ST. ELSEWHERE: PLAYING GOD: PART 1 {SEASON THREE PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The third season premiere in this medical drama series set in St. Eligius hospital in Boston. In the first half of this two-part episode, the doctors return from a month's vacation and Fiscus is tasked with showing the first-year residents around. Ehrlich finds that one of Dr. Swales' patients requires a change in treatment, though the man is absent, as usual, and Fiscus takes the newbies to the morgue, annoying Dr. Poe with his flippant attitude about death. Elsewhere, Father Flynn visits Mother Superior Domenica and tells her that their request for new computers for the children has been denied, though she is sure that the money will "appear" somehow. Rosenthal reminds Auschlander about the nurses' contract negotiations, guessing that he is purposefully stalling, and Sister Domenica's friend Sister Teresa is gravely hurt when a truck hits their car and is taken to St. Eligius. Chandler debates the nurses' union demands with Daniels, who points out that it is about far more than wages, and Fiscus takes the residents to see one of Dr. Craig's impressive surgeries, during which he displays his usual bad temper.
Ehrlich is annoyed to hear that Swales has still not called back, though Craig sternly orders him to make the necessary changes for the patient without hesitating for permission. Dr. Westphall gently tells Sister Domenica that Teresa is likely brain-dead, and Domenica, who was driving, is consumed with guilt. Morrison is stunned when Clancy arrives and tells him that she is pregnant with his child but does not intend to keep it, protesting that he should have a say in the decision. Three firemen are then seriously injured on a job, and Chandler and Caldwell rush to save them when they are brought into the ER. Father Flynn attempts to comfort Domenica, assuring her that she is not at fault, while Craig complains bitterly to Auschlander about Rosenthal and her union activities. Swales finally arrives and Ehrlich angrily criticizes him for neglecting his patient, though Swales seems not to understand his complaint at all. During another negotiation, Rosenthal guesses that Auschlander's feelings are becoming "personal" and requests to have a federal mediator present, informing him that the nurses very well may go on strike if their demands are ignored.
Caldwell tells the residents about his use of hydrotherapy on burn victims, including the firemen, and Ehrlich suggests that Morrison could prevent Clancy's abortion by proposing to her. Morrison visits the clinic and is surprised to see White working there, and White reads a letter from Myra, upset that she is still keeping his children from him. Morrison assures him that he does not believe the rape allegations against him, and White declares that Westphall will soon be forced to hire him back. The nurses gather to vote anonymously on the strike decision, and Caldwell talks to Fireman Michael Duffy and praises his heroic actions in the fire. Auschlander undergoes another round of chemo and talks to Warren, who notes the irony of a well-informed doctor getting cancer, and Fiscus finishes the residents' tour by explaining the "St. Elsewhere" nickname. Clancy turns down Morrison's proposal, and he reluctantly offers to be by her side during the procedure. White returns to his empty house, and Westphall talks with Domenica in the chapel, admitting that he has personal reservations about religion. He then explains that Teresa is indeed brain-dead, though he objects when Domenica tells him to turn off the machines and allow her to die naturally, arguing that it is not her place to "play God." Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: September 19, 1984 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:48:54
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:14144
- GENRE: Drama, medical
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Drama; Drama, medical
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1982-1988
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Bruce Paltrow … Executive Producer, Director
- Abby Singer … Coordinating Producer
- Mark Tinker … Supervising Producer, Developed by
- John Masius … Producer, Developed by, Writer
- Tom Fontana … Producer, Writer
- Beth Hillshafer … Associate Producer
- Joshua Brand … Created by
- John Falsey … Created by
- J.A.C. Redford … Music by
- Dave Grusin … Theme Music by
- Ed Flanders … Cast, Dr. Donald Westphall
- Norman Lloyd … Cast, Dr. Daniel Auschlander
- Ed Begley Jr. … Cast, Dr. Victor Ehrlich
- Ellen Bry … Cast, Nurse Shirley Daniels
- Stephen Furst … Cast, Dr. Elliot Axelrod
- Mark Harmon … Cast, Dr. Robert Caldwell
- Terence Knox … Cast, Dr. Peter White
- Eric Laneuville … Cast, Luther Hawkins
- Howie Mandel … Cast, Dr. Wayne Fiscus
- David Morse … Cast, Dr. Jack Morrison
- Christina Pickles … Cast, Nurse Helen Rosenthal
- Cynthia Sikes … Cast, Dr. Annie Cavanero
- Denzel Washington … Cast, Dr. Philip Chandler
- William Daniels … Cast, Dr. Mark Craig
- Helen Hunt … Cast, Clancy Williams
- Stephen Elliott … Cast, Manny Schecter
- John Hammond … Cast, Michael Duffy
- Ernie Hudson … Cast, Jerry Close
- Frank McCarthy … Cast, Father Lindsay Flynn
- Priscilla Morrill … Cast, Sister Teresa
- Michael Learned … Cast, Sister Domenica
- Sagan Lewis … Cast, Dr. Jacqueline Wade
- Jennifer Savidge … Cast, Nurse Lucy Papandrao
- Byron Stewart … Cast, Warren Coolidge
- Brian Tochi … Cast, Dr. Alan Poe
- Judith Hansen … Cast, Dr. Emily Humes
- Christina Kokubo … Cast, Paramedic Faith Yee
- Saundra Sharp … Cast, Nurse Peggy Shotwell
- Glen Cabrera … Cast, Paramedic
- John Hamelin … Cast, Dr. Swales