Doctors 'R' Us: Fiction's Finest Medics Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. "Time flies" was more than just a saying for the man in the wooden box. If you had the time, then relatively you would find this doctor could take you to another dimension. Which doctor was a noted traveller?

Answer: Dr Who

'Dr Who' was a science fiction show rather than a medical one, and who knows (sorry for that pun) whether The Doctor was a medical man or not. The Doctor - if he had a proper name I don't think we ever learned it - was a Time Lord, travelling through space and time in a wooden police box, the Tardis (that stood for Time and Relative Dimensions In Space). Time Lords could regenerate, which made it easy for the show to have a number of different doctors.

The show ran on BBC television from November 1963 to December 1989 and although the BBC hierarchy tried to kill it off, it retained a fiercely loyal fan base and was restored to the screens in 2005.

2. "A plague on all your houses" was almost literally the cause of a lot of trouble for a doctor created by an author with a love for football. What was the doctor's name?

Answer: Dr. Bernard Rieux

Dr. Bernard Rieux was created by Albert Camus in La Peste (The Plague), 1947. It is the story of a doctor who works to combat a plague in a small town. Albert Camus was born in Algeria in 1913 and died in France in 1960. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. Camus played as a goalkeeper for the University of Algiers football (soccer) team in 1930.

3. Although he was actually a vet, this doctor went to a lot of trouble to save the medical practice in which he worked from unscrupulous property developers It might have been less trouble if he hadn't worked for people who wanted him to work for them, but let's not grouch about little things. Who was this strangely-named doctor?

Answer: Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush

Groucho Marx played Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush in "A Day At The Races" in 1937. The plot turned on the ability of the good guys to get a horse to win a race and raise enough money to pay off the bad guys, who, naturally, wanted to stop them.

4. Medical people are not always nice, as one man of mystery found out. One of these doctors caused a lot of trouble for a bespectacled hero, which one?

Answer: Dr Evil

Mike Myers starred as Austin Powers in a series of movies from 1997 onwards. In the first, 'Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery', Myers played the hero and also the villain, the evil Dr Evil. The series was essential parody of all those in the super-slick James Bond franchise, with Austin Powers being Bond and Dr Evil being any one of the Bond baddies.

5. Doctors are encouraged to talk to their patients to find out what's wrong with them, but who was the doctor in the sunshine state that found the patients did not talk back? Explaining that to the head honcho with a sunglasses fetish led to some criminal scenes.

Answer: Dr Alexx Woods

Alexx Woods was a pathologist played by Khandi Alexander in 'CSI: Miami' 2002). She had a habit of talking to the corpses on her autopsy table (to be fair, so, too, did Ducky Mallard in 'NCIS'. She reported her findings to the chief crime scene investigator, Horatio Caine (David Caruso), a character who almost always seemed to be wearing shades - even indoors in the gloomiest light.

He also had a habit of rarely speaking more than half-a-dozen words in any sentence.

6. When we first met this doctor he was a drunk, but he was a passionate pediatrician who once saved a child from drowning, which probably prevented him from being sacked. Which of these doctors could be counted on in an emergency, but is there room in any hospital for a doctor with a disrespect for authority?

Answer: Dr Doug Ross

Dr Doug Ross was played by George Clooney in 'ER' between September 1994 and February 1999. Ross was a heart throb and one of the most popular characters. Clooney left the show to concentrate on movies. In 2008, NBC announced that year's season would be the last.

7. Her affair with a colleague was a complicated one, and she quickly found that life was rarely black and white, but more often a shade in between. Which of these doctors followed in her mother's footsteps and became a surgeon?

Answer: Dr Meredith Grey

Dr Meredith Grey was played by Ellen Pompeo in 'Grey's Anatomy' which first aired in the USA in 2005. The show was an Emmy and Golden Globe winner, and followed the fortunes of a group of young interns at a hospital in Seattle. Dr Meredith Grey's famous mother suffered from Alzheimer's disease and frequently did not know her own daughter.

8. It could be cold in the Highlands of Scotland, but as a doctor you kept warm by having a full book of cases. Which junior doctor had a crusty and abrasive senior partner, and a housekeeper with a heart of gold?

Answer: Dr. John Finlay

Bill Simpson played Dr John Finlay in 'Dr Finlay's Casebook' on BBC television from August 1962 until January 1971. The show was set in a fictional Scottish village in the 1920s. Dr. Cameron, the senior partner, was played by Andrew Cruickshank and Janet, the housekeeper and receptionist was played by Barbara Mullen. (Original BBC characters and actors, Scottish Television revised the show in 1993 - but set it after WW2).

9. Through early morning mist I see the next question arising. Name for me the doctor who was almost presidential, even if finding a decent martini in a war zone was nigh on impossible?

Answer: Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce

Alan Alda played Captain Benjamin Franklin Hawkeye Pierce in the television series of 'M*A*S*H', (251 episodes, 1972-1983). The TV show emerged from a movie, which had been adapted from a book. Donald Sutherland played Hawkeye in the movie in 1970. The story surrounded the exploits of a group of US doctors manning the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital behind the front lines of the Korean War.

While ostensibly a comedy, the TV show had many very serious points to make. When the final episode was aired in 1983, it is estimated that 105 million TV viewers tuned in. "Through early morning mist I see" is part of the lyrics of the song "Suicide Is Painless" which was used in the movie. An instrumental version was used as the TV show's theme. When not saving lives, the doctors were constantly on the search for the perfect martini, even if it was home-distilled.

10. A good bedside manner is essential for any doctor, but which of these doctors always had a good sense of humour - especially with that crazy yellow family?

Answer: Dr Julius M. Hibbert

Julius M. Hibbert was a character in animated show 'The Simpsons' and was voiced by Harry Shearer. Very little worried Dr Hibbert, he always had a hearty laugh, and was not ashamed of his high prices. 'The Simpsons' as a stand-alone show first appeared on US television in December 1989. The dysfunctional family was first seen in 'The Tracy Ullman Show' two years earlier.

Source: Author darksplash

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nannanut before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Doctors 'R' Us: Fiction's Finest Medics Quiz

Is there a doctor in the quiz? Here's a chance to see how many of these fictional 'doctors' you can identify. Strictly speaking, they may not all be medical doctors.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>