Big Deck Energy: A Reflection on Doctor Odyssey

When Conan talked about what was best in life, he neglected to mention truly bad television. 

I was first introduced to Doctor Odyssey (2024) after it had already been soft canceled, because I was itching to watch some bad TV set on a boat while waiting for Good Ship Murder season two to come out (You’ll be getting a post on that later, trust me). My mom had been unable to finish the first episode, because it was just that awful. I don’t remember exactly why I insisted we watch it, but we did, and now I’m going to regale you with it and you can’t stop me. For obvious reasons, this is going to contain full spoilers for the show Doctor Odyssey, so...be forewarned and forearmed.

From left to right: Captain Don Johnson, Doctor Odyssey, Avery, and Tristan

Part One: What is Doctor Odyssey?

Doctor Odyssey comes from "the brilliant mind of Ryan Murphy", who you maybe know from the 9-1-1 shows or, more likely given this blog's audience, Glee. The premise itself is fairly straightforward, following the staff of the cruise ship Odyssey (which does cruises on the Pacific side of Mexico) as they go through week to week, dealing with different medical and interpersonal issues. According to my mother, it is essentially Ryan Murphy's version of The Love Boat, an excuse to have all his favorite people act on his show. Each episode is standalone and themed to a different "week," with its own guest stars: Plastic Surgery Week has Justin Jedlika, John Stamos shows up as Captain Don Johnson's gay polyamorous brother during gay week, and Jaclyn Smith showing up as a terminally ill cougar during Sophisticated Ladies' Week. It was a fun game for my mom to try to figure out who the guest star was before I gave up and pulled up IMDB. The crew solves three or so medical problems on a given week, ranging from an outbreak of syphilis to an attempted heist on the ship's vault (yes, really). However, this show is really about its characters, so let's go ahead and talk about them.

Part Two: Who is Doctor Odyssey?

Our major cast is made up of four people, as well as a host of supplemental side characters, some of whose names I forget. As time passed, my mother and I came up with a lot of nicknames, so I'll be using those whenever its appropriate and often when it isn't. 

• Max Bankman is the titular Doctor Odyssey, the ship's new doctor. No offense to actor Josh Jockson, but given how many people end up infatuated with him over the course of the show, ranging from college coeds to gay men calling him daddy, but I feel like they were maybe going for someone a notch more handsome than him. Anyway, Doctor Odyssey was a big-time serious doctor doing serious treatments, when he had a near-death experience as Connecticut's first case of Covid. This has led to him wanting to see the world (by which we mean Mexico).

I do appreciate when mass entertainment acknowledges Covid happened though. So that's nice.

• Tristan (Poundland Oscar Isaac) is the younger of the ship's two nurses. He's the handsome one, the party boy, and he's unfortunately mostly be defined by being in love with
• Avery is the woman with the most screen time, and thus unfortunately is subject to a lot of writing. She's supposed to be the woman these two men fight over, but ends up coming across as more of a manipulative bitch than anything else. We'll get there, I promise. 
• Captain Don Johnson is the captain of the Odyssey, and knows the ship well enough that he even gives advice on how to fold the towels, something a captain should totally be able to do. He's the classic stern but loving older mentor type, and he honestly gets the best scenes in the show.

Minor reoccurring characters include:

• Munroe, the ship's first officer and one of two reoccurring black characters in the entire show. He's pretty much your standard Lawful Good type, but he'll get a special side bar later. 
• Vivian, former celebrity chef, who joins the Odyssey after disavowing the alternative medicine lifestyle four episodes in. The other reoccurring black character, she mostly exists as a love-interest for Tristan so he can realize he's still in love with Avery.
• Rosie is the ship's chief engineer. She's a lesbian, which is brought up once and never again, and also a climate change denier, which is brought up, shot down by the captain, and forgotten about in the same conversation as her being a lesbian. Also it turns out later she's a recovering alcoholic. Not much else to say about her.
• Viva, a maid. I only bring her up because every time she showed up I was like hey I know her! She's great.
• Bisexual Australian or New Zealander Guy: He's pretty handsome. He likes to hike. I think his accent is hot. There's an implication he doesn't consider himself a dude, which like...hell yeah.
• Shania Twain: Shania Twain shows up in Episode 2, playing an elderly woman looking for love on the singles cruise, being supported by her granddaughter. She ends up hooking up with Don Johnson, getting pregnant, and then losing the baby off-screen. I really liked her character because it was the one healthy relationship, and at least once or twice an episode I would say aloud "I wish Shania Twain would come back." Because the way the main characters act don't impresseth me much.

Part Three: Two Balls, Both Alike in Dignity

We're all familiar with the Idiot Ball, where a character is randomly stupid for no reason because they need it for the plot to happen. I would like to add a second ball for consideration into the wider cultural sphere: The Personality Ball. The Personality Ball is when a character gains a new personality or backstory detail that only crops up in that particular episode. This can be fun, like Tristan having been a cheerleader or Doctor Odyssey being really into different kinds of soaps, or it can be...not fun. When it's not fun it usually happens with Avery, like in Plastic Surgery Week, where she goes on tirades against the plastic surgery industry to the point that it nearly gets her fired. But at least we now know that Avery hates exploitative industries, right?

 

Sorry my screenshots are crummy Hulu is a bitch

 Wait what's this shot of her during casino week

wh-

okay but like at least she's not actually gambling-

oh no

This kind of writing is rampant in Doctor Odyssey, and it makes it a delight to watch. Because of course Avery can't hate Casino Week, no one can hate Casino Week because Ryan Murphy thinks high-class gambling is glamorous. The end result however, is as though each new week they're waking up for the first time, learning about themselves like unmolded clay.

Part Four: The Monkey's Paw

I hate love triangles. I always have. So when one got introduced in the very first episode, with Tristan being in love with Avery, and then Doctor Odyssey almost sleeps with Avery, and then Avery kisses Tristian at the end of the second episode I just AAAAAAAAHHH. I had initially hoped the setup was going to be that both Tristian and Avery were trying to sleep with Dr. Odyssey, but of course it was two men fighting over a woman. So I hoped and prayed that eventually they would all just fuck together and get it over with. At the end of Episode Six, I got my wish.

From the brilliant mind of Ryan Murphy

However, the problems immediately started afterwards. They did not, in fact, become a throuple, but rather this made the love triangle worse. Avery wanted to keep fucking both of them because I mean why wouldn't she, but both Doctor Odyssey and Tristan were way too monogamous for that, and then Avery gets pregnant. And of course they don't know who the dad is, and that sparks off another round of arguing and blegh. Talking with my mom, she discussed how she thought it might be Ryan Murphy misunderstanding the drama and relationship dynamics surrounding pregnancy. So that's fun.

She ends up not being pregnant btw, just a weird cyst. And then they both hold her hand when she gets it removed. That's sweet. 

Part Five: Shark Attack!

So the midseason finale happens, starting with First Officer Munroe getting attacked by a shark while surfing, horribly damaging his leg. 

Pictured: a man trying to get attacked by a shark

This is bad enough, but then the Odyssey receives word of another ship being attacked by sharks! And these aren't regular sharks, which bite once and then leave people alone for the most part. These are TV sharks, who are bloodthirsty and damn near getcha out of the water. All of this is bad enough, but the other ship is captained by a hot lady doctor who's maybe into Doctor Odyssey, and that sparks drama? But then a shark drives itself into the Odyssey's propeller, and it turns out the sharks weren't attacking...they were being hunted. 

Also we have on as a writer for this episode someone who worked a lot on The Good Doctor, so we get some quality Autism Rep.

What is it with TV depictions of autism and The Stare

Part Six: Shark Attack! Part Two: Orca!

That's right bitches, orcas are attacking the Odyssey! I mean not really, they can't really damage it, but it does inhibit the ability of the doctors to save the people who were attacked by sharks. Aside from an attempted escape being intercepted by some preternaturally intelligent bad CGI orcas, I just want to shout out one particular little nugget of shit. So, to set this up, the three patients are going to be transported to the mainland so they can get access to a hospital with actual electricity. The plan is to get them on a fast boat, scare the orcas away, and leg it. Now this is obviously dangerous because the orcas might attack the boat, so when the (supposedly) pregnant Avery volunteers to go onboard, Doctor Odyssey has some words to say.

• Doctor Odyssey: I've been thinking and I think the best course of action is to have Tristan take the [boat] with Brooke
• Avery: The best course of action is to send your most experienced nurse, which just so happens to be me.
• Doctor Odyssey: Who just so happens to be pregnant.
• Avery: I'm well aware.
• Doctor Odyssey: Aves...it could get rough out there, I just think it's safer if you stay on the Odyssey
• Avery: This is starting to sound a little bit like "My body, your choice."

Hey Ryan Murphy? WHAT THE FUCK!?!?

Part 6A: Munroe's Foot

I just wanna sidetrack a bit to talk about Munroe's foot for a second because it goes through the wringer. First it gets bitten by a shark, then it has to go through multiple levels of surgery and dealing with Munroe attempting to drag himself to the command deck, getting a graft from someone else's leg. You think that's gonna be it, and then, several episodes later, Munroe gets trichinosis! He has worms in his foot! The same foot! By the finale my mom and I were joking about it just falling off.

Part Seven: Misogyny

So you may have noticed by now that the show doesn't really handle its women well. I mean it doesn't handle anyone well (Episode 3 has a recurring gag of Don Johnson being sexually harassed, and Doctor Odyssey gets groped in a later episode in a way that's played for laughs), but especially its women. Setting aside how Avery is a manipulative shrew (and to be clear its okay if that's what they're going for, but the show has to acknowledge it, and I think the show thinks that's just how women are), we've got (somewhat out of order):

• Avery trying to use Tristan and Doctor Odyssey for sex despite knowing they're both carrying torches for her.
• A cop (played by Angela Bassett) interrogating an innocent woman to the point of tears, played for laughs
• Poor Vivian, an entire character used as a prop for Tristan's arc
• A woman who has a baby and stops being racist because now she has something to love
• Rosie the engineer being a climate change denier so Captain Don Johnson can shut her down (to be clear she absolutely should be but like...why did you write this????) and set up a storm later in the plot.
• Shania Twain's miscarriage being handled entirely off-screen.
• Finally, and most egregiously of all, there is the episode Double Booked, where the ship is split between tradwives and a group of sex-positives. When the tradwives start a fight with the sex-positives, everything calms down after Captain Don Johnson yells at them to find what they have in common, and they decide hey, in the end, they both want women to make their own choices.  

Ew. Just...ew.

Part Eight: How Do I Cruise Ships?

My mom made a game watching Doctor Odyssey, called that's not how cruise ships work. This ranged from the captain having opinions on how towels were folded, to just how empty the pool was, to apparently how casino theming was a special event and not, you know, something every big enough cruise ship has. The medical office being comically advanced, complete with CAT scan machines, dialysis, and cryo-revitalization chamber. Some bits, like the doctors seeing off the patients they treated during the week, can be attributed to love boat, but my favorite part is in Hot Tub Week, where, to help Avery cope with the fact that she wasn't actually pregnant, Doctor Odyssey brings out a big floatie full of food pregnant women can't have, and also Hostess cupcakes.

Which they then eat. In the hot tub. Getting crumbs everywhere. Also everything is getting heated up by the hot tub. Including the grapes. And the sushi.

Ew.

Tristan ends this season single and I'm like...haha hey...

Part Nine: The Night Crew

Some astute readers might have noticed this and thought "Wait, why are all three medical personnel on break at the same time?" This happens a lot, including when they're off the ship. Now, most cruise ships do in fact have a complement of one doctor and two nurses, with bigger ships having more. So whenever my mom would point this out, I would argue for the existence of "The Night Crew," or sometimes just "Jamil." The Night Crew, to my mind, was the opposite of these clowns: they were courteous, professional, and willing to put in extra hours while the day crew did all their crazy bullshit. However, they were very heavy sleepers, so they shouldn't be disturbed. I maintained this all the way to the beginning of the finale. Tristan had started putting the moves on Avery, and Avery, grumpy that Doctor Odyssey had said he loved her right before she left for medical school, says this:

Part Ten: Alexa, Play Despacito

So, the finale happens, there's a big tidal wave, they perform a trepanning on Jerry from Parks and Rec, and Avery and Doctor Odyssey reveal their feelings for each other. And to come full circle, as Captain Don Johnson conducts a mass wedding on Mexican soil that he likely can't legally do, the DJ starts playing Despacito, the same song that our happy couple had as their first dance. It's their song now, apparently, and I died a little inside. 

We'll likely never know exactly what's supposed to come next, since we're probably not getting a season two. How would they handle one of their main characters being largely off-screen? Would Tristan get a new girlfriend to resolve his mommy issues? Would Doctor Odyssey decide whether his hair was blonde or gray? Who can say? 

I don't know if I enjoyed my time with Doctor Odyssey, but I definitely had a lot to say about it. So I guess it was doing something right? I don't know. This show's largest legacy might be that I'm planning on naming my next dog The Brilliant Mind of Ryan Murphy (Murphy for short). 

Doctor Odyssey sounds like a great pulp hero name though.