HAWTHORNE: HEALING TIME (TV)
Summary
One in this medical drama series about the Chief Nursing Officer of a hospital in Richmond, Virginia.
Christina attempts to talk down a patient having a psychotic reaction to his medication; he is grappling with Ray in the hallway and threatens to kill him. She manages to disarm the situation but in the process accidentally punches Ray, who feels embarrassed by the whole situation. Christina apologizes as Ray is being stitched up; she notes that she injured her hand while punching him. A patient is rushed in suffering from what appears to be a stroke; he is bereft of any identification and they discover his name is “Fred Bernard.” Dr. Wakefield arrives and Christina sends him to attend to Fred; she also reveals that she faked her hand injury in order to avoid further embarrassing Ray. Meanwhile, Candy and a young nurse, Kelly, attend to the notoriously difficult patient Mrs. Lachman, who upon waking attacks Kelly with a bedpan. She lashes out at both of them and refuses to take her medication. Candy leaves to end her shift, leaving Kelly with the unenviable task of attending to Mrs. Lachman alone. Christina attempts to speak to Camille and apologize for missing her therapy sessions, but Camille does not wish to speak to her and leaves.
Later, Christina tries to reason with Isabel, a patient who refuses to be discharged; her newborn baby is too sick to be allowed to leave, but she refuses to accept this turn of events. Fred proves to be difficult and acts irrationally, making nonsensical statements and requiring restraint. Christina attempts to calm him by telling him that his wife Lindsay is on her way, but Fred mistakes Christina for Lindsay instead. Christina decides to play along for the time being, as it seems to make Fred more amenable to her suggestions. She orders that he be brought in for a CAT scan, but he insists on having her by his side. The CAT scan reveals that Fred is suffering from an aneurysm in his frontal lobe. Mrs. Lachman gets her doctor, Dr. Mizaki, in to see her; Kelly is taken aback since Dr. Mizaki seems to be able to communicate with her despite having a poor grasp of English. Kelly reluctantly leaves them alone after Mrs. Lachman yells at her. Christina emerges from the CAT scan, finding that the rest of the staff are poking fun at her for being “married” to Fred. Meanwhile, Ray has difficulty getting properly paid for his overtime hours.
Christina and Dr. Wakefield discuss the possibility of bringing Fred in for surgery, dependent on changes in his cranial pressure. Bobbie is visited by Nick, an EMT she has started dating, but she tells him to wait until after work to see her. Dr. Wakefield argues with the neurosurgeon about Fred; the latter suggests a less invasive procedure which will not eliminate the entire aneurysm mass, but the former believes that they can risk performing a craniotomy and remove the entire mass in one procedure. They ask Fred to decide, but he defers the decision to Christina despite being told that she is not qualified to render such decisions. Christina sides with the neurosurgeon and Fred consents to the surgery. Dr. Wakefield takes Christina aside and upbraids her for seemingly abusing Fred’s misapprehensions in what he feels is an ethically unsound maneuver. Kelly becomes overwhelmed with Mrs. Lachman’s behavior and feels she cannot deal with her anymore. Fred insists on having Christina shave his head before surgery, and admits to her that he is afraid of dying and leaving “Lindsay” alone. He admits to her that he had an extramarital affair, and feels that he must live so that he can make amends for it. He begs “Lindsay” to give him another chance and to find a new husband to have children with if he doesn’t survive the surgery. Bobbie advises Christina that Fred’s statements may not be entirely true, and may have been fabricated due to his mental state. Despite this, Christina intends to tell the real Lindsay about the affair when she arrives. Christina feels personally affected by her encounter with Fred, as she believes that Michael may have been trying to tell her that he was having an affair before he died.
That night, Christina visits Mrs. Lachman and tries to get her not to lash out at her nurses. Mrs. Lachman remains unconvinced as Christina tells her that she is reassigning Kelly to look after her. Christina advises Kelly not to let Mrs. Lachman’s behavior get in the way of her treatment, and that she should “do what you know.” Bobbie breaks off her date with Nick while he is wheeling in a patient, leaving him somewhat flustered. Christina supervises as Isabel feeds her baby, still sequestered in an isolation tank. Christina escorts Isabel out of the hospital, having set her up in a shelter for the time being. Fred goes into shock on the way to the operating room and efforts to revive him are apparently unsuccessful. Christina refuses to accept this and continues defibrillating him even after the doctors declare him dead. Dr. Wakefield pulls Christina off of him, but her efforts appear to pay off, as Fred regains his pulse. He is rushed into surgery as Christina snipes at the doctor who attempted to call his death. Kelly finally stands up to Mrs. Lachman, but becomes so frustrated that she leaves the room, yelling at her to “drop dead.” At that moment, Mrs. Lachman flatlines and Kelly alerts the rest of the hospital staff.
The real Lindsay finally arrives and Christina greets her, explaining that Fred is in surgery. She explains that she was delayed when a policeman pulled her over for speeding and did not believe her when she told him the truth. She admits that her last contact with Fred was an argument that she started, and begs Christina not to let him die. Ray continues to run into difficulties securing his overtime pay, stymied by Larry, an obstinate human resources worker. Kelly feels guilty about Mrs. Lachman flatlining, believing that it is her fault for wishing that she was dead. She is beside herself with grief as Christina attempts to comfort her. Fred’s surgery apparently goes well, and Lindsay remains by his side. Lindsay asks Christina if Fred talked about his mistress, but Christina simply tells Lindsay that Fred loves her very much, and that he talked only about her. Ray complains about his day to Candy, who is bemused by his situation. His bad luck manifests again when he accidentally closes a drawer on his fingers while trying to ask Candy out on a date. Candy accepts, partially out of pity.
Christina tells Bobbie not to wait for the “perfect moment” and to go out with Nick. Bobbie admits that she “want[s] it too badly” and feels that she must wait until she is no longer desperate. Christina leaves that night and finds Isabel waiting outside the hospital asking her to sneak her in so she can speak to her baby. Christina offers to allow her to stay outside until they turn off the lights in the ward, provided that she returns to her shelter before curfew. Bobbie ends up tracking down Nick and offers to change her mind about going out with him; he accepts. Christina goes home to see Camille, and they seem to be on much better terms than their earlier encounter. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: TNT
- DATE: November 30, 1999 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:43:09
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 123035
- GENRE: Drama, medical
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Drama; TV - Drama, medical
- SERIES RUN: TNT - TV series, 2009-2011
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- John Masius … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Glen Mazzara … Executive Producer
- Jamie Tarses … Executive Producer
- Jada Pinkett Smith … Executive Producer
- Arvin Brown … Co-Executive Producer, Director
- Sarah Thorp … Producer
- Miguel Melendez … Producer
- Preston Fischer … Producer
- Guin McPherson … Co-Producer
- Jeff Rake … Consulting Producer
- Bill Chais … Consulting Producer
- W.G. Snuffy Walden … Music by
- James Poyser … Theme Music by
- Jada Pinkett Smith … Cast, Christina Hawthorne
- David Julian Hirsh … Cast, Ray Stein
- Christina Moore … Cast, Candy Sullivan
- Suleka Mathew … Cast, Bobbie Jackson
- Hannah Hodson … Cast, Camille Hawthorne
- Michael Vartan … Cast, Dr. Tom Wakefield
- Malcolm-Jamal Warner … Cast, Fred Bernard
- Vanessa Lengies … Cast, Kelly Epson
- Aisha Hinds … Cast, Isabel Walsh
- Adam Garcia … Cast, Nick Mancini
- Jillian Armenante … Cast, Cheryl Brooks
- Matt Malloy … Cast, Larry
- Eli Goodman … Cast, Dr. Alan Spitzer
- Sarayu Rao … Cast, Lindsay Bernard
- Wendle Josepher … Cast, Technician
- Cloris Leachman … Cast, Mrs. Lachman
- Jennifer Chang … Cast, Nurse Rochelle
- Mary K. Devault … Cast, ICU Nurse
- Darrell Foster … Cast, Malcolm
- Willow Geer … Cast, Nurse Angela
- Carol Gutierrez … Cast, Code Team Nurse
- Keisuke Hoashi … Cast, Dr. Mizaki
- Amad Jackson … Cast, Carl
- Chase Kim … Cast, Wally
- Omar Levya … Cast, Orderly
- Mandy McMillian … Cast, Nurse Marian
- Scott Richards … Cast, Dr. Drayton
- Buddy "Love" Sosthand … Cast, Mr. Woodbridge
- Quinn Sullivan … Cast, Nurse
- Jodi Taffel … Cast, Discharge Nurse
- Becky Wu … Cast, ER Nurse