My Review - Dr Death Streaming on Stan
My Rating 8/10
Just imagine the shock of coming out of what you've been told by your Doctor is a fairly routine operation only to discover that your now a quadriplegic or worse ?
Now imagine that the charismatic charming Doctor who has performed your operation is really an arrogant sinister surgeon who's later mental diagnosis is described as a psychopath with malignant narcissistic tendencies.
The most disturbing aspect of this series is that it's not fiction . It's an account of real events that occurred in Texas U. S. A. Around 2012 2013. The series is based on the hit podcast inspired by the terrifying true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch.
After building a flourishing neurosurgery practice, everything suddenly changes when two fellow surgeons Dr Randall Kirby (Christian Slater ) and Dr Robert Henderson (Alec Baldwin)start to investigate Dr Christopher Duntsch's increasing record of botched operations that resulted in the maiming and deaths of a number of patients.
That's enough of the story as it's the process of Dr Duntsch's eventual trial and conviction that's the focal point of this 8 part series.
It's on the public record that Duntsch was accused of injuring 33 out of 38 patients in less than two years before his license was revoked by the Texas Medical Board and in 2017, was convicted of maiming one of his patients and sentenced to life imprisonment.
It's the performances in Dr Death that make this series so worth watching especially Joshua Jackson as Dr Christopher Duntsch .
A friend of mine who lives in Texas says the resemblance between the actor and the real "Doctor" is uncanny. I read that Dr. Duntch was originally to be played by Jamie Dornan (The Fall, Fifty Shades of Grey) only to be replaced by Joshua Jackson due to conflicts from COVID 19. Dornan and his family were in New York for filming as the Pandemic hit the US and the Country began to shut down.
As much as I admire Jamie Dornan I think Joshua Jackson was the better choice for this complex role. His performance is quite spellbinding pretending to be the caring and optimistic Surgeon but once you know he has the mind of a serial killer who actively recruits his next victims for the operating table he shows a chilling indifference to the tragic outcomes of his malpractice and no guilt or regret what so ever.
One assisting nurse later described the experience of observing Dr Duntch operating procedure to a doctor, "It was like he learned what to do just so he could do the opposite."
Christian Slater is also wonderfull in the role of Dr Randall Kirby who's dislike and determination to expose Duntch with the tenacity of a fox terrier killing a snake . He's an interesting character with a sharp tongue and full on personality that gets him offside with a few of the authoritarian figures in the Texas medical community .
The other stand out performances are Alec Baldwin as the more reserved Senior Dr Robert Henderson who is as keen to bring Duntch to trial but takes a more cautious approach .
Dominic Burgess gives a great performance as Jerry Summers an associate and friend of Dr Duntch who refuses to believe the tragic outcome that Duntch has inflicted on his life.
Two very impressive women play important roles in Dr Death one is Grace Gummer as a Nurse and lover of Christopher Duntch .
If you close your eyes Grace Gummer sounds so much like her mother Meryl Streep its very obvious that she has inherited her Mums great acting talent.
The other impressive female role is AnnaSophia Rob as the young prosecutor Michelle Shughart who finds the only appropriate and effective charge to put Duntch behind bars or life.
An impressive script of 7 writers , and excellent direction by three women So Yong Kim, Maggie Kiley and Jennifer Morrison help make Dr Death an interesting and compelling series but a warning if blood or operations make you queasy perhaps this series is not for you ?
What I found most disturbing and I suspect or hope couldn't occur in Australia because of our strict reporting regulations was the fact that what Dr Christopher Duntsch, committed were hideous crimes but the true scandal is that some of Texas's leading hospitals, such as Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Plano and Dallas Medical Center, quietly passed him on-letters of recommendation in hand-to other clinics, where he could continue to solicit and harm other patients.
As is shown at the end of the series unless changes are made these events could occur again in Texas and the U. S. A.
