The Good Doctor

ABC’s, The Good Doctor, has stirred up many thoughts and reactions. Is this show going to showcase more of the autistic and special needs community? Or, are these secondary characters going to be more in-depth rather than cliché doctor motifs?

The pilot episode is not the full representation of the series. Pilots are created to give an idea of what the show will be about. The story for this pilot followed a parallel structure, but the transition of story lines felt forced and awkward.

One minute we’re in an intense situation where Dr. Shaun Murphy, played by Freddie Highmore, is saving a young boy’s life in the San Jose airport, then we’re cutting to a scene with post-coitus between two doctors, Dr. Claire Brown played by Antonia Thomas and Dr. Jared Unger played by Chuku Modu, and finally, a hospital board meeting. This episode could have been restructured, so the intense scene isn’t slowed down and the discussion scenes aren’t cut off every minute.

There have been other reviews calling the show a copy-cat to house. Although Dr. House is a rough character to get along with, he is very different from Dr. Shaun Murphy. This show is more of a copy-cat of Grey’s Anatomy since it’s already showing signs of being a serialized drama rather than episodic. There’s already cliché storylines of two doctors having sex with no strings attached, the president of the board member having a secret relationship with the arrogant chief surgeon, and the main protagonist growing up from a rough background.

It seems like the writers of this show are excited to showcase an autistic protagonist, but want high ratings. So, that’s where the typical doctor soap drama comes in. I really hoped this show would add a strong female with steadfast morals to represent another type of character we don’t see as much.

Dr. Claire Brown is first introduced as a sleazy doctor that sleeps around especially when talking with another doctor in close quarters she says, “We don’t have a relationship. We have sex.” By the end of the episode though, Claire is different person. She’s mostly likely going to continue sleeping with other doctors, but also keep up this innocent girl act.

What this show lacks in morals makes up for in bringing a new type of character to television. Hollywood is slowing changing through the decades and catching up with social issues. But, this social issue is long overdue.

There are many communities in this world that separate themselves from the norm. But, there’s one community I have been a part of my entire life. The special needs community has been ignored far too long, and it’s about time it sees the light. This show will make a huge impact on the community because families who have a special needs child or adult now have something they can relate to. Sure, there’s been autistic characters in movies before, but none have ever been the protagonist.

I really enjoyed the argument Dr. Aaron Glassman, played by Richard Chiff, made about how it wasn’t long ago that African Americans and women were excluded from medical practice. This is a great argument because it goes along with the need to diversify our work force and not just by age, gender, race, or religion.

This show has already shown signs that it will try its hardest to make amends on how society treats people with physical, mental, and social disabilities. There is a part in the episode where Dr. Shaun Murphy questions why Claire is mean to him when they first meet and now she is being nice to him. We may know why, but to someone like Dr. Shaun Murphy, it’s not clear. This represents the typical interaction people have with special needs adults. They’re judgmental to people they don’t understand, but there’s always enough time for change.

Some reviewers might call this show melodramatic or a copy-cat, but this show is unique and deserves praise. Even Sesame Street is on board with more diversification with characters since they debuted an autistic character named Julia. These are just a few signs signifying the change that’s coming to Hollywood.

For too long, the special needs community has been shoved in the back corner of schools and ignored by society. This show is special to someone like my brother and family friends who also have a special needs child. ABC studios is finally the one to step up and say we need to diversify in ways we never thought of. To really make an impact, the show needs to hire A or B list actors to boost ratings and awareness.

I highly look forward to seeing where the show goes, and how they plan on incorporating more from the special needs community. I hope others will jump on this long overdue bandwagon.

#thegooddoctor #autismspeaks