# Who are your favorite fictional medical examiners/pathologists? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 12, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023 "2019-03-12T20:20:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/1 "2019-03-12T20:20:33Z")
I couldn’t resist, after reading this [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=21533215#post21533215). I’m re-watching all of _Endeavour_, and my current fave ME is Dr. Max DeBryn. So cute, serious, sensitive, and quotable (all but the last quote are from IMDB): > [@](#): > > DS Jim Strange : Puked his guts up, then. Literally. > > Dr. Max DeBryn : What a lyrical child you must have been, sergeant. > [@](#): > > Sergeant Endeavour Morse : [about the dead girl] What do you think happened to her? > > Dr. Max DeBryn : I think, if I spent my days in contemplation of such questions, I should drink rather more than I do. > [@](#): > > Dr. Max DeBryn : [after stitching up Morse’s knife wound] My finest _broderie anglaise_\* notwithstanding, don’t exert yourself overmuch. > > DC Endeavour Morse : The girl’s still missing. I’ve got to get back. > > Dr. Max DeBryn : Morse, if he’d decided to stab and not to slash, I’d presently be getting more acquainted with your anatomy than either of us would care for. Soon as not be heaving your tripes onto a tray, if it’s all the same. Not as yet, at least. > > - open embroidery, typically in white floral patterns, on fine white cotton or linen > [@](#): > > Dr. Max DeBryn : [surveying a month-old corpse recovered from the river] This one’s as ripe and runny as a rancid Roquefort. > [@](#): > > Dr. Max DeBryn : Multiple catastrophic injuries, to you, to be going on with. Chapter and verse once I’ve had a rummage. > > DC Endeavour Morse : Nothing suspicious? > > Dr. Max DeBryn : Only you. > [@](#): > > Dr. Max DeBryn : [on the contents of the dead man’s stomach _(dead person fell from a rooftop)_] The full English - about an hour before he put Sir Isaac’s law of universal gravitation to the test. > [@](#): > > “And one was fond of me: and all are slain,” says Dr. Max DeBryn (James Bradshaw) quoting A. E. Housman to summarize Morse’s predicament. Then he adds, “Love and fishing. Sooner or later it all comes down to the same thing: the one that got away”… > [Source](http://www.criminalelement.com/endeavour-401-qgameq-episode-review/) I’ll add more MEs later… ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/2 "2019-03-13T03:46:23Z")
Laura Hobson. Although I like DeBryn too. Steals the scenes he’s in. ---
**Author:** ![road\_lobo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d78d45/32.png) [@road\_lobo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/road_lobo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/3 "2019-03-13T04:22:03Z")
Maybe Elizabeth Rodgers (L&O: CI) or Laura Hobson (Inspector Morse/Lewis). I’ve seen most Endeavour but I don’t have any special recollection of DeBryn. Morbid dialogue is de rigor for MEs. Dr. Blake seems an unfair choice. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/4 "2019-03-13T04:38:23Z")
> [@road\_lobo](#): > > Maybe Elizabeth Rodgers (L&O: CI)… Oh, yeah. Anybody who could go toe-to-toe trading wisecracks with Lennie Briscoe has to win this thread. [This](https://youtu.be/9RP2GFWougQ) is one of the best moments in the whole _Law & Order_ franchise. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/5 "2019-03-13T04:44:30Z")
Toss-up between Dr Al Robbins on \*\*\*CSI \*\*\*and Donald “Ducky” Mallard on _ **NCIS** _. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/6 "2019-03-13T04:54:38Z")
_Love_ Max DeBryn and the entire Endeavor series. They did much more with it than I expected they would. I very much enjoyed the Nikki Alexander character in the Silent Witness series. All the forensic pathologist characters in that series were memorable and fun to watch. The clues came pretty easy for them, but the forensics were more realistic than most and I appreciated that. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/7 "2019-03-13T06:07:37Z")
Quincy. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/8 "2019-03-13T06:31:15Z")
All the big ones will be mentioned, so I’ll go with [the one from _Psych_](https://psychusa.fandom.com/wiki/Woodrow_Strode). ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/9 "2019-03-13T07:24:35Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Quincy. My choice too. Jack Klugman may have been a slob on “The Odd Couple,” but as Quincy the ME, he showed his versatility. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/10 "2019-03-13T11:29:31Z")
Let’s not forget Melissa Warner from _L&O_, played by the stunning [Tamara Tunie](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0876645/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t38). She also did some time as Erin Reagan’s boss on _Blue Bloods_. Many of my favorites have been mentioned. Here’s one y’all may not be familiar with: Gina Kadinsky from a fabulous show called _[The Brokenwood Mysteries](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3640276/?ref_=nv_sr_2)_, set in New Zealand. From Wikipedia: “She is a highly eccentric Russian woman who often talks about how things were in Russia, and doesn’t quite understand ‘the English humour.’” Her humor is usually ironic and delivered _dead_pan (as it were). She has the hots for detective Mike Shepherd, a chubby guy who drives a 1971 [Holden Kingswood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_Kingswood), which is usually blaring country-western music from the radio. I love this show. Look for it on Acorn and Britbox. Speaking of Wikipedia, they’ve done a bunch of the work [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_medical_examiners). ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/11 "2019-03-13T12:32:14Z")
The only one that I remember featuring in anything I read was Paul Konig from Herbert Lieberman’s excellent [City Of The Dead](https://www.amazon.com/City-Dead-Herbert-Lieberman-ebook/dp/B00DUOP3Q4/). Now that I have been reminded, after 40 odd years, I think I will read it again. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/12 "2019-03-13T12:42:41Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > My choice too. Jack Klugman may have been a slob on “The Odd Couple,” but as Quincy the ME, he showed his versatility. I loved Quincy, too, but I have to chuckle at “showed his versatility”: his character mainly ran the gamut of emotions from irate to enraged. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/13 "2019-03-13T12:47:20Z")
Waldo Butters. Because polka will never die. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/14 "2019-03-13T14:33:03Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Oh, yeah. Anybody who could go toe-to-toe trading wisecracks with Lennie Briscoe has to win this thread. > > [This](https://youtu.be/9RP2GFWougQ) is one of the best moments in the whole _Law & Order_ franchise. Dr. Rogers was my first choice. She has a world-weary affect that seems very appropriate to her character. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/15 "2019-03-13T14:40:13Z")
Rogers was my first love. DeBryn is my current crush. But **Dr. Julia Ogden** from _Murdoch Mysteries_ makes me want to be a better person. Not as snarky as Rogers and DeBryn but she has her moments. She’s one of the leads in the show so we know much more about her than most MEs. I can’t explain her here, she’s just lovely. Smart and sassy only scratch the surface. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/16 "2019-03-13T15:02:36Z")
Another vote for Dr. Rodgers. My husband and I started watching _Community_ to see Leslie Hendrix, who played the role on Law and Order, play it in _Community_’s episode that parodied that show. IIRC, the actress paid her own way to the set because she liked the comedy so much. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/17 "2019-03-13T15:13:37Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Dr. Rogers was my first choice. She has a world-weary affect that seems very appropriate to her character. Rogers was the best. Over the years, she got a lot of personality for a minor character. Like her going to the opera with Lennie, or obviously having some bad dates with Ross (CI) that we never heard about. And of course, “free javelins”.\* It just seems wrong sometimes when I watch an early episode and they have some other ME. Second choice is Eugene Hawes from Elementary. \*Though a runner up to the javelins quote is the unnamed CSU tech’s quote in “Floater” “Did I mention the eels?” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/18 "2019-03-13T15:47:12Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Quincy. This. Quincy is so good, he only needs one name. I have to second Ducky, though. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/19 "2019-03-13T15:55:06Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > This. Quincy is so good, he only needs one name. I have to second Ducky, though. I love Ducky, too. And I think Jimmy Palmer is a worthy successor. This is for those who never saw David McCallum as [Ilya Kuryakin](https://goo.gl/images/TTJsqs). God, he was gorgeous. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023/20 "2019-03-13T16:24:40Z")
I had never heard the “free javelins” bit. So in character! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-your-favorite-fictional-medical-examiners-pathologists/831023.md?page=2)