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Greatest TV Doctors
With our list of top 20 TV doctors ever, we've got good news and bad news.On the upside, there are no premiums to pay, no forms to fill out, no surprise bills to ambush you -- and, best of all, your practitioners are almost uniformly gorgeous, talented and caring. On the downside, they're not real doctors (though they played them on TV). Sigh.
Browse the best and brightest in our preferred provider network of the 20 best TV doctors of all time.
Top 20 TV Doctors
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With our list of top 20 TV doctors ever, we've got good news and bad news.
On the upside, there are no premiums to pay, no forms to fill out, no surprise bills to ambush you -- and, best of all, your practitioners are almost uniformly gorgeous, talented and caring. On the downside, they're not real doctors (though they played them on TV). Sigh.
Browse the best and brightest in our preferred provider network of the 20 best TV doctors of all time. -- By Jefferson Reid
Getty Images / CBS / Landov
20. Dr. Perry Cox
Show: 'Scrubs'
Played by: John C. McGinley
As Dr. Dorian's (Zach Braff) nemesis, mentor and verbally abusive father figure, Dr. Cox oh-so-maturely dubs Dorian a different girl's name every day. Dominated by his overbearing wife and (until the last season) his manipulative boss, Perry uses high octane banter as a defense mechanism and an offense mechanism, lashing out at all around him like 'M*A*S*H' doc Hawkeye Pierce on crack.
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19. Dr. Jennifer Melfi
Show: 'The Sopranos'
Played by: Lorraine Bracco
Proving she'd never shrink from the toughest cases, Melfi put mobster Tony Soprano on the couch: Hippocratic oath, meet hypocritical oaf. Tony's tales of murder, infidelity and dismemberment spewed forth until Melfi heard more than she wanted, including that Tony wants to hook up. Amazingly, she shot him down AND lived to tell the tale.
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HBO
18. Dr. Cliff Huxtable
Show: 'The Cosby Show'
Played by: Bill Cosby
Enjoying way more family time than most TV doctors, Dr. Heathcliff's sweater budget probably exceeded most docs' country club fees. Think of him as the super-caring Dr. Dad we probably all wish we'd had. Add in his hot lawyer wife Clair and brood of good kids and it's clear Cliff was living the dream.
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NBC
17. Dr. Richard Kimble
Show: 'The Fugitive'
Played by: David Janssen
Wrongly convicted of killing his wife, Dr. K escaped custody after a train wreck on the way to death row. The righteous medico went underground working menial jobs (and occasionally saving lives) while trying to find his wife's real killer, the one-armed man. It was appointment TV, early-'60s style, right down to the finale, seen by a record 72 percent of TV households.
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ABC / Retna
16. Dr. Julius Hibbert
Show: 'The Simpsons'
Played by: Harry Shearer
Surprisingly competent in the Simpsons' messed-up cartoon world, African-American Dr. Hibbert is one of the few non-yellow residents of Springfield. Wearing sweaters like 'The Cosby Show''s Dr. Cliff, he's best known for his nervous laugh: "Before I learned to chuckle mindlessly, I was headed to an early grave." Proving once again that laughter is the best medicine.
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Fox
15. Dr. James Kildare
Show: 'Dr. Kildare'
Played by: Richard Chamberlain
Chamberlain would later become the master of TV miniseries like 'The Thorn Birds.' But he first made his mark as the early-'60s teen-idol doctor who cared (while soaking up the wisdom of old doc Gillespie) at Blair General. Earnest, handsome and caring, with super-nice hair: Hello McDreamy 1.0.
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Hulton Archive / Getty Images
14. Dr. Adam "Doc" Bricker
Show: 'The Love Boat'
Played by: Bernie Kopell
The 'Love Boat''s, four-times divorced ship's doctor obviously took the show's theme song to heart. An unlikely ladies' man, Doc took to chasing deckside skirts with abandon (when not dispensing seasick pills and hangover remedies). Now that's some serious cruising.
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Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images
13. Dr. Kathryn Austin
Show: 'Chicago Hope'
Played by: Christine Lahti
She was a tough cookie who never crumbled. In the Pandora's Box of trouble that was Hope, Kate got sued for malpractice AND sexual harassment, meanwhile navigating personal challenges like hooking up with an electrician in the elevator and training to be an astronaut. One way or another, life was always a blast for this passionate heart surgeon.
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CBS / Landov
12. Dr. Robert Hartley
Show: 'The Bob Newhart Show'
Played by: Bob Newhart
As he did in his classic standup routines, Newhart dead-panned for comedy gold as a crazy world swirled around him. Psychologist Hartley seemed equally as befuddled by patients like dour crank Mr. Carlin as he was by his kooky circle of friends and family. Meanwhile, doctor Bob himself remains insanely normal.
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CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images
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