The BEST episodes of Dr. G: Medical Examiner
Every episode of Dr. G: Medical Examiner ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Dr. G: Medical Examiner!
Dr. G: Medical Examiner documents cases handled by deputy chief medical examiner Dr. Jan C. Garavaglia (aka Dr. G) of Florida's District Nine Medical Examiner's Office. Each episode features two or three cases Dr. G has handled in the Orlando area, and also in Bexar County, Texas and Jacksonville, Florida where she was previously employed. Some portions of the show have been dramatized and some names have been changed to protect the dignity of individuals and their families
#1 - The Chain of Life and Death
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/29/2004
A 94-year-old woman dies in the hospital after having a convulsion. The case becomes the business of the medical examiner's office when no one will sign her death certificate. Dr. G finds no evidence of a heart attack or stroke. Could the woman's death be related to a childhood incident where she drank lie soap, or was it a complication of her recent hip surgery?A 24-year-old man falls off his bicycle onto the street and subsequently dies. He wasn't wearing a helmet, but a witness to the accident reported that the cyclist seemed to collapse before crashing. His mother says that prior to the accident, the man was acting as if he knew he was going die. Did he die from a head injury, was his death the result of his preexisting heart condition, or could he have been engaging in high risk behaviors that his family was unaware of?A 28-year-old stripper collapses in her home and refuses to go to the hospital. Later, she is found dead in bed. Her brother reveals that the woman used be a man, but recently had a sex change. Needle marks are found on her breasts, but no drugs are found in her system. Dr. G finds that silicone leaks from the puncture marks, but the woman had no breast implants. Had the woman been injecting her breasts with silicone, and did this somehow cause her death?
Watch Now:Amazon#2 - A Cry for Help
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/28/2005
Police patrolling the night streets hear gunshots and head to the scene. They find a nude middle-aged man in parking lot lying face down in a puddle of blood. When the body reaches the morgue, Dr. G cannot find a bullet wound. When the police search the man's apartment, they find tissues soaked with blood. Could the man have coincidently died from a medical condition at the same time that unrelated gunshots were fired nearby?A 54-year-old theme park security guard calls his girlfriend from his cellular phone. His speech is slurred, and he says he is in trouble, but he cannot tell her what is wrong. Hours later, he is found dead in his car in the parking lot of the theme park where he works. The man had a history of heart trouble. Did he suffer a heart attack, or was he killed by something or someone else?While being visited by her siblings from New York, a woman finds her 31-year-old brother dead in bed. The man suffered from epilepsy, and traces of cocaine were also found in his bedroom. Did he suffer a fatal seizure, or was his death drug-related?
Watch Now:Amazon#3 - Who Is Watching the Children?
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/5/2004
An infant and his two-year-old sister are found dead in a house shared by two families. At first, they are believed to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning or cold medicine overdoses. When Dr. G. examines the infant, she finds no apparent cause of death. However, when she examines the two-year-old, she finds teeth imprints on the insides of the child's mouth, indicating that someone had suffocated her. Since the girl's infant brother has no teeth, Dr. G assumes that he too was suffocated. After the police verify the alibis of all the adults living in the house, a 12-year-old girl from the other family living in the house becomes the prime suspect. At first she admits to committing the crime, but later denies it. The neighborhood is outraged that the police would accuse a child of murder, so the girl is sent to live with her grandparents. Not long after the girl moves in with her grandparents, the family dog is found dead. Dr. G must do an autopsy on the dog to find out whether it too has a been suffocated, and if that will be a significant piece of evidence in convincing a jury that the girl is guilty.A 25-year-old pregnant mother checks into a homeless shelter, and reports that she has ovarian cancer. A week later, she falls ill and dies on the way to the hospital. Dr. G first checks the woman's ovaries, but finds no evidence that the woman ever had ovarian cancer. The woman was overweight and had an enlarged heart, which meant that she was at risk of having high blood pressure and and developing blood clots. Were these risk factors what caused the young mother's untimely death?
Watch Now:Amazon#4 - Redemption
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/23/2004
An 82-year-old woman appears to have committed suicide by overdosing on painkillers, but Dr. G finds evidence that suggests that she may have died of an heart attack.A former homeless man is found dead in his home the morning after complaining of a headache. Dr. G must find out how he died, but the 50-year-old man has no documented medical history.A 35-year-old woman dies in her sleep, and the hospital has no answer as to why she died. Dr G. works for three months to find a cause of death for her distraught family.
Watch Now:Amazon#5 - Hit and Run
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/30/2004
Dr. G preforms an autopsy on an alleged hit-and-run victim found in a parking lot, but finds no evidence of vehicular injury on the 41-year-old man's body. Could his alcoholism have had a role in his death?Dr. G investigates the death of a an 88-year-old woman found dead at the bottom of staircase outside her apartment building. Head trauma indicates that woman did not die of natural causes. Did she accidentally fall down the stairs or was she attacked?A man with a genetic disorder dies from a brain tumor at his 35th birthday party. His mother, who has another son with the same disorder, requests an autopsy to find out whether the tumor was linked to the genetic disorder. If so, is the brother of the victim at risk of dying in the same manner?
Watch Now:Amazon#6 - Anger Management
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 8/6/2004
A depressed 39-year-old man is found dead in his home after complaining that he doesn't feel well. Dr. G. rules out suicide when she finds that he died from a severe case of pneumonia, most likely the result of an immune deficiency. When his blood tests positive for HIV, his ex-wife must also be tested to see if she is HIV positive as well.A 52-year-old English tourist has a heated argument with his family and walks back to his hotel. On his way back, he collapses on the sidewalk. Dr. G's autopsy confirms that he died of a heart attack, but his family worries that the stress from the argument may have played a role in his death.A 49-year-old man calls 911 complaining of a severe headache, but the paramedics find nothing wrong with him and leave. Later, the man is found dead by his girlfriend. Dr. G works to find out how the man died, and if his death could have been prevented if he had been taken to the hospital.
Watch Now:Amazon#7 - The Mystery of the Haunted Crossing
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/22/2004
In August of 1995, when Dr. G worked in Bexar County, Texas, a pile of human bones was found at a supposedly haunted railroad crossing. Dr. G could tell that the victim was a teenager, but could not determine the sex. A DNA test said that the victim was male, but a 12-year-old girl told authorities that the bones were her sister's and that her sister had been murdered by her abusive mother. Her claim was unable to be verified and the authorities thought she was lying. The case went unsolved. Two years later, Dr. G found that the skull matched that of the girl reported missing, but why did the DNA test come back male, and how will that affect the case against the girl's mother?A 53-year-old man doesn't show up for work, and is found dead in his apartment. A neighbor says that the man was weak and dizzy the night before. Could the man's obesity have played a role in his death?
Watch Now:Amazon#8 - Fighting for the Truth
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 4/22/2005
An employee is found dead in a restaurant kitchen. Clues found near the body include an empty cash register, a knife, a phone ripped off the wall, and a trail of blood splotches leading to a vandalized car in the parking lot. The man was well known for starting brawls, and alcohol and drug abuse. There are many possibilities as to how the man could have died, so Dr. G must do an autopsy to find exactly who or what killed him.A man dies in the hospital after taking a dangerously high amount of acetaminophen, an over-the-counter pain medication. Before dying, the man claimed that the overdose was a suicide attempt. Normally, acetaminophen overdoses do not result in death. Dr. G works to find evidence to indicate whether this was really a suicide attempt or if the man accidentally killed himself in a scam for medical attention.
Watch Now:Amazon#9 - Poison Control
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/28/2006
A 45-year-old construction foreman is found dead and decomposing in his van. Earlier in the week, the man had been hit in the head by a board at work. In addition to this, the man owed friends money and was reportedly a methamphetamine user. With a head injury, foul play, and drug overdose as possible culprits, Dr. G must take this case to the morgue’s decomposition room. A homeless man is found dead and bloody in the back of his car. While removing the body, one of the medical investigators rips his glove and gets the dead man’s blood on an open cut. Not only must Dr. G find the cause of death, she must also find out whether her medical investigator is at risk of contracting a blood borne illness. A 30-year-old woman is found dead and bruised in a drainage ditch. The woman was a recovering heroin addict, and the area she was found in was known to be popular spot for drug users. Dr. G must find out if the woman fell victim to foul play.
Watch Now:Amazon#10 - Cruel Intentions
Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 1/19/2009
A three-year-old boy is found dead in bed by his mother. The mother reports that two days prior, she had given her son acetaminophen for abdominal pain, and that he had been vomiting in the past twenty-four hours before his death. Dr. G suspects a natural disease, until she finds evidence indicative of abuse.A 31-year-old man collapses at his grandparents' house and later dies in the hospital. The grandparents report that their grandson had decided to mow the lawn despite not feeling well, and that he had become exhausted and collapsed afterward. The man has an extensive medical history, as well as a history of drug and alcohol use. Dr. G begins the autopsy suspecting a routine drug overdose, but what she finds is anything but routine.
Watch Now:Amazon#11 - Dark Waters
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/19/2004
A decomposing body is found in a pond, and a tent is found in the nearby woods. Dr. G performs the autopsy in the morgue's decomposition room, but finds few clues other than fingerprints, and mouthwash in the stomach. A wallet containing identification is found in the tent, and the fingerprints confirm the identity of the victim. According to the 39-year-old man's friends, he had a drinking problem. Had the man been consuming mouthwash to get drunk, and did this play a role in his death?After a panicked babysitter's 911 call, a 17-month-old baby is found unconscious. The baby dies on the way to the hospital. Dr. G finds evidence that the baby was asphyxiated, and the babysitter claims that the child's neck was pinned between a bed frame and a playpen in a freak accident. Dr. G sends field investigators to the babysitter's house to re-create the incident so she can compare the babysitter's story to her autopsy findings. Will the re-creation confirm the babysitter's story, or will it indicate that she may be guilty of murder?A 52-year-old English tourist has a heated argument with his family and walks back to his hotel. On his way back, he collapses on the sidewalk. Dr. G's autopsy confirms that he died of a heart attack, but his family worries that the stress from the argument may have played a role in his death.
Watch Now:Amazon#12 - Dying to be Young
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 6/10/2005
A healthy 53-year-old woman is found dead in bed. After performing an autopsy and taking blood and tissue samples, Dr. G cannot find the cause of death. Through conversations with the woman's husband, Dr. G finds out that the woman was suffering from symptoms of a hormonal imbalance and taking over forty dietary supplements a day. Dr. G must find which, if any, of these supplements may have caused her death.After a night of drinking, a 60-year-old man leaves a friend's house on his bicycle and is later found dead in a ditch by the side of the road. It is up to Dr. G to find out whether he fell off his bike or died some other way.
Watch Now:Amazon#13 - Unlikely Suspects
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/13/2008
A 60-year-old basketball coach is found dead in his house after missing a week of work. The man has a clean medical history, but Dr. G finds evidence of a well known medical condition that may have lead to the man's demise.A 54-year-old man arrives in the morgue after dying from a brain hemorrhage in the hospital. However, the cause of the brain hemorrhage remains a mystery. The man died while drunk and high on amphetamines, indicating that the hemorrhage may have been drug-related. The man's son reports that his father had been involved in bar fight prior to this death, suggesting that the hemorrhage may have been the result of an assault, and therefore a homicide. Dr. G must consider both possibilities, as well as others, as she searches for the cause of the brain hemorrhage.
Watch Now:Amazon#14 - Degrees of Death
Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/20/2008
A 49-year-old man, reputed for being a drunk, is found dead, hanging by his pants from a neighbor's fence. Police believe the man's death to be an accident, but Dr. G suspects foul play.A 42-year-old construction worker collapses on the job and dies. The man's coworkers report that he was feeling ill before his collapse. The man had a history of abusing drugs, and severe case of psoriasis. Dr. G suspects a drug overdose, but she soon receives an important piece of information her medical investigator that takes the case in a new direction.
Watch Now:Amazon#15 - A Lingering Question
Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 6/9/2006
A woman shoots her abusive husband and claims self-defense. The angle of the gunshot wound and other conflicting details with the woman’s story seem to suggest that she is lying. The woman is indicted and the medical investigation seems to be over. However, the case is later re-opened when witnesses claim the man was very ill near his time of death. Did the man’s wife, or possibly someone else, try to poison the man before he was shot? A 44-year-old diabetic woman is found dead and naked in the trailer of a convicted sex offender. There are no external clues to suggest that the woman was raped or murdered. Dr. G must open the body to see what caused the woman’s death. Was she murdered, did she overdose on drugs, or did she die of natural causes?
Watch Now:Amazon#16 - Ashes to Ashes
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/11/2005
On a rural Texas highway, a fire is discovered in which three bodies have been burnt beyond recognition. Dr. G finds bullets in all three bodies, and determines that they were all fatally shot before being set on fire. Working together with the Texas Rangers, she must identify the victims and help to find who killed them.A 55-year-old man is dies while on a city bus. No one saw him die, so he is sent to the morgue for an autopsy. With no medical records available, Dr. G must consider all possibilities as she looks for the cause of death.
Watch Now:Amazon
#17 - Wounded
Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/4/2010
A 32-year-old man collapses and dies at his sister's home. The man had been feeling sick for a week prior to his collapse. Dr. G has no medical records to go on, as the man did not go to the doctor, but his external appearance indicates that he was in extremely poor health. Dr. G suspects that the man's self-neglect may have played a role in his death. A 49-year-old father is found dead in his kitchen with multiple stab wounds. The man's teenage son claims that his father stabbed himself to death, but the police suspect that the son was responsible. It's up to Dr. G to determine if the death was a suicide or a homicide.
Watch Now:Amazon#18 - A Mother's Love
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 2/4/2005
While in the process of adopting a five-week-old baby, a mother takes him to work with her. While there, the baby inexplicably obtains a skull fracture while unsupervised. Since the parents cannot provide an explanation as to how the injury occurred, the hospital must investigate for abuse. The baby is taken away from the parents and placed with a foster family. The family's lawyer asks Dr. G to review the evidence. Can Dr. G's professional opinion help reunite a family?Eleven months after becoming paralyzed in a car accident, a 36-year-old woman dies in the hospital. Doctors claim the cause of death was a bacterial infection, a complication from her injuries. The woman's mother strongly believes her daughter was poisoned by her husband while in the hospital. Will Dr. G's autopsy confirm the mother's suspicions, or prove that there was no foul play involved?
Watch Now:Amazon#19 - Truth of the Matter
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/9/2005
A 35-year-old woman is shot by her husband on a hunting trip. The husband claims it was an accident, but fatalities due to hunting accidents are statistically unlikely. Also making the man look suspicious is the fact that he and his wife were recently in marriage counseling. It’s up to Dr. G to find out whether foul play was involved. Dr. G and her co-workers speculate as to why men are more likely than women to fall victim to accidents resulting from stupidity. A 38-year-old man dies at home two weeks after suffering a severe beating. The man had numerous medical problems including alcoholism and sorosis of the liver. If the man died from complications of the beating, then his death would be considered a homicide. Dr. G must find out whether the man’s death was a result of the attack or brought about by something else.
Watch Now:Amazon#20 - Kiss of Death?
Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 6/16/2006
A 34-year-old woman is brought into the morgue with her body covered in a strange rash. She came down with the illness a week before her death and eventually died in the hospital despite being treated with antibiotics. Two weeks before the woman died, she reported being bitten by a stranger who kissed her in a bar and believed that was how she contracted the illness. With a cervical cancer relapse and chicken pox as possible culprits, Dr. G must conduct an internal examination. A 56-year-old man dies after suffering an apparent epileptic seizure in his yard. At first it seems as if the man died of Sudden Unexpected Death In Epilepsy, but Dr. G’s autopsy reveals that epilepsy was not the only condition putting the man’s health at risk.
Watch Now:Amazon#21 - False Impressions
Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 4/27/2009
Two trash bags are found in a swamp containing the dismembered body of a missing 27-year-old man. The man was last seen when he left his home to collect a debt from an acquaintance. The acquaintance becomes the prime suspect, and confesses the crime to his cellmate, but denies the crime to the police. It's up to Dr. G to uncover the truth. A 55-year-old man is seemingly run over by a slow-moving van backing out of a parking lot. Dr. G finds external evidence of trauma, but no apparent internal injuries. Dr. G must take this case under the microscope to determine the cause of death.
Watch Now:Amazon#22 - Deadly Remedies
Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/20/2009
A 10-year-old boy is found dead on his bedroom floor. Dr. Norma Jean Farley, one of Dr. G's pathology fellows, volunteers for the case. The boy had been taking Ritalin for ADHD and he had asthma, but Dr. Farley must also rule out child abuse. When the cause of death proves elusive, Dr. Farley seeks Dr. G's help, and both doctors are shocked when the tragic cause of death is revealed. A 10-year-old girl is struck by lightning, and is subsequently left brain dead with no hope for recovery. The family makes the decision to donate their daughter's organs. Dr. G must decide if she can perform a successful investigation without the girl's vital organs.
Watch Now:Amazon#23 - Secret Lives
Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 4/13/2008
A 39-year-old woman is found dead on the floor of her apartment by her grandmother. Despite the grandmother's account that her granddaughter did not do drugs or drink excessively, the granddaughter's medical records suggest otherwise. A pathology resident joins Dr. G for the autopsy, and together they make an unexpected discovery. A 39-year-old woman and her 48-year-old boyfriend are found dead in bed, nude. Both victims have been shot in the head, and the boyfriend has a gun in his hand. The woman was cheating on her husband, and the police suspect that the husband may have committed a double homicide and planted the gun the boyfriend's hand. It's up to Dr. G to determine who fired the gun.
Watch Now:Amazon#24 - One False Move
Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 1/12/2009
A 69-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the back of the head is found slumped over the rail of a footbridge. A gun is found in found in a holster on the man's waist, and Dr. G finds multiple clues indicating that the man had fired his own gun prior to his death. Could the man have shot himself in the back of the head, or was he murdered?A 23-year-old man is found dead in his bed and covered in vomit after a night of heavy drinking. The decedent's mother reveals that the man took a prescription anxiety medication, and Dr. G suspects that the combination of the anxiety medication and the alcohol may have produced a deadly result. Will Dr. G's hypothesis prove correct?
Watch Now:Amazon#25 - How Not to Die: A Dr. G Special
Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/14/2008
In this special episode based on her book How Not to Die: Surprising Lessons on Living Longer, Safer, and Healthier, Dr. G counts down the top five reasons that people end up in the morgue, shares past cases that exemplify each cause of death, and offers tips on how to avoid dying prematurely.
Watch Now:Amazon