Burnt Food

So in this episode we're shown some workers at the airport replacing a GLASS sign right over the heads of the passing passengers. OF COURSE the sign breaks and OF COURSE there's a little boy standing right under it. You believe that? They evacuate half of Chicago every time a Southwest plane skates off the runway in O'Hare... again. But not this airport!

Next, we see a father who repeatedly slaps his autistic son for... being autistic. The poor mother is trying to intervene by shouting "You're hurting him!" In the process of slapping his son the father throws his pet rabbit against the wall thus killing it. The boy and his brother take the rabbit to a doctor and openly discuss how they're not going back home and will be living on their own. The good doctor (pun intended) just looks away in pity. This must be 1930s? Maybe 1950s? 1970s at the latest!? Nope. It's mid-2000s. Child Protection Services don't exist. The doctor is not obligated to report domestic abuse. Everything's peachy.

Next, we're transcended roughly 12-15 years ahead. The advisory board of a clinic in San Jose. You know what they're doing? They are openly discussing how they won't hire a person because he's autistic. Unlike EVERY other institution in the United States, this hospital doesn't have the Code of Conduct that clearly forbids discriminating against people based on their disbilities.

It sure looks like the script was written for a different time and was adapted "as best as we could". Let's see where this goes.

In the first episode of The Good Doctor, we are introduced to autistic doctor, Shaun Murphy, as he travels to San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital, recruited as the first autistic doctor under their name. We are shown the hesitance and discrimination from the fellow doctors and the board, and how Shaun works, what is normal for him.

I feel like perhaps although they went a bit overboard with the discrimination against Shaun, they did this very well. As an autistic viewer, I am incredibly happy to see an autistic character portrayed so well. I was so happy, I cried a few times through the episode seeing just how amazingly it was done. The people behind the show have obviously done their research, and it is so refreshing to see for once. There aren't many shows that do it this well, and I cannot say how great it is to see.

I feel like this received a lot of harsh criticism, especially on case of the flash backs. They were done for a reason, so we can see how Shaun works and thinks in his life now. I don't understand why so many have spared harsh words for this technique used in many shows for a learning experience for the viewers.

I am extremely excited to see where this is going, and I will definitely be an avid watcher for the whole season!

Okay, as a pilot episode this episode ticks almost all the boxes - introducing the main characters, setting up future conflicts etc. It's a good see a film protagonist that many people like him are going to be inspired by. I thought the casting choices were good especially the lead actor. Freddie Highmore is very convincing as an autistic person and looks the part. The rest of casts are fine. However, what I'm not a fan of about this episode is the melodrama; the dramatic elements were too on-the-nose and so was the music. The dialogue was cheesy. And there were a lot of of 'convenient coincidences' that take place in this episode. I hope there won't be a romance angle or love triangle anytime soon or anytime ever lol. What I like apart from the acting, is the animation that pops on the screen everytime something anatomical comes up. It's educative and keeps the viewer informed. Overall, a good pilot with good performances and some interesting future conflict, but I hope the drama and the cheesiness could be tone down a bit in the future episode.

Growing up as a high functioning autistic boy I got a lot of people saying not so nice things about me just because I had this label attached to me. Literally people I had never met before would judge me because I wasn't like other kids. I saw that in this and it really struck home. First off I want to commend Freddie Highmore on his stellar performance of a high functioning yet severely autistic man. As someone who as I've already stated was diagnosed with autism at a young age and has spent over 10 years of my life with other people on both ends of the spectrum I think I'm more than qualified to give him a little praise. I also loved how they had those visual prompts kind of like Sherlock's mind palace. Every time I realised he was trying to solve a problem I'd audibly show my excitement. Other than a few irritating characters which are supposed to be irritating so good job! I really enjoyed this on a personal level and as a lover of television and film. I'm gonna give this a 9 for now as I don't know what's to come next but I'm excited I'll tell you that much.

That was honestly an unbelievable pilot episode, I was in tears by the end of it. It's been a while since a show has been this well written with amazing acting! I created an account just to leave a review here; that's how much i loved it!