A Young Doctor's Notebook (season 1)

A Young Doctor's Notebook (season 1) is the first season of the British dark comedy television series adapted from the autobiographical works of the Russian author and playwright Mikhail Bulgakov.

The first season takes place at the beginning of the Russian Revolution (1918). It follows both the elder Dr. Bomgard (Jon Hamm) and his younger self (Daniel Radcliffe), 16 years earlier. During the season, the elder doctor is under investigation for writing false prescriptions for morphine for himself. During this time he reads his old diary and recalls his experiences at his first hospital, interjecting himself into the story of his younger manifestation, interacting with his past self before and during his initial descent into morphine addiction.

Episodes

No. in season	Synopsis	Original Air Date
1	Dr. Vladimir Bomgard, a recent graduate from Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, is a young doctor sent to the remote village of Muryevo to run a small hospital. He becomes acquainted with the senior midwife Anna, junior midwife Pelageya and 'The Feldsher'. His first patient arrives in the middle of his first night: a pregnant peasant with transverse lie. He comes to the realization that even with his "15 5's", he still needs real world experience.	6 December 2012
2	The doctor soon drifts from his hope to heal the world "one peasant at a time" as he contends with the harsh realities of his medical practice. His drive to help people is disrupted as he discovers that the people surrounding him try to take advantage of his inexperience and in his effort to fight a syphilis epidemic he has to contend with the uneducated populace who refuse his treatment. His innocence and desire for bettering his community disappear after he is forced to perform a gruesome amputation on a young girl.	13 December 2012
3	Despite his initial success in the operating theatre, his isolation from the world he grew up in and the Moscow atmosphere he has grown accustomed to cause him to grow increasingly reserved and introspective. To add to his discomfort, he suffers severe abdominal pains which go untreated. He spends long portions of his time staring out into the snow and he is twice tempted by morphine.	20 December 2012
4	After his recent operating successes, a large number of people are drawn to the hospital, and he has to treat them while dealing with his new morphine addiction. He struggles to conceal the effects of his use of the drug from his colleagues. While struggling through his workload, he notices the prevalence of syphilis in the surrounding villages, and he begins an attempt to control the epidemic. Yet after one house-call where he fails to save a dying patient and instead euthanizes her, he regresses into his addiction and gives up hope for his own progress.	27 December 2012

Episode 4 aired on 27 December 2012.
Episode 3 aired on 20 December 2012.
Episode 2 aired on 13 December 2012.
Episode 1 aired on 6 December 2012.
Series 1 was originally broadcast on Sky Arts on 6–27 December 2012.

Cast and crew

Daniel Radcliffe and Jon Hamm play Dr. Vladimir Bomgard, the main character of the show. Adam Godley as Demyan Lukich, the former field doctor who works at the hospital. Rosie Cavaliero as Pelageya Ivanovna, the junior midwife who elopes with Dr. Bomgard. Vicki Pepperdine as Anna, the senior midwife at the hospital, with a loving devotion to their former doctor; Leopold Leopoldovitch.

External links

• The A Young Doctor's Notebook page at Sky.com
• The series summary at Ovation TV's website
• A review of the show by The Telegraph
• A review of the show by the Huffington Post