IN OUR OPINION

January 30, 2008

Debbi Morgan (Angie) and Cornelius Smith (Frankie)

— ABC

From Joe Diliberto
You know that old rule that doctors should never treat anyone they are emotionally involved with — especially family members. So why don't soap writers? Daytime doctors almost never treat any one but loved ones, and current episodes of ALL MY CHILDREN demonstrate why that's a bad idea. Poor Angie was distraught over her son, Frankie, lingering at Death's door. Even Dr. Joe sagely warned her that it was a bad idea to get involved. Today, the crack researcher completely collapsed into tears over the realization that her experimental treatment had nearly killed him. This was bad, not only for Frankie (what if he had coded while she was weeping?) but for another patient with the same illness, Greenlee. The life of a (relative) stranger was endangered by Angie's grief. I will admit that Debbi Morgan's reaction when she saw that her "mystery patient" was her son — doubling over and screaming "Omigod!" — was realistic (and pitch-perfect acting), but doctors cannot allow themselves to wallow in human emotions when lives hang in the balance. Angie and Nick acknowledged that they have no idea what they are doing. Who can put aside the emotions of a parent and summon the detachment needed to treat a child like a lab rat? To her credit, Angie realized she was acting unprofessionally (read: like a mom), and whipped herself into shape and put up a brave front when Frankie awakened, but her tear-stained cheeks only served to prove that while such situations may lead to good drama, they make for bad medicine.

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IN OUR OPINION

January 30, 2008

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