Top 5 TV Medical Dramas Ever

Medical dramas have always been popular in western television, and the role of doctors and nurses have pretty much evolved before our eyes. Many of today's physicians and nurses will tell you that they were inspired as children or teenagers when watching television medical dramas like M*A*S*H or ER. Of course, working as a nurse isn't nearly as glamorous as some programs make it appear -- and I'd imagine the same goes for being a doctor. But that really doesn't detract from the overall appeal of the programs themselves. After all, we do watch television as a form of escapism, and little bit of skewed reality is perfectly ok once in a while, particularly when the lead men are so damned sexy.

It's not really a secret that I'd like to have 10 of Hugh Laurie's children at his earliest convenience, so the series House, MD really shouldn't look terribly out of place on this list. It hasn't been on TV for an uber long time (yet) but it's already earned its rank as one of the top television medical dramas ever.

Yes, the show has become a bit predictable, and yes, I do sometimes wish they would just let House and Cuddy get it on and get it over with, but hey, as long as I get to gawp at Hugh Laurie and think dirty thoughts for 40 straight minutes, I'm happy.

(Oh, and the other actors are quite yummy as well...love me some Robert Sean Leonard and that Aussie who plays Chase)

Right, let me make it very, very clear that I'm referring to ER in the George Clooney days, back before he was a mega star who could have any female on planet earth, and probably any in the galaxy. The show changed when he left, because he pretty much was the show. Not that I wasn't perfectly content to drool over that Croatian bloke they brought into replace the hawtness factor -- and he's a good actor, as well -- but it just wasn't the same once Georgie left.

But while he was there? Hell yizza. One of the few shows I made sure I was home to watch, and one of the few which inspired me to get the degree I got. But, as I said at the beginning... nothing was quite so glamorous in real life as it was on TV. Still, the show was brilliant; brilliant writing, brilliant acting and quite realistic in many ways, despite the over-glammed bits. If you've never seen the George Clooney days, I highly recommend watching them.

I admit that, as a kid, I wasn't keen on M*A*S*H because it was always, always on, and if my mother was home, she insisted on watching it. I wasn't thrilled with how dreary and dull the colors or scenery were, because I was too young to understand what the show was really about. A lot of people think it was just a comedy -- it was more of a dramedy, really. There were plenty of depressing story lines, they were just able to find humor in the worst of it, somehow.

If you watched M*A*S*H long enough, you saw a number of characters come and go. The Colonel changed, Hawkeye's sideman changed -- and yet it was always relatively easy to like the new guys. Perhaps that was mostly because the main characters (Alda, Swift, etc) stayed on, but whatever the case, it was always easy to keep enjoying the show. It's been translated and dubbed into so many languages and I have seen it in nearly ever foreign hotel I've ever been in -- that's some serious staying power!

I'm not one of those females who make up silly names for the men in this show. In fact, I'm not even someone who watches the show on a regular basis -- but I realize it's quite popular and therefore needs to be included on the Top 5 Medical Dramas of all time list. And, really, it's not all that difficult for me to give them a mention, as I do think Patrick Dempsey is absolutely too sexy for his shirt (and I would be grateful if he made an effort to wear it less often). I have, in fact, been crushing on him since he was a teenage film star, so I'm quite pleased for him, having managed to become a pinup boy for grown women. The show isn't super long running yet, but I imagine it will continue for some time. If you've not seen the previous seasons, they are all available on DVD.

St. Elsewhere was a fabulous medical drama, and it had loads of brilliant acting going on. For example: Denzel Washington, Mark Harmon, William Daniels, Howie Mandel, David Morse (who happens to be the guy who played Tritter on House, MD) and others. It lasted six seasons and helped a number of actors start their careers.