Being part of the idiot box generation, I grew up to all sorts of drama series. I watched George Clooney grow gray alongside Noah Wyle in their medical uniforms on ER. I have never seen anyone look so sexy in surgical scrub caps. I watched Kim Raver on Third Watch before she was Nico Riley in Lipstick Jungle and now as Dr. Teddy Altman in seemingly cheap scrub uniform on Grey’s Anatomy. I have to say, I am torn between having her all dolled up and looking tough as a New York City Fire Department paramedic or as Desert Storm Barbie. Those doctors scrubs have their own distinct appeal that can get men weak in the knees. Let us not forget the infamous Dr. Gregory House. Although his deviance is part of his charisma, it is very tempting to imagine him in scrubs in which he seldom appears in. If he can do away with it, he would perform surgeries in his jacket. Jesse Spencer’s Dr. Robert Chase on the other hand, is one who can wear his boyish charm with his dead serious white lab coat and pull it off flawlessly.
Others are more into the real scientific and follow documentary serials like HBO’s Autopsy. Dr. Michael Baden does not look like someone you would lust after but he does project the proper character that the show wishes to convey to its audience. He sports the same omnipresent scrub suit and he looks dapper. He is very similar to Gil Grissom of CSI in his own right. If real-life credentials were on the table, Dr. Baden is the king of his field.
In a way, we owe the comfort we feel around these medical people to those doctors on the telly. No matter which era you were born into, and no matter how you insist on the television being nothing more than just a mini cinema screen in your living room, there is always a hint of influence from the shows that we follow or inadvertently catch on air.