Doogie Howser, M.D. - Season 1 [DVD]

How does a child prodigy (who theoretically can do anything in the world) stay balanced with everything they will face?

This ABC sitcom showed the balancing act which fictional 16 year old Douglas "Doogie" Howser constantly faced in his life. Doogie decided he wanted to become a doctor after surviving a form of childhood cancer (although in retrospect, we do not see him going to survivor activities which are so common now).

Although he is a Princeton-trained doctor, Doogie is still subject to his parents rules and needs personal guidance from friends. Being booksmart only gets people so far in life. The 1989-1990 season has 26 episodes which are the perfect treatment for just when you feel blah. This season has some notable episodes.

In "Vinnie Video Vici" we see a great example how Doogie's `normal' friends help keep him grounded. Aspiring filmmaker and best friend Vinnie Delpino trails "Doog" around on his hospital rounds with the trusty video camera to chronicle the life of a teenage doctor. Vinnie and his video camera are a constant presence throughout this season (and the rest of the series) proving that people smarts are sometimes better than book smarts.

Also helping are Doogie's parents Katherine and David Howser (Belinda Montgomery and James B. Sikking). Although they allow their son to graduate from Princeton and work as a doctor at the local hospital, they still insist he pull his own weight around their house. He is not allowed to think that he is any better than the rest of the family because of his intellectual feats.

A pivotal episode is "Use a Slurpy, go to jail" where a gang member named Raymond Alexander (Markus Redmond) holds Doogie and Vinnie hostage in a convenience store. Doogie's seen lots of blood at this point, but the idea that his own could be spilt is very chilling to the young doctor. Redmond's character would inexplicably later join the cast to reform his life as an orderly, but I would honestly think that working in close proximity to somebody who had once attempted to kill me in cold blood would be unacceptable. At this point however, the scripting is fairly realistic.

Doogie also wrestles with the same issues that everyteen faces. "Frisky Business" he decides to throw a beer-soaked party while his parents are out of town---despite being on call at the hospital. In Doogie the Red-nosed Reindeer" Doogie is caught in a lie after he feigns illness so he can go to a Christmas Eve party instead of having to work at the hospital. This is so much more refreshing than a depiction of a prodigy as a flawless person who never messes up.

Plus, it helps that Harris himself is pleasant on the eyes. His strawberry blond hair and hazel eyes light up the screen. To balance his age and professionalism, he makes hospital rounds wearing really funky `new wave' ties. Howser sees patients of every age, but wants to impress that he is not `stodgy'.

The only really weird episode from this season was "The ice queen cometh" After asking her young colleague out to dinner, the new chief of the hospital radiology department wants him to be her sperm donor. Since Doogie is only physically/emotionally 16 during this same episode, this other doctor is obviously not aware of statutory rape laws. These statues do not make exemptions for child prodigies. As book smart as he is, Doogie only has the sexual/hormonal maturity of the average teenager.

I grew up watching this series, and am pleased that Neil Patrick Harris has successfully transitioned into a `grown up' acting career with such projects as Stark Raving Mad and Undercover Brother. With all that is publicized in this world about unbalanced child stars and former child stars, people who can break the mold (such as Harris who had previously acted in Clara's Heart among other hit titles) demonstrate true genius in my book.

Extras include an interview with Harris himself.

"Doogie Howser M.D." was first aired when I was a child/young teen and I refused to watch it on principle. The whole idea of a 16 year old doctor just struck me as being both far-fetched and nauseating (I didn't particularly like the idea of being treated by a 16 year old). Years later I ended up buying the first season of "Doogie" in a fit of madness, after reading that David E. Kelley was one of the co-creators and surprised both myself and my parents by actually enjoying it.

Yes, the principle behind "Doogie Howser" is far-fetched, but somehow Neil Patrick Harris makes Doogie believable. I was watching this show at the same time as I was watching "Damages" (Season 1) and I found Harris to be more convincing as a teen doctor than Rose Byrne as a 20-something lawyer. I also like the fact that it is a teen show that portrays intelligence in teenagers as being cool, as opposed to things like clothes or going to parties, a rarity in teen programs both now and when "Doogie" was made.

"Doogie Howser M.D." occupies a place in my mind alongside shows like "The Brady Bunch", "Boy Meets World" and "Degrassi High". To me, they're all comfort programs. They're light-hearted shows that deal with "issues", but you know that at the end of the day, the protagonist will make the right decision and that everything will turn out for the best. Sure, life isn't really like that, but at the end of a hard day, it's nice to imagine that it could be.

Wow, all 26 episodes from the first season of Doogie! When my girlfirend and I put that first disc in and watched the pilot we were taken back! Back to a time when it was fun to be a teen.

This was a classic show that is just as memorable the second time around. That simple 'theme song' is addictive it will stay in your head for days. Neil Patrick Harris was so tiny back then. He was really quite good at being a doctor - muchmore believable than some 'ER' doctors nowadays.

You must watch the interview with Niel Patrick Harris. He is quite a funny guy. This set is well worth it especially if you want to relieve those memories from 16 years ago (yes its been that long!)