The Doctor Will See You Now... Quiz

Answer: Doc Adams

Milburn Stone portrayed the kindly doctor, Galen Adams, in the town of Dodge City from 1955 through 1975. Marshall Matt Dillon, played by James Arness, kept the peace in the town and Miss Kitty Russell (Amanda Blake) was the owner of the Long Branch Saloon (way ahead of her time!). All the incorrect choices were fictional doctors, at one time or another, on that other long-running Western, "Bonanza" (1959-1973).

Answer: Dr. Jerry Helper

Jerry Helper was played by Jerry Paris. The quirky dentist and his wife, Millie (Ann Morgan Guilbert), were close friends of Rob and Laura Petrie, played by Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore respectively. The show was originally aired from 1961-1966. The incorrect choices were all fictional doctors on "Dr. Kildare" which, coincidentally, also ran from 1961 through 1966.

Answer: Dr. David Zorba

The kindly Dr. Zorba was played by Sam Jaffe who, by the way, depicted the title role of "Gunga Din" in 1939. While "Ben Casey" aired the same years as "Dr. Kildare", 1961-1966, somehow it felt more realistic and grittier. This time, I have taken the incorrect doctors from the show "Medical Center" (1969-1976) which was among the first medical shows to portray women as doctors, not just the traditional nurses.

Answer: James Brolin

Yes, it was a young James Brolin (father of Josh Brolin and husband of Barbra Streisand) who was the sidekick to Dr. Welby, a family doctor, played by Robert Young from 1969 through 1976. The show was set in Santa Monica before the age of specialization and, of all the doctors on all the TV shows, he is the GP I would most like to make an appointment with.

Answer: psychologist

"The Bob Newhart Show" had Bob Newhart playing Bob Hartley, a Chicago psychologist with a wacky set of neighbors and even wackier patients. This comedy show ran from 1972 through 1978 with Suzannne Pleshette as Emily, his school teacher wife, and Peter Bonerz as Dr. Jerry Robinson, a dentist with whom Bob shared a secretary.

This is not to be confused with Bob Newhart's later comedy, "Newhart" in 1982, where he was Dick Loudon, a Vermont innkeeper.

Answer: Boston

St. Eligius was an unprestigious hospital set in Boston, MA. "St. Elsewhere" ran from 1982 through 1988 and was known for some very strange and innovative episodes, along with a huge cast of soon-to-be-stars, such as Denzel Washington, Howie Mandel, Mark Harmon, Ed Begley Jr. and Stephen Furst, who formerly played Kent "Flounder" Dorfman in the movie "Animal House".

Answer: Neil Patrick Harris

Before "How I Met Your Mother", Neil Patrick Harris was the eponymous Doogie Howser on the show created by Steven Bochco and David E. Kelley. Doogie was a doctor since he was fourteen years old, thereby creating not just medical issues, but teenage angst as well.

The show ran from 1989 through 1993 and was famous for its signature ending where Doogie typed his life lessons on a computer.

Answer: Julius Hibbert

I didn't include Dr. Nick Riviera whose credentials are somewhat suspect; Dr. Hibbert is the "real" GP with the signature chuckle and the kind manner. "The Simpsons", animated by Matt Groening, began as a full half hour cartoon in 1989. The incorrect answers are also "Simpson" characters: Moe is the bartender, Ned is the neighbor and Herb Powell is Homer's older half-brother, voiced by Danny Devito.

Answer: Professor Hubert Farnsworth

"Good news, everyone"! Dr. Hubert Farnsworth is the 150 year old scientist who is the owner of the Planet Express Delivery Service for whom the other main characters (Philip Fry, Leela, Bender, Amy and the lobster-like alien Dr. Zoidberg) work. "Futurama" began airing in 1999 and is also a creation of Matt Groening ("The Simpsons").

The incorrect choices, while all characters on the show, do not possess doctorate degrees.

Answer: Lance Sweets

Dr. Lance Sweets is the baby-faced psychiatrist who helps the protagonists, Dr. Temperance Brennan (a forensic anthropologist) and Special Agent Seeley Booth, solve murder cases involving victims whose remains are, for the most part, nothing but bones. The show began airing in 2005 and is based on the work of forensic anthropologist and novelist Kathy Reichs.