ST. ELSEWHERE: BLACK'S MAGIC (TV)
Summary
One in this medical drama series set in St. Eligius hospital in Boston. In this episode, Erhlich is surprised at the return of Dr. Roxanne Turner, and he informs Chandler, who is busy working on an assignment for Craig. Hawkins bonds with a patient, Mrs. Griesman, and Craig and his wife spend time with Barbara before reluctantly handing her off to her other grandparents. Craig is then late for a meeting, where he learns that a wealthy patient has left a rundown building on the bad side of town to the hospital, and he votes to simply tear it down, exasperated that Westphall's community service projects have put several residents in danger. Turner and Chandler look for one another, both declaring to friends that they made mistakes in the past and want to start anew together, but they have a hard time finding one another. Craig scolds Chandler and tells him not to get distracted from his work, and Ehrlich eagerly offers to assist him instead. Auschlander heads to the newly-acquired apartment building, where he finds himself facing a hostile tenant's gun. He explains that he is the new owner of the building, and learns that it is a "rock house" out of which cocaine is sold. Hawkins brings in a young pregnant woman with high blood pressure, Debra Etting, and Turner realizes that she knows her from before she left St. Eligius. Chandler continues searching for Turner, and Craig is snappish with Ehrlich during Mrs. Griesman's surgery, still upset that Ehrlich performed a pelvic exam on his wife.
Auschlander talks with the young drug dealer, who explains that he is taking advantage of one of his few opportunities, but has dreams beyond a life of crime. The two unexpectedly bond over a shared love of music, but the cops suddenly burst in and Auschlander is arrested, despite his protests. Turner talks to Debra and tells her that she needs an emergency C-section, as labor may cause a weakened vessel in her brain to burst. Chandler sadly tells his friends about his troubles in locating Turner, and they point out that she may no longer be in love with him. Turner prepares to operate on Debra with Wade's help, and Hawkins asks Craig about Mrs. Griesman and learns that she is not doing well. Ehrlich heads for the blood drive in an attempt to appease Craig, and he and Axelrod wonder who will make the cut next year, speculating about Morrison's injuries at the prison. Craig and his wife have an awkward dinner together, which is then interrupted by Auschlander calling from jail. Craig bails him out, and is taken aback when the young drug dealer acts friendly towards him.
Turner tells Debra that she had a baby girl, and Debra requests to see her. Turner fetches the infant from the nursery, but when she returns, Debra has died suddenly from her aneurysm, and Turner is greatly upset that the nameless child is now motherless. Hawkins tells Westphall that he wants a more meaningful connection with patients and asks if he can be a physician's assistant, but Westphall explains that extra schooling is needed and that he cannot be certified. Turner signs Debra's death certificate and admits that she felt out of place when she returned home to the South, and that the baby also now has nowhere to belong. Craig tells Chandler to continue doing challenging research, but Chandler is more upset that things with Turner appear to be over. Auschlander tells Westphall about his determination to rejuvenate the apartment building, and they discuss opportunities and life choices. Chandler leaves for the day and encounters Turner outside the hospital, and the two finally reunite. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: March 19, 1986 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:50:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:66546
- 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
- Abby Singer … Coordinating Producer
- Mark Tinker … Supervising Producer, Developed by
- John Masius … Producer, Developed by, Writer
- Tom Fontana … Producer, Writer
- Beth Hillshafer … Associate Producer, Director
- Joshua Brand … Created by
- John Falsey … Created by
- John Tinker … Writer
- Charles H. Eglee … Writer
- Channing Gibson … Writer
- 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
- Steven Furst … Cast, Dr. Elliot Axelrod
- Eric Laneuville … Cast, Luther Hawkins
- Howie Mandel … Cast, Dr. Wayne Fiscus
- David Morse … Cast, Dr. Jack Morrison
- Christina Pickles … Cast, Nurse Helen Rosenthal
- Denzel Washington … Cast, Dr. Phillip Chandler
- William Daniels … Cast, Dr. Mark Craig
- Alfre Woodard … Cast, Dr. Roxanne Turner
- Bonnie Bartlett … Cast, Ellen Craig
- Akosua Busia … Cast, Debra Etting
- Sagan Lewis … Cast, Dr. Jacqueline Wade
- Eugene Williams … Cast, Drug Dealer
- Byron Stewart … Cast, Orderly Warren Coolidge
- Frank Dent … Cast, Dr. Stephen Kiley
- Earl Bullock … Cast, Police Sergeant
- Ruth Jaroslaw … Cast, Mrs. Griesman
- Greg Monaghan … Cast, Paramedic Eddie D'Arata