Released in 2017 and now completing 4 seasons, The Good Doctor has just become famous and loved by Vietnamese audiences when it appeared on Netflix. Like its name, The Good Doctor is a hospital-themed drama, with talented doctors who are devoted to their patients. It may not sound new, but why has The Good Doctor been able to go such a long way, or even “surpass” the famous Hospital Playlist 2 to top Netflix’s trending chart? The answer is the comfort, warmth and ease that the film brings to the audience – with the central character being an autistic doctor. The Good Doctor is not the best medical series ever, as the film itself has many loopholes and problems. But the show successfully completed its mission – to bring healing to the audience, thanks to the great characters and the ingenuity of producer David Shore – who was behind the hit medical series House. At the time of its first season, The Good Doctor’s ratings were so high that the show was ranked among the most successful TV series, even breaking records.
The autism + genius factor became a “time bomb” that was not too surprising, but enough to make viewers urged
Remade from the hit Korean series Good Doctor, The Good Doctor revolves around Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) – a new surgeon at a prestigious hospital. Shaun has autism and genius syndrome, which also means that although he is a talented diagnostician and extremely intelligent, he only has the communication and perception skills of a child. Shaun asks direct – but also extremely silly – questions, typically “why are parents sad when they hear that their son will have to have his leg amputated, he will live?”.
Shaun is both too sensitive and not sensitive to the things around him. That makes him an unusual element in the hospital and in the story that The Good Doctor brings to the audience. There will be times when he is silent because he falls into a state of psychological disorder, or there will be times when that silence means that Shaun is about to pour out accurate diagnoses about the patient’s condition that even the top doctors have overlooked. In this regard, it can be seen that The Good Doctor does a very good job of keeping the audience attracted, curious and constantly lingering to witness the story unfold.
At some point, this motif no longer becomes too new or surprising, but it still brings enough satisfaction. The Good Doctor doesn’t try to push viewers into feelings of inhibition, or turn Shaun or any character into a hateful “villain”. Instead, the audience and other characters – including Shaun – must become curious about everything that happens in the film. And of course, the cases and other characters of the film also bring enough interest and humanity to the audience.
Each case is a sweet story, sometimes even heartbreaking
With a style quite similar to Hospital Playlist (and many other medical dramas), the doctors in The Good Doctor often receive many different patients in each episode, and each person has a different story.
In just the first season, the audience saw a couple get into an accident on the way to their wedding, and they had to struggle with the decision of whether to treat – or amputate – the groom’s damaged leg. There was a boy who learned he had cancer, and was ready to accept it. There is a young girl who got sick from filming adult films and did not dare to call her parents before her serious surgery. There is a refugee mother who hides her son’s medicine because she is afraid that if he recovers, he will be sent back to a country at war. There is a pair of conjoined twins who accept to sacrifice for each other, and many more touching stories…
The Good Doctor also touches on prominent social issues, typically sexual harassment, gender equality or gender issues, each person’s sexual orientation. Just as Shaun gradually realizes many things, the audience can also learn from the story of the film.
People often say that hospitals are sad places, because there is too much pain and loss happening here. However, The Good Doctor knows how to solve each case to guide viewers to humane values about family, faith and kindness. The optimism in The Good Doctor’s story makes it easy for the audience to watch and absorb – or many people even boast that they watch it while eating.
The sweetness of The Good Doctor comes not only from the cases but also from the love of his colleagues – who do not give up on Shaun even though he always has problems. Shaun has the opportunity to learn and know how to communicate better, or even find the love of his life.
