Let me tell you about a brilliant neurosurgeon, Christopher Duntsch. A man who wants to heal people. MD. PhD, about a decade of experience, 5 star reviews, recommendations from top accredited professionals, was trying to patent his stem cell research to cure spinal injuries. Confident, cool, and always had a plan to fix his patients.

And then in the years of 2011 to 2013, it was reported that Duntsch operated on 37 patients, killing 2 and leaving 35 with permanent and serious injuries. Even his best friend wasn’t safe.

He wasn’t even slick about it. Duntsch was blatantly doing the wrong thing in front of everyone. Neurosurgeon Robert Henderson and vascular surgeon Randall Kirby were the doctors who instantly knew something was up with Duntsch. Either Duntsch was the most incompetent doctor they ever saw, or he was a sociopath.

In one scene a patient’s procedure was compared to an IKEA box. Parts scattered around and not connected. Another scene had a massive sponge left in a patient causing a life-threatening infection.

Duntsch was able to move around to 4 different hospitals during these incidents without any pushback. Even as an investigation was being done, Duntsch wasn’t suspended, he was free to keep practicing, operating and hurting patients.

As Duntsch was on trial, I was almost surprised he was found guilty. Yes, obviously Duntsch willingly hurt his patients, but I’ve seen how its tough to prove intent in a trial. I remember watching every minute of the Casey Anthony trail, and before the verdict was read, I knew she wasn’t going to be convicted of murder.

The defense was citing Duntsch’s training as to why he made so many mistakes. Most neurosurgical residents do about 1,000 surgeries in their residency. Duntsch performed less than 100. Which in dealing with precise medical procedures you would want all the on-the-job training you can get.

Thankfully, this went in the other direction and Duntsch is now facing life in prison. Which is good because Duntsch always had a plan. Even with his medical license was revoked, Duntsch’s plan was just to go to another state to practice medicine. One of my favorite lines of the show was “There are 49 other states I can practice in. Hell, there’s a whole world,” he was never going to stop.

Peacock put of ton of effort into one of their first big original shows. Joshua Jackson plays the role of Duntsch perfectly and I’m surprised he doesn’t have more upcoming projects on his IMDB page, but after this show he should be flooded with work. I imagine there should be a nomination from this show somewhere.

Alec Baldwin and Christian Slatter have a perfect Ying and Yang styles of acting that work perfectly. Baldwin is more precise and professional while Slatter is more comically entertaining, but not overplayed.

The only flaw, if there is one, is that there isn’t an impactful ending to the series. Dr Death doesn’t end like a typical big budget Hollywood show. This show closely reminds me of one of my favorite and Oscar snubbed movie Wind River, where there was no big mystery to solve. It was pretty obvious what happened at the start and when that movie ended, I was waiting for another act to surprise me.

There was no big reveal to why Duntsch was doing this. The only thing I can think of he has a massive ego and when he is questioned at all that sets him off and takes it out on patients and his staff. Girlfriend breaks up with him and he give her glances as he paralyzes a patient. If a husband has some concerns about his wife’s surgery, then Duntsch hurts her. If his coach questions his ability, then he tackles the quarterback hard. So, we never got a satisfying “You can’t handle the truth moment” in court.

Dr Death isnt a show for the faint of heart. At some moments in the show I had to turn it off for an hour, take a walk, get some water and restart it. I hope you enjoy it.