ST. ELSEWHERE: DOWN'S SYNDROME (TV)
Summary
One in this medical drama series set in St. Eligius hospital in Boston. In this episode, Auschlander lectures a group of interns on the difficult subject of giving a patient a fatal diagnosis, and Westphall takes some board members on a tour, stating that he is firmly against the idea of closing and relocating to a "better" neighborhood, though the board seems dismayed with the hospital's rundown appearance. Fiscus confides to Ehrlich that he is exhausted from his sex-only relationship with Martin, while elsewhere the Whitehill family happily prepares for the birth of their third child, which dad Brian believes to be a boy. Beale visits the bank bomber, Andrew Reinhardt, and attempts to assess his mental health, and the board stops by the lab, noting its outdated technology and its test animals. Cavanero sits down with the Whitehills and breaks the news that their unborn son has Down's Syndrome, which upsets both of them. Auschlander and his interns visit an elderly patient with liver cancer and Armstrong observes that she can only be made comfortable as she dies, and Stephen MacAllister sits lovingly by his comatose wife's bedside.
Westphall observes as Samuels operates on a patient with his usual casual attitude, while at home the Whitehills argue about the pregnancy, with Brian feeling strongly that they should terminate, unaware that their two young daughters are listening in. White treats Mrs. Lawson, who has again halfheartedly attempted suicide after an argument with her husband, and he finally grows exasperated with her endless complaining. In the lunchroom, Craig gripes to Beale about the interns' relaxed attitudes, and Denise seeks Cavanero's personal advice about the pregnancy. Daniels tells Rooney that she is considering leaving nursing for good, as she is fed up with condescending treatment from the doctors, and when White is distracted by a phone call from Myra, he nearly kills a patient with a careless mistake and is sternly reprimanded by Ehrlich. Denise informs her husband that she is not having an abortion, but he calls the fetus a "defective accident" and states that he cannot deal with the idea of raising a disabled child. Martin panics when she and Fiscus are trapped in a stalled elevator, and they are nearly caught in an intimate moment as Fiscus attempts to "reassure" her.
Nina visits Morrison and as the two share a rare moment alone, he is thrilled to learn that she is pregnant. MacAllister grimly observes the guard posted outside Reinhardt's door, and though Brian hints that he is starting to open his mind about the pregnancy, Denise bluntly tells him that she had the abortion after all. Auschlander listens to opera in his office and reminisces to Westphall about his childhood trips to the Met with his father, and then reveals that he has liver cancer, ironically enough, and is uncertain and afraid of the painful treatments and symptoms to come. Later, he visits his elderly patient, and the two bond over a friendly game of cards. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: November 16, 1982 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:49:08
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:61630
- GENRE: Drama, medical
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, medical; African-American Collection - Drama
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1982-1988
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Bruce Paltrow … Executive Producer
- Mark Tinker … Producer, Developed by, Director
- John Masius … Producer, Developed by
- Joshua Brand … Producer, Created by, Writer
- John Falsey … Producer, Created by, Writer
- Beth Hillshafer … Associate Producer
- Tom Fontana … Writer
- J.A.C. Redford … Music by
- Dave Grusin … Theme Music by
- Ed Flanders … Cast, Dr. Donald Westphall
- David Birney … Cast, Dr. Ben Samuels
- G.W. Bailey … Cast, Dr. Hugh Beale
- Ed Begley Jr. … Cast, Dr. Victor Ehrlich
- Terence Knox … Cast, Dr. Peter White
- Howie Mandel … Cast, Dr. Wayne Fiscus
- David Morse … Cast, Dr. Jack Morrison
- Christina Pickles … Cast, Nurse Helen Rosenthal
- Kavi Raz … Cast, Dr. Vijay Kochar
- Cynthia Sikes … Cast, Dr. Annie Cavanero
- Denzel Washington … Cast, Dr. Philip Chandler
- William Daniels … Cast, Dr. Mark Craig
- Norman Lloyd … Cast, Dr. Daniel Auschlander
- Barbara Whinnery … Cast, Dr. Cathy Martin
- Kim Miyori … Cast, Dr. Wendy Armstrong
- Ellen Bry … Cast, Nurse Shirley Daniels
- Tony Bill … Cast, Brian Whitehill
- Maureen Anderman … Cast, Denise Whitehill
- Jack Bannon … Cast, Stephen MacAllister
- Deborah White … Cast, Nina Morrison
- Virginia Kiser … Cast, Mrs. Beardsley
- Thomas Hill … Cast, Judge
- Lance Guest … Cast, Sean Rooney
- Tim Robbins … Cast, Andrew Reinhardt
- Betty Cole … Cast, Miss Taylor
- Sandy Martin … Cast, Mrs. Lawson
- Jeanna Barron … Cast, Michelle Whitehill
- Michelle Walker … Cast, Stephanie Whitehill
- John Walter Davis … Cast, Bram Hammond
- Vance Colvig Jr. … Cast, Mr. Pechar