TV Reviews : ‘Dr. Koop’ Stands in the Center of Critical Issues

If anything, the title of “Nova’s” second show of the season, “The Controversial Dr. Koop,” is an understatement.

For C. Everett Koop, during his eight-year tenure as U.S. surgeon general, managed to put himself at the center of some of this century’s most critical public health issues, creating a firestorm of controversy while angering people across the political spectrum.

Not the least of those he angered was his sponsor and ultimate boss--President Ronald Reagan. As “Dr. Koop” (airing at 8 tonight on Channels 28 and 15, and at 9 on Channel 50) makes clear, the conservative Republican Administration got more than it bargained for in this gentleman doctor from Philadelphia.

Beginning with Koop’s prolonged confirmation battle--an eight-month process, delayed by liberals alarmed over Koop’s prominence as an anti-abortion activist--writer-producer Susanne B. Simpson cleanly mixes historical footage, interviews with Koop detractors and Koop supporters, and an extended interview with the surgeon general himself to reveal the man behind the headlines.

As a framework, “Dr. Koop” follows the surgeon general as he goes to fund-raising dinners, public health meetings and strategy sessions during his last year in office. It is in these everyday events--coupled with some interesting insights from his interview--that the real Koop emerges.

“Dr. Koop” makes a strong case that, far from betraying his own deeply felt beliefs, Koop has remained true to them while at the same time rising to fill the demands of his job. “I’m responsible for the public health,” he says at one point. “I can’t let certain prejudices or beliefs get in the way of my duty as public health officer.”

Koop saw his duty to be a strong public health advocate and wound up tackling smoking, AIDS, alcohol and abortion, taking positions that angered many of his conservative supporters, positions that may have cost him the Bush Administration Cabinet post he dearly wanted.

He was--and remains--ambitious. Time will tell if Dr. Koop was a sanctimonious, media-smart bureaucrat or whether he was a true defender of the public well-being. “Dr. Koop” is an excellent chronicle of his stormy tenure in office.