HAWTHORNE: PILOT (TV)
Summary
The pilot of this medical drama series about the Chief Nursing Officer of a hospital in Richmond, Virginia.
Christina Hawthorne, the CNO of Richmond Trinity Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, grieves over the death of her husband Michael one year after the fact, finding it difficult to move on with her life. She receives a call in the middle of the night from David Gendler, one of her patients suffering from cancer, who is threatening to commit suicide. She rushes to the hospital to prevent him from doing so, barreling past a new security officer in the process. She finds him on the hospital roof, preparing to leap off. Christina is unable to convince him to stop, and he jumps, crashing into the ground. She rushes to David and tends to him; he is alive but bleeding profusely. She and the other hospital staff rush to save him and are able to resuscitate him. The police arrive at the security guard’s behest to arrest Christina for illegally entering the hospital. He is attended to by Dr. Tom Wakefield, who insists on saving David’s life despite the fact that he attempted to commit suicide. Dr. Wakefield upbraids Christina for her behavior, and she explains that David was a friend of Michael’s. He apologizes for yelling at her, and she thanks him for getting her out of police custody.
Christina meets with the hospital’s nursing staff, assuring them that the incident with David is being dealt with. One of the nurses Bobbie Jackson, advises Christina to take the day off like she promised to so she could celebrate the anniversary of Michael’s death. Christina ignores this advice and tries to distract herself with her work. One nurse, (Candy Sullivan?), surreptitiously performs sexual acts with one of her patients, Corporal Sharp, a diabetic soldier. She hands him over to another nurse, Ray Stein, who is frustrated that his physician, Dr. Marshall has not yet fully diagnosed Corporal Sharp. Christina deals with Isabel Walsh, a homeless woman who often loiters around the hospital; she has entered the building in a vain attempt to get medical attention. Christina shows her out and Isabel reveals that she “found” a baby, whom she has named “Moses.” She tries to convince Isabel to allow her to take Moses inside so he can be examined, although Isabel reacts violently. She, Bobbie, and fellow nurse Kelly Epson examine Moses, discovering that he has spina bifida. Christina tries to calm down Isabel, who is confused and believes that Christina stole her baby. She gets into an argument with Susan, a social worker, who has called child protective services and the police, although Christina says it is worth endangering her job to help Isabel. She decides to grant Christina and Isabel some leniency.
Ray continues trying to contact Dr. Marshall in an attempt to determine how to properly administer his insulin. He is constantly shut out by the doctor in question and by the rest of the hospital staff, frustrating him immensely. Ray injects an unconscious Corporal Sharp with his insulin regardless of Dr. Marshall’s instructions. Christina is forced to leave when she receives a call about her teenage daughter Camille from her high school. She arrives, finding that Camille has handcuffed herself to a vending machine in order to protest its removal from school grounds. She indicates that she blames Christina for her father’s death, and in retaliation Christina allows Camille to be taken away by the school’s maintenance crew along with the vending machines. Corporal Sharp has a seizure and Ray responds, with Christina following soon afterward. He nearly flat-lines, but the hospital staff is able to save his life. Ray claims that Dr. Marshall made a mistake with his insulin dosage, although Christina suspects that Ray is responsible for the incident.
Bobbie helps Kelly deal with a doctor with an extremely thick accent, preventing her from understanding his instructions. She bursts into tears after having to deal with this doctor on many occasions. In the hall, Christina runs into her mother-in-law Amanda, who sits on the hospital’s board of directors. They take an elevator together and discuss Michael’s death. As per a previous agreement, Amanda will have custody of Michael’s ashes for the next year; she implies that she also blames Christina for Michael’s death. Dr. Marshall finally arrives and insults Ray for his botched injection, although Ray criticizes her for not giving her patient enough attention. They get into an argument and Ray is escorted away from the patient. Christina is brought in by Dr. Wakefield to meet with Corporal Sharp’s father Mr. Sharp, who is incensed at how his son has been treated. Dr. Wakefield says that Ray will be disciplined, and Christina says that Dr. Marshall will also be punished. Mr. Sharp becomes angry and threatens to sue the hospital, vowing to transfer Corporal Sharp to another hospital as soon as possible.
Christina talks to Ray about Corporal Sharp, criticizing him for following hospital protocol over his own judgment. She orders him to stay by Corporal Sharp until he recovers. Meanwhile, a woman is brought in with multiple stab wounds and her husband follows soon after, attempting to stab her to death. The staff prevents him from doing so and in the fracas Bobbie gets a knife embedded in her thigh. She underreacts to this injury, revealing that the leg in question is actually a prosthetic. Nick, a paramedic who has a crush on her, removes the knife and asks her out on a date; she accepts, having finally found someone who is not repulsed by her artificial leg. Isabel comes in to visit Moses and Susan comes with a policewoman to arrest Isabel. Isabel yells at Christina, claiming that she betrayed her by bringing in the police. As she is being taken away she passes out and Christina determines that she is hemorrhaging, deducing that Isabel is Moses’s mother. Christina then rushes to a budget meeting where Dr. Marshall advocates in favor of firing Ray for his mistake. She and Christina get into an argument about the culpability behind Corporal Sharp’s seizure before Dr. Marshall storms off, feeling insulted.
Camille gets back from school after serving detention, blaming Christine for sending her there. Camille goes to a memorial dinner for Michael hosted by Amanda, although Christina has chosen not to attend. Despite their constant arguments, Camille says she loves her mother and Christina reciprocates. Christina visits Isabel as she recovers from her hemorrhage, and Isabel apologizes for her earlier behavior. Later, Ray spots Candy outside the hospital and tells her about the incident with Corporal Sharp. Christina visits David, who remains immobile due to the injuries he suffered in his suicide attempt. He says that after some contemplation he has decided that he wants to live. Bobbie goes out on her date with Nick. Christina speaks to Michael’s ashes about the events of the past day, and then spoons some of the ashes to help ignite a Japanese lantern, which she releases into the sky. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: TNT
- DATE: November 30, 1999 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:43:09
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 123445
- 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
- Mikael Salomon … Executive Producer, Director
- Jamie Tarses … Executive Producer
- Jada Pinkett Smith … Executive Producer
- Miguel Melendez … Producer
- Preston Fischer … Producer
- Vanessa Hayes … Associate 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
- Vanessa Lengies … Cast, Kelly Epson
- Aisha Hinds … Cast, Isabel Walsh
- Adam Garcia … Cast, Nick Mancini
- Eric Laden … Cast, Corporal Sharp
- Steve Rankin … Cast, Mr. Sharp
- Jillian Armenante … Cast, Cheryl Brooks
- Anne Ramsay … Cast, Dr. Brenda Marshall
- Eli Goodman … Cast, Dr. Alan Spitzer
- Rebecca Field … Cast, Susan Winters
- D.B. Woodside … Cast, David Gendler
- Joanna Cassidy … Cast, Amanda Hawthorne
- William Martin Brennan … Cast, Administrator
- Matt Crabtree … Cast, Resident #1
- Mary K. Devault … Cast, Night Nurse
- Dominic Flores … Cast, Louis
- Andy Forrest … Cast, Mr. Weber
- Darrell Foster … Cast, Malcolm
- Ben Hermes … Cast, I.C.U. Doctor
- Keisuke Hoashi … Cast, Dr. Mazaki
- Richard Marcus … Cast, Mr. Fleming
- Megan McNulty … Cast, Fleming's Nurse
- Adrian Mojica … Cast, Policeman #1
- Richard Penn … Cast, Principal
- Keith Pillow … Cast, Dr. Cadbury
- Robert Reinis … Cast, Code Team Officer
- Erika Ringor … Cast, Police Officer
- Hector Atreyu Ruiz … Cast, Worker
- Jodi Taffel … Cast, Isabel's Nurse
- Leslie Thurston … Cast, I.C.U. Nurse
- Gregory Vahanian … Cast, Dr. Bliss
- Craig Welzbacher … Cast, Baby Faced Doctor