on one case) • A medical case related to fairly recent medical news stories.

“Perfect” Male Archetypes • Bad boy in need of reform - Alex, Ray • Dorky, sensitive, shy and fiercely loyal George • Smart, successful, kind, thoughtful Preston Burke, Carter, Anthony Edwards’ character • Handsome - Shepard (Mc. Dreamy), George Clooney’s character, Stamos,

Female Characters • Romantic, searching for love, always struggling with hard decisions Meredith, Abby, Neela • Smart and beautiful, proving that she can be both - Izzy • Driven, smart, selfish, balancing love and career - Cristina

View of Nurses • Nurses are routinely presented as nonentities, nurturing, professional, sexually available to doctors, young, unintelligent and not as friendly or sympathetic as doctors. • Although many hospital shows received complaints about their portrayal of nurses, ER is one of the only ones that significantly changed its portrayal of nurses from negative to very positive.

Final Thoughts: • Hospital dramas attempt to portray realistic scenarios of the ER/Hospital. • The shows are interesting and exciting because they contain an element most people don’t know a lot about (medical profession) AND elements we can relate to (love and/or issues with colleagues). • Audiences are willing to look past the farfetched elements of such shows because they just want to be entertained, no matter how outlandish the storylines.