Mystery Diagnosis

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Patients search for answers to vexing questions.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

Find out more

Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

Find out more

Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this series deals with real people who have faced serious illnesses. Patients and family members tell their stories directly to the camera, which makes their emotional tales quite affecting. Photos and video footage of affected children and other family members can also easily bring on tears. Some stories might create an unrealistic fear of harmless symptoms. Topics include infants who fail to grow, women who have trouble conceiving, elderly men who suddenly go blind, and many more.

  • Doctors and patients search for answers to medical questions.
  • Threats to health from unknown causes. Close-up shots of blood being drawn.
  • Depends on the episode, but some deal with fertility-related issues/topics.
  • One episode contained a bleeped use of "s--t." Language is generally very tame.
  • Doctors' affiliations are listed -- Kaiser, for example.
  • Discussion of medications, images of pills.

What's the story?

Documentary-style series MYSTERY DIAGNOSIS tells the stories of families' struggles with undiagnosed illnesses. Through one-on-one interviews with patients, family members, and health professionals -- as well as home video, photos, and brief re-enactments -- tales of painful, vexing, and emotionally draining medical problems emerge. For example, one episode told the story of adopted twin Joey, who ate more vigorously than his brother, often vomited, cried and woke constantly, and eventually stopped growing. Despite many pediatrician visits, the boys' parents never received any helpful explanations for their son's mysterious symptoms. But finally, after seeing yet another pediatrician and consulting specialists, the family learns that Joey has a rare kidney problem that's affecting his body's ability to retain nutrients and also causing his excess thirst, urination, cravings for salt, and light sensitivity.


Is it any good?

 

With each story told as an unfolding mystery and accompanied by emotionally charged issues of life and death, Mystery Diagnosis is compelling -- if not original -- television. While it's rated TV-G, sensitive kids may find the threat of painful illness and/or eventual death too much to bear. (One featured patient stokes potential anxiety by asking: How many people are walking around out there with an undiagnosed illness?)


Sign Up Message
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.
Please enter an email address.
Please check your email address for possible typos.
Sorry, you must be 13 or older to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Sign me up!

What families can talk about

Families can talk about doctors. How are doctors typically portrayed on TV and in other media? Does that match how they're shown on this show? In general, what do you think of doctors and the health care system? What kind of expectations do you have for them? Other than doctors, who or what helps you stay healthy? What can you do to feel in control of their health?


This review was written by Sierra Filucci
Kid, 13 years old
April 9, 2008
 

Flag as inappropriate 
Kid, 9 years old
December 20, 2010
 
5 STARS!
I LOVE THIS SHOW, but I don,t like how sometimes they show what there operating on!

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 15 years old
March 28, 2010
 
ew ew ew!!! this is gross i cant watch it...
ewww this show grosses me out and WHY in good messages does common sense media say "Most of the featured people are Caucasian"???!!!??? does that mean what i think it means? cause if it does, that's SUPER mean...

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 15 years old
November 10, 2009
 
This is a great show, but could easily worry younger children, because it depicts people suffering from unknown illnesses.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 14 years old
August 11, 2009
 
STUPID DOCS!! MAKES ME SCARED!
WOW DOCTORS ARE FREAKIN' STUPID TODAY! MY MOM DIAGNOSED THEM BEFORE THE DOCTOR'S DID!! MY MOM!!!!

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 14 years old
August 6, 2009
 
Great for mature kids!
Great show to watch! A little bit scary for younger kids maybe...

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 16 years old
July 8, 2010
 
Intresting and entertaining, but viewers beware for mild freak-outs!
I really like this show even though I HATE doctor related shows, and I can't figure out why! Maybe it's the appeal of people being strong and smart enough to figure out their illnesses themselves, or maybe it's learning about new dieseses and trying to figure them out before they're revealed! Either way, this is an awesome show my mom, sister, and I are addicted to, but viewers beware, watching too many episodes may make the healthiest person feel ill with thoughts like "OMG! I have light sensativity" or something like that. It's a great show, but really, the dieseses portraied on here are one in a million, chances are you're probably NOT going to get lischnien syndrome or whatever that person has.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 14 years old
June 27, 2010
 

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 14 years old
July 22, 2009
 
depends...
Love this show-but for younger kids, certainly can be taken as very scary. I love it though...parents, watch before you let them see it. :D

Flag as inappropriate 

This review was written by Sierra Filucci
This review was written by Sierra Filucci
 

Review It

Share your review with others

Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.
About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors

 

vote now

Will you see Mystery Diagnosis?


Already seen it? What do you think?

 

Been There? Tell us about it