Trapper John, M.D.

Episode Guide

Season Five (1983-84)

88. I ONLY HAVE ICE FOR YOU (10/02/83)

A professional skater refuses treatment for a heart condition that could be fatal. Stanley and E.J. find out that they are going to be parents.

Director: Charles Siebert
Writer: John Whelpley
Guest Stars: Lynn-Holly Johnson, Richard Deacon, Edith Diaz, John Matuszak

89. WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

Trapper gets called into the hospital on his birthday to deal with a possible epidemic. Stanley is finally able to track down the source of the problem, but that does not do much for John's mood, as everyone seems to have forgotten him.

Director: Earl Bellamy
Writers: Deborah Gilliland, Robert Sonntag
Guest Stars: Selma Diamond, Bill Quinn, George Takei, Robert Lussier, Sandy Freeman, Jill Whelan

90. ... AND FOR LOYAL AND DEVOTED SERVICE ...

The new acting board chairman tries to pressure Arnold Slocum into retirement only four months short of his pension.

Director: Michael Caffey
Writers: Phyllis Wapner, Nancy Bond
Guest Stars: Simon Scott

91. MAY DIVORCE BE WITH YOU

Trapper's ex-wife starts a self-help group for the wives of doctors, and ends up with one of them on her doorstep. Stanley and E.J. may lose their baby.

Director: Earl Bellamy
Writers: Deborah Zoe Dawson, Victoria Johns
Guest Stars: Karen Morrow, Harvey Jason, Marya Small, Marcia Rodd, Jessica Walter

92. ALL ABOUT EVERETT

Trapper's contract is up for renewal, and a jealous surgeon is trying to discredit him and take over his position as Chief of Surgery.

Director: Michael Caffey
Writer: Jeff Stuart
Guest Stars: Robert Mandan, Patricia Davis

93. OLD MAN LIVER

A 119-year-old man, seemingly in good health, says that he has come to the hospital to die. He changes his mind after media attention makes him feel important again, but Trapper discovers an aortic aneurysm that may kill him after all.

Director: Earl Bellamy
Writer: Stewart Moss
Guest Star: Whitman Mayo

94. THE FINAL CUT

Gonzo is not happy when Trapper passes on to him the job of proctoring three Cardio-Thoracic surgery residents, and things get worse when he learns that he is required to cut one of the residents out of the programme because of budget cuts.

Director: Michael Caffey
Writer: John Whelpley

95. FAT CHANCE

Against his better judgement, Trapper agrees to staple the stomach of an obese woman. Gonzo goes to unusual lengths to save Andrea's dog.

Director: Susan Oliver
Writer: Barry Howard Pollack
Guest Stars: Shirley Hemphill, Michael Tucci, Sandy Helberg, Anne Francis

96. THE AGONY OF D'FEET

As SFM fills with the casualties of the Bay City Marathon, E.J. Riverside goes into labour three weeks early. Stanley can't be found, because he has secretly decided to compete in the run.

Director: Michael Caffey
Guest Stars:Kevin Brophy, John Fujioka, D.D. Howard, Frank McRae, James Read, Dennis Cole, Marcia Rodd

97. MOTHER LOAD (aka 'If it ain't broke')

Andrea finds out who her real mother is, and wants to meet her. Trapper's concern over the emotional state of a Greek patient brings out the good samaritan in Gonzo, who decides to contact the man's daughter in Greece.

Director: Vincent Sherman
Guest Stars: Robin Ignico

98. SUPERNURSE

Everyone is happy for Gloria when she earns her accreditation in Advanced Cardiac Life Support Care, except one doctor. He does not believe nurses should be doing this kind of work, and tries to have Gloria fired.

Director: Michael Caffey
Writer: Jeff Stuart
Guest Stars: Elaine Strich

99. SPECIAL DELIVERY

A nurse/midwife who spreads herself too thin threatens her career and two lives, and may bring Gloria down with her. Gonzo sets up a homey "birthing centre" at the hospital.

Director: Earl Bellamy
Teleplay: John Whelpley
Story: Kay Bender
Guest Stars: Elaine Giftos, Karen Landry, Billy Martin, Tim Rossovich, Dennis Cole, Daryl Anderson

100. PLAY YOUR HUNCH

Trapper's old friend, a former workaholic, turns up after years. Trapper is confused when he finds that the man has quit his job and seems intent on nothing but having fun. An E.S.P. clinic set up in the hospital seems to be bringing out unwanted talents in Ernie.

Director: Michael Caffey
Writer: Maxine Herman
Guest Stars: Marta Dubois, Arte Johnson, George Grizzard, Nina Foch

101. A LITTLE KNIFE MUSIC

When an eight-month-old baby is brought to the hospital with respiratory problems, x-rays show that the child is a dwarf.

Director: Earl Bellamy
Guest Stars: Kim Darby

102. SEND IN THE CLOWNS

An elderly woman comes to visit with her husband, who died a year previously. A pediatrition has difficulty dealing with a young boy who has cancer.

Director: Michael O'Herlihy
Writers: Deborah Zoe Dawson, Victoria Johns
Guest Stars: Natalie Gregory, Kristopher Tabori

103. WHERE THERE'S A WILL

A cancer patient who dies at the hospital leaves all his worldly wealth to Gonzo, who discovers that most of it was obtained illegally. Jackpot, Ernie and Gloria conspire to trick Stanley into taking his annual physical.

Director: Earl Bellamy
Writer: Bruce Howard
Guest Stars: Jerry Stiller, Cliff Osmond, Howard Morris, Roberts Sampson, Joe Pantoliano, Tracey Gold

104. THE JACKPOT PAYS OFF

For two years Jackpot has allowed an elderly friend to believe that $10 a month is paying for full medical insurance, but he runs into trouble when she becomes seriously ill and requires treatment he cannot afford.

Director: Ivan Dixon
Teleplay: Paul Robinson Hunter, Jeff Stuart
Story: Paul Robinson Hunter
Guest Stars: David S. Sheiner, Nita Talbot, Milton Selzer, Viveca Lindfors

105. THIS GLAND IS YOUR GLAND

Gonzo is convinced that the paranoia of one of his patients has a physical cause. Slocum attempts to cut back on nursing costs by employing a robot nurse, who proves to be quite successful. Andrea Marcovicci (Stephanie) returns to the show later as Gonzo's fianceé, Fran.

Director: Earl Bellamy
Writers: J. Miyoko Hensley, Steven Hensley
Guest Stars: Andrea Marcovicci, Ronnie Schell, R.G. Armstrong, Nancy Kwan

106. THE FRED CONNECTION

A patient at SFM who fancies himself a detective is determined to solve the mystery of missing medication, to the despair of the police working on the case.

Director: Leo Penn
Writer: Jim Mulligan
Guest Stars: Richard Libertini, Anthony de Longis, Hunter von Leer, John Pyle, John Amos, Alice Ghostley

107. I DO, I DON'T

Trapper questions Ernie's motives when she accepts a proposal from a long-time suitor only after she finds out that he is dying.

Director: Michael Caffey
Writer: John Whelpley
Guest Stars: Dick Anthony Williams, Kenneth Mars, Sarah Cunningham

108. IT'S ABOUT TIME

When his office ends up as a temporary storage dump for medical equipment from the WWI era, Trapper imagines how routine cases would have been treated at that time, and decides that SFM isn't quite a dinosaur after all.

Director: Leo Penn
Writer: Barry Howard Pollack
Guest Stars: Stoney Jackson, Silvana Gallardo, Kario Salem, Jonathan Goldsmith, Alan Oppenheimer, Victor Arnold

109. AUNT MILDRED IS WATCHING YOU

An expert brought in by the board to increase hospital productivity only makes life more difficult as the staff deals with a doctor who performs unnecessary surgeries and a shy man with an awkward problem.

Director: Gregory Harrison
Writer: Jeff Stuart
Guest Stars: Ray Wise, Bibi Besch, Vincent Schiavelli, Silvia Sidney, Melissa Steinberg

110. MOONLIGHTING BECOMES YOU

Jackpot does some housecalls to earn extra money, and comes across a woman who is unable to leave her home. The SFM staff fills in at a local restaurant while the owner has surgery.

Director: Charles Siebert
Writers: Deborah Zoe Dawson, Victoria Johns
Guest Stars: Jeanette Nolan, Jenny O'Hara, Missy Gold, Benny Baker, Lurene Tuttle, Sarah Cunningham, John McIntire, Fred Willard

Episode Guide copyright

1998 by Karen Millard.