A medical drama is a televisiondrama in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. While not as popular as legal/crime drama, it is still easily identifiable occupational based drama.
In the United States, most medical dramas are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical dramas go beyond the events pertaining to the characters' jobs and portray some aspects of their personal lives. For example, a typical medical drama might have a storyline in which two doctors fall in love.
Dr. Kildare, which first aired in 1961, is generally considered to be the first medical drama. The show was a success, and soon medical dramas were a common phenomenon. The BBC series Dr. Finlay's Casebook (1962-1971) is an early example of another common variant of the genre in which a medical practice is used as a focus for stories detailing the life of a (usually small) community. The long running Australian series A Country Practice (1981-1993) is a later example of this sub-genre. From 1969 to 1976, the series Marcus Welby, M.D. and Medical Center were extremely popular for their both orthodox and unorthodox way of presenting medical cases. In 1972, the first episode of M*A*S*H aired; the show's tone was generally comedic, but dark, poignant moments emanating from the death caused by war were not uncommon. This trend of comedy with undercurrents of darkness in medical TV shows can also be seen in Doogie Howser, M.D. and Scrubs, a current-day medical sitcom on NBC.
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