25 Best TV Doctors

Marcus Welby was the father figure. Dr. Kildare was the well-meaning but strong-willed newcomer.  Hawkeye Pierce was the cynical Army doctor with the heart of gold.

Doctors — from Doogie Howser to Greg House – have helped fill TV schedules since the first sets landed in American living rooms. It was no small task, then, to narrow a list to the “25 Best TV Doctors,” but Entertainment Weekly did just that with, uh, surgical precision.

Who survived?

Here are the first 10 on the list:

– Greg House (Hugh Laurie), House, M.D. (2004-)

– “Doogie” Howser (Neil Patrick Harris), Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989-93)

– Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), Grey’s Anatomy (2005-)

– Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco), The Sopranos (1999-2007)

– James Kildare (Richard Chamberlain), Dr. Kildare (1961-66)

– Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox), Lost (2004-)

– Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby), The Cosby Show (1984-92)

– Michaela “Mike” Quinn (Jane Seymour), Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993-98)

– Doug Ross (George Clooney), E.R. (1994-)

– “Hawkeye” Pierce (Alan Alda), M*A*S*H (1972-83)

To read more about these, and to find out who else was included, visit Entertainment Weekly.