Parents' Guide to Dr. G: Medical Examiner

While occasionally intriguing, the show falls short -- it's stuck trying to be appropriate for children and families while remaining entertaining for adults. On the one hand, the show's producers are extremely careful to blur out any footage of organs, autopsies, or even cadavers when they might be visible on an operating table. Every shot of Dr. G performing any kind of procedure is staged with actors, with the word "dramatization" prominently splashed across the screen. The show's creators seem to want to make sure that you know that you and your family are in no way seeing actual dead bodies.

At the same time, there are lots of stylized shots of blood being rinsed off tables, into drains, and dripping down the legs and wheels of gurneys. And the show doesn't shy away from talking about violence. In one episode, for example, the narrator questions whether a patient's mysterious death could have been the result of a rape/murder, and Dr. G. frankly discusses the methods she uses to determine such facts. These kinds of gory details may be of prurient interest to adult audiences, but the show is visually over-sanitized to the point of being dull. On the other hand, these same gory details, even though not shown on screen, could be too intense for young viewers. The perfect demographic for a show like Dr. G is probably a teen with strong interests in health and science. Beyond that, most viewers will likely either find the show too boring or too scary.