Doogie Howser, M.D.: Season 01  (1989)

Theatrical Release Information:
Doogie Howser, M.D.: Season 01

Although 16-year-old prodigy Doogie Howser (Neil Patrick Harris) is America's youngest physician, he still has a lot to learn in the maturity department, as amply demonstrated during Season One of Doogie Howser, M.D.. Doing his appointed rounds as second-year resident at Eastman Medical Center in L.A., Dr. Howser has earned the (sometimes grudging) respect of Chief of Services Dr. Canfield (Lawrence Pressman), fellow resident Dr. McGuire (Mitchell Anderson) and Nurse Spaulding (Kathryn Layng), in his own home our hero is generally treated like the shy, awkward youngster he truly is, especially by his strict but loving mom Katherine (Belinda Montgomery). While Doogie can rely upon his doctor father David (James B. Sikking) to keep him abreast of the latest advances in medical science and technology, his main conduit to his "own" world--that is, the world of pimply-faced, hormone-driven teenagers--is his best pal Vinnie (Max Casella),who regularly delivers reports from the high-school front in his weekly visits to Doogie via the bedroom window. The pilot episode firmly establishes the strange dichotomy in Doogie's life, as he passes his driver's exam and enjoys his first kiss with girlfriend Wanda (Lisa Dean Ryan) while struggling to cope with a tragedy involving a young, critically ill patient. The eternal inner struggle between Doogie the typical teen and Doogie the boy genius is further illustrated in the famous episode wherein he and Wanda are out on a date when she suffers a sudden appendicitis attack--and he is forced to give her a rather intimate examination just before she undergoes emergency surgery (this is the one in which a jealous Vinnie asks Doogie: "Did you put your hand on her conundrum?") One of the more fascinating first-season episodes is "Use a Slurpy, Go to Jail", in which Doogie and Vinnie find themselves in the middle of a botched convenience-store holdup. The ill-tempered gang member who tries to pull off the heist is one Raymond Alexander, played by Markus Redmond. Beginning with the series' second season, Raymond Alexander would be a Doogie Howser MD regular, hired as an orderly at Eastman Medical. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide