Off the Map



"Ben: Practicing tropical medicine in a third-world country is a different game... You don't have high tech, you don't have big pharma; you have your brain, you have your instincts."

Off the Map is an American medical drama television series that airs on ABC. It was created by Jenna Bans, who also serves as an executive producer, along with Shonda Rhimes (of Grey's Anatomy fame) and Betsy Beers. It premiered on January 12, 2011, at 10 pm Eastern (9 pm Central). The series is set in a remote South American village, where seven doctors search for reasons that brought each of them to medicine.

The show is unique due to it's setting which means cases are usually either a) things like mumps that are mundane in the big cities but seriously threatening to the locals, or b) crazy exotic things such as a man gettign crushed by an anaconda.

This series features examples of:
"Lily: It's an illegal drug. Mateo: It's a leaf. Lily: That gets made into an illegal drug."
 * Bilingual Bonus
 * Mr. Fanservice: Several.
 * Friends with Benefits: A major subplot between Zee and Otis, eventually becoming a full relationship.
 * From a Certain Point of View: When Lily discovers Mateo's family grows coca (cocaine).

" : Sometimes...it is zebras."
 * Gory Discretion Shot: Sometimes invoked, sometimes averted. Its usually a good idea to watch surgery scenes with your hands over your eyes.
 * Gratuitous Spanish : Justified, as they are somewhere in South America, though they would probably see more indigenous languages in real life.
 * Hospital Hottie: Several.
 * Ill Girl:
 * Ironic Nickname: Mina's pet chicken named Dinner. When she lays an egg and it hatches, they call the chick Appetizer.
 * Mighty Whitey: Lampshaded in the Pilot episode, "Saved by the Great White Hope". Mostly averted, however; most of the patients are treated with native medicine and plants as opposed to medecine brought from the states, and there are many people who refuse treatment because they don't trust the doctors.
 * New Age Retro Hippie: A group of Too Dumb to Live ones try building a church in the middle of the jungle. Mina ends up dating one briefly after his toes get cut off.
 * Overly Long Name: Zita Alareina Toledo Alvarez (Zee).
 * Patient of the Week: Occasionally averted.
 * Suicide By Charging Bull: A patient in the first season finale.
 * Tagalong Kid: Charlie. Subverted eventually, as he is learning medical basics and is a lot of help around the clinic.
 * Televisually-Transmitted Disease: The quote at the top of this trope's page was used in the show. Inverted when  explains how she misdiagnosed a child and thought he just had a fever, and he died hours later.


 * Your Princess Is in Another Castle: At the end of "It's Good", the doctors have saved a man suffering with appendicitis (and was treated without any medication) and two girls with potential heart disease. After loading them onto a helicopter that will take them to the bigger hospital in the city, it looks like everybody's going to live.