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| 6 | [[quoteright:205:[[Webcomic/{{Chainsawsuit}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/notthatkindofdoctor_217.png]]]] |
| 7 | |
| 8 | ->''"Dangit, Jim, I'm an astronomer, not a doctor! I mean, I '''am''' a doctor, but not '''that''' kind of doctor. I have a '''doctorate''' -- it's not the same thing! You can't '''help''' people with a doctorate, '''you just SIT there and you're USELESS!'''"'' |
| 9 | -->-- '''Dr. Doppler''', ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'' |
| 10 | |
| 11 | If someone in TV-land is referred to as "the doctor", it means they're a medical doctor. It might not be explicitly mentioned, possibly even outright denied, but anyone called the doctor seems to be [[OpenHeartDentistry able to deliver any and all surgical operations]] and medical {{technobabble}} required by the plot. There are no exceptions (well, other than [[Series/DoctorWho THE Doctor]]). All those other people who've got doctorates in science, law and philosophy are helpfully distinguished from a ''real'' doctor with vaguely-academic titles like "[[TheProfessor professor]]", if they're even awarded one at all. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | This trope stems from a modern convention: in the past, "Doctor" had a purely academic connotation -- the word itself derives from the Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher", meaning that the title-holder is licensed to lecture at a university on the subject they have a Doctorate in. Later, the meaning of the word ''Doctor'' narrowed down to mean that the holder has a doctorate degree: M.D. = ''Medicinæ Doctor'' (Doctor of Medicine), or [=Ph.D.=] = ''Philosophiæ Doctor'' (Doctor of Philosophy). At some point, the word (in English, at least) began to shift from being the title of a learned person/a person with a doctorate to meaning the same as "physician". Originally, the M.D. was a doctorate in medicine, but in some places, like the US and Canada, it became the first professional degree. (In the UK and Ireland bachelor of medicine & surgery — primarily abbreviated as MB [=ChB=], though it can vary depending on university — are the first ''undergraduate'' degrees; holders are addressed as "Doctor" regardless. Meanwhile, surgeons — which require a graduate degree, equivalent to a North American M.D. in length of education — are only addressed in honorifics in a form of reverse snobbery.)[[note]]Historically, being a doctor (the equivalent to GP today) was considered a more upper-class career than surgery, as they do not have to get their hands dirty. Most surgeons were simply working-class barbers. This was in fact the origin of the iconic barber's pole, which [[OlderThanTheyThink dates back to medieval times]]; the red stripe represents bloody bandages, with the blue stripe being a much more recent addition that began in the United States (due to the national colors) and has spread from there. However when the modern era rolled around and surgery become a more specialized and prestigious line of work than ''mere'' doctoring, the surgeons refused the title of Doctor as a sort of passive-aggressive middle-finger to the snobs who denied them the title 300-ish years previously.[[/note]] It is easy to see how the term "doctor" was slowly divorced from its academic roots. This has gone so far that it is common for it to be thought that "real" doctors are physicians... which brings us to this trope. And MDEnvy to boot. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | Certain professions blur the line. A psychiatrist or forensic pathologist will necessarily have a medical doctorate, but their main occupation isn't taking care of people's cuts and sniffles. If they're suddenly forced to act like that kind of doctor — like, say, they're on hand when someone gets hit by a car — expect them to act awkward and unsure before they save the day. In all likelihood, after all, it's been years since they had to give much thought to the treatment of physical injuries. Veterinarians would also cause this trope, as they work on animals rather than humans, although they ''are'' properly addressed as "Doctor" when working. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | Not to be confused with MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate. See also OpenHeartDentistry and OmnidisciplinaryScientist. Compare AllMonksKnowKungFu (which is, basically, ''Not That Kind Of Monk'') and NotThatKindOfMage, where someone good at one form of wizardry is unskilled at another. Contrast with SuperDoc, when the Doctor can heal you no matter ''what'' his field is. If the character actually complains about this, he might say some form of ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Note that this trope holds water only in certain languages, such as English; other languages were smart enough to create different words to distinguish between [=MDs=] and [=PhDs=]. An example would be Chinese, where the medical professionals are addressed as ''[Surname] yīshēng'' while academics get ''[Surname] bóshì''. In languages that don't have the distinction, the use of "Doctor" by non-[=MDs=] varies with culture: in English-speaking cultures it is frowned upon for someone with the title of "Doctor" to use it in a field where their title does not apply. For instance, if a Doctor of Education worked in a hospital, referring to himself as a doctor could be misleading since he has no background in medicine. But in some countries like Germany and Italy, it is almost always used. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | ---- |
| 22 | !!Doctors who really do practice medicine: |
| 23 | |
| 24 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 25 | |
| 26 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 27 | * Dr. Shiouji from ''Manga/ExcelSaga'' specifically states that out of his many doctorates ''none'' are in medicine, but it doesn't matter that much in the end as he's also an OmnidisciplinaryScientist who knows all the medical terminology and has previously dissected Iwata's dead body to translocate his brain into a mechanical vessel. Dr. Kabapu has never said what kind of doctor he is either. |
| 28 | * [[WhosOnFirst Reversed]] in ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'', when Kafuka Fuura walks into the Itoshiki Clinic for a check-up and initially sees Dr. Mikoto Itoshiki, whom she initially confuses for his younger brother/her teacher Nozomu.[[note]]In Japanese, ''sensei'' means "professor" or "physician". Compare with the English term "doctor".[[/note]]] |
| 29 | -->'''Kafuka:''' ''Sensei''!\ |
| 30 | '''Dr. Itoshiki:''' Yes.\ |
| 31 | '''Kafuka:''' No, I mean, ''Sensei''!\ |
| 32 | '''Dr. Itoshiki:''' Yes?\ |
| 33 | '''Kafuka:''' I mean, Itoshiki-''sensei''.\ |
| 34 | '''Dr. Itoshiki:''' Yes. |
| 35 | * Doctor Nanjo from ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'' practices medicine, but he's ''still'' not that kind of doctor, since the characters need to determine a cause of death, but Nanjo is a general practitioner and thus not qualified to examine corpses. The first death scene in the VN even [[DiscussedTrope mentions this]]. |
| 36 | [[/folder]] |
| 37 | |
| 38 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 39 | * ''ComicBook/{{Crossed}}'': One arc features a bunch of millionaires hidden away in a luxurious bunker. The closest they have to a medical expert is a dermatologist who got rich off a brand of skin cream she invented; when one of the others gets appendicitis she operates on him, and predictably, he dies. |
| 40 | * ''Franchise/TheDCU'': |
| 41 | ** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica'' when Black Canary is surprised that Doctor Mid-Nite ''is'' that kind of doctor, since most supers who call themselves "Doctor" aren't. It seems a little odd for Black Canary to think this, since in the DCU, it may be true for super''villains'', but most superheroes who use the "Doctor" title ''are'' physicians. [[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} Doctor Manhattan]] has a doctorate in physics, but he is/was explicitly not part of the mainstream DCU and Black Canary shouldn't know about him. ComicBook/DoctorFate ''used to have'' a doctorate in archaeology/Egyptology, but ended up becoming a physician anyway. [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica The female Doctor Light]] ''used to have'' a doctorate in astronomy, but has also since become a physician, working in a hospital and healing a fellow hero (thus began her upgrade to OmnidisciplinaryScientist...). |
| 42 | ** In ''Saga of the ComicBook/SwampThing'' #9, Dr. Dennis Barclay says that the Swamp Thing needs a botanist or a biochemist, not a medical doctor like himself. |
| 43 | * Doctor Strange's parody in ''ComicBook/{{Fanhunter}}'', Dr. X-Traño (a mix between a real wizard and a cosplayer Marvel geek), is only ''honoris causa''[[note]]indicates an honorary degree[[/note]] of something else by Miskatonic University. His allies believed X-Traño to be an M.D. like Strange; he was forced to tell the truth when he was asked to heal an ally. |
| 44 | * ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'': |
| 45 | ** ComicBook/DoctorStrange is a trained (though not currently practicing) surgeon. Specifically, he was a neurosurgeon, but an accident left his hands unable to hold a scalpel steady enough to do the fine manipulation necessary for such delicate surgery. On the occasions when he does show his medical chops, he tends to be [[SuperDoc better and more versatile]] than a specialist decades out of practice should be, though he'll usually quip that he hasn't been ''that'' kind of doctor for a long time. The [[Film/DoctorStrange2016 movie version]] actually has multiple [=Ph.D.=] and M.D. degrees. |
| 46 | ** ComicBook/{{Morbius}} has an [=M.D.=] and at least one [=PhD=], so he is actually both kind of doctors. As an M.D., he specializes in hematology, but exactly what the [=PhDs=] are in [[DependingOnTheWriter depends on the writer]], with biology and biochemistry being the fields most commonly mentioned. |
| 47 | ** Inverted with the Night Nurse, who is actually a licensed physician but prefers the catchy codename to "Night General Practitioner". |
| 48 | * During the ''Sunshine & Roses'' arc of ''ComicBook/StrayBullets'', Orson kidnaps a surgeon to help revive Annie after a blow to the head renders her unconscious. During the car ride over, the doctor explains that he's a reconstructive surgeon who mainly does cosmetic procedures, and thus knows nothing about treating traumatic brain injuries. |
| 49 | [[/folder]] |
| 50 | |
| 51 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 52 | * There are a lot of people holding the title "doctor" around SPEAR's facilities in the ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm'' fanfic ''Fanfic/HeroesOfTheDesk''. In one case, Dr. Kara Grimes is asked about "embiggering" tech, to which she replies, "[[ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder I'm a psychologist, not a researcher]]." The doctors around SPEAR tend to be well-separated: doctors of medicine into specialties (averting SuperDoc) and doctors of science into different fields (averting OmnidisciplinaryScientist). |
| 53 | * The ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' fic ''Fanfic/AGoodCompromise'' has a Starfleet expedition discover that [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS04E24TheQuickening the vaccine against the Teplan blight]] has stopped working. Captain Tyria Sark asks her chief medical officer Irim Valder how to fix it. |
| 54 | -->'''Irim:''' Sir, I'm a general practitioner, not a pharmacologist. |
| 55 | * ''Fanfic/TeriXGumballInBetweenWorlds'' reveals that both of Teri's parents work in the medical field. Specifically, her father is a surgeon while her mother is an allergist. |
| 56 | * ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13968561/53/Harry-Potter-and-Defeating-Dark-Lords-Inc Harry Potter and Defeating Dark Lords, Inc]]'': |
| 57 | -->'''Constance:''' Please. Healer Flynn. It's my crup. He's sick.\ |
| 58 | '''Healer Flynn:''' I'm a healer! Not a veterinarian. |
| 59 | * Done indirectly in ''Fanfic/TheEchoRanger'': |
| 60 | --> '''Izuku''': The best ice cream in the prefecture. It's a hot day, and I have to treat myself occasionally. Doctor's orders. \ |
| 61 | '''Melissa''': You do remember he's a doctor of paleontology, right? \ |
| 62 | '''Izuku''': Doesn't matter, if it means I get to have a double scoop cone every other week. \ |
| 63 | '''Melissa''': Your logic is sound. |
| 64 | [[/folder]] |
| 65 | |
| 66 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 67 | * In the movie ''Film/ParadiseRoad'', Dr. Verstak (Frances [=McDormand=]) practices medicine on the inmates of the prison camp, making her non-expendable. Near the end of the movie, she admits [[spoiler:that she isn't an M.D., but instead has a doctorate in philosophy. Though her husband ''is'' an M.D., so she actually does have some basic medical knowledge]]. |
| 68 | * In ''Film/PunchDrunkLove'', Barry talks with his brother-in-law following a violent outburst. Barry wants to talk to him about his issues because he's a doctor, to which his brother-in-law responds: |
| 69 | -->"Barry, I'm a dentist, what kind of help do you think I can give you?" |
| 70 | * ''Film/AustinPowers'': Dr. Evil went to [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate Evil ''Medical'' School]], after spy school with Austin and Number Two. A series of French practice schoolbooks has Dr. Evil as a plastic surgeon and Mini-Me as his secretary. |
| 71 | * ''Film/{{Awakenings}}'' begins with Dr. Sayer showing up for a job interview, but he's a medical researcher, so he's dismayed to find out that they're looking for a clinician -- a "''doctor'' doctor," in their words. But both he and the interviewers are desperate so he winds up with the job anyway. |
| 72 | * ''Film/TheAbominableDrPhibes'' has two doctorates. One is in theology, and the other in acoustics. |
| 73 | * ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' features Abraham Van Helsing, M.D., D.Ph., D.Litt., etc, as seen in ''Film/TheBridesOfDracula'' (1960). |
| 74 | * ''Film/CitySlickers'' has a scene with two doctors needing to attend to an injured man because they're the only people in the group with first-aid training. The problem is that first-aid is all they can provide for him -- he needs a surgeon, but they're ''dentists''. |
| 75 | -->"What're we going to do, give him a ''cleaning?!''" |
| 76 | * In the movie ''Theatre/SeventeenSeventySix'', Doctor Lyman Hall is taken aside by the seriously ill Caesar Rodney, who asks him a simple question: |
| 77 | -->'''Rodney:''' Sir may I ask of you, are you a Doctor of Medicine, or of Divinity?[[note]]A Doctor of Divinity is a degree in theology, that Christian clergy often have[[/note]]\ |
| 78 | '''Hall:''' Both, sir. Which one might be of use?\ |
| 79 | '''Rodney:''' The former most assuredly, then we shall see about the latter. |
| 80 | * In ''Film/{{Clue}}'', Professor Plum, a psychiatrist, is called upon to determine what killed Mr. Boddy and immediately protests, "I am ''not'' a forensic expert!" [[spoiler:This gets turned around on him [[MultipleEndings in one ending]], as Plum had inspected Mr. Boddy and declared that Boddy was dead when in fact the man was still alive. Wadsworth points out that psychiatrists have more than enough medical knowledge and training to be able to tell whether someone is alive or dead, (in the modern era, psychiatrists are medical doctors in addition to psychologists, which is why they have the ability to prescribe drug treatments) so Plum must have known that Boddy was still alive even though he said otherwise. Wadsworth concludes this is because Plum wanted to kill Boddy himself.]] |
| 81 | * {{Inverted}} in ''Film/TheSantaClause:'' When people refer to Neil as a doctor, Scott sarcastically replies "He's not a doctor, he's a ''psychiatrist.''" Psychiatrists actually ''are'' medical doctors[[note]]in the U.S. at least; this is why they're allowed to write prescriptions, which psychologists/psychoanalysts in general cannot do[[/note]], but most people seem not to know that. |
| 82 | * In ''Film/TheHangover'', Stu is a dentist, a fact that everyone is quick to remind him of whenever he mentions his doctorate. |
| 83 | * ''Film/DeepBlueSea'': This is outright said by the researcher responsible for the whole mess as she tries to tend to a shark attack victim. |
| 84 | * In-universe, this is a plot point and a problem for Pasteur in ''Film/TheStoryOfLouisPasteur''. His campaign to change French medicine is hampered by the fact that he's a chemist, not a medical doctor. |
| 85 | * In ''Film/{{Tomcats}}'' Michael and Kyle go to see their friend, a doctor, for a growth on one of Kyle's testicles. The friend points out that while he is a M.D., he is a proctologist and not a urologist. Although they do go to see an actual urologist, Michael still feels the need to say: |
| 86 | -->'''Michael:''' Wait, so you'll stick your finger up his ass but you won't touch his nut? |
| 87 | * ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'': |
| 88 | ** ''Film/IronMan3'': PlayedForLaughs in TheStinger, which reveals that Tony has been recounting the movie's events to Bruce Banner in a therapy session. Except Banner had fallen asleep at the start of the story, and when he wakes up, he points out he's not a therapist and doesn't have the temperament for it. |
| 89 | ** ''Film/AvengersEndgame'': PlayedForLaughs. When Tony and Banner are telling the others about Doctor Strange, they have a brief moment of confusion as they realize they have no idea what kind of doctor he actually is, because neither of them ever actually asked. Tony says he was probably an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist but Strange is a neurosurgeon, for the record. |
| 90 | * In the Creator/LaurelAndHardy film ''Film/SonsOfTheDesert'', as part of his plan to go to a fraternity convention against his wife's wishes, Oliver fakes a sudden illness and sets Stanley the task of getting a doctor and fixing it with him to play along and prescribe an ocean cruise for his health. Stan does so, and the doctor he gets ''is'' technically a medical practitioner, but, well... |
| 91 | -->'''Oliver:''' Now why did you get a ''veterinarian?''\ |
| 92 | '''[[CloudCuckoolander Stanley]]:''' Well I didn't think his religion would make any difference. |
| 93 | * In ''Film/WhatsUpDoc,'' Hugh tries to use his credentials to gain favor in the court. But he's not the kind of doctor -- not even metaphorically. |
| 94 | --> '''Hugh:''' Don't touch me, I'm a doctor! |
| 95 | --> '''Judge:''' A doctor? Of what? |
| 96 | --> '''Hugh:''' ...Music. |
| 97 | --> '''Judge:''' Can you [[MrFixIt fix a hi-fi]]? |
| 98 | --> '''Hugh:''' ([[ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder dismissively]]) No. |
| 99 | --> '''Judge:''' Well then, in my court, you're nothing! |
| 100 | * In ''Film/TheShakiestGunInTheWest'', Penny's federal agent contact is gunned down in the street at night. The town doctor is out of town but the hotel manager remembers there is a doctor staying there. Unfortunately, Doctor Jesse Heywood is a dentist. [[FaintInShock Who faints at the sight of the gunshot wound.]] |
| 101 | * ''Film/SteelRain''. North Korean agent Eom breaks into an obstetric clinic and forces the doctor there to operate on Kim Jong Un, who's been wounded in an attempted coup. She does her best, but there's a bullet in his cranium that she doesn't dare touch. "I'm an obstetrician, not a neurosurgeon. Unless there's a baby inside this belly, I can't do it." Later a woman with them gets injured in a shootout so the obstetrician takes them to her friend who's a plastic surgeon, because she at least knows surgery. |
| 102 | * ''Film/AmericanFiction'': Monk is an academic whose father and siblings became doctors. When discussing the care of their mother, he points out to his sister Lisa that she's a doctor. She replies that so is he. |
| 103 | -->'''Monk:''' Not that kind. |
| 104 | [[/folder]] |
| 105 | |
| 106 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 107 | * Doctor Lao from ''Literature/TheCircusOfDoctorLao'' is definitely not that kind of doctor. |
| 108 | * ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'': Doctor Watson is that kind of doctor, if only to underline how much above even medical doctors Holmes is cognitively. However, while Holmes has a lot of forensic knowledge, Watson's expertise does often come in handy. |
| 109 | * In ''Beneath The Surface'' by Gary Crew, Spiro introduces himself as 'Doctor Spiro Trotter' and has to clarify that he isn't a medical doctor in response to the hotel receptionist repeatedly telling him that nobody's been sick for years. |
| 110 | * The protagonist of ''Literature/YouthInSexualEcstasy'' after acquiring an STD, looks for a doctor to get treated, he finds the card of a specialist in "sexual dysfunctions" (sex therapist) and goes to him to get treated, luckily for him the doctor already had a background on medicine and biology; The doctor later points out what his specialization really means. |
| 111 | * In the third ''Literature/Spaceforce2012'' novel, Jez and Andri investigate a troubling accidental death and find that pretty much everyone involved, victim and suspects, is a doctor - but only two are 'that' kind of doctor. |
| 112 | * In the original ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde'', Dr. Henry Jekyll may or may not be that kind of doctor; Stevenson actually doesn't specify whether or not his doctorate is in medicine, although given his expertise in chemistry, it is possible. Some adaptations have indeed depicted him as running a private practice, or being retired from one. |
| 113 | * Dr. Abraham Van Helsing in the original ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' is that kind of doctor (and a professor of medicine), and ''not'' a {{vampire hunter}}, as adaptations often turn him into; he's [[TheSmartGuy just smart enough]] to know enough about them to improvise. |
| 114 | * ''Literature/ThisBookIsFullOfSpidersSeriouslyDudeDontTouchIt'': Dr Marconi, a celebrity expert on the supernatural, turns out to be the "Doc" caring for infected victims in the quarantine. Dave expresses surprise that Marconi is "that kind of doctor." However, when Dave later observes Marconi tending patients while smoking a pipe, he has doubts that Marconi has any medical training. Since there's no actual hope of a cure, however, it's ultimately left ambiguous. |
| 115 | * Inverted in ''Literature/TheMysteriousIsland'': After Spillet (an IntrepidReporter) saves Harbert's life with quinina, Pencroff never adresses him as anything but Doctor Spillet, despite his not being a doctor. |
| 116 | * In ''Literature/YouAreDeadSignHerePlease'', Doctor Vegatillius' (stolen) doctorate is in art history, despite him posing as a neurobiologist. |
| 117 | * ''Literature/MassEffectAnnihilation'': Yorrick, the elcor doctor. He's just a general practitioner (ear, nose and throat stuff), and is way out of his depth dealing with a horrific plague. |
| 118 | * ''[[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/Bunny Bunny]]'': Fosco, Samantha's main professor, has a Ph.D. in English, and jokes about being confused for a "real doctor." |
| 119 | * ''Literature/ThePeshawarLancers'': A private, wounded in battle, refuses to be treated by "the ''[[ForeignCussWord yoni]]'' doctor!". Athelstan gently reminds him that while their current surgeon indeed was a gynecologist in civilian practice, he is also a fully trained surgeon as well as an officer in the Reserve, and that while the pain buys a wounded man a lot of leeway, he should still be more polite to someone trying to save his life and limbs. |
| 120 | |
| 121 | [[/folder]] |
| 122 | |
| 123 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 124 | * The vets in ''Series/{{All Creatures Great And Small|1978}}'' sometimes have clients who mistake them for traditional doctors, often under embarrassing circumstances. Tristan once went on a house-call to an infertile couple under the mistaken belief that he was going to artificially inseminate their cow. Another time a woman turned up at the surgery asking for confirmation of her pregnancy and Siegfried pretended to [[CovertPervert comply with her wishes]] in order to freak out Tristan and James. |
| 125 | * Inverted in Season 17 of ''Series/TheAmazingRace'' when, after being U-Turned, Chad started taunting Nat at the Roadblock. Though really, it might have just been because Chad didn't know the difference between an MD and a [=PhD=]. |
| 126 | -->'''Chad:''' Nat you should be able to get this easy. How's that [=PhD=] helping you?\ |
| 127 | '''Nat''' (in a voice over): For the record, I have an MD, I do not have a [=PhD=]. |
| 128 | * In the ''Series/BroadCity'' episode "Hashtag FOMO," Trey calls Abbi to ask about [[INeedToGoIronMyDog the tapeworm she said she had]]. Abbi gives the phone to Lincoln, saying he's her doctor, but he doesn't leave a very good impression on Trey. Afterwards, Lincoln says, "I'm a dentist, not a doctor. I don't know how to deal with high-pressure situations." |
| 129 | * Captain Holt tries to use this to his advantage in the ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'' episode "[[Recap/BrooklynNineNineS5E14TheBox The Box]]", trying to get under the skin of a murder suspect, a dentist, by saying he's not a real doctor. The dentist isn't impressed, and retorts that it's better than university professors calling themselves doctors. Holt, who is both married to a university professor and a stickler for details, [[BerserkButton takes this very seriously]]. |
| 130 | -->'''Holt:''' A [=PhD=] is a doctorate. It's literally ''describing'' a doctor!\ |
| 131 | '''Peralta:''' Maybe let's refocus?\ |
| 132 | '''Holt:''' No! The problem here is that medical practitioners have ''co-opted'' the word "doctor"!\ |
| 133 | '''Peralta:''' Okay, Captain--\ |
| 134 | '''Holt:''' I know we live in a world where anything can mean anything, and NOBODY EVEN CARES ABOUT ETYMOLO-- ''[SmashCut to them outside]'' Apparently, that's a trigger for me. |
| 135 | * Cliff on ''Series/TheCosbyShow'' is that kind of doctor (albeit a specialist, specifically an obstetrician). One rather hilarious scene in an episode was where Rudy hurt her leg, and cried to Cliff that she wanted to see a doctor. Cliff had to remind her that he ''was'' a doctor. Making it even funnier, when Clair came home and looked at it, she panicked a little and exclaimed that they had to call a doctor, again forgetting that Cliff, [[ImStandingRightHere who was right next to her]], was a doctor. |
| 136 | * Played with on ''Series/CriminalMinds'' in Season Five, with Doctor Reid (who possesses three Ph.D.s but no medical training) after he was shot. Hotch makes him stay behind with Garcia, the team's [[PlayfulHacker analyst]]. |
| 137 | -->'''Hotch:''' You told me you were cleared to travel. You lied.\ |
| 138 | '''Reid:''' No, I didn't. I am a doctor, so technically it wasn't a lie.\ |
| 139 | '''Garcia:''' What was it, then?\ |
| 140 | '''Reid:''' Um... Second opinion.\ |
| 141 | '''Garcia:''' You're my bitch now. |
| 142 | ** Later exploited in Season Twelve, when the team needs to get into a prison on lockdown. Prentiss manages to get Tara Lewis an exemption. |
| 143 | --> '''Lewis:''' How'd you manage that? |
| 144 | --> '''Prentiss:''' Medical necessity. You are a ''doctor,'' right? |
| 145 | --> '''Lewis:''' I have earned a doctorate degree, yes. |
| 146 | --> '''Prentiss:''' MD, [=PhD=], now's not the time to split hairs. |
| 147 | * The Series/CSIVerse has two ex-doctors. ''Series/{{CSI}}'' had Dr. Ray Langston and ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' has Dr. Sheldon Hawkes. Both have ended up giving emergency care a time or two. Hawkes even helps with a bicycle first aid team in the park. Of course, the medical examiners (Robbins, Hammerback) are also doctors, but don't practice medicine. |
| 148 | ** Doc Robbins has occasionally been shown to do things medically related - while Grissom was losing his hearing, Doc Robbins gave him regular check-ups to make sure Grissom was attending to his health. He also delivered a baby by C-section once, with Nick at the scene of a teen-age girl's death. |
| 149 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': |
| 150 | ** The Doctor has medical knowledge and ''has'' used it to heal people on occasion, but science is their forte and "Doctor" part of their assumed identity anyway. In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E6TheMoonbase "The Moonbase"]], the Second Doctor claims to have received a medical degree... under Lister on ''19th century'' Earth. In any case, they've had centuries to come by plenty of knowledge honestly. |
| 151 | ** In the classic series, the Rani, a fellow Time Lord and former classmate, mentions the Doctor's qualifications in ''thermodynamics'', indicating that they were initially a ''physicist'', not a physician, but then went traveling the Universe for centuries with the explicit purpose to learn and explore. By the New Series, the Doctor definitely qualifies as an OmnidisciplinaryScientist. |
| 152 | ** In [[Recap/DoctorWho2006CSTheRunawayBride "The Runaway Bride"]], the Racnoss Empress is so old and has been in hibernation for so long that she assumes the Doctor is ''only'' that kind of doctor. |
| 153 | ** Lampshaded again in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E11Utopia "Utopia"]] when a guard tells Professor Yana that a doctor "of everything" has just arrived. This actually makes Yana more hopeful because he assumes that "doctor of everything" means that a well-trained scientist has showed up to help them, and he's not wrong. |
| 154 | ** Being a doctor of "everything" has in fact been their traditional response to the question of what kind of doctor they are from at least the era of the Second Doctor. (Of course, the more snarky and acerbic Twelfth Doctor said his specialty was intestinal parasites when ''he'' was asked that.) However, whenever a companion knows medicine, matters medical will be left to the one who ''is'' that kind of doctor. ''However'' however, you'll ''never'' see the Doctor held back by a lack of knowledge of medicine when [[Creator/FreemaAgyeman Martha Jones]] or [[Creator/ArthurDarvill Rory Williams]] ''aren't'' in the room. |
| 155 | ** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar "A Good Man Goes to War"]], the character Lorna knows he must be a great warrior because "Why else would he be called that?" Turns out that in her language, "Doctor" means "Mighty Warrior". The irony is [[spoiler: that the Doctor has become so feared in reputation, that he created the term. That makes him not only that ''kind'' of Doctor, but that ''specific'' Doctor.]] |
| 156 | ** Liz Shaw is that kind of doctor, [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist among other things]]. Harry Sullivan's doctorate is strictly medical. |
| 157 | ** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E2TheArkInSpace "The Ark in Space"]], the Doctor claims his Doctorate is purely honorary, and Harry (who's a naval surgeon) is "only qualified to work on sailors". |
| 158 | ** Martha Jones eventually became that sort of doctor. Her (temporary) fiancé Tom Milligan is also one. |
| 159 | ** In the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E1AnUnearthlyChild first serial]], the Doctor is asked to treat a badly injured man, and he replies angrily, "I am not a doctor of medicine!" In the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E2TheDaleks second]], he seems to be collecting samples of ground, and finds it important enough to, although unwittingly, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero lead himself and his companions to being badly exposed to severe radiation and to the Daleks' prison]]. [[WildMassGuessing Perhaps he's a doctor of geology?]] |
| 160 | ** The official ''Doctor Who'' website has an [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/doctorsdoctorate.shtml entire page]] about the Doctor's qualifications. |
| 161 | ** A skit where Creator/LennyHenry plays the Doctor uses this to set up an ObligatoryJoke. |
| 162 | --->'''The Doctor:''' I ''[DramaticPause]'' am the Doctor.\ |
| 163 | '''Homeless bum:''' Great, because I've got this really nasty rash on my back...\ |
| 164 | '''The Doctor:''' Not that kind of doctor — THE Doctor.\ |
| 165 | '''Homeless bum:''' Doctor what?\ |
| 166 | '''The Doctor:''' That's near enough... |
| 167 | ** Basically, the Doctor is so knowledgeable on all scientific topics, including medicine, that they ''could'' perform emergency surgery using only a fruit knife to save someone's life, but given a choice they'd rather let an experienced medical professional do it. This is actually a proviso of the Hippocratic Oath: even if you are "a doctor" and technically ''could'' perform a dangerous surgery, you are morally obligated to let a specialist perform it if they are better trained or experienced in that specific kind of operation than you are. |
| 168 | * Lampshaded on the "Doctor Nora" episode of ''Series/{{Frasier}}''. [[spoiler: Doctor Nora holds a [=PhD=] ... In Physical Education. Frasier: "She's a gym teacher!"]] |
| 169 | * Ross Gellar from ''Series/{{Friends}}'' has a [=PhD=] in paleontology. When he refers to himself as "Dr. Ross Gellar" in a hospital, Rachel tells him not to, as the title actually means something in a hospital. |
| 170 | * Discussed in ''Series/FullerHouse''. When DJ implies that Steve, a podiatrist, is not a real doctor; he claps back that the only humans DJ, a veterinarian, works on are mobsters who have been shot in the leg. DJ retorts that she only did that once, then warns Steve that Vinny the Sandwich still owes her a favor. |
| 171 | * In ''Series/{{Gotham}}'', Dr. Leslie Thompkins, who ends up employed as the GCPD's medical examiner, starts the series as a physician in the women's wing of Arkham Asylum, and is repeatedly called on for medical services she doesn't specialize in throughout the rest of the series. She does lampshade this at least twice, though, once when she's forced to perform an emergency surgery, and once when she's trying to explain to someone who just went through a traumatic experience that she should talk to someone who's actually a trained psychiatrist. |
| 172 | * Jason Seaver from ''Series/GrowingPains'' was a psychiatrist who, in early episodes, had to correct people when they thought he was a medical doctor and then defend being a "shrink". For instance, he was assisted a woman giving birth in public, letting her know he's a doctor. Her husband seems relieved by soon realizes that Jason plans to comfort her until paramedics arrive. The man then exclaims, "Oh, I thought you were a REAL doctor", much to his chagrin. This was befitting the attitudes of the early 80's in which psychiatry was not yet fully embraced by the public. It might also indicate a mistake on the part of the writers, since a psychiatrist is a medical doctor with a specialty in psychiatry, while a psychologist is a counsellor. The main difference is 'trists can prescribe medication. |
| 173 | * Mohinder Suresh of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' has remarkable know-how in the medical arts despite being a geneticist. |
| 174 | ** He even mentions how he's ''not'' a medical doctor at least ''twice''-- once in Volume 1 when Thompson asks him to figure out what's wrong with Molly, and in Volume 4 when he's brought to see a bullet-riddled Daphne. |
| 175 | * ''Series/IronFist2017''. In "Heart of the Dragon", Danny Rand is seriously injured but refuses to go to a hospital, so Ward Meachum calls in his girlfriend who he says is a doctor. She points out she's actually an anesthetist, and though she patches Danny up, tells Ward that he's ''not'' to call on her for this kind of thing again. |
| 176 | * Subverted in an episode of ''Series/LawAndOrder''. As a doctor waits for her car in a parking lot, one of the attendants asks if she has any suggestions for his back pain. She quotes this trope, word for word, even though she ''is'' an MD, because her specialty is OB/GYN. |
| 177 | * During one episode of ''Series/{{Leverage}}" ("The [[RashomonStyle Rashomon]] Job"), Sophie runs into Dr. Wes Abernathy. She asks what his [=PhD=] is in, and he announces that he is a surgeon. |
| 178 | * In ''Series/{{MASH}}'', Hawkeye, Trapper, Frank, Henry, B.J., Charles, and Colonel Potter--pretty much all the male officers, not counting occasional visitors--were all that kind of doctor. Dr. Sidney Freedman is a psychiatrist, and therefore, is that kind of doctor, but it's not his occupation. In a crisis he's forced to help out in the O.R., over his protestations that "medical school was a long time ago." |
| 179 | ** Before he agrees to help in the OR, Freedman mentions that the last surgery he performed was lancing a boil on his kid's butt. |
| 180 | ** Inverted in a couple of episodes where the doctors do veterinary medicine. When he has to treat Colonel Potter's horse; B.J. calls a vet he knows stateside for a consult. |
| 181 | * ''Series/PrisonBreak'': T-bag gets his hand cut off during the escape at the end of the first season. The second season opens with him forcing a veterinarian to reattach it, despite the vet's protests that he has neither the training nor the equipment. It doesn't work. |
| 182 | * Dr. Sam Beckett from ''Series/QuantumLeap'' straddles the line; while still amnesiac he recalls how to halt a premature labor, and then balks when Al tells him to do something requiring another degree; turns out medicine is just one of the six doctorates he holds. |
| 183 | * ''Series/Sanctuary2007'': |
| 184 | ** An episode of has Will and Abby kidnapped by a gang seeking medical aid for their boss, who was, of course, attacked by an abnormal. They go through about a half a minute of trying to convince said crooks that they are psychologists, which they are. It does not work. |
| 185 | --->'''Abby:''' Sigmund and Anna Freud, right here. |
| 186 | ** Also, Magnus, who isn't really a medical doctor though she certainly acts like one (along with every other kind of doctor.) |
| 187 | --->'''Will:''' So, you're a doctor of what, exactly?\ |
| 188 | '''Magnus:''' The specific discipline depends entirely on the patient... I specialize mainly in cryptozoology and xenobiology. Teratology, too, when the need arises. (mythical/extinct creatures, extraterrestrial life, and mutations, respectively) |
| 189 | * In the ''Franchise/StargateVerse'': Dr. Janet Frasier, Dr. Carson Beckett, and Dr. Jennifer Keller are all That Kind Of Doctor. And don't forget Dr. Lam, even if [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome the writers did.]] |
| 190 | * ''Franchise/StarTrek'': Doctors [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries McCoy]], [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Crusher, Pulaski]], [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Bashir]], [[Series/StarTrekVoyager the EMH]], and [[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Phlox]] are definitely that kind of doctor. To emphasize the MildlyMilitary nature of Starfleet, it is apparently ''not'' appropriate to address them by their rank (if any). Further, as a psychiatrist, Deanna Troi is likely a Doctor as well, ''sort of'' that kind. |
| 191 | ** Troi's title is Counselor, meaning she probably filled the role of a guidance counselor of sorts to the crew (more of a psychologist's job, and while they are doctors in the Ph.D. sense, her empathic nature helped her more than her training). Also, the official medical doctors all were required to learn multiple alien anatomies as well as forensics and other analysis. [=McCoy=] is pretty dependent on his lab in the original, but in space the doctors have to be able to cope with an emergency. After all, Klingon anatomy has double- or triple-redundancies to keep them fighting and Vulcans have their heart in their abdominal cavity, so why risk being underprepared? |
| 192 | ** Surprisingly, [=McCoy=] admitted in "Journey to Babel" that he's really not very experienced with performing surgery on Vulcans, and would rather not risk the life of Spock's father by having to do the operation himself. As he explains, he ''is'' technically trained to do it, he knows where all the organs are - but that's no substitute for years of hands-on surgical experience. In short, he's a generalist for an entire multi-species crew, but realistically he'd rather let a specialist do it. |
| 193 | ** All of these doctors (aside from Phlox, who's not an actual member of Starfleet, and ''Voyager''[='=]s Doctor, who's a hologram) do have ranks, designated on their uniforms. [=McCoy=] was a Lt. Commander, for example. Troi, who does not wear a uniform, held the rank of Lt. Commander for most of the show and got a HandWave of not wanting to intimidate her clients because she out-ranked them. (Granted, what she was wearing instead was probably [[DistractedByTheSexy off-putting in other ways…]]) Crusher was a Commander. Bashir was a Lieutenant. |
| 194 | ** Medical doctors in Starfleet don't get addressed by their rank, probably because they are not (usually) considered part of the "command" crew as such (not physically part of the "bridge" crew) and are thus relatively low in the ''official'' chain of command - in terms of succeeding as Acting Captain if the current Captain is killed, incapacitated, or missing. While [=McCoy=] is ''technically'' a Lt. Commander, both Lt. Sulu ''and'' Lt. Uhura are actually ahead of him in succession to the captain's chair. |
| 195 | *** Even ''Voyager''[='=]s Doctor eventually got a DLC turning him into the Emergency ''Command'' Hologram, temporarily replacing his medical database with a tactical one (and yes, he was able to use it effectively, employing a ShootTheBullet tactic used once by a Romulan commander to disable two enemy ships). |
| 196 | * Lampshaded, played with and kicked to death in ''Series/TopGear'', of all programmes. Jeremy revealed that he had obtained a cheaper quote for insurance because he called himself 'Doctor', rather than a journalist - the two pay vastly different rates of Car Insurance. He ignored the other two's protestations that HONORARY doctorates don't count. |
| 197 | * In ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'', Doctor Owen Harper is that kind of doctor. |
| 198 | ** The team's tech expert Toshiko Sato's first appearance was in an episode of the parent show ''Series/DoctorWho'', where she posed as a medical doctor to examine an alien corpse. In the last episode of ''Torchwood'' Season 2, it turns out this was because Owen was hung over that day. Tosh almost certainly has a doctorate in ''something''. |
| 199 | * For a pathologist, Scully certainly does a lot of emergency/trauma type medicine on ''Series/TheXFiles''. She even delivers a baby in one episode. |
| 200 | ** [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that Scully '''is''' that kind of doctor. She has an MD and was recruited to the FBI from medical school to become a pathologist. Even if she did not specialize in emergency/trauma medicine, she still has all the basic knowledge of human anatomy and medicine that any other medical doctor would have. |
| 201 | [[/folder]] |
| 202 | |
| 203 | [[folder:Pinballs]] |
| 204 | * Despite his stethoscope and tongue depressors, it's safe to say [[Creator/MidwayGames Bally's]] ''Pinball/DrDude'' doesn't have a medical degree. |
| 205 | [[/folder]] |
| 206 | |
| 207 | [[folder:Professional Wrestling]] |
| 208 | * Dr. Big Bill Miller technically couldn't help anyone injured in the Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation on the technicality that he was a veterinian.[[/folder]] |
| 209 | |
| 210 | [[folder:Theater]] |
| 211 | * ''Theatre/SeventeenSeventySix'': Discussed in a conversation between Caesar Rodney (ill with cancer) and Dr. Lyman Hall, the new delegate for Georgia. Rodney asks Hall if he's a medical doctor or a Doctor of Divinity; turns out, he has doctorates in both fields. |
| 212 | [[/folder]] |
| 213 | |
| 214 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 215 | * Dr. Zev Cohen from ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'': "I am ''a'' doctor but not ''the'' doctor. My specialty is microbiology, not first aid." He was the [[ClosestThingWeGot closest thing they had]] after ''the'' doctor was killed. |
| 216 | * ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'' has Momma Bosco, who got her doctorate online - as a ghost. She's technically more of an inventor, though she still prefers the 'doctor' title. To prevent confusion with her son, who is just 'Bosco', she prefers 'Dr. Momma Bosco'. |
| 217 | * Dr. Robert Stewart of ''VideoGame/FZero'' fame is a practicing surgeon when he isn't on the track. His father was also a Doctor but it is unknown what that doctorate was in. We do know he built the F-Zero vehicle the Golden Fox. |
| 218 | * The ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter'' series gives us two: Dr. Elsa Weissinger who helped to develop the virus and Dr. Lawrence Mujari. When Lian Xing is in the final stages of the disease in ''Syphon Filter 2'' Lawrence says he will do what he can but that that isn't much since he is a hematologist and not a pathologist. |
| 219 | [[/folder]] |
| 220 | |
| 221 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 222 | * Zigzagged in ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework''. Dr. Mosely, the school psychologist, turns out to be [[spoiler:a scientist who travels the world performing illegal experiments. Actually, though, since the name “Dr. Mosely” itself is an alias, there’s at least some possibility (however slight) that she’s not ''any'' kind of doctor.]] |
| 223 | [[/folder]] |
| 224 | |
| 225 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 226 | * ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'': Dr. [=McNinja=]. When he's not adventuring, he's quite a successful medical doctor, even knowing of rare diseases like Paul Bunyan's Disease. At the very least, he knows general medicine and dentistry. Paul Bunyan's disease seems not to be that rare in the setting given [[spoiler:there are a group of people who hunt and kill Paul Bunyan sufferers to use their stuffed bodies as giant theme park mascots.]] Later in the stories we learn that Dr. [=McNinja=] might be a doctor of [[spoiler: [[{{OmnidisciplinaryScientist}} EVERYTHING]]. Except agriculture.]] |
| 227 | * ''Webcomic/LastRes0rt'' has Dr. Qin Xu, who chose to go into medicine after becoming a vampire. |
| 228 | * In ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'', Dr. Bunnigus protests that she's [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2011-02-15 not a psychiatrist,]] to no effect. |
| 229 | * Almost all the Sparks in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' are ''that'' kind of doctor. [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110124 Except for Agatha,]] because they wouldn't let her take the tests. Which is actually {{justified|Trope}}. When she ''wanted'' to be a doctor, she had her locket on, which acted as a damper for all of her senses, making her very clumsy. Presumably, if she had ''tried'' to be a doctor, bad things would have happened. |
| 230 | * ''Webcomic/{{Oglaf}}'': |
| 231 | ** Naveen declares herself a doctor, despite having very little idea what a doctor is, her most obvious misunderstanding being the belief that a doctor's job is to ''solve mysteries, go on adventures, and get laid''. Most people seem to buy it, even though her cure for everything is leeching above all, sex, and [[OurVampiresAreDifferent draining blood so she can drink it]]. |
| 232 | ** [[http://oglaf.com/overbite/ "I'm a dentist, not a fight wizard!!"]] Subverted, since his dentist power ''actually does save the day''. |
| 233 | * ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'' gives us the [[TheMedic Team Medic]], [[DeadpanSnarker Mikkel Madsen]]. He's emphatically ''not'' a doctor. Nor a veterinarian, for that matter. [[DontCallMeSir And, he flatly corrects others]]... while verbally dancing around what [[MDEnvy his qualifications]] actually ''are'' in a very subdued sort of way. He most likely has no doctorate in any particular subject, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have skills. |
| 234 | * Dr. Kinesis from, ''Webcomic/EvilPlan'', ignoring the fact that Dr. Kinesis is a supervillain title, Stanley's formal education slants towards computer science. |
| 235 | [[/folder]] |
| 236 | |
| 237 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 238 | * Invoked in ''[[WebAnimation/{{asdfmovie}} asdfmovie11]]'', concerning a man who's dying of a knife stab to the chest: |
| 239 | --> '''Doctor:''' Don't worry! I'm a doctor! ...''Of psychology!''\ |
| 240 | ''[cut to the doctor writing on a clipboard as the stabbed guy lies dead on the couch]''\ |
| 241 | '''Doctor:''' So how does that make you feel? |
| 242 | [[/folder]] |
| 243 | |
| 244 | [[folder:Web Video]] |
| 245 | * Dr. Bernard Hsu, the doctor who hosts the WebVideo/{{Chubbyemu}} channel, is a doctor of pharmacy. However, a great deal of the cases featured on the channel are ones he and his colleagues have personally seen. |
| 246 | [[/folder]] |
| 247 | |
| 248 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 249 | * In ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'', both of Kim's parents have doctorates. Her Mother's is indeed an M.D. (she's a brain surgeon), but her father's isn't (he's a rocket scientist). This results in visitors (at least Ron Stoppable) usually addressing them as Mr. Dr. P and Mrs. Dr. P, respectively. Not to call them doctor would be disrespectful, but to just call them doctor would be confusing. |
| 250 | * In ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', [[Characters/RickAndMortyBethSmith Beth Smith]] is a horse doctor. In one episode, she and Jerry hit a deer, and when she expresses a wish that she had the equipment to try and save its life, he tries to comfort her by saying that, since she deals with horses, there was nothing that she could do anyway. Beth, naturally, takes that as an insult and spends the rest of the episode ''angrily'' determined to save the deer. |
| 251 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' parody of ''Film/TheCore'', Randy is recruited by Cartman as the team's requisite scientist. When they finally get to their destination [[ItMakesSenseInContext in the middle of a miles-wide hippie drum circle]], Randy proves to be completely useless in their situation because he's a geologist. |
| 252 | * Played for drama in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' when Autobot ally Raf is injured after a shot from Megatron exploded near him. Ratchet is the Autobot chief medical officer and one of the greatest medical minds Cybertron has ever produced... but to his horror he realises he has no idea how to treat a human and laments that it never even occurred to him to learn. Luckily, Jack's mother June Darby ''is'' a trained medical professional (she's a nurse) and manages to stabilise him with Ratchet's help. |
| 253 | [[/folder]] |
| 254 | |
| 255 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 256 | * An example of a non-medical doctor treating people successfully. Louis Pasteur was a doctor of chemistry, not a physician. This became a problem when he was faced with the prospect of treating a 9-year old kid bitten by rabid dog with the rabies vaccine he had just developed since he would be guilty of practicing medicine without a license. He went ahead anyway, the kid got better, and Pasteur was celebrated as a hero because prosecuting the guy who saved a kid from rabies is kind of a dick move. |
| 257 | * In Japanese, medical doctors, people with Ph.Ds, teachers and authors get the "-sensei" [[UsefulNotes/JapaneseHonorifics honorific]]. "Sensei" means "teacher", as "doctor" is derived from the Latin term for "teacher." |
| 258 | * A [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Nursing_Practice Doctor of Nursing Practice]] has a doctorate (the DNP), and is thus entitled to be addressed as "Doctor". However, they are required by law to make sure that patients in a clinical setting know they are Not That Kind of Doctor. Other states flatly prohibit [=DNPs=] from using the title "Doctor" with their patients in a clinical setting. |
| 259 | * Inverted in the UK, where General Practioners are called "Doctor," while surgeons and other specialists use (and prefer) honorifics. |
| 260 | [[/folder]] |
| 261 | |
| 262 | !!Other kinds of doctors: |
| 263 | |
| 264 | [[folder:Advertising]] |
| 265 | * DrPepper ran an ad campaign where "Doctors" said the drink was good for you called "Trust Me, I'm a Doctor", said doctors included Music/DrDre and [[Music/{{KISS}} Dr. Love]]. |
| 266 | * Anaflex had a recurring joke where people ask "if inflammation does not go away, does pain return?" to doctors in many varied circumstances. One of them was a graduated receiving his diploma, and interrupting the ceremony to answer the cell phone call. "Sorry, I'm a lawyer."[[note]]In the US, the first professional degree for lawyers is the JD or Juris Doctor. It's a fairly recent (20th century) name change; prior to that the degree requiring the exact same coursework was the Bachelor of Law or LLB degree.[[/note]] |
| 267 | [[/folder]] |
| 268 | |
| 269 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 270 | * Naturally, Dr. Chronos from ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' is not that kind of doctor, being an academic professor, but his is [[InsistentTerminology very insistent]] upon being referred to as ''Doctor'' Chronos. (Until the second season when he becomes chancellor; everyone calls him "doctor" then, but he prefers to be called "Chancellor".) |
| 271 | [[/folder]] |
| 272 | |
| 273 | [[folder:Comedy]] |
| 274 | * Creator/TheFiresignTheatre: "Hi! I'm not a doctor, but I do look like one, and I'm being paid to ask you this important question..." |
| 275 | [[/folder]] |
| 276 | |
| 277 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 278 | * ''Franchise/TheDCU'': |
| 279 | ** According to the fact file at the back of the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' comic, even though Dr. Cyber is an OmnidisciplinaryScientist, her actual doctorate is in literature. |
| 280 | ** The original ComicBook/DoctorFate was a doctor of archaeology and actually did earn a medical license at once point. Most of the subsequent Doctor Fates weren't doctors at all, they'd just [[LegacyCharacter inherited the name]]. That said, one of them was a psychoanalyst, while another was a medical student. The trope name is spoken word for word in ''ComicBook/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' when Harley Quinn is trying to save [[ItMakesSenseInContext a talking chimp]] and asks Doctor Fate for help. Harley, who actually ''did'' [[GeniusDitz go to medical school]], then tells ''Mister'' Fate to take the chimp's human friend out of the room while she starts to work on him. The fact that Harley got her degree in ''psychiatry'' through blackmail is lost on her, of course. |
| 281 | ** One-shot ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'' foe [[RealityWarper Dr. Julian September]] is a physicist. He is not mistaken for a doctor of medicine, but an official who doesn't want to reapprove of his funding makes a quip about September fixing his jeep, since he works in quantum ''mechanics''. Shortly after, Dr September's work first paid off, when the official was [[RealityWarper struck by lightning]] before he could sign the paper that would have stopped September's work. |
| 282 | ** Dr. John Henry Irons[=/=]ComicBook/{{Steel}} is an engineer. The issue comes up when he visits a hospital on whether it's appropriate to call him "Dr. Irons". In Christopher Priest's run, he ''works'' at a hospital, and to his embarrassment, the administrator says calling him "Dr. Irons" is good publicity. |
| 283 | * ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'': |
| 284 | ** Brother Voodoo (Dr. Jericho Drumm) is a psychologist. Some readers assumed when they saw him go by 'Doctor Voodoo' that the title had come along with the office of Sorcerer Supreme, which he inherited from Doctor Strange. |
| 285 | ** ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' villain Doctor Doom dropped out of school after his FreakLabAccident and then proceeded to learn magic and take over a country. He never actually finished his Doctorate. No one would argue that he doesn't deserve one, but he simply never finished the coursework. Ordering the [[{{Ruritania}} University of Latveria]] to give him a degree (what the fanon suggests he did) doesn't count, even though the thesis defense would have been... interesting. |
| 286 | ** Tony Stark[=/=]ComicBook/IronMan actually does have a doctorate, but he almost never brings it up anyway. Mercifully, his teammates in ComicBook/TheAvengers never ask him to be That Kind of Doctor either. |
| 287 | ** In ''ComicBook/SecretWars1984'' issue #7, the Molecule Man is badly injured, and his girlfriend Volcana pleads with [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Dr. Octopus]] to do something since he's a "Doctor". Octavius replies "I'm a nuclear physicist, not an MD!", though he manages some basic stitches. Notably, he appears to have taken his above inability to practice medicine as a fault to be corrected, because by the time of ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan2013'', he's able to perform ''brain surgery'' to such a degree that a trained surgeon and fellow supervillain is in awe of him. |
| 288 | ** [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]] informs Jen that she is losing her powers in ''ComicBook/TheSensationalSheHulk'' issue #52. She desperately begs him to come up with a cure and he responds that this is a medical and biochemical issue which falls outside his area of expertise. What is unusual about this trope is that Reed is an OmnidisciplinaryScientist, which She-Hulk lampshades. |
| 289 | --->'''Jen:''' Oh sure... You can build moon rockets in your backyard and shrink people to sub-atomic size in your sleep, but you can't deal with a simple blood disorder? |
| 290 | ** Also appears in ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan''. Peter is injured in a fight and goes to Dr. Connors for help. Although he isn't an MD, as he is quick to point out, he is persuaded to treat the wound anyway. |
| 291 | * ''ComicBook/NthManTheUltimateNinja'' features Irving Yagyu, DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery). He's called "the ninja dentist" because [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin that's exactly what he is]]... |
| 292 | * ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' has the Xerbians, [[PlanetOfHats all of which are doctorate-holding scientists]]. They ''do'' have the habit of meaning a medical professional when they ask for a doctor, and the GenreSavvy ones are quick to specify what kind of doctor they need. |
| 293 | * Dr. Eggman manages to put a rather cruel twist on this trope in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics''. One of his minions confronts him about the cybernetics that were given to their crippled and diseased sister, stating that they aren't curing her like he said they would. Eggman then cheerily explains that, not being a medical doctor, he didn't know what her condition even ''is'', but went through with it anyway because he could use the threat of letting the minion's sister die to keep them both in line. |
| 294 | [[/folder]] |
| 295 | |
| 296 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 297 | * In ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}'', Alex goes into labor while at a graduation ceremony surrounded by [=PhD=]s; those around her naturally start shouting for the help of a ''real'' doctor. |
| 298 | * One of Tom Gauld's comic strip in ''New Scientist'' has someone calling for a doctor. A man steps forward, but when told someone is choking, explains he's a doctor of geology. But that's okay, because the person's choking on an igneous rock! |
| 299 | [[/folder]] |
| 300 | |
| 301 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 302 | * There are several Liberty's Kids fanfics where the author has mistaken Dr. Benjamin Franklin as a medical doctor. He had an honorary doctorate in law and science. |
| 303 | * In the ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' fanfic ''FanFic/ProjectTatterdemalion'', we have Dr. Yoruichi Shihouin (ecologist), Dr. Masaki Shiba (biology), Dr. Isshin Shiba (might ''technically'' be a medical doctor, but hasn't worked on anything but mice in years, so comes down to biology), Dr. Tessai Tsukabishi (physics), and Dr. Kisuke Urahara ([[OmnidisciplinaryScientist any number of things]]). All research scientists- although they do manage to create a fast-and-dirty vaccine against TheVirus. No medical doctors in the original group (although they do have a nurse and a paramedic). In the sequel, when (medical) Dr. Retsu Unohana arrives to treat the nurse's injuries, Yoruichi introduces herself ''with'' her specialty, to keep things clear. |
| 304 | * Claire Thompson in ''FanFic/TheNewRetcons'' has a doctorate in geology. |
| 305 | * [[Series/DoctorWho The Doctor]] has delivered at least two foals in ''Fanfic/LunaTheMatchmaker'', protesting that this trope is in effect all the way. |
| 306 | * In [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11397291/8/Stanswitch Chapter 8]] of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' fanfic "Stanswitch", Soos' grandmother needs medical help and he calls Dr. Stanford Pines, who explains that his doctorate is in ''theoretical physics''. |
| 307 | * In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' of Creator/AAPessimal, Johanna Smith-Rhodes has had to point out that her Doctorate is in Zoology. This is complicated on several levels: firstly, a lifetime of animal work has given her a lot of useful veterinarian skills, both as physician and surgeon. Having founded the City Zoo - the reason for her doctorate being conferred - she has opportunity to hone her skills in tending animals. But Ankh-Morpork has no such thing as a Guild of Veterinary Surgeons. Such few animal doctors as there are become enrolled in the Guild of Doctors by default, and because the city likes to tidy away its trade professionals. Johasnna is also an Assassin and has done courses in first aid and field surgery - for people. Assassin skills mean she is capable of thinking in what, to Assassins, would be a backward way - from the wound/injury received back to medical attention designed to ''save'' life. [[[OpenHeartDentistry Johanna is essentially a vet who occassionally tends people]]. |
| 308 | * In one ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' fanfic, Ruby brings Jaune to Dr. Oobleck to help treat his multiple-personality case. Oobleck corrects her that he's a doctor with a specialty in history, and introduces her to a psychologist to properly treat Jaune's case. |
| 309 | * In this ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'' [[https://www.instagram.com/p/CYenLBuq7P5/ fan comic]], Giorno starts choking and Josuke and Jolyne desperately turn to Jotaro to help since he's a doctor (Jotaro actually has a doctorate in marine biology). He ends up fixing the problem by having Star Platinum punch the obstruction out... which requires Josuke to Giorno of his injuries. |
| 310 | [[/folder]] |
| 311 | |
| 312 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 313 | * Dr. Delbert Doppler from ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'', as quoted above. |
| 314 | * Dr. Cockroach from ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens''. It is never made clear what his field is. What we do know is that his [=PhD=] was in [[spoiler:''dance!'']] |
| 315 | * ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'': Kida had some trouble grasping the notion that not all doctors are medics. Milo, for example, is a doctor in linguistics. |
| 316 | [[/folder]] |
| 317 | |
| 318 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 319 | * Subverted somewhat in the ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' movies. Indiana was frequently referred to as "Dr. Jones" (especially by the evil people), but no-one ever accused him of being a medical doctor. (His doctorate was, naturally, in archaeology, as was the one held by his father.) |
| 320 | * Dr. Charles B. Pierce from ''Film/BoggyCreek2AndTheLegendContinues'' is mistaken for a medical doctor when asked to treat the mountain man Crenshaw's captive baby Boggy Creek Creature. Turns out Dr. Pierce only has a doctorate in Boggy Creek Studies. |
| 321 | * The upstairs neighbor in ''Theatre/BarefootInThePark''. |
| 322 | -->"It's all right, honey. He's a doctor."\ |
| 323 | "And what are you a doctor of?"\ |
| 324 | "Poetry" |
| 325 | * Exaggerated in ''Film/{{Bean}}''. While standing around waiting in the hospital, a nurse notices the "Dr. Bean" label on his suit and rushes him into a surgery. Bean is too taken aback to correct her, but then again, he isn't even a non-medical doctor (he spends the entire film being mistaken for a professor of ''art history''). |
| 326 | * Buck Laughlin uses this for some WittyBanter in ''Film/BestInShow'' while talking to Dr. Millbank, president of the Mayflower Kennel Club. |
| 327 | * ''The Savages'' begins with adult siblings Wendy and Jon visiting their dementia-addled father after he's been hospitalized. Jon hasn't spoken to his father in years, leading to this exchange: |
| 328 | -->'''Dad:''' ''[to his son]'' You're a doctor! ''Do'' something!\ |
| 329 | ''[[[ScrewThisImOuttaHere Jon walks out without saying a word]]]''\ |
| 330 | '''Dad:''' I thought you said my boy was a doctor!\ |
| 331 | '''Wendy:''' ''[cheerfully]'' Doctor of Philosophy. He teaches theatre! |
| 332 | * ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'': |
| 333 | ** ''Film/{{Thor}}'': |
| 334 | *** Darcy Lewis is a scientist interning with a team of astrophysicists, but is not very helpful to them, being a ''political'' scientist. Later [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in ''Series/WandaVision'', where it's revealed that in the intervening years, she did switch her study and is now a doctor of astrophysics, which is exactly what the situation requires, though her political science major still has payoff. |
| 335 | *** {{Discussed}} when Dr. Selvig and Coulson talk about "Dr. Donald Blake" (Thor's human alias). Selvig claims that "Donald" is a physicist, but the Son of Coul points out that "Donald" is M.D. in his ID. |
| 336 | ** Inverted with [[Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008 Dr. Bruce Banner]], as while he's a physicist, he is seen practicing medicine in the slums of Calcutta at the start of ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}''. However, TheStinger for ''Film/IronMan3'' has Bruce say the line verbatim to Tony Stark, who has been telling the entire story of the movie to him as if Bruce were his psychotherapist. Bruce however has fallen asleep and missed the whole thing. Bruce gives this trope, but then Stark starts to ramble on about his Freudian issues. ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' does confirm that he has [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist seven Ph.Ds]]; unfortunately for him, none of them are for driving alien spaceships. |
| 337 | * At one point in ''Film/TheWolverine'', Logan is treated by a veterinarian ''student''. |
| 338 | * In ''Film/DarkmanIITheReturnOfDurant'', when Durant is feigning being poisoned to draw Darkman out, one of his men demands that his MadScientist ally Hathaway do something. Hathaway protests, "I'm not that kind of doctor!" |
| 339 | * In ''Film/PacificRim'', there's a moment where Newt is running with the crowd in order to get into a bunker. He's shouting "I'm a doctor, I'm a doctor!" in an attempt to be let in. He does have six doctorates, but it's safe to assume none of them are in medicine. |
| 340 | * ''Film/HarbingerDown'': When a student wants to sneak down to the hold to catch a look at the HumanPopsicle they've taken from the ice, she has a crewman distract her {{Jerkass}} professor by asking for advice on his psychological issues. The professor explains he's Not That Kind of Doctor, but he has studied the theory in college, and so being a KnowNothingKnowItAll can't resist giving his opinion anyway. GilliganCut to the crewman [[INeedAFreakingDrink finding the bottom of a bottle of vodka]] as the professor rambles on, until he gets too drunk to keep up the facade. |
| 341 | * {{Exaggerated}} in ''Film/{{Bean}}'': While standing around waiting in the hospital, Bean is dragged along by a nurse to perform a surgery after she notices the "Dr. Bean" label on his suit. Bean is too taken aback to correct her, but then again, ''he's not even a non-medical Doctor''. |
| 342 | * ''Sands of Oblivion'': When Buford finds out that Alice is a doctor, he asks her to look at a boil on his ass. Alice has a doctorate in archeology. |
| 343 | [[/folder]] |
| 344 | |
| 345 | [[folder:Jokes]] |
| 346 | * The old joke about people with doctorate degrees. "So you're a doctor?" "Yes, but not the kind that will do you any good." Alternately: "Not the kind with any money." |
| 347 | * Another old joke: An attractive woman ricks her ankle while aboard a cruise ship, and the announcement goes out: "Is there a doctor on board?" A Doctor of Philosophy rushes to her cabin, only to find that a Doctor of Divinity has beaten him to it. |
| 348 | * Subverted in [[https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/1199563218823155713-png__700.jpg this tweet]], where a Doctor of Philosophy has to solve a real-life version of the [[TheNeedsOfTheMany trolley problem]]. |
| 349 | [[/folder]] |
| 350 | |
| 351 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 352 | * In Creator/NealStephenson's ''Literature/TheBaroqueCycle'', Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz is often referred to as "the Doctor." He's actually a doctor of law, though he's more well-known for his [[PhantasySpelling arithmetickal]] studies than his legal studies. In addition, Daniel Waterhouse, an OmnidisciplinaryScientist, is referred to as "Dr. Daniel Waterhouse" later in his life. Inverting the trope, physicians are always referred to as "physicians", never doctors; even surgeons were alternately called "chirurgeons" and "barber-surgeons", never "doctors". Indeed, Dr. Waterhouse himself expresses strong contempt for physicians, treating them as if they were snake-oil salesmen (and given the state of 17th/18th-century medicine, that's exactly what they often were). |
| 353 | * In Terry Pratchett's first Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Literature/TheColourOfMagic'', there's a moment where we get a glimpse of an [[RealLife alternate universe]] where Twoflower and Rincewind are travelling on a plane, when "Zweiblumen" collapses. Someone asks "Rjinswand" to help since he's a Doctor, but Rjinswand points out that he would only be any help if Zweiblumen was some sort of nuclear reactor. |
| 354 | * A scene in one of the ''Literature/AdrianMole'' books has Pandora jumping into a taxi with the words "I'm a doctor and this is an emergency!" She doesn't mention she's a doctor of philosophy. |
| 355 | * In Creator/TomClancy's ''Literature/PatriotGames'', Jack Ryan gets annoyed at the fact that people are referring to his wife Caroline (who is a medical doctor, specifically an ophthalmic surgeon) as "Doctor Ryan", but are calling him "Mister Ryan". He points out several times to various people that, "I'm also Doctor Ryan". The problem is, he's a patient in a hospital at the time, his doctorate is in history, and the people who he is making these protests to are other medical doctors. Thus no one listens to him. |
| 356 | * In Brazil, CulturalTranslation got Literature/MickeyHaller and some other law graduates to be called "doctor". |
| 357 | * The Creator/DaveBarry column "Why We Don't Read" had one Dr. Belinda A. Burgeon-Wainscot, a teacher, speaking on behalf of the American Association of People Who Use the Title "Doctor" Even Though They Are Not Physicians, but Merely Graduate School Graduates, Which Are as Common These Days as Milkweed Pollen (AAPWUTDETTANPBMGSGWAACTDAMP). |
| 358 | * In Creator/ArthurHailey's ''Literature/{{Hotel}}'' Christine is attempting to find a doctor to treat a sick guest (the hotel's doctor is unavailable), so she has the front desk call every guest who registered as a doctor. The first one she reaches informs her that he's a doctor of music, but he (humorously) mentions he could always play his violin for the patient if they are unable to reach a physician. She smiles a bit and thanks him, saying she hopes that won't be necessary. |
| 359 | * In ''Literature/GunsOfTheDawn'', an enemy army is under the command of the notorious "Dr. Lam", said to be a physician who rose to power in the chaos of revolution and who now [[MadDoctor enjoys dissecting captured prisoners]]. When Emily gets captured, she's taken to see him. It turns out that not only is Dr. Nathanial Lammegeier actually an engineer, he's also one of the nicest characters in the book. |
| 360 | * ''Literature/{{Deeplight}}'': Dr. Vyne is an expert in "practical theophysics" (She studies the gods, specifically the materials harvested from their corpses and their uses.). When confronted with a serious injury, she notes the trope, then adds that even she knows feeling cold is a bad sign. |
| 361 | * In the children's book ''Literature/TheEnormousEgg'' by Oliver Butterworth, Nate's mother gets annoyed when a doctor starts giving Nate advice on how to handle his pet triceratops, when he should be concentrating on his job of healing the sick. He's actually a palaeontologist. |
| 362 | [[/folder]] |
| 363 | |
| 364 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 365 | !!!'''In General:''' |
| 366 | * Overplayed on many [[SoapOpera soap operas]], which will find their doctor characters capable of delivering babies, performing surgeries, performing autopsies, treating children, all in one fell swoop. The only soap to avert this, appropriately enough, was ''Series/GeneralHospital'', which limited their doctors to one specialty. |
| 367 | !!!'''By Series:''' |
| 368 | * Dr. Mary Albright from ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'' has a [=PhD=]. in Anthropology, but Viki Dubchek, the white trash woman who's the daughter of the Solomon's landlady and Harry's on-and-off GF, thinks she's a medical doctor. The gag actually carries to the point where Viki asks Mary to deliver her baby, and ignores Mary's outright statements of "I'm Not That Kind Of Doctor", believing that Mary doesn't want to do it because she doesn't have medical insurance. |
| 369 | * ''Series/ThirtyRock'': |
| 370 | -->'''Milton:''' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMHX1qr6NVY We have to call an ambulance! Listen to me, dammit, I'm a doctor!]]\ |
| 371 | '''Jack:''' ''Of history.'' In what emergency would you be necessary? If someone wanted to know whether TheSixties were awesome or not?\ |
| 372 | '''Milton:''' They were! |
| 373 | * ''Franchise/{{Arrowverse}}'': |
| 374 | ** [[ComicBook/TheAtom Dr. Ray Palmer]] and [[ComicBook/FirestormDCComics Dr. Martin Stein]] are both physicists. |
| 375 | ** Played for laughs in ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' when Mick starts [[spoiler:hallucinating (presumably) the dead Snart]]. |
| 376 | --->'''Mick:''' You can fix me!\ |
| 377 | '''Stein:''' Me?\ |
| 378 | '''Mick:''' You're a doctor.\ |
| 379 | '''Stein:''' Of ''nuclear physics.''\ |
| 380 | ''[later, Jax and Sara find Stein about to cut Mick's skull open]''\ |
| 381 | '''Sara:''' What are you doing?\ |
| 382 | '''Stein:''' Brain surgery! What does it look like?\ |
| 383 | ''[[[UnusuallyUninterestingSight Jax and Sara shrug and leave]]]'' |
| 384 | * When ''Series/{{Becker}}'', a "real" doctor, meets a psychologist played by [[IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine Rhea Perlman]], he doesn't even try to hide his contempt and addresses her as "Dr." only in air-quotes. |
| 385 | * ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': |
| 386 | ** Most of the main and recurring characters have Doctorates in ''physics'', with others in microbiology and neurobiology. The character Howard has a Masters in Engineering, which leads to plenty of jokes at his expense for ''not'' being a doctor. Of course, there are a few occasions where people mistake their title as being medical doctors: "A doctor doctor or ''your'' kind of doctor?" |
| 387 | ** In one episode, Sheldon gives Leonard medical advice in his usual InsufferableGenius manner. Leonard sarcastically responds, "Thank you, ''Doctor'' Cooper." As usual, Sheldon [[SarcasmBlind doesn't get it]] and confusedly replies, "You're welcome, ''Doctor'' Hofstadter." In another episode, someone (a police officer) who just learned Sheldon is a doctor is reassured by Leonard with "Not the kind with access to drugs." |
| 388 | * Dr. Temperance 'Bones' Brennan of ''Series/{{Bones}}'' is an anthropologist, and she is quick to correct anyone who refers to her as anything but Dr. Brennan. |
| 389 | ** However, her boss, Dr. Camille 'Cam' Saroyan, is a forensic pathologist--and, thus, is ''that'' kind of doctor (though that isn't her day job). |
| 390 | ** In one episode, when Brennan is introduced as Doctor Brennan to a physician, he immediately asks "M.D.?", to which she replies "''Ph.''D". The physician then makes a snide remark about academics, which is rather galling considering an academic doctorate is often harder, and almost always requires more time to obtain than a medical one. |
| 391 | *** In addition, physicians couldn't even become physicians without Ph.D-holding professors (Biology, Chemistry, and/or Physics knowledge needed for [=MCAT=]s/Med school). |
| 392 | * Discussed in ''Series/{{Bottom}}'': |
| 393 | -->'''Richie:''' Better see doctor Wildthroat for a booster.\ |
| 394 | '''Eddie:''' He's not a doctor of medicine, you know.\ |
| 395 | '''Richie:''' Well, I know, yes, but he's cheap.\ |
| 396 | '''Eddie:''' Gave you rabies last year.\ |
| 397 | '''Richie:''' Well it only cost three quid. Come on, Eddie, beggars can't be choosers.\ |
| 398 | '''Eddie:''' No, but they can froth at the mouth and eat the furniture. |
| 399 | * Parodied regularly in ''Series/TheColbertReport'': after getting his honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Knox College, Stephen immediately started assuming that he could perform operations. He even started a recurring segment called "Cheating Death, with Dr. Stephen T Colbert, ''DFA''". |
| 400 | * Troy gets stuck on this in the ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode [[Recap/CommunityS1E24EnglishAsASecondLanguage English as a Second Language]] when introduced to their substitute teacher. |
| 401 | -->'''Troy:''' Why is she teaching Spanish? Go cure something![[note]]A bit of ActorAllusion is involved, as Ken Jeong, who plays Ben Chang, her predecessor, is actually a licensed physician in RealLife.[[/note]] |
| 402 | * Comes up in the occasional joke about ''Series/CriminalMinds''[='=] Dr. Reid. |
| 403 | -->'''Reid:''' ''[poking at a mutilated corpse with excited interest]'' Did you know that originally birthday candles were intended to protect the cake's recipients from evil spirits, so much so that the Church condemned birthday celebrations as a pagan ritual?\ |
| 404 | '''Cop:''' ''[after a long pause]'' What kind of doctor did you say you were? |
| 405 | * ''Series/{{CSI}}'': Dr. Gil Grissom is a [=PhD=] not an MD as he is quick to remind someone who asks him how to treat an animal bite. Although, as an entomologist, he's pretty good with bug bites. |
| 406 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': |
| 407 | ** Clifford Jones in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E5TheGreenDeath The Green Death]]": |
| 408 | --->'''Evans:''' What killed him? You're a doctor, Dr. Jones.\ |
| 409 | '''Cliff:''' I'm not, you know. I'm a biologist. |
| 410 | ** Happens with Allison in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks Remembrance of the Daleks]]": |
| 411 | --->"Is he all right?"\ |
| 412 | "No idea — I'm a physicist." |
| 413 | ** In addition to the title character, River is a doctor (and, someday, Professor) of archaeology. |
| 414 | --->'''Rory:''' ''[after watching her curb-stomp homicidal aliens]'' So... what kind of doctor are you?\ |
| 415 | '''River:''' Archaeology. ''[shoots the last one standing without looking]'' Love a tomb. |
| 416 | ** Ironically, in "[[Recap/DoctorWho2015CSTheHusbandsOfRiverSong The Husbands of River Song]]", River mistakes the Doctor for an actual doctor, being unaware that he's regenerated (and she was expecting a medical doctor at the time). |
| 417 | ** Which leads to this exchange in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E2TheWitchsFamiliar The Witch's Familiar"]] |
| 418 | -->'''Davros''': ''(about him dying)'' Then we have established one thing only. |
| 419 | -->'''Doctor''': What? |
| 420 | -->'''Davros''': You are not.. a good doctor |
| 421 | -->'''Both:''' ''(begin chuckling)'' |
| 422 | * ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' has an aversion: Dr. Frasier Crane and his brother Niles are both That Kind Of Doctor, despite frequently (and amusingly) being mistaken for Not. Possibly a [[{{Pun}} borderline case]], since psychiatrists ([=MDs=] who complete residencies and board certification in mental illness) are commonly conflated with non-MD-holding mental health professionals such as psychologists and social workers. |
| 423 | ** It doesn't help that Frasier and Niles are usually seen [[AllPsychologyIsFreudian helping people with personal drama, bad habits, and relationship issues]], which is, usually, a counselor or social worker's job. Frasier uses his [[IvyLeagueForEveryone Ivy-league education]] to feed his minor celebrity status while Niles seems to care more about maintaining his lifestyle and social status. The joke may be that no one takes psychiatry seriously, or that nobody takes them seriously because they're more concerned with money and reputation than helping people with serious mental illness. |
| 424 | ** One episode actually has Frasier, being more pompous than usual, insisting his medical degree (from ''Harvard'', thank you!) qualifies him to tell actual, working-in-a-hospital doctors how to perform extremely advanced surgery. Eventually, they hit on a solution: Just ignore him. |
| 425 | ** Lampshaded in one episode of ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', where Frasier looks at a bar patron's injured leg and tells him how to treat it, then turns to Lilith and says, "See? I could have been a 'real doctor'!" |
| 426 | * Dr. Ross Geller of ''Series/{{Friends}}'' has that title on the basis of a [=PhD=] in paleontology. |
| 427 | ** One time, when the gang was at a hospital: |
| 428 | --->'''Ross:''' I'm Doctor Ross Geller.\ |
| 429 | '''Rachel:''' Ross, stop it. That actually means something here. |
| 430 | ** In "The One with Russ", Russ, a periodontist, claims that Ross is jealous because he (Russ) is a ''real'' doctor. |
| 431 | --->'''Ross:''' You're a doctor of gums. That's the smallest body part you can major in. It's like, "Day one: Floss. Day two: Here's your diploma!" |
| 432 | * Invoked in ''Series/{{Glee}}'' when [[AlphaBitch Santana]] and Brittany go to Carl's office for a "cleaning" (read: to get high off anesthesia). When Carl questions this, Santana, being Santana, scoffs and says her father is a ''real'' doctor and not a "tooth doctor", and that her medical insurance covers basically whatever she wants. Tropers are advised ''not'' to speak to actual dentists this way. |
| 433 | * Used in one episode of ''Series/GrowingPains,'' where Dr. Seaver has to help a young girl during her BornInAnElevator moment. When she hears his title, he admits that he is a Psychiatrist, not a Medical Doctor, but assures her that he is still trained in basic medicine. This is TruthInTelevision, given that you have to earn an M.D. to be a psychiatrist. |
| 434 | * ''Series/HogansHeroes'' has the boys helping many doctors of science to escape from the Nazis lest their knowledge be used to further the German war effort. In almost every case, it was made clear that their doctorates were in scientific fields like physics, chemistry, metallurgy and others. One example, however, stands out - the episode "The Assassin," when General Burkhalter brings a Dr. Vanetti to camp. At first Klink thinks he is a physician, but the General quickly corrects him quoting the trope name word for word. Although it is never stated outright what his doctorate is in, Hogan quickly deduces that he must be a doctor of atomic physics. |
| 435 | * There was an episode of ''Series/LostInSpace'' when aliens mistook Dr Smith for a medical doctor, despite his protests otherwise. Of course, he ''was'' originally a medical doctor, but then the writers just changed him to a MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate. |
| 436 | * ''Series/Lucifer2016''. Dr. Linda Martin is a licensed M.D. as a requirement to be a practicing psychiatrist, but she doesn't actually practice medicine. Her last real medical experience was her medical education years ago. In spite of this, Lucifer and the others keep coming to her because she's the only doctor they know. |
| 437 | -->'''Maze:''' How do I keep this human from dying?\ |
| 438 | '''Linda:''' [[CaptainObvious Take him to a hospital, that's how!]] How many times do I have to tell you I'm not that kind of doctor? |
| 439 | * ''Series/MadMen'': |
| 440 | ** Dr Faye Miller is not that kind of doctor, but her father has a heart condition so she knows the symptoms. |
| 441 | ** Also, Bobby doesn't understand this trope when Megan's father, a professor, comes to visit; Don explains it to him. |
| 442 | * ''Series/{{Murderville}}'': "Heartless" features three doctors suspected of cutting out the victim's heart and sewing him back up: the victim's boss, Dr. Alexander, his ex-girlfriend, Dr. Chen, and another doctor, Dr. Gonzalez. [[spoiler:While both Chen and Gonzalez are trained surgeons, Dr. Alexander is ruled out because she's not a medical doctor, but someone with a doctorate in hospital administration]]. |
| 443 | * ''Franchise/PowerRangers'': Tommy Oliver picked up a doctorate in paleontology at some point between ''Turbo'' and ''Dino Thunder''. Parodied a couple of seasons later. |
| 444 | -->'''Kira:''' Doctor O. would have loved to see that.\ |
| 445 | '''Adam:''' You know, I still can't believe he's a ''doctor''. |
| 446 | * ''Series/Runaways2017'': After Victor Stein is shot, the rest of PRIDE insist the Yorkses perform emergency surgery on him... despite them being ''bioengineers.'' |
| 447 | -->'''Dale:''' You do realize we're not doctors?\ |
| 448 | '''Stacey:''' Well, not surgeons.\ |
| 449 | '''Catherine:''' You went to medical school.\ |
| 450 | '''Stacey:''' Yeah, in the Nineties. |
| 451 | * In ''Series/TheSopranos'' episode "[[Recap/TheSopranosS5E8MarcoPolo Marco Polo]]", a revered (and rather snooty) erudite named Dr. Russ Fegoli attends the 75th birthday of Carmella's father Hugh. Tony, upon meeting him: |
| 452 | -->'''Tony:''' A doctor in the house, huh? That’s good ‘cause someone usually goes down at these things.\ |
| 453 | '''Mary (Carm's mom):''' He’s just joking!\ |
| 454 | '''Fegoli:''' Unfortunately, my doctorate is in International Affairs.\ |
| 455 | '''Tony:''' So you're a doctor like Kissinger’s a doctor?\ |
| 456 | '''Fegoli:''' Yes. |
| 457 | * ''Franchise/{{Stargate|Verse}}'': |
| 458 | ** This comes up a few times, but Dr. Daniel Jackson ([=PhDs=] Archaeology, Anthropology, and Linguistics) of ''Series/StargateSG1'' is the best example, while his equivalent in ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' is Dr. Rodney [=McKay=] ([=PhDs=] in Physics and Mechanical Engineering; he has noted his disdain for medicine, despite becoming best friends with one medical doctor and falling in love with another). Other examples include Dr. Bill Lee, a consulting scientist for the program; it is never entirely clear what his degree is in, but it's definitely not in medicine. He usually helps with whatever scientific crisis is most at hand during that episode. |
| 459 | ** A weaker example is Samantha Carter, who holds a [=PhD=] in Astrophysics and realistically could go by Dr. Carter, but due to the greater emphasis on her military role she goes by her rank instead. However, in early episodes she is occasionally called Captain Doctor. (During her introductory scene, she specifically points out to her superior Colonel Jack O'Neill that she should be referred to by her rank of Captain rather than by her salutation of Doctor. She later proceeds to introduce herself to Dr. Jackson as "Doctor", to which O'Neill quips, "I thought you wanted to be called 'Captain'.") |
| 460 | ** This is played for laughs in one episode. A man who has captured SG-1 is injured, and asks Daniel to patch him up. Daniel explains that he doesn't know how. |
| 461 | --->'''Aris Boch:''' Dr. Jackson, if you don't mind... ''[[[{{Beat}} sees Jackson's puzzled stare]]]'' treating my wound.\ |
| 462 | '''Daniel:''' I'm an archaeologist.\ |
| 463 | '''Aris Boch:''' I know, but you're also a doctor.\ |
| 464 | '''Daniel:''' ''[a beat]'' ...of archaeology.\ |
| 465 | '''Aris Boch:''' ''[sigh]'' Never mind... |
| 466 | ** Sam ends up patching him up with a first-aid kit due to her field medical experience, despite the fact that she's Not That Kind of Doctor either. She just learned it through military training. |
| 467 | ** Though normally this doesn't come up for Sam, it does occur when an alternate-timeline version of her introduces herself to the alternate version of Daniel. |
| 468 | --->'''Daniel Jackson:''' ''[offering his hand for her to shake]'' Doctor Daniel Jackson.\ |
| 469 | '''Samantha Carter:''' ''[shaking his hand]'' Doctor Samantha Carter.\ |
| 470 | '''Daniel Jackson:''' Oh! Uh, [=PhD=].\ |
| 471 | '''Samantha Carter:''' Oh, me too. |
| 472 | ** In "Harmony", a girl believes that Rodney should know something about, well, being a doctor. His response is similar to Daniel's above. |
| 473 | ** This come up again in Rodney's panicked rant in season 5 about why he can't deliver a baby. Note that this didn't prevent Daniel from delivering a baby on two separate occasions — three if you count one mentioned off-screen. He was much more calm about it. |
| 474 | *** In the first birth Sam was also looked to for help, but this could also have been because she's a woman and in that case would not ''necessarily'' be an example of this trope. |
| 475 | ** A (Subverted?) example in ''Atlantis'' season 5 when Daniel is kidnapped by a new BigBad and apparently assumed to be a physicist since he was doing research in an Ancient physics lab. (He was actually there studying the files and history.) His response in this case is that he is Not That Kind of Doctor. Fortunately, Rodney was captured with him and actually ''is'' a physicist, so they are able to solve the problem. |
| 476 | * Lt. Commander Paul Stamets from ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' is once addressed as "Dr. Stamets", presumably because he'd have a doctorate in astromycology (his field of study). |
| 477 | * The telemovie ''To Catch A Killer'' (1992) reminds us that this trope applies to the legal profession too. The police are searching the apartment of [[SerialKiller John Wayne Gacy]] and want to confiscate something for evidence. |
| 478 | -->'''Gacy:''' Can they do that?\ |
| 479 | '''Lawyer:''' Uhh...I think so...\ |
| 480 | '''Gacy:''' What the hell do I hire you for?!!\ |
| 481 | '''Lawyer:''' (furious) To handle your ''business'' affairs! |
| 482 | * ''Series/TheWestWing'': |
| 483 | ** Josiah Bartlet is a Doctor of Economics. Of course, he also has [[OurPresidentsAreDifferent another title]] by which he prefers to be addressed throughout the series. It does, however, give him a minor moment of awesome when the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court -- not a fan of his -- snidely refers to him as "Mr. Bartlet". |
| 484 | --->'''Bartlet:''' [[TheyCallMeMisterTibbs It's]] ''[[TheyCallMeMisterTibbs Dr.]]'' [[TheyCallMeMisterTibbs Bartlet, your honor.]] |
| 485 | ** His wife, Abby, ''is'' That Kind Of Doctor. [[spoiler: However, she loses her license to practice throughout the remainder of his term once her role in his keeping his multiple sclerosis from the American people is revealed.]] |
| 486 | ** Shows up in one episode, where President Bartlet tears a conservative radio personality to shreds. At the beginning of their conversation, he asks her what exactly her doctorate is in (it's English literature). More to the point, he initially asks her if she is an M.D., forcing her to clarify that she is not. |
| 487 | * ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'': Justin Russo [[ParodiedTrope parodied this trope]] when he pretended to be a doctor in paleontology to impress London Tipton from ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'' in a crossover episode. She stopped believing him when [[RightForTheWrongReasons he didn't know what to do when somebody nearby needed medical help.]] |
| 488 | [[/folder]] |
| 489 | |
| 490 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 491 | * Music/DrDre is a former member of Music/{{NWA}} with "Dr" in his rap name, and does not actually have a doctorate. However, Music/{{Eminem}}- whose Slim Shady persona is an AxCrazy MunchausenSyndrome victim with an unspecific mental disorder- ''loves'' to cast Dre as Slim's medical doctor, usually his psychiatrist. Fittingly, since he's just a music producer, he's rarely very helpful. |
| 492 | ** Dre appears as Slim's psychiatrist in the music video for "My Name Is", and has a cameo in the song in a sequence where Slim can't understand why his thoughts are so scrambled, to which Dre responds that it's [[CaptainObvious because Slim smokes crack]]. While playing a bystander (or possibly [[GreekChorus the Eminem persona]]?), he also begs Dr. Dre to 'operate' on Slim in the third verse. |
| 493 | ** On "Forgot About Dre", Eminem apologises that the 'Doc' can't cure his mental health problems and should probably just take his kids off him. |
| 494 | ** In the music video for Music/FiftyCent's "In Da Club", Dr. Dre appears as a scientist, with Eminem as a lab assistant. |
| 495 | ** The song "I Need A Doctor" is a rare song from the perspective of Eminem's Marshall persona (expressing his real feelings) that uses this metaphor, though it's mostly in the hook (''"I need a doctor to bring me back to life!"'') and the medical references in the production (like the beeping heart monitors). |
| 496 | ** Dre appears again as a surgeon in the music video for "Godzilla", along with Slim, who is dressed in a white coat and operating with a butcher's knife. |
| 497 | ** Eminem's producers, the Bass Brothers, pulled this on him as a joke, telling him to urgently come to the studio because they got a call for him from "a doctor". Eminem went to the studio in a hurry, worrying that there was some kind of medical emergency. |
| 498 | [[/folder]] |
| 499 | |
| 500 | [[folder:Pro Wrestling]] |
| 501 | * During his [[PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy rapper gimmick]], Wrestling/JohnCena used the RedBaron "The Doctor of Thuganomics". This has inspired some female online fans to call themselves "the Nurse of Thuganomics." |
| 502 | * WWE star Wrestling/XavierWoods is known as Xavier Woods [=PhD=] on Twitter, with the wrestler who plays him holding a degree in psychology. |
| 503 | [[/folder]] |
| 504 | |
| 505 | [[folder:Radio]] |
| 506 | * In ''Radio/CabinPressure'', the episode "Boston", a passenger dies of a heart attack on an airplane. Whilst trying to decide whether to divert or not, the pilots notice there's a doctor on board and start requesting ever more urgently that any person with medical training come to the flight deck. As no one comes, they start speaking of a "hypothetical doctor" with a hypothetical sandy mustache hypothetically sitting in the seventh row. The man eventually comes, and recommends a bridge. A tunnel’s obviously out of the question, but if they really need to get past the passenger, they could use a couple of drinks trolleys and a stretcher to rig up a rudimentary cantilever bridge. That at least is his professional opinion as a [=PhD=] in civil engineering, assuming one of them hasn't made some sort of really embarrassing mistake. |
| 507 | * Dan Coffey hosts a show called ''Ask Dr. Science'', justifying it because, although "not a real doctor," he "has a Masters Degree ... ''in Science!''" |
| 508 | [[/folder]] |
| 509 | |
| 510 | [[folder:Roleplay]] |
| 511 | * On Roleplay site [[http://transformersgalaxyrp.freeforums.net/ Transformers Galaxy]], Chief of Medicine Kick-Start zig-zags this. She's an EvilGenius, a MadScientist ''and'' a MadDoctor, and she's even got a Doctorate, but... not quite as official as her patients would like it to be. [[spoiler:While the Fine Arts degree can be an honorary degree, it is revealed that Kick-Start did technically earn hers, and was "only" denied her degree in medicine because of an issue with her morals and ethics, turning it into a MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate as well.]] |
| 512 | -->'''Nevermore:''' Here I thought medics are suppose to save lives.\ |
| 513 | '''Kick-Start:''' Hey, I never said I was that kind of Doctor! I'm a genius, and I have a Doctorate to prove it. That's different.\ |
| 514 | '''Nevermore:''' What in? Science? Engineering?\ |
| 515 | ''[beat]''\ |
| 516 | '''Kick-Start:''' Fine Arts. |
| 517 | [[/folder]] |
| 518 | |
| 519 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 520 | * Advertisements for the Doctor Dreadful line of toys feature a goofy MadScientist named Doctor Dreadful. The line includes the "Doctor Dreadful MD" toys, where the character claims the "MD" stands for "Monster Doctor". (And in one commercial, he produces a sheepskin to prove he is, indeed, a licensed Monster Doctor.) |
| 521 | [[/folder]] |
| 522 | |
| 523 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 524 | * In the main ''Franchise/MegaMan'' timeline (and nearly all fan works), being a "Doctor" doesn't invariably mean you're a medical doctor... instead, it invariably means you build robots. Notably, it means you build robots ''even if you have a doctorate in something else''. Dr. Cain, for instance, has a background in archaeology and botany, and still invented reploids. Which may well explain their tendency to go crazy and try to take over and/or destroy the world. |
| 525 | * Dr. Loboto from ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' is a dentist (supposedly), hired to perform brain surgery. Of course, not knowing jack about brain surgery doesn't necessarily stop him from ''performing'' it. {{Lampshaded}} in his first appearance: |
| 526 | -->'''Dogen:''' So, doctor, what's wrong with my brain?\ |
| 527 | '''Loboto:''' How should I know!? I'm a dentist! |
| 528 | * ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' plays with this in regards to the Black Mesa Science Team, who are doctorate holders that can also administer first aid to Gordon Freeman when he's injured. It's otherwise averted with Gordon himself and his colleagues in subsequent games, as they are physicists with no known medical knowledge. |
| 529 | * In ''VideoGame/MySims Agents'', when Dr. F introduces himself as such, Buddy asks if he can assume he's ''not'' a medical doctor. Indeed he can! Alexa clarifies that his degrees are in robotonomy and robotology. |
| 530 | * Lots of characters in ''Franchise/MassEffect'', including but not limited to: |
| 531 | ** Dr. Liara T'Soni ([[AdventurerArchaeologist archaeology]]) |
| 532 | ** Dr. Rana Thanoptis ([[MindControl neuroscience]]) |
| 533 | ** Dr. Saleon ([[PlayingWithSyringes genetics]], possibly transplant medicine - but then he was a MadScientist anyway) |
| 534 | ** Dr. Mordin Solus (genetics, biochemistry - though he does run a clinic). He's ''also'' a Professor. |
| 535 | ** Dr. Okeer ([[DesignerBabies genetics]]) |
| 536 | ** Hilariously, Dr. ''[[spoiler: Conrad Verner]]'', whose dissertation was on xeno-technology and dark energy integration. |
| 537 | *** One of these creates an odd inversion of Not That Kind Of Doctor. During [[spoiler:the suicide mission, Mordin is a candidate for the Tech Specialist position. Try to use him in that regard, however, and he's guaranteed to die.]] "I'm a doctor, not a hacker." |
| 538 | *** In "From Ashes", one squadmate asks Liara if she's ever dug up a dinosaur on one of her digs. She starts explaining the difference between archaeology and palaeontology, then realizes that they're joking (except James, who just likes dinosaurs). |
| 539 | * ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'': |
| 540 | ** It was revealed in ''VideoGame/PokerNightAtTheInventory'' that the Heavy has a doctorate in Russian Literature. When asked how much use he could possibly get out of it when his job is mowing down people with a minigun, he replied, "More than you'd think." |
| 541 | ** The Engineer has ''eleven'' "hard science" doctorates. |
| 542 | ** Hilariously inverted with the Medic, who doesn't have ''any'' degree ([[NoodleIncident at least not anymore]]). |
| 543 | --->'''The Medic:''' And when the patient woke up, his skeleton was missing, and the doctor was never heard from again! [[LaughingMad Ahahahahahaha!]] ''(sigh)'' Anyway, that's how I lost my medical license. |
| 544 | * ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' has Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. We never find out what his doctorate is in, but it's probably some kind of physics or engineering degree, if his robots are anything to go by. Considering his studies on SealedEvilInACan, he also may have some kind of ancient history degree. |
| 545 | * Dr Clash from ''VideoGame/FZero'' is an engineer in addition to being a pilot. |
| 546 | * Chizuru Urashima in ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone 2'', Shinra's head engineer. Interestingly, she's the one who [[InsistentTerminology insists on]] being called "Doctor", which nobody gets right the first time because she's a WrenchWench and not a medical professional. |
| 547 | * ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness: Sanity's Requiem'' has three playable characters who are addressed as "doctor". Only the first, Maximillian Roivas, is a proper doctor of the colonial era; his descendant Edward has his doctorate in psychology, and Edwin Lindsey is an accomplished archaeologist. |
| 548 | * Albert Wesker, William Birkin, Alexia Ashford, Luis Serra, and various other scientists in the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'' series hold the title of "doctor", with their doctorates presumably being in virology or a similar field. |
| 549 | [[/folder]] |
| 550 | |
| 551 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 552 | * ''WebAnimation/{{Accuser}}'': In the first episode, after a jury acquits Barry Dinsmore, he congratulates Dan Mason for the good work he did defending him. When that line was translated for Brazilian audiences, CulturalTranslation changed it so Mason would be called a "doctor" instead of a "counselor". |
| 553 | [[/folder]] |
| 554 | |
| 555 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 556 | * In Chapter 2 of ''Webcomic/JennyAndTheMultiverse'', the confusion is intentionally [[InvokedTrope invoked]] to self-serving ends by Laura (whose degrees are actually in physics and engineering) to get Jenny to tell her about some revealing dreams she had under the guise of therapy. [[ExactWords She said she was prepared to act as Jenny's therapist and that she had a degree — not that it was a degree *in* psychiatry…]] |
| 557 | * In ''Webcomic/LastRes0rt'', Dr. Daisy Archanis is a roboticist of some kind. |
| 558 | * ''Webcomic/PhD'' is a Webcomic about Grad Students [[FridgeLogic who are studying to become Doctors]]. Also, their Guide Professors and one main character are Doctors too. But no one is a Physician or even a Physician Student. |
| 559 | ** In a real-life case of this trope at work, the author of ''Webcomic/PhD'' was almost denied entry to the UK when the immigration officer cited that, while he has a [=PhD=], he is ''not a real doctor''. |
| 560 | * "Doc" from ''Webcomic/TheWhiteboard'' isn't actually one, in spite of his nickname, [[http://www.the-whiteboard.com/autowb380.html but it beats having the ER staff laugh at you again.]] |
| 561 | * ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' toys with this when they land on an uncharted planet. After Tagon gets unexpectedly eaten by a sea-going predator (which he shoots his way out of) he calls in Kevyn and Bunnigus for professional opinions. Kevyn is an engineer. Bunnigus is a medic. They wind up calling in the chef instead. |
| 562 | -->'''[[SupremeChef Chvo]][[LethalChef rth'q]]:''' I think we're gonna need more salt. |
| 563 | * ''Webcomic/ChainsawSuit'': [[http://chainsawsuit.com/2009/11/06/strip-324/ Tucker Cogburn]] is the wrong kind of doctor. |
| 564 | * Dr. Jean Poule of ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' is a biologist with a [=PhD=] in polymicrofragilistic monoclonalexpialidocious. Being a biologist is hardly useless in a medical situation, but she's the first to admit she is not a medical doctor. |
| 565 | * ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' has Dr. Schlock. His real field is inflatable technology (and possibly cosmetics testing, nanotechnology, and/or time travel), and he points out he's not a medical doctor... until someone suggests calling an ambulance and the police instead, in a situation in which he'd likely be arrested. [[http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/020722 Bring in the inflatable stretchers!]] |
| 566 | [[/folder]] |
| 567 | |
| 568 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 569 | * Doctor Mother in ''Literature/{{Worm}}''. |
| 570 | -->'''Rebecca:''' Are you one of the doctors that takes care of people that are dying?\ |
| 571 | '''Dr. Mother:''' Not one that works in this hospital. I'm more of a researcher and scholar than anything else. And I came to make you an offer. |
| 572 | [[/folder]] |
| 573 | |
| 574 | [[folder:Web Videos]] |
| 575 | * ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'': Doctor Horrible surely wished that he was the other kind of Doctor at the climax. With the Help of his [[TimeStandsStill Freeze Ray]] the any operation is a guaranteed success after all. |
| 576 | * In ''WebVideo/FreemansMind'', Gordon Freeman, upon seeing the dead scientist just outside the test chamber: "Oh hell. Is that guy dead? Dammit, I'm a doctor not a... normal doctor!" |
| 577 | * In Website/ChannelAwesome fourth year anniversary, ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee'', Sad Panda is named the ship's doctor. |
| 578 | -->'''Sad Panda:''' I just said that I watch ''Series/DoctorWho'' a lot.\ |
| 579 | '''Nostalgia Critic:''' Close enough. |
| 580 | * Subverted in the ''WebVideo/WhatTheFuckIsWrongWithYou'' episode "Respect the Stemware, Karen" when the chat suggests asking Tara's husband Dan (who has a doctorate in psychology) for his opinion regarding a story about a man who tried to cure his back pain by [[{{Squick}} injecting his own semen into his arm]]. At first, she points out that he isn't a medical doctor, before thinking it over and commenting that a psychologist ''would'' be the most qualified for figuring out why someone would think that's a good idea. |
| 581 | [[/folder]] |
| 582 | |
| 583 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 584 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'': |
| 585 | ** Rusty Venture is usually called "Doctor Venture", even though he dropped out of school after his father died. He does possess a doctorate, but he prefers not to bring up where he got it from ([[WorthlessForeignDegree it's an honorary doctorate from a Tijuana community college]]). |
| 586 | ** Dr. Orpheus (whose official credentials are a major in Communication with a minor in Women's Studies from a community college yet claims to have received his doctorate from "a higher power") is the only character to always call Dr. Venture "Mr. Venture." The causes and implications of this are unknown. |
| 587 | ** The only characters known for certain to have a real doctorate are Doctor Henry Killinger, whose doctorate is Child Psychology, and Jonas Jr., who earned two of them only a few months after escaping from Dr. Venture's bowels. Billy earns a forged doctorate after performing heart surgery on a supervillain, though it's suggested that he does have enough skill to get the degree legitimately. |
| 588 | ** After The Monarch has a severe allergic reaction to a gourmet meal, his wife Dr. Mrs. The Monarch tells him she can't help, as she's not a doctor. When he asks why he called her Dr. Girlfriend during the years when they dated, she clarifies that she's "not that kind of doctor." Though her actual doctorate is never clearly stated, she's noted to be a physicist and engineer (which fits with her status as a GadgeteerGenius). |
| 589 | * Drs. Baxter Stockman and Chaplin from the second ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' series are often referred to by their titles; despite both being {{Omnidisciplinary Scientist}}s, neither has shown any indication of even dabbling in medicine. |
| 590 | * Similar to her parents, in the previous section, WesternAnimation/KimPossible has [[HarmlessVillain Dr. Drakken]]. His however is a MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate since he "let himself out" of higher education before graduating. |
| 591 | * ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'': When the Atom (Ryan Choi) is brought in to cure Batman's illness, Aquaman doesn't initially know he'll do so via FantasticVoyagePlot. |
| 592 | -->'''ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}:''' What kind of medicine shall we prescribe, doc?\ |
| 593 | '''ComicBook/TheAtom:''' You don't know what kind of a doctor I am, do you?\ |
| 594 | '''Aquaman:''' A ''hero'' doctor, through and through!\ |
| 595 | '''The Atom:''' ...a physicist. |
| 596 | * ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTimeFionnaAndCake'': When it's revealed that Little Destiny is sick, Fionna asks [[Characters/AdventureTimeIceKing Simon]] to help, since he's a doctor. Simon responds that he's an antiquarian. |
| 597 | * ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': When the Griffin family starts working with [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed Dr. Diddy]] at his record label, Chris asks Diddy if he could perform surgery on himself in the event he got shot. Whereupon Dr. Diddy calmly replies that his doctorate is in optometry. |
| 598 | * In Booster Gold's episode of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'',Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS1E7TheGreatestStoryNeverTold, he comes across a woman giving birth and tries to pass responsibility to Doctor Simmons, who informs him that she's a physicist. |
| 599 | * ComicBook/DoctorOctopus' doctorate is not in medicine in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' either, but he is able to bluff Aunt May into thinking he is one in one episode. Short version: When he and some other super-villains woking for ComicBook/TheKingpin are looking for Spidey, the Scorpion gets the idea to question Peter, due to the photographs he takes - Ock insists on going to his house himself to avoid any unnecessary violence. When he introduces himself to May as Doctor Otto Octavius, May panics when she hears the word "doctor" and thinks Peter has been injured. Ock is able to think fast and tell her that Peter collapsed on the street and was taken to his clinic, volunteering to take her there. (The clinic is actually owned by the Kingpin, and Ock is thus able to leave a ransom note for Peter making it seem like May has been kidnapped, demanding he send Spider-Man there.) |
| 600 | * There was a related exchange in an episode of the old animated ''[[WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters Ghostbusters]]'' cartoon between Janine and the PluckyComicRelief on an episode with weird weather. "Besides, we're not meteorologists. We are scientists." "A meteorologist ''is'' a scientist." |
| 601 | * In ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', amazingly Doctor Zoidberg, who has declared people dead when they have been sitting up and talking, and diagnosed robots with fin-rot, DOES have a doctorate. It is a doctorate in Art History. A reversal in that it's only Zoidberg himself who doesn't seem to realize that this ''doesn't'' qualify him to be a medical doctor. |
| 602 | ** An episode from the UnCancelled seasons reveals that Zoidberg '''is''' in fact That Kind Of Doctor... but his field of medical study is ''xeno''biology, meaning that while he's a brilliant surgeon when it comes to all sorts of alien races, he doesn't know squat about human beings. [[spoiler:It also reveals that Professor Farnsworth keeps him around in spite of this because they're TrueCompanions.]] |
| 603 | * Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'': |
| 604 | -->'''Cyril:''' But we'd need a doctor!\ |
| 605 | '''Cheryl:''' So? Krieger's a doctor.\ |
| 606 | '''Cyril:''' Not the medical kind!\ |
| 607 | '''Dr. Krieger:''' Not even the other kind, technically. |
| 608 | ** One episode revealed that Krieger's first name [[HisNameReallyIsBarkeep literally is "Doctor"]]. |
| 609 | * Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/BewareTheBatman,'' when Alfred has to inform a scientist smitten with Tatsu that he's not, in fact, a medical doctor. He remains undaunted in giving her aid, despite the obvious fact that his help is neither wanted or actually useful. |
| 610 | -->'''Dr. Burr:''' Give me room, I'm a doctor!\ |
| 611 | '''Alfred:''' Wait! Are you a medical doctor?\ |
| 612 | '''Dr. Burr:''' I am tonight. |
| 613 | * Jay Sherman of ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'' has a doctorate in film. |
| 614 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyDadTheRockStar'': When Rock Zilla's alma mater granted him a honorary doctorate, he thought he'd be that kind of doctor and started practicing the shout of "Calling Doctor Zilla". When he was told it wasn't that kind of doctorate and he'd instead be a sort of professor, he shouted [[ComicallyMissingThePoint "Calling Professor Zilla"]]. |
| 615 | * ''WesternAnimation/DrDimensionpants'': Kyle Lipton, alias Dr. Dimensionpants, is just a 12-year-old boy with no doctorate whatsoever. It's just that "Doctor" means "he who wears" in the Unicorn language. The same applies to all other dimensional heroes. |
| 616 | * ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'': Ratchet is the medic of the Autobots and very knowledgeable about biology and medicine...but only Cybertronian-based, which is a far cry from human biology and medicine. Part of it has to do with the fact he never thought he'd ''need'' to know it, as the Autobots were hiding on Earth from the majority of the population [[NobleBigot and he himself isn't really a big fan]]. This almost comes back to bite him when Raf, a human who has become friends with the Autobots and a part of the team, ends up getting dangerously sick thanks to exposure to Dark Energon and he has no idea how to help him, and the day is only saved by Jack's mother, who is a nurse. |
| 617 | * The ''WesternAnimation/SheepInTheBigCity'' episode "The Wool is Not Enough" has General Specific meet a villain named Dr. Oh No No No. General Specific asks him to check out his rash, causing Dr. Oh No No No to clarify that he is a villainous doctor rather than a medical doctor. |
| 618 | [[/folder]] |
| 619 | |
| 620 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 621 | * Hitler's Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels demanded that everyone would call him "Doctor Goebbels". His doctorate? Literature. The demand in itself is not that unusual in Germany, where titles are given much more respect than North America. and "Doktor" is still used in less formal situations and when directly addressing one, ''e.g.'' "Ja Herr Doktor, [[SideEffectsInclude was sind die Nebenwirkungen?]] [[note]]Also, physicians, in general, are typically referred to as "Arzt (pl. Ärzte)" instead of "Doktor", so the title doesn't quite have the same connotations as in English.[[/note]] What makes it this trope is that high-ranking government officials usually had doctorates in law or PH.D.s in political science. Goebbels had no expertise in either field, owing his position almost entirely to his loyalty to Hitler. |
| 622 | ** Perhaps the most notorious Nazi "doctor", UsefulNotes/JosefMengele, had a [=PhD=] in anthropology from the University of Munich and was an assistant at the [[EvilutionaryBiologist Institute for Hereditary Biology and Racial Hygiene]] in Frankfurt. He got DrunkWithPower when assigned to Auschwitz, where he performed gruesome human experimentation, particularly concerning twins and usually without anesthetics, that produced no viable scientific results, or indeed any results beyond satisfying his morbid curiosities. Oddly, he ''did'' have a medical degree, but his only medical experience prior to his butchery at Auschwitz was as a combat medic for the Wehrmacht. Most of his work was devoted to pseudoscientific genetic research. Probably the only DoubleSubversion of this trope you'll ever see in real life. |
| 623 | * People with two doctorates may demand to be addressed as Doctor Doctor X (although it's kind of cumbersome and no one actually ever does so). People with a professorate and a separate doctorate generally ''will'' be addressed as Professor Doctor, though not usually in everyday conversation. On the other hand, some teachers with a doctorate or professor's degree at some universities and schools don't insist on being called "Professor/Dr. (name)", and even discourage it in many cases. At many other colleges and universities, however, "Doctor So-and-so" or "Professor So-and-so" is the established way for a student to address their doctorate-holding instructor, and to do otherwise would come across as, at worst, very rude. |
| 624 | * Benjamin Franklin managed to fall into this trope, despite not being EITHER kind of doctor. Although he was almost universally addressed as "Dr. Franklin," all his degrees were honorary, presented for his groundbreaking scientific achievements (along with an honorary Doctor of Laws). Franklin never attended college and had only two years of formal education, period; he was otherwise self-taught. |
| 625 | * Creator/UweBoll also has a doctorate in literature. Good luck finding an unironic mention of him as "Doctor Boll", though. |
| 626 | * Doctoral students everywhere. After going through the very long, sometimes soul-sucking process of actually getting that [=PhD=], you damn well want some acknowledgment for it. And yet the public insists on thinking that all doctors are physicians. |
| 627 | * The radio talk therapist Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a doctor of physiology, not psychiatry. Not false advertising exactly (she's perfectly entitled to put Dr. before her name), but misleading. Though it should be noted that after she began dispensing personal advice on the radio, she obtained training and certification in marriage and family counseling from the University of Southern California, and a therapist's license from the State of California. In addition, she opened up a part-time practice as a marriage and family counselor. |
| 628 | * Aversion: ''Every'' university graduate in Italy is referred to as "Dottore" or "Dottoressa." Unless, that is, they have some more prestigious title, such as "Avvocato" (lawyer) or even better, "Ingegnere" (engineer.) It's so pervasive that many people will tend to automatically address as "dottore" someone who seems to be of high status. Also, even some non-graduates may be addressed by a title if their profession commands respect: the most common example is "Geometra" (a skilled construction technician, who has authority to approve some civil engineering projects). |
| 629 | ** The same situation applies in Portugal. This situation caused an [[https://poligrafo.sapo.pt/fact-check/conferencia-em-lisboa-antonio-costa-foi-tratado-por-doutor-e-ursula-von-der-leyen-apenas-pelo-nome unfortunate gaffe]] during a European summit held in Lisbon where Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa (a law graduate) was introduced as "Dr. António Costa" while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (an ''actual'' MD) was introduced simply as "Ursula von der Leyen" |
| 630 | * Similarly, in Egypt, people with degrees may be called "Ustaz" ("professor") or "Doktor" in informal settings, even if they aren't professors or have doctorates. Also played straight, because in Egypt, medicine is a seven-year bachelor's degree, and not a doctorate, but people colloqually call physicians without advanced degrees "Doktor" all the same--and are more likely to do so than with, say, someone who holds a bachelor's in something like literature or psychology. |
| 631 | ** Also: An actual engineer won't be called "Mohandis" ("engineer"), since that's the title for certain kinds of skilled worker (well, "Bash Mohandis," i.e. "Chief Engineer" is), like electricians. |
| 632 | * An English speaker in France may hear the word ''physicien'' and think it refers to a physician; it's actually French for "physicist". The best translation of "physician" would be ''médecin généraliste'', though ''médecin'' is enough if any kind of M.D. will do. |
| 633 | * Series/DrPhil is not a medical doctor, but has a doctorate in psychology. He also has no license to practice, having officially retired in 2006. Apparently his TV show counts as "entertainment" rather than "psychology", so it's not against the law, nor false advertising for him to continue hosting it under its current title. |
| 634 | * The degree handed out by law schools in the United States is called a ''Juris Doctor'', and yet no one ever refers to lawyers as "Doctor". The profession is somewhat ambiguous about whether it's appropriate to use the title "doctor," the general consensus being "''technically'' it's allowed, as long as you're not giving the impression that you're an expert in a field other than law." This is most commonly a concern for medical malpractice or personal injury lawyers, for whom it can be falsely inferred that they are medical doctors as well as lawyers (although some lawyers are indeed both). Most lawyers don't bother, to forego the risk of seeming pretentious. There are also advanced terminal doctorates in law such as the Doctor of Juridical Sciences or the even more prestigious Doctor of Laws, but these are very rare except as honorary degrees. |
| 635 | * As an interesting counter to the above, in Brazil lawyers are commonly referred to as "Doctor", which started with a 19th century law that stated a law degree also counted as a doctorate, and even if the law was deprecated the tradition never left. |
| 636 | * Vice president Joe Biden's wife Jill being criticized for using the title [[http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-dr-jill-biden2-2009feb02,0,548459.story because she's not that kind of doctor]]. This came up again in 2020 when Joe was elected president. Joseph Epstein wrote [[https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-there-a-doctor-in-the-white-house-not-if-you-need-an-m-d-11607727380 an article]] for the ''Wall Street Journal'' chiding her for using the "Doctor" title as a professor and not a physician. Regardless of his opinion on the matter, Epstein was soundly blasted on Twitter as well as the universities he himself taught at for his article's sexist tone (such as referring to Dr. Biden as "kiddo") and diminishing her academic accomplishments (despite his teaching at a university while only possessing a B.A.). It should be noted here that, unlike certain examples in this section, Dr. Biden has always been entirely open about the fact that her doctorate is in education and not medicine; her insistence on using the title is, entirely fairly, based on the fact that she ''earned'' it. |
| 637 | * Nutritionist Gillian [=McKeith=], who announced that she would "voluntarily" stop calling herself Dr. Gillian [=McKeith=] on the grounds she wasn't a medical doctor. This came just before the Advertising Standards Authority insisted that she stop calling herself "doctor" because the college she got her [=PhD=] from was "not accredited by any recognised educational authority". So not only was she Not That Kind of Doctor, but she wasn't even a doctor at all. |
| 638 | ** Science author Ben Goldacre made fun of this by referring to her as "Gillian [=McKeith=], or, to give her full medical title, [[BaitAndSwitchComment Gillian McKeith]]." [[note]]He also has fun with other practitioners using the "doctor" honorific in a cross-my-fingers-and-hope-nobody-notices" sort of way, such as Doctors of Homeopathy. And in one extreme case, a Professor of Alternative Heathcare who got a gig at a British "university" that has a lot in common with American degree mills.[[/note]] |
| 639 | * There was once a controversy in the letters page of the ''Financial Times'' as to whether an individual was entitled to be addressed as "Dr" or not, with the paper taking the position that they would award the title to Ph.D.s but only if the ''FT'' had seen proof that the individual had completed a doctorate. [[DeadpanSnarker One reader commented that they should check whether surgeons had earned the title of "Mr."]] |
| 640 | * Dr. Susan Block, best known for her sex advice, got her graduate and post-graduate degrees in philosophy, though "with an emphasis in psychology" and her undergraduate degree was in theater studies. |
| 641 | * Theodor Geisel, AKA "Creator/DrSeuss", isn't a doctor at all; the "Dr." is merely a pen name. |
| 642 | * Creator/DrDemento is just a stage name for musicologist Barry Hansen. Interestingly enough, he does have a graduate degree in his field; despite his madcap persona, [[BunnyEarsLawyer he boasts a rather sophisticated portfolio of work on music theory and music history]]. He himself has suggested that he would have gone on to acquire his doctorate had his radio career not taken off. |
| 643 | * Dr. Ruth Westheimer has actual doctorates, but they're in sociology and psychology. The closest she gets to medical credentials is her post-doctoral research in human sexuality. |
| 644 | * [[UsefulNotes/AllTheLittleGermanies Field Marshal Blücher]] was given an honorary doctorate (in law) by Oxford University. But then his work ''did'' [[BlackComedy contribute to medical science]]. And to law, although more about about which law applied where rather than what that law actually says. |
| 645 | * Duke of Wellington who was similarly honoured the same day, June 14, 1814. Blücher at the time joked that if they made him an honorary doctor they should also make Gneisenau, his chief of staff, an honorary apothecary. He and Gneisenau got honorary doctorates (in philosophy) from Berlin University later that year. |
| 646 | * Music/DrDre did not attend any university. He does have an honorary degree in Street Knowledge, though. |
| 647 | --> "Dr. Dre can suck my dick, that bitch got no [=PhD=]. |
| 648 | --> I lost track of mine, I got stupid whack degrees." |
| 649 | --> ''-- MC Hawking, "The Mighty Stephen Hawking"'' |
| 650 | * Despite his claims to the contrary, creationist Kent "Dr. Dino" Hovind does not hold a valid doctorate. He bought his "degree" from a non-accredited "university" where he quite literally didn't do the research. His "dissertation" is online [[http://rationalia.com/gawdzilla/kent-hovind-doctoral-dissertation.pdf here.]] The first sentence is "Hello, my name is Kent Hovind," so it's obviously not written in formal academic style. [[FromBadToWorse He plagiarizes]] ''himself'' at one point. |
| 651 | * This is a common deception of creationist evangelists; "Dr." Carl Baugh's purely honorary doctorates are actually either from places not accredited to give such doctorates or from "branches" of legitimate colleges that don't actually exist. At least one of his doctorates was from a "school" ''he himself founded''... |
| 652 | * Dr. Naomi Wolf has a doctorate in English Literature, and was a successful author and activist in the 1990s. She has lately taken to promoting disinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination, and other public health topics - with the insistent use of the title, despite not having any sort of health or medical qualifications. |
| 653 | * The controversial restaurant [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_Attack_Grill the Heart Attack Grill]] in Las Vegas is owned by someone who calls himself Dr. Jon Basso in advertisements. He's not a real doctor, and it is doubtful that a real doctor would advise eating at the place, which serves some of the unhealthiest junk food in the country; even he himself has repeatedly said in public and to customers that his food ''will'' kill you. At least two customers who ate there have had real heart attacks (one actually in the restaurant) and two spokesmen died of pneumonia. Basso's previous occupation was as a fitness guru, but he has stated that after too many promises that couldn't be fulfilled, customers repeatedly cheating on their diets and a lawsuit from a fast food company, he decided on a very different idea. |
| 654 | * Dr Pepper and its knockoffs (of course). Supposedly the name was chosen for marketing purposes, as the drink was originally marketed as a health tonic. |
| 655 | * Sir Doctor Creator/StephenColbert, DFA. Doctorate of Fine Arts, an honorary degree or one given to a graduate student of the highest caliber. It means he has made a contribution to the field, and human knowledge. He jokingly uses it in his medical segments, to accentuate his character's status as a KnowNothingKnowItAll. |
| 656 | * Dr. Karl Sven Woytek Sas Konkovitch Matthew Kruszelnicki ([[SomeCallMeTim usually called Dr. Karl]]), Ig Nobel Laureate and science guy, has not done a [=PhD=]. He has a lot of degrees, but he's "Dr." because of a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery. |
| 657 | * Dr. Hunter S. Thompson received an honorary doctorate from the Universal Life Church in the late sixties and eventually started insisting on people acknowledging him as such. The ULC issues doctorates in divinity, but Thompson's character/alter-ego Raoul Duke liked calling himself a "doctor of journalism". |
| 658 | * It is possible to earn a [[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/02/health/policy/02docs.html doctorate in nursing]], in which case a nurse practitioner would be entitled to the title of "Doctor." This causes some friction with physicians. |
| 659 | * Dr. Lewis Yablonski is a sociologist who in 1967 visited several hippie communes and residences to gather information for a book (later titled ''The Hippie Trip''). When he went to Morningstar in Northern California, he said, "I'm Dr. Yablonski, they're expecting me" and the man who greeted him immediately turned around and called out "The doctor's here! Is anyone sick?" |
| 660 | * According to AP style, the Dr. honorific is only supposed to be used for actual medical doctors, dentists and veterinarians. It is also used for paramedical professions and, for some bizarre reason, members of the clergy with earned or honorary doctorates. Ironically, AP style specifically does not use it in the majority of situations where someone actually earns a doctorate. |
| 661 | * DD, or Doctor of Divinity, is an accepted higher degree in theology and religious studies and is carried with pride by ministers and priests of all Christian denominations. The convention in Britain is that the two titles are used together to prevent misunderstanding - ie, conflated as Reverend Doctor. There is a case of a medical doctor who after some years followed a vocation to become a priest, eventually adding the suffix DD to his MD. He became a very rare Reverend Doctor Doctor.... |
| 662 | ** The Universal Life Church will issue a DD to anyone with the required cash (around 20-30 dollars at time of writing). You can also get a doctorate in metaphysics. A lot of people have benefited from this in order to officiate weddings. |
| 663 | ** Notorious Irish Presbyterian minister and politican, the Reverend Doctor Ian Kyle Paisley M.P., got his doctorate from a degree mill in the Bible Belt of the USA, and as people have pointed out, is not eligible to use the title "Doctor" as it came from an unrecognised institution. This makes him the Gillian [=McKeith=] of religion and politics. |
| 664 | * Derek Smart, the man behind ''Battlecruiser 3000AD'' and ''Universal Combat'' claims to possess a doctorate and frequently titles himself as Ph.D. However, his thesis is not listed anywhere and he has refused to divulge basic details about his doctorate, such as which college he attended or who was his supervisor. There's understandable suspicion that he's lying. |
| 665 | * Former porn star Sharon Mitchell used her savings from nearly thirty years in the business to put herself through college and get a doctorate. Laudably, she had recognized that people working in the porn industry are at higher risk of contracting diseases, and that one performer with an STD who carries on working and doesn't declare it can infect a ''massive'' number of people. She also knew that younger porn performers are likely to be very ignorant of the risks and implications of the business, and that their employers can profit by keeping them ignorant. So she set up the Sharon Mitchell Foundation as a means of bringing practical advice, sexual education and practical, affordable (or free) medical treatment for people working in the sex industry. All very laudable, and a lot of people were impressed enough by Doctor Mitchell's personal achievement to donate generously to the charitable foundation. But... everyone meeting an engaging, personable and likable woman with a lot of drive and energy to do good, simply ''assumed'' she'd trained as a medical doctor at an accredited college. Sharon never contradicted this impression.[[note]]Lots of publicity pictures and videos concerning the foundation she established show Sharon looking very professional - in a doctor's white lab coat. This didn't help either.[[/note]] A lot of disillusionment set in when it was discovered her doctorate was in social services and it was from a college which, while not exactly a degree mill, wasn't all that prestigious either. The Sharon Mitchell Foundation, the AIMHCF, is now bankrupt[[note]]After a lawsuit concerning the security breach in which its confidential files were stolen and placed online[[/note]], and Sharon herself returned to the business as a "mature performer". |
| 666 | * Series/RachelMaddow has a Doctorate in Political Science from [[{{UsefulNotes/Oxbridge}} Oxford University]] (she was a Rhodes Scholar, in fact). Interestingly, she only occasionally mentions this, despite hosting a show dedicated to the subject in which she has her doctorate! This means that all those articles calling her "Ms Maddow" should in fact be calling her "''Dr'' Maddow"... |
| 667 | * Chef Erin Burke, one of the founders of the Floribbean Cuisine movement in the 1970s, has two [=PhD=]s to her name: one in history, the other in biology, and indeed she worked as a college professor for a time. She also has a Bachelor's Degree in Culinary Arts, and these days prefers to be called "Chef" rather than "Doctor". |
| 668 | * Creator/BillCosby had a Doctorate in Education from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is listed as William Cosby, Ed. D. in the end credits to several of his shows, including ''Series/TheCosbyShow''. He also had Honorary Doctorates from over a dozen universities, most of them in Humane Letters, but he never uses a title. The "had" [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor is because almost all of them have now been rescinded]] following a large number of accusations (and later convictions) of sexual assault. Since his convictions have been overturned now, he may be able to get them back. |
| 669 | * Creator/BifNaked was awarded an honorary doctorate from University of the Fraser Valley in 2013. |
| 670 | * [[Music/BrianMay Sir Dr. Brian Harold May CBE]] has a Ph.D. in Astrophysics. ([[DevelopmentHell Completed after 30 years]] since obviously the success of [[Music/{{Queen}} the band]] kept him from doing science.) |
| 671 | * WebVideo/StuartAshen has a [=PhD=] in Psychology. He claims to have never worked professionally in the field. |
| 672 | * Creator/JimmySavile had two doctorates; an honorary doctorate, and a doctorate of law. He did not have a formal doctorate, but was allowed to do volunteer work at hospitals, and even had wings named after him. Both of his doctorates were posthumously stripped from him over a year after his death after certain allegations against him came to light. |
| 673 | * Franchise/PowerRangers actor Jason Narvy has a [=PhD=] in Theater Studies, gotten long after his tenure in the ''[[Franchise/PowerRangers Power Rangers Franchise]]'', in 2010. The very next year, he started ''teaching'' theater in Chicago through 2021 at Concordia University. |
| 674 | * There is a category of Catholic saints as "Doctor of the Church", from the original Latin meaning of the word: "teacher". These fellas receive their special title for an exceptional contribution to the teachings of the Church. Still, even being a Catholic saint does not protect you from this trope -- people occasionally think it means the saint was known as a healer, or for those more metaphorically minded, helped the Church get out of some malady. |
| 675 | [[/folder]] |
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