Doctors, Nurses, Diseases, and Hospitals, part 4

Hello, my friends, old and new! As many of you know (and many of you don't) I am a doctor of medicine. I was toying with the idea of preparing a story on the subject - I was wondering, however, if there was enough material for it. What do you know - there was actually material for four stories - and I actually left a lot out! So, without further ado, let's get on with the fourth part.

Here are two more TV shows concerning doctors: first off, one of the most successful of them all. ER ran from 1994 until 2009. Of the first 9 seasons, it was the #1 TV show of the year in three, the #2 show in three more, once it was found at #3 and twice at #4. The series was created by Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park, Westworld, The Andromeda Strain, etc), while the main showrunner was John Wells (The West Wing, Shameless). The most famous actor among its original cast was none other than George Clooney (photo). Here's a scene from the series, which features Clooney:

The final TV series in our list is so current, that its second season is airing as we speak. Freddie Highmore was a fantastic child actor, shining at the side of Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland and Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. He portrayed a gay character in the British film Toast - and then he really left his mark in the Psycho prequel, the great (but underrated) TV series Bates Motel. Both Highmore's and Vera Farmiga's acting was off the charts.

When the creator of House, M.D. decided to create a new medical show called The Good Doctor, based on the 2013 award-winning South Korean series of the same name, with a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome at its center, he immediately thought of Highmore. The first season debuted in 2017 and the ratings were strong enough to guarantee the show's renewal.

In this scene, Highmore's character, Shaun, reads to a dying boy who reminds him of his dead brother.

Now, a few movies about doctors, nurses, etc:

Nurse Betty (2000) was a Neil LaBute comedy starring Renée Zellweger, Morgan Freeman, and Chris Rock. This is the trailer:

Dr. T & the Women (2000) was a Robert Altman film starring Richard Gere. This is the trailer:

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) was a fantasy dramedy film directed by Terry Gilliam. Heath Ledger died while filming, so his friends, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law readily agreed to portray transformations of Ledger's character as he travels through a dream world, so that the film would be completed. This is an edit of scenes from the film combined with interviews by the director and some of the main actors:

The Skin I Live In (La Piel Que Habito) was a 2011 Spanish psychological horror film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Antonio Banderas as a plastic surgeon. This is an edit from the film:

Doctor Strange (2016) was a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Tilda Swinton. This is the trailer:

These are the actors and actresses who were nominated or won an Oscar for portraying a doctor or a nurse in the 90s, the 00s, and the 10s:

Anthony Hopkins (winner: 1991) for The Silence of the Lambs. Here's a scene from the film:

Juliette Binoche (winner: 1996) for The English Patient. Here's a scene from the film:

Robin Williams (winner: 1997) for Good Will Hunting. Here's a scene from the film:

Michael Caine (winner: 1999) for The Cider House Rules. Here's a scene from the film:

Clive Owen (nominated: 2004) for Closer. Here's a scene from the film:

Andrew Garfield (nominated: 2016) for Hacksaw Ridge. Here's a scene from the film:

Now, it's time for the songs: after reading part 1 of this story, a reader suggested that I play Harry Nilsson's Coconut (1971) a novelty song that doesn't contain a medical word in the title - however the word "doctor" is repeated four times in the chorus - and the chorus is repeated multiple times throughout the song, so I think the song belongs here. This is it:

Now, let's meet a few of the acts that have a "medical" name:

Anthrax is a serious disease. It's also an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Only (1993) was one of their most popular songs:

The Black Death was another name for the Great Plague, one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people in Eurasia. It is also the name of the first all-African-American heavy metal band whose only album, also called Black Death, came out in 1984. The opening track is Night of the Living Death:

Karin Rudefelt & Doctor Blues is a Swedish blues band. This is their song It's A Curse:

Doctor Ross, also known as Doctor Ross the Harmonica Boss, born Charles Isaiah Ross in Tunica, Mississippi, was an American blues singer, guitarist, harmonica player and drummer. This song is called The Boogie Disease:

Now, let's listen to a few songs with medical titles.

Since we're listening to the blues, let's begin with a classic blues track, Dr. Brown by the great Jimmy Reed:

West, Bruce & Laing gave us good hard-rocking songs, The Doctor among them:

Wishbone Ash was a very good prog-rock band. One of their songs was called Doctor:

Alan Parsons was a studio engineer responsible for The Beatles' Abbey Road and Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon, among many others. In the mid-70s he formed the Alan Parsons Project. One of their best albums is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe and is called Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1976). From it, here's (The System of) Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether:

Here's a more recent song, Easy Eats Or Dirty Doctor Galapagos (2008), by experimental rock band Man Man:

Marc Bianchi's recording moniker was Her Space Holiday. In 2000, he released The Doctor And The DJ:

Let's lighten up the mood with a disco hit from the 70s. It's Dr. Kiss Kiss by 5000 Volts:

Here's an R&B hit from the 70s. It's Dr. Love by First Choice:

Here's an R&B song from the 50s. It's Call a Doctor by The Crows:

Bread was one of the best soft rock band in the 70s. This is their song Family Doctor:

There are a gazillion songs with the word "crazy" on the title. This one is actually about the mental condition. It's also a classic: Crazy by Gnarls Barkley:

This is not the first Paul McCartney song that we hear in this series. Medicine Jar is from the 70s, during the period which he fronted Paul McCartney & Wings:

Billy Joel sings about Pressure (1982). Even it's not about blood pressure, the everyday pressure it refers to causes stress, which in itself helps create and/or make worse many diseases:

Here's a song from the new millennium. It's Motion Sickness (2000) by Bright Eyes:

Here's an even more recent song, from 2014. It's called Curable Disease and it's by Blake Mills:

The most usual symptom of illness is fever. Here's a song about an actual disease. It's Cat-scratch Fever (1977) by Ted Nugent:

The classic song called Fever (original version by Little Willie John) has been covered by everybody - from Elvis to Madonna and from Boney M to Beyoncé. I still prefer the version by Peggy Lee (1958). Here it is:

There are many conditions that create Night Fever. It seems disco-dancing is one of them. Here are the Bee Gees in 1978:

Finally, for today, here's a song that helps us remember the normal body temperature in humans (in Fahrenheit degrees). It's the hit 98.6 (1966) by Keith:

This was the last part of our story. We'll have something different as our next offering. Later, babies!