Medical Examiner is a Live Wire
LOS ANGELES — With her wide smile and direct manner, Dr. Jan Garavaglia charms a room of cynical television critics. They can’t believe how cheery she is for someone in her line of work.
“A beautiful thing about my job is no matter where I’ve worked, you get offbeat cases,” says the Chief Medical Examiner for Orange and Osceola counties. “I think the thing that’s unique about Orlando is how many tourists come there to die.”
The critics laugh, and Garavaglia has them hooked. She’s having a similar effect on viewers with Dr. G: Medical Examiner on Discovery Health Channel, which can be found on the standard tier, Channel 78, of Bright House Networks. The series, which debuted in July, returns at 9 tonight with the first of 12 new episodes.
Discovery Health wanted a real-life version of Kay Scarpetta, the fictional medical examiner from writer Patricia Cornwell. The channel found her in Garavaglia, 48, who has a style as bright as her rose-colored jacket.
“Her personality just came through on screen,” says Eileen O’Neill, senior vice president of Discovery Health, which is seen in 55 million homes. “It’s our No. 1 series, and it has elevated us. We’re sticking with it. We have a long-term commitment.”
Garavaglia chuckles frequently as critics quiz her. She rolls her eyes at a question about CSI, saying her show isn’t like the top-rated CBS drama.
“I feel like I am doing a health show because we can learn so much about how we want to live our lives through how these people died,” she says.
An episode usually features three cases, and tonight’s looks at the mysterious deaths of a naked transient, a theme-park security guard and an epileptic vacationer. One recurring theme: the need to take prescribed medicine.
“I was in internal medicine, and I was knocking my head against the wall that these people didn’t understand what I was trying to tell them,” Garavaglia says. “When you see somebody die from something, it really hits home.”
Despite an advisory warning of graphic content, the program is reaching girls, ages 6 to 8, whose parents send e-mails praising the doctor as a role model. A mother from Silver Spring, Md., wrote a letter telling Garavaglia that her 4-year-old son was a fan.
“He plans his week around your television appearances,” the letter reads. “Bradley says that he wants to be a doctor when he grows up to be just like you.”
Orange-Osceola State Attorney Lawson Lamar praises the program for relaying Garavaglia’s educational style and helping the Medical Examiner’s Office.
“People learn she’s a very humane person,” Lamar says. “I’ve had her on the witness stand several times before the grand jury. People like her, and she’s understandable. She knows more about ballistics and ballistics wounds than any medical examiner I’ve worked with.”
Dr. G ran into controversy last year when an anonymous letter claimed the program was in defiance of the Earnhardt law, which is designed to block the release of autopsy photos.
Lamar dismisses the furor as a red herring in Garavaglia’s hiring. In July, she took over an office that had been bedeviled by allegations of mismanagement and flawed autopsies.
Garavaglia defends the TV program for protecting families and avoiding gore. Dr. G uses dramatizations, animation and her analyses to unravel the mysteries. She seeks to reassure family members, who frequently appear in the show.
“Not everybody likes me, and not everybody will like you as medical examiner, because you’re telling them things they don’t want to hear,” she says.
Garavaglia, who came to Orlando from San Antonio, says the program has impressed her husband, a retired emergency-room pediatrician, and their two sons, ages 16 and 10.
“For 14 years, I was in the morgue talking to nobody,” she says. “My husband thinks it’s odd. All of a sudden, people want to talk to me.”
Yet for all the fan reaction, Garavaglia says, she can take or leave Dr. G: Medical Examiner.
“My main focus is to get that Orlando office in shape,” she says. “It’s a big commitment for me. The show is like a hobby.”
State Attorney Lamar praises her progress on the job. “We’re fortunate to have gotten her,” he says. “The attention she pays to victims’ families is wonderful.”
Television critics wonder whether Garavaglia’s lively manner ever surprises mourners. She says family members appreciate her openness and her connection to their loved ones. She hopes viewers ultimately take away a lesson about the fleetingness of life.
“I’m a real big-picture person because of the job,” she says. “You can be caught up in your petty little things, worrying about your job or worrying about this. Look at the big picture: You’re not going to be here forever.”
