If it weren't for gunfights, Doc would be out of business. Bullet wounds are his bread and butter. He is the intellectual of Dodge City and one of Matt Dillon's closest friends. He is admired by the people of Dodge for his skill as a physician, but Doc is only as capable as 1870s medical science will allow. When asked for a prognosis, Doc invariably replies, "We'll have to wait and see."

Doc is a bachelor who lives in his office in downtown Dodge. When he's not practicing medicine, he's either visiting Matt at the jailhouse or talking with Kitty at the Long Branch Saloon. He and Festus represent opposite ends of the intellectual spectrum and consequently do not get along. He has a peculiar mannerism whereby he grabs his ear, then quickly grabs his nose. He does this about 12 times per episode.