The Good Doctor
The Good Doctor premiered on ABC September 25th 2017. It’s about a young man, Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore); a pediatric surgeon with savant syndrome and autism. The show starts as he’s being transferred to San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. On the way to his interview an accident, involving an 8-year-old boy, occurs at the airport. A large glass fixture shatters atop the boy and Dr. Murphy is there to help, with his incredible skills and unique vision. While this is happening Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff), the President of the hospital, is trying to convince his board of directors to accept Dr. Murphy into their staff.
I saw the previews for this show back in June and immediately had goosebumps. As Dr. Murphy, Freddy Highmore is amazing and I think he’s already doing a wonderful job as Dr. Shaun Murphy (I’ve always enjoyed his acting, so I’m slightly biased).
The critical consensus from Rotten Tomatoes (33%) was:
“The Good Doctor’s heavy-handed bedside manner undermines a solid lead performance, but under all the emotionally manipulative gimmickry, there’s still plenty of room to improve.”
To me, the “emotionally manipulative gimmickry” falls with the other doctors at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. I haven’t been given a real reason to care about them yet. Instead I see an egotistical boss that targets an underappreciated female who has a secret lover/co-worker that is submissive to this boss. That’s a dynamic that I never really appreciate and wish they could do away with.
The audience, however, has a very difference opinion of the show, giving it 4.9 on Facebook, 88% at 3.5 or higher on Rotten Tomatoes, and an 8.6 out of 10 on IMDb. And I, for the most part, agree with their ratings. I enjoyed watching the first episode, and I think Freddy Highmore is extremely talented. However, I also hope to see some improvement on the characterization of the other doctors; I want them to be real people too, not just background drama.
The Good Doctor airs on ABC, Monday nights at 10pm.
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