• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

ME/CFS on TV drama - 'Doctors' on BBC1 (UK)

charles shepherd

Senior Member
Messages
2,239
The BBC drama series 'Doctors' has a new storyline involving a patient with ME/CFS

The MEA has been providing background information for these episodes, which started transmission today

As with advice we provide for any TV drama programme, we have no editorial control over what is eventually put out in the programme

More info and a link to the iplayer recording on the MEA website:

http://www.meassociation.org.uk/201...toryline-on-bbc1-drama-today-4-december-2015/
 

TiredSam

The wise nematode hibernates
Messages
2,677
Location
Germany
Just watched it. Never seen Doctors so I had no idea what to expect. Very surprised and impressed how they portrayed the sufferer, and the nonsense we have to listen to as voiced by his positive thinking wife. He seems to have been very lucky in finding a sympathetic doctor. I found it very sympathetic to the cause. They were obviously well advised and took that advice. Wonder how it will develop, will it show him trying to get benefits? I wonder how non-ME patients will view it?

And what's going to happen with Marylin? I'm hooked.
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
Just watched it. Never seen Doctors so I had no idea what to expect. Very surprised and impressed how they portrayed the sufferer, and the nonsense we have to listen to as voiced by his positive thinking wife. He seems to have been very lucky in finding a sympathetic doctor. I found it very sympathetic to the cause. They were obviously well advised and took that advice. Wonder how it will develop, will it show him trying to get benefits? I wonder how non-ME patients will view it?

And what's going to happen with Marylin? I'm hooked.
Great news!

Congratulations and thanks to @charles shepherd and the MEA! :thumbsup::balloons::balloons::balloons:
 

charles shepherd

Senior Member
Messages
2,239
The villain in the story is the glamorous 'high flier' ex wife from California, who has turned up to explain she is getting married again (in Hawaii)

She knows all about psychology, positive thinking etc, does not believe that ME is a real illness, and is a right pain in the behind

Everyone else - person with ME/CFS, his very supportive daughter at the local university, and the GP who does believe in ME as a neurological illness - plays their part very well

Hopefully, other TV productions that want to bring in the subject of ME/CFS will watch this programme to see how this illness should be portrayed in the media

Worth watching
 

Large Donner

Senior Member
Messages
866
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06r13q6

I've checked the credits for the next 7 episodes and the characters of the ME sufferer, his wife and daughter don't seem to be making another appearance, so it looks like they "did" ME in today's episode and that's it. They did it very well though. Seems from Wikepedia that ratings can be around 2 million.

I have seen this programme a few times. It doesn't really do continuous stories it is basically about a single medical practice and each episode is based on a one or two patient one of issue.

I really cringe at it sometimes as its usually about wonderful doctors going way out of their means to solve everyones issues in the countdown towards the end of the episode. Often they portray the patients as clueless idiots and the doctors as gods.

They did once have a woman on with fibromyalgia and the junior doctor got a telling off from the senior guy for trying to do something other than send her away with SSRIs. Basically the line was "pain and emotions go down the same neural pathways".

I haven't seen the episode in question about ME.
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
The ex-wife sounds like a real piece of work.
Yeah, the same old boring stereotype of Americans -- either a self-absorbed New Age Californian, or a self-absorbed ultra-rich Texan with no manners. Yawn....

I generally prefer British literature and TV to American, but the national/cultural stereotyping gets tiresome. IMO, the writers are best when they stick to Anglo-Saxon British characters and don't pretend they have any understanding of Australians, Americans, French, Italians, or anyone much more distant than their next-door neighbor.
 

Large Donner

Senior Member
Messages
866
Yeah, the same old boring stereotype of Americans -- either a self-absorbed New Age Californian, or a self-absorbed ultra-rich Texan with no manners. Yawn....

I generally prefer British literature and TV to American, but the national/cultural stereotyping gets tiresome. IMO, the writers are best when they stick to Anglo-Saxon British characters and don't pretend they have any understanding of Australians, Americans, French, Italians, or anyone much more distant than their next-door neighbor.

You might have a point...
 

worldbackwards

Senior Member
Messages
2,051
Yeah, the same old boring stereotype of Americans -- either a self-absorbed New Age Californian, or a self-absorbed ultra-rich Texan with no manners. Yawn....

I generally prefer British literature and TV to American, but the national/cultural stereotyping gets tiresome. IMO, the writers are best when they stick to Anglo-Saxon British characters and don't pretend they have any understanding of Australians, Americans, French, Italians, or anyone much more distant than their next-door neighbor.
It's probably fair to say that Doctors isn't the pinnacle of the UK TV experience - what's a cheap daytime soap withthout a few cheap stereotypes? It's primary audience is the elderly and unemployed, going out at that prime slot of just after lunch on a weekday. Perhaps they were nice about us because they thought a few of us might be watching ;)
 
Last edited:

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
It's probably fair to say that Doctors isn't the pinnacle of the UK TV experience - what's a cheap daytime soap withthout a few cheap stereotypes? It's primary audience is the elderly and unemployed, going out at that prime slot of just after lunch on a weekday. Perhaps they were nice about us because they thought a few of us might be watching ;)
Fair enough. Gotta sell to the audience you have. ;)