Doogie Howser, M.D.: Season One (review)

This 15-year-old series holds up extremely well today, with a level of sophistication and a surprising wisdom that ranks it among one of TV's better explorations of adolescent angst. The delightful Neil Patrick Harris (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle) brings clever insight to Doogie, 16-year-old doctor and all-around boy genius, and through 26 half-hour, wonderfully laugh-track-less episodes, his unusual adventures in medicine highlight and contrast the usual kid problems he still has to contend with: getting Mom and Dad (Belinda Montgomery and James Sikking: Fever Pitch) to lend him the car, working up the nerve for a first kiss, battling peer pressure, and a whole host of other teen traumas. And the perceptive and often poignant dramedy about growing up and finding yourself has lots to say to those of us adults who are still trying to figure out how to negotiate the real world. Extras include new interviews with Harris and cocreator (with David E. Kelley: Mystery, Alaska) Steven Bochco (Murder One).