Dr. Jerk: Difference between revisions

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** Peter Benton was Cook County's resident jerk before Romano got there, but they spent years making the audience know he was a [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]].

* Dr. Jeffrey Geiger in ''[[Chicago Hope]]''.

* Dr. Mark Craig in ''[[St Elsewhere]]''.

* Dr. Mark Craig in ''[[St. Elsewhere]]''.

** Also Dr. Victor Ehrlich, at least in the early seasons of the show, which makes sense as he's Craig's protege. Both characters softened somewhat as the series went on.

* ''[[Scrubs]]'' interestingly has both kinds: Dr. Cox is the un-sociable [[Deadpan Snarker|sarcastic]] [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]] who really does care about his patients, whereas Dr. Kelso is the [[Bad Boss|sadistic asshole administrator]]. The show extracts a great deal of humor and drama from playing the two off each other.

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* This trope is a daytime soap staple: David Hayward on ''[[All My Children]]'', Chris Ramsey on ''[[Port Charles]]'', probably lots of them on ''[[General Hospital]]''.

** Dr. Patrick Drake, son of Rick Springfield's character is the current one on GH.

* The Doctor on ''[[Star Trek: ~~Voyager|Star Trek~~ Voyager]]''. His creator, Dr. Zimmerman, is the original Dr Jerk and based the Doctor's personality on his own. Exactly why the Doctor himself was a Dr Jerk varied between seasons. At first, he was annoyed that people didn't treat him ''enough'' like a hologram; that is, being intended as a temporary supplement to a living doctor suddenly pressed into full service, he often found himself annoyed at being left on with nothing to do. Later, as he starts to develop more as a member of the crew, that reverses, making him more irritable because he wasn't treated equally.

* The Doctor on ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]''. His creator, Dr. Zimmerman, is the original Dr Jerk and based the Doctor's personality on his own. Exactly why the Doctor himself was a Dr Jerk varied between seasons. At first, he was annoyed that people didn't treat him ''enough'' like a hologram; that is, being intended as a temporary supplement to a living doctor suddenly pressed into full service, he often found himself annoyed at being left on with nothing to do. Later, as he starts to develop more as a member of the crew, that reverses, making him more irritable because he wasn't treated equally.

** Not helped by his social skills being [[The Blind Leading the Blind|programmed by]] [[Socially Awkward Hero|Reginald]] [[Ambiguous Disorder|Barclay]].

** His total lack of bedside manner may well have been justified - in the circumstances an EMH is usually required, the patients have bigger things to worry about than a bit of brusqueness, such as keeping at least one of their lungs.

* Before the Doctor, there was Dr. Pulaski on ''[[Star Trek: The ~~Next Generation|Star Trek the~~ Next Generation]]'', a one season [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]] / [[Replacement Scrappy]] for Dr. Crusher. It's apparent from her character that they were trying to make her an [[Expy]] of Dr. McCoy below, but failed to consider that the characters McCoy played off of (Spock and Kirk) had no real analogue in ''TNG''. Thus, she's abrasive, argued with everyone including the captain, and was about as fun as heart surgery.

* Before the Doctor, there was Dr. Pulaski on ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', a one season [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]] / [[Replacement Scrappy]] for Dr. Crusher. It's apparent from her character that they were trying to make her an [[Expy]] of Dr. McCoy below, but failed to consider that the characters McCoy played off of (Spock and Kirk) had no real analogue in ''TNG''. Thus, she's abrasive, argued with everyone including the captain, and was about as fun as heart surgery.

** It's worst with Data. Spock could ''strike back'' at McCoy via his [[Deadpan Snarker]] expertise. Data, with all that knowledge but little understanding of emotion, really couldn't understand why (or sometimes even ''understand that'') he was being picked on, so Pulaski came off as an adult picking on a child who couldn't fight back (''in addition'' to being abrasive, arguing with everyone including Picard, and being about as fun as heart surgery.) As for the "[[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|heart of gold]]" half of the equation, that was [[Informed Ability|something we were told of but never, ever saw]].

*** She even didn't understand why Data was correcting her about the correct pronunciation of his name (it's "Day-ta", not "Dah-ta"), when any normal person would take offence at that. Then again, Picard never complains that everybody (including him) pronounces his last name in an English manner (i.e. pronouncing the "d").

* And of course, ''[[Star Trek: The ~~Original Series|Star Trek the~~ Original Series]]'' has Dr. "Bones" McCoy, whose [[I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder|cantankerous reminders of his actual occupation]] qualify for this trope.

* And of course, ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' has Dr. "Bones" McCoy, whose [[I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder|cantankerous reminders of his actual occupation]] qualify for this trope.

** He certainly qualifies in "Friday's Child," where he persuades an obstinate, haughty patient to let him ease her pain... by slapping her in the face.

{{quote|'''Kirk:''' Never seen that in a medical book.

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* ''[[Hanna Is Not a Boy's Name]]'' features Doc Worth, a chain-smoking med-school dropout who operates out of an alley and enjoys tormenting and shouting at anyone who makes him angry. However, he is solidly in the [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]] category, since he seems pretty laid back when he's not screaming in Conrad's face, genuinely cares for Hanna, and doesn't appear to charge him for his frequent visits.

** The good Doc actually subverts this a bit, since [[Word of God|Tessa]] likes to point out that he is in fact ''not'' a skilled doctor - he's probably a mediocre one at best. Or he would be, if he had ever finished med school and actually become a doctor.

* ''[[Fetch Quest Saga of the Twelve Artifacts]]'': Dr. Lindsay Troy crosses this with [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]]; she is perpetually ill-tempered and shockingly efficient, yet she knows just what the purpose of a doctor is.

* ''[[Fetch Quest: Saga of the Twelve Artifacts]]'': Dr. Lindsay Troy crosses this with [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]]; she is perpetually ill-tempered and shockingly efficient, yet she knows just what the purpose of a doctor is.

* Doctor Sun of ''[[Girl Genius]]'' is a [[Deadpan Snarker]] who is infamous for his "[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110204 Sun-ny bedside manner]". He's also perfectly willing and able to ''beat his own patients unconscious'' if that is what it takes to get them some bedrest.

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[[Category:Medical Drama]]

[[Category:Truth in Television]]

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[[Category:~~Dr. Jerk~~]]

[[Category:The Jerk Index]]

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