7 Greatest Fictional Doctors (Repost)

Nobody enjoys going to the doctor's office. You show up early, pay your co-pay, and then you have to wait a half hour just to get into an examination room. Once there, you wait another fifteen to twenty minutes for the doctor to show up. Five to ten minutes later, you're out the door. It just doesn't seem right. I have nothing against my doctors. They are great. And since they figured out what was wrong with me after my recent medical emergency, I hold them in high regard. That being said, I still hate having to wait to see them. People make appointments for certain times because they have things to do. Luckily, there are some doctors that are never late. You could say that they have a standing appointment with you every week. I'm speaking, of course, about fictional doctors. Be it on the television, the silver screen, or even comic books, they will never be late to the appointment you make with them.

Without further ado, here are the 7 greatest fake doctors:

7. Dr. Julius Hibbert (The Simpsons) - Dr. Hibbert first appeared in the second season of The Simpsons and has been making us laugh ever since. While more upscale than Springfield's other resident physician, the late Dr. Nick Rivera, he is nevertheless a wasteful medical mercenary, always looking out for his bottom line. Yet, be it his numerous, inappropriate chuckles during awkward situations, or his numerous Cosby sweaters, Dr. Hibbert has endeared himself to his town, as well as the whole world.

6. Doctor Doom - Sure, he's tried to kill off certain superheroes once or twice before. And sure, he's technically a bad guy, but who are we to put labels on others? Oh...yeah...the internet was created to put labels on people. I'll concede the argument; Doctor Doom is a bad man. But at the same time, I bet more people know his first name than their doctor's first name. His is Victor, by the way. My doc is Maurice. But why is he on the list? Simple. He is the greatest researcher of all time. He has always had one hypothesis: He is better than Reed Richards. Granted, he always fails, but he's quite the persistent bugger. And the one day that he finally one-ups Reed, he can fudge the numbers and publish his decades-long findings.

5. Douglas "Dr. Evil" Powers - Wait, two bad guys in a row? Do you actually think that Dr. Evil is a bad guy? No way. He just never had a strong, yet loving, father figure. Plus, come on, he is hilarious. Add into the fact that he's pretty much a moron, and you have a lovable loser that sticks with you. And yes, he is a licensed doctor. "[He] didn't spend six years at evil medical school to be called Mr. Evil."

4-3. Doctors John (J.D.) Dorian & Percival Cox - These are two of the most classic doctors on television, but it is the relationship between the two that make them great. The dichotomy between them is something special. While J.D. is a wide-eyed optimist (Nurse Carla nicknamed him Bambi), Dr. Cox has a more bitter view of the world. "People aren't chocolates. Do you know what they are mostly? Bastards. Bastard-coated bastards with a bastard-filling." The student-teacher relationship has evolved into a relationship of mutual respect, not that it stops Dr. Cox from putting J.D. down, or J.D. from hoping to one day receive the hug from Cox that he always wanted. And while they are both great doctors, their zaniness is something that makes me think I would want somebody else looking after me.

2. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce - I've really got nothing to say here. Hawkeye is a great character, and if I was ever shot in Korea, I would want him to operate on me.

1. Gregory House - If I were to describe House based on his short comings (aka: a drug addicted, anti-social, curmudgeon with an unhealthy fixation on the truth and no qualms with the occasional B&E) you would have a very accurate description of him. You would also probably not want him as your doctor, unless you had a medical mystery, in which case he would be the only doctor you would want. I know that when I was sick, I wanted him to be in charge of my case, because if he was, I would be cured in an hour. That's how he rolls. House is everything that a conventionally "good" doctor isn't, yet he is the best doctor there is. That is why he is the greatest fictional doctor.

Honorable Mention: Doogie Howser, M.D. - "But how could you not put Doogie on the list?" Easy: I forgot about him. Now, I could easily make this the 8 Greatest Fictional Doctors, but I'm still upset that I can never ascertain any achievements on the level that Doogie had. Licensed medical practitioner by the age of 14? Nope...I was busy not doing my geometry homework at that age. Kicked the shit out of leukemia, twice? Luckily, I haven't had to...but I did call it a draw with Adult On-Set Still's Disease...so, close enough. Finished high school in 9 weeks? I wish. Graduated from Princeton? Well, I graduated from a New Jersey university...but not Princeton...Not anywhere near Princeton. Awesome computer diary? This...um...isn't a diary...really, it isn't. In any case, sorry NPH, but your classic character was too much of an over-achiever to be added to this list. Not my fault.