For fictional characters (that don't depend specifically on being medical), the use of "doctor" seems to me to be more associated with "bad guys" than "good guys". Dr Evil, Dr Strangelove, Dr Doom, Dr No, Dr X (from ActionMan!). After talking about this in the office, others have pointed out counter examples: Dr Who, Dr Xavier (X-Men) and Dr Watson, to name a few. This makes me feel slightly less stigmatized, and after all, "I didn't go to Evil Medical School [actually, Evil PhD University] for 6 years to be called Mister."
Posted by ivan at April 23, 2004 8:25 AMAh, its Professor Xavier, not Doctor, but there is Doctor Strange, master of the mistical arts, if you have a care :)
Posted by: Dan Abel at June 15, 2004 10:06 AM