Dr. David Dave

Dr. David Dave is a recurring character in As Told by Ginger, and is Ginger and Carl's stepfather. He is a surgeon who works in the same hospital as Lois and is shown to be a shy and timid man.

History[]

Dr. Dave makes his first appearance in "Hello Stranger," with a lighter shade of brown hair. In the episode, he runs tests on Lois after she accidentally drank Carl's dehydrated snake potion that looked like lemonade. He checks her stomach with an ultrasound, and finds some movement. Lois claims that it's not the snake, but most likely gas. But Dr. Dave tells her to stay put, so they can keep an eye on her. He later appears again, when Carl is taken to the hospital after being bit by Mr. Licorice.

He later appears in "Ms. Foutley's Boys," with a darker shade of brown hair (which stays that way for the rest of the series). While Lois complains to another nurse about the trouble she's having with her new boyfriend, Buzz, Dr. Dave gets a snack from the vending machine and listens to her conversation in the background. He notices when her arch support from her shoe slips off. He later appears in the end of the episode, returning the arch support to Lois. Flattered by this, she invites him into her house for a sandwich, and he gladly agrees to come in. They then talk about themselves, and their interests/disinterests.

In "Mommie Nearest," Carl comes to him, looking to increase the size of his chin. Dr. Dave refuses at first, because Carl doesn't want to have to ask Lois about it first. After Carl says that he'll just go to a clinic that won't ask any questions, Dr. Dave agrees to give him a chin, but convinces him to wear a fake one for a while to give Carl an idea of what he wants his chin to look like. Later, Lois confronts Dave about his deal with Carl, and says that he convinced Carl to wear a fake chin. And believes that soon he'll find out that the chin doesn't make the man, and will lose interest in the surgery. He apologizes to Lois about stepping out of line by not consulting her about it. Lois however believes that it was a good idea, and tells Dave that he should settle down and have kids. And that he would be really good at it. He starts to tell her that he has been thinking about doing that. But before they could finish the conversation, Lois had to leave to take care of a patient.

In "The Easter Ham," he takes care of Joann Bishop after she has a heart attack, fighting Lois for a ham. He greets everyone at the hospital, with Lois warmly greeting him back. He then takes Lois aside and tells her that they need to be careful in case Joann may have a cardiac condition, and needs to avoid any stress, until they get the test results back. Later on he drives by Lois‘s house, explaining that after getting the results back, Joann Bishop is going to be fine, and that she just had an esophageal hernia. He stops by Joann's house and tells her that all she has is an overactive bile duct, and just needs a healthy diet to stay regular.

In the next episode, "About Face," Dr. Dave and Carl go shopping for an engagement ring to give to Lois. After practicing his proposal to Lois on Carl, one of the ring's he puts on Carl‘s finger gets stuck, and has no choice but to pay for it. Afterwards, he tells Carl about having Lois meeting his mother before he proposes to her. But is worried that his mother‘s behavior will drive her away. Later on, when his mother finally arrives at The Foutley home, and has Carl wear a glove to hide the ring so neither of their mothers will see it. What Dr. Dave feared, starts to come true, as his mother keeps being incredibly rude to Lois, testing her patience during dinner. Finally, when Noelle Sussman bursts into the Foutley's home, thinking that the engagement ring on Carl's finger is for Polly Shuster (something Blake had tricked her into thinking), Dr. Dave confesses to Lois that the ring was meant for her, and that despite what his mother thinks of her, he loves her and wants to marry her. Before his mother can say anything about it, Dr. Dave proposes to Lois, and she says yes.

In Heat Lightning Dr. Dave has to stay with the Foutley's, while his house is being fumigated because of an infestation of fire ants (caused by Carl to help Dr. Dave with his cockroach problem). While he enjoys his time at the Foutley's home, his mother drops by, after finding out he was staying there. It turns out that she was meant to stay with him, over at his house for a while, and forgot so both of them stay with the Foutleys. Later he and Lois go out for some ice cream, with his mother declining to join them. Afterwards, he and Lois try to stop his mother from attacking Hoodsey after they get into a fight playing cards.

In Stuff'll Kill Ya, he makes an appearance near the end of the episode. He joins the Foutleys for dinner, and asks Lois if Ginger cut down on having the coffee. He then asks if it's hypocritical for her to tell Ginger to lay off the drinks, when she herself has three cups a day. She insists though that the situation isn't the the same since, unlike Ginger, she's and adult. Despite her argument, Dave and Carl pass glances at one another. Later, when Carl tells Lois and him about having 48 hours left to live, Dr. Dave shares his concern for Carl, and even checks his health, After Lois tells Dave that she's upset that a teacher would tell a student a lie, like that, and that she'll go to the school tomorrow to face the teacher. She then asks Dave if he really wants to be a part of the Foutley's crazy family. After being asked, he runs out the door, leaving Lois confused. She then opens the blinds to the door, revealing Dr. Dave chuckling outside, showing that he was simply joking. Lois then tells him she'll give him a knuckle sandwich for dessert, and he gives her a sheepish grin.

In A Lesson in Tightropes, he takes care of Ginger after her appendix ruptures. After the surgery, Jonas comes by to see how Ginger is doing. Feeling uncomfortable, he leaves the room, giving Lois and Jonas space. Later Carl comes to the hospital, and thanks Dave for saving Ginger's life. And chooses to stay with him outside Ginger's hospital room, instead of joining the rest of his family, and holds his hand. Later on, he confronts Lois about her feelings for Jonas, and if seeing him brings back any old feelings she has for him. She admits that it has brought back some feelings, but Jonas isn't the man she loves anymore, it's now him as he is now her husband.

Personality[]

Dave is a very nice guy and he cares deeply for his eventual wife Lois as well as his eventual stepchildren Ginger and Carl. This was undeniably proven in A Lesson in Tightropes where he and other doctors helped perform an appendectomy to save Ginger's life. He also comforted Carl when he arrived at the hospital to check on his sister. While he can be shy and unsure at times, he is a good man and does his best to do the right thing.

Appearance[]

He wears a shirt and tie with black pants with black shoes. When he is working, he generally wears the same thing with the exception of his white button shirt along with his work badge.

Relationships[]

Family[]

Mrs. Dave: He has a turbulent relationship with her. He gets nervous when he greets her to someone because he knows how she acts. He has a hard time getting through to her. In About Face, he stood up to her and proposed to Lois.

Ginger Foutley: He gets along with her very well. She thinks Dave is a very nice guy. He saved Ginger's life in A Lesson in Tightropes after her appendix ruptured.

Carl Foutley: He sees Dave as more of a real father rather than Jonas. This is because Carl has been let down by Jonas so many times and Dave shows him more care and attention.

Romance[]

Lois Foutley: He is very much in love with her. They started bond more while working together at Lucky Memorial Hospital. The two of them would start dating and eventually got married.

Diane Francis: His ex-girlfriend from medical school. They both dated each other and broke up before the events of the series. It can be assumed that they had something special. When Diane showed up at his wedding, she says he hasn't changed a bit. This shows that she still cares about him.

Others[]

Jonas Foutley: They have mutual respect for each other. In A Lesson in Tightropes, he let Jonas and Lois have a moment with Ginger after her surgery. The two of them had an engaging conversation with Jonas telling Dave that he is a better man than him.

Trivia[]

Earlier in the series, Dr. Dave's hair was a lighter shade of brown.
Dr. Dave wasn't suppose to have a major role later in the series. However, the production crew loved the character so much, they decided to give him a larger role.
In later episodes, Dr. Dave is shown to drive a blue 4-door sedan that resembles numerous luxury vehicles. It is a typical generic vehicle drawn by animators, though overall it resembles a 1985-1989 Volvo 740. The front end resembles a 1981-1989 Lincoln Town Car or a 1980-1989 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit; The front end also vaguely resembles a 1980s Maserati Biturbo. The rear end of the car, and it's interior, resemble a BMW 5-series E35 (1988-1996). There also some hints of Jaguar XJ in the overall design.