Doogie is going back to high school to serve at a guest booth for Career Day, but she ends up joining the high school dance team in episode 6 of the Disney+ Original Series, “Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.” As she joins the dance team, it causes a rift in her friendship with Steph who has always wanted to be on the dance team but feels like she doesn’t fit in. Meanwhile, Doogie’s older brother Kai is trying to find his path in life and learns about the importance of both farming and college. And, her younger brother, Kia, is inspired by his siblings taking part in career day and tries to decide on his own career in a humorous way.

This series is decidedly not for me. I appreciate the hard work the actors are putting in, but it really feels like this series is regressing instead of progressing. There’s very little advancement in her medical career. She’s trying to be a normal teenager and have normal teenage problems, but they don’t resonate when you see her handle herself as a doctor and then struggle with something that should be simple. I just don’t care about her story. If there was a little more focus on her work as a doctor, I think I would like it more, but given this is a show that’s probably trying to target people younger than me, I understand why they don’t as the things that appeal to me probably don’t appeal to a younger demographic.

I am enjoying the journey of Doogie’s brothers, though. I like that Kai is finding himself and can chase his passions while still living up to his parents’ expectations. I loved how they put an emphasis on the importance of farms and how he can find joy and fulfillment from being a farmer, but would also need to know things only taught in college for the farm to succeed. I also enjoy the humor from Kia. From joining hula dancing because he had a crush on a girl, to sticking with it because even though he lost the girl he had a crush on, he discovered more girls he could crush on, to his decision to be a supermodel for a career; he’s been hilarious every step of the way. The problem is neither of their storylines are strong enough to carry a show because they are always meant to be the subplot.

The show is not bad, but it feels like a Disney Channel show more than a Disney+ Original Series. To me, it feels stagnant at best. At worst, as I said earlier, it’s regressing. I feel like there’s a lot of potential that it’s not living up to. I hope others are enjoying this, but I’m just not.

Ranking:

Series: 1.5 stars out of 5

Episode: 1.5 stars out of 5

What did you think of this episode of “Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.?”

Jeremy Brown

Jeremy has been a big Disney fan since he was a kid growing up during the Disney Renaissance. One day he hopes to go to every Disney Park in the world.

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