GREAT PERFORMANCES: NEIL SIMON'S THE GOOD DOCTOR (TV)
Summary
One in this series of dramatic arts programs. This program features a drama inspired by the short stories of Anton Chekhov. The story begins in a Russian theater in 1898, as Chekhov lingers long after the conclusion of that night's production, musing about his career as a writer and confessing that he harbors a secret dream of pursuing another profession.
In the first story, "The Sneeze," civil servant Ivan Dmitritch Tchervyakov attends a play with his wife Sonja and encounters one of his superiors, Mikhail Brizzhalov. Midway through the play, Tchervyakov is mortified when he sneezes on the back of Brizzhalov's head, and though Brizzhalov brusquely forgives the faux pas, Tchervyakov obsesses over his mistake and fears that he is ruined. He visits Brizzhalov's office the next day and again apologizes profusely for his "non-partisan act of God," and though Brizzhalov again pardons him, Tchervyakov gradually decides that he has been unfairly humiliated by his boss. He again confronts Brizzhalov and furiously declares that there is "no equality" at their company or in the world, and when he sneezes upon him again, Brizzhalov angrily throws the "germ-spreader" from his offices. Deeply affected, Tchervyakov returns home and dies – or, as Chekhov suggests, perhaps has a happier ending in which he miraculously discovers a fortune.
Next, in "The Governess," timid governess Yulia Vasilyevna attempts to settle up with her mistress of two months, but the woman examines her records and begins subtracting money from Yulia's pay for a variety of minor reasons, including a broken tea saucer and the illness of one of her charges, eventually offering Yulia a mere 10 rubles out of the 80 that she is owed. Unable to speak up for herself, Yulia merely thanks her for the 10 rubles. Her mistress reveals that she invented the "records" as a test and demands to know why she would express gratitude for such unfair treatment. Yulia, however, merely agrees that she is a "simpleton."
In "The Seduction," Peter Semyonych explains that he is a world-class seducer of other men's wives and offers a demonstration when he encounters a friend, Nikolai, upon whose wife Irina he has designs. Peter explains that Nikolai will be his unwitting "aide and accomplice" in seducing Irina; without addressing Irina directly, he drops suggestive hints to Nikolai about his desire to use Irina as an art model and about his own loneliness, lamenting that he envies Nikolai his happy marriage. Irina grows increasingly intrigued by his secondhand flattery and begins to obsess over Peter, but when she finally runs to his side and declares her desire for him, Peter sees the error of his ways and rejects her, resolving to pursue only single women from then on.
In "The Drowned Man," a writer strolls around a wharf and prays for inspiration for his next work. He is soon interrupted by a strange man who offers to drown himself – or rather, "impersonate" a drowning – for a fee of three rubles. The writer is bewildered at this strange form of "entertainment" and eventually summons a policeman, who merely says that he is being overcharged. The writer haggles with the man and bargains him down to 60 kopecks, but the man then reveals that he cannot actually swim; when he jumps into the water, the writer forgets the name of the nearby accomplice whose job it is to save the "drowner's" life.
In "The Audition," a young woman named Nina Mikhaelovna Zarechnaya arrives at a theater, desperate to audition for a famed playwright, implied to be Chekhov. He observes that she is ill with a fever, but she begs to read for him all the same, explaining that she has waited months for her chance. He is skeptical when he learns that she is not a professional actor, but she flatters him with compliments about his writing; he is taken aback when she very effectively performs Irina's monologue from "The Three Sisters" and then quickly departs the theater, noting that she merely wanted the opportunity to perform for him.
In "The Defenseless Creature," aging banker Kistunov is visited by a Madame Shtchukin, who offers a long and dramatic story about her husband's "nervous disorder" and her family's desperate situation, begging him for financial assistance. Somewhat bewildered, he points out that his bank has nothing to do with her troubles and urges her to visit her husband's agency for recompense; she grows increasingly hysterical as she begs him to read the doctor's certificate affirming her husband's illness. He finally attempts to throw her from his office, declaring her a "plague," but she theatrically places a curse on his business. Kistunov, frustrated beyond tolerance, tells his assistant to give her whatever she asks for – and she agrees to return the next day to collect the money.
Finally, in "The Arrangement," Chekhov portrays a version of his own father and takes his naïve son Antosha to "celebrate" his nineteenth birthday by bedding a woman for the first time. Antosha frets about the "moral character" of the women in question, but his father assures him that it is wise to be experienced in the ways of love by the time one is married; he haggles with one of the women and settles upon a price, asking her to be kind to the innocent young man. Antosha observes that he will become "Anton the man" after his time with the woman, and his father, struck by the "loss" of his young son, reconsiders the gift and assures him that he can postpone his maturation.
Back at the theater, Chekhov admits to a "sense of betrayal" in writing about his friends and family members, admitting that he cannot now remember the alternate career that he once wished to take. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WNET New York, NY
- DATE: November 8, 1978 8:57 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:29:13
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:58752
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Theater; Literature - Adaptations; Russia
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1972-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jac Venza … Executive Producer
- Lindsay Law … Producer
- Phylis Geller … Associate Producer
- Jack O'Brien … Director
- Neil Simon … Writer
- Anton Chekhov … Based on stories by
- Conrad Susa … Music by
- Richard Chamberlain … Cast, Anton Chekhov / Peter Semyonych / Kistunov / Father
- Marsha Mason … Cast, Sonja Tchervyakov / Yulia Vasilyevna / Irina / Nina Mikhaelovna Zarechnaya / Courtesan
- Bob Dishy … Cast, Ivan Dmitritch Tchervyakov / Nikolai / The Drowned Man
- Lee Grant … Cast, Brizzhalov's Wife / Yulia's Mistress / Madame Shtchukin
- Edward Asner … Cast, Mikhail Brizzhalov / Policeman
- Gary Dontzig … Cast, Antosha