TV's medical marvels

Hunky physicians, sexually repressed nurses, bizarre medical scares!Let's face it: Doctor shows on TV are always the cure for what ails us. With longtime fave "ER" finally giving up its stethoscope after this season, what better time than now to salute our favorite faux-doc addictions. Here are just a few.Classics"MARCUS WELBY, M.D." (1969-1976 on ABC)Back in the good ol' days, all it took was a house call for doctor-god Welby (Robert Young) to fix a patient's life and his illness. No malpractice insurance or Prozac here. Then there was the bedside manner of his sexy sidekick, Dr. Kiley (James Brolin), who really knew how to ride a motorcycle."ST. ELSEWHERE" (1982-88 on NBC)An early "ER" that got no respect. This quirky show tackled everything before it was cool: AIDS, killing off key characters, backside nudity (a doctor drops trou before leaving the hospital and the show). And where would Denzel Washington, Howie Mandel and Ed Begley Jr. be today without it?"MEDICAL CENTER" (1969-1976 on CBS)Get Dr. Gannon, stat! Anything to get cutie Chad Everett running in his houndstooth leisure suit and aviator sunglasses to save the day with some experimental surgery. All without disturbing a single strand of that helmet-head hair.New classics"ER" (1994 to present, 10 p.m. EDT Thursdays on NBC)Blood spurting everywhere! Interns screwing up! We're exhausted just watching it. The longest-running prime-time medical drama redefined the genre by giving us a dose of what life's really like in a Chicago ER. If your doctor looks like George Clooney or John Stamos, that is."HOUSE" (2004 to present, 8 p.m. EDT Tuesdays on Fox)Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) could kick Dr. Welby's butt without blinking. And no mystery malady -- African sleeping sickness, anybody? -- is too tough or too melodramatic for this Sherlock with a stethoscope."GREY'S ANATOMY" (2005 to present, 9 p.m. EDT Thursdays on ABC)Better than staying at a Holiday Inn Express, watching "Grey's" makes us smarter about medicine. Studies say so! Awesome, if you ever need to know how to cut off a foot with a chain saw. Ew. No shortage of beautiful people like McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) and McSteamy (Eric Dane), even if they are really annoying like Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Izzie (Katherine Heigl).Guilty pleasures"DOOGIE HOWSER, M.D." (1989-1993 on ABC)Who wouldn't want a cute 16-year-old, board-certified physician in charge of saving your life? Throw in "Vinnie" (Max Casella), his hormone-challenged best friend, and cougar nurse "Curly Spaulding" (Kathryn Layng) and you have every teen's fantasy TV show. (Just lose the goofball diary entry in each episode!)"SCRUBS" (2001 to present -- first on NBC and soon on ABC)Zach Braff, Donald Faison and John C. McGinley lead a cast that rivals any comedy lineup since "Cheers." This is what hospital life would be like ... if everyone inhaled nitrous oxide and snorted Pixy Stix every day."EMERGENCY!" (1972-1977 on NBC)Greatest doctor hairdos ever, thanks to the furry manes of stars Randolph Mantooth, Kevin Tighe and Bobby Troup. To this day, we have no idea what "100 ccs of Ringer's Lactate" means, but our brave paramedics used it each week to treat every ailment in the world!(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service www.scrippsnews.com)