Why medical dramas like Good Karma Hospital are vital in trying times

Tell someone you’re a TV writer and you inevitably get one of two reactions; both in their ways are traps. To the first, “Really, anything I will have heard of?”, I have learnt that the correct response is always “Death in Paradise”. Everyone has heard of Death in Paradise and even if they don’t enjoy it personally, they know a distant family member who does. Talking at length about your own award-winning original series only to be met with a confused shrug can undo years of expensive therapy.

The second reaction, “Oh, I must send you my script for feedback”, is a nightmare but all you can do is shower the effort with praise. Any other response means you might as well have spat in their face. If someone tries to hand you their script the only honourable way out is to fake a stroke, a heart attack or both.

It’s for these reasons that I usually tell people I meet that I’m an actual real doctor. Instant respect and NHS Hero status, especially when they find out you’re basically playing Mark Green from ER in real life (I know I’m no Clooney). However there are downsides. The pleasant surprise of an “unexpected call from an old friend”? One minute of awkward small talk is inevitably followed by a request for unofficial medical advice about their newborn child/toddler/mother/partner because it’s basically impossible to get to a GP these days. Yes, you all do it. And yes, it pisses us off.

But after that I’m struggling to think of more. Being a doctor is emotionally hard, physically exhausting and intellectually taxing, but the reward is a lifetime of social capital, cheaper car insurance and getting to try all the drugs. There’s no contest, obviously.

Except... Sometimes, if we do our job well, a TV writer creates someone’s favourite programme. It cheers them up when they’re feeling low. It gives them something to look forward to. It helps them survive when everything else is a bit rubbish. It’s not everything. Obviously. But it’s still something. That doesn’t happen very often when you’re a doctor. Sure, sometimes you get to give good news when people are expecting the worst, but that’s usually only a return to the status quo. Threatening to hit someone in the face and then pulling your punch is not a kindly act.

My point is that there’s more to life than simple survival, something that’s becoming ever clearer in a COVID world. A silly TV show can make people’s lives a little bit more bearable. And if that’s true, it’s not a huge leap to realise that most of the jobs we do every day all help to make the world a slightly better place. Over the last two years we’ve seen what happens when we start to take all those vital little contributions away, one at a time. The world grinds to a halt. Spirits drop. Life continues, but only in boring old black and white. And doctors really can’t help you with that.

So which is better? It’s not a good question. The answer is that we need all of us, all the time. Anything less isn’t the real thing. And yes, I’m aware this plot is taken directly from It’s a Wonderful Life. But, scriptwriter or doctor, if you’re going to pilfer, steal from the best...

The Good Karma Hospital airs Sunday at 8pm on ITV, with episodes available to watch on ITV Hub. If you're looking for something to watch, check out our TV Guide. Visit our Drama hub for all the latest news.

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