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ST. ELSEWHERE
Episode #3
"Down's Syndrome"
Teleplay by
Tom Fontana
Story by
Joshua Brand
John Falsey
Tom Fontana
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Bruce Paltrow
PRODUCERS FINAL DRAFT
Mark Tinker
John Masius Prod. #2304
Joshua Brand May 17, 1982
John Falsey
DIRECTOR
Mark Tinker
ST. ELSEWHERE
CAST
Dr. Donald Westphall.............................Ed Flanders
Dr. Daniel Auschlander..........................Norman Lloyd
Dr. Jack Morrison................................David Morse
Dr. Ben Samuels.................................David Birney
Dr. Mark Craig...............................William Daniels
Dr. Wayne Fiscus................................Howie Mandel
Dr. Hugh Beale...................................G.W. Bailey
Dr. Annie Cavanero.............................Cynthia Sikes
Nurse Helen Rosenthal......................Christina Pickles
Dr. V.J.Kochar......................................Kavi Raz
Dr. Victor Ehrlich............................Ed Begley, Jr.
Dr. Wendy Armstrong...............................Kim Miyori
Dr. Phillip Chandler.......................Denzel Washington
Dr. Peter White.................................Terence Knox
Nurse Shirley Daniels..............................Ellen Bry
Doctor Cathy Martin.........................Barbara Whinnery
Bram Hammond (Technician)...................................
Sarah Ordover...............................................
Judge Fahey.................................................
Orderly Sean Rooney..............................Lance Guest
Andrew Reinhardt.................................Tim Robbins
Brian Whitehill....................................Tony Bill
Denise Whitehill............................Maureen Anderman
Stephanie Whitehill.........................................
Michelle Whitehill..........................................
Miss Taylor.................................................
Steven McAllister................................Jack Bannon
Wino........................................................
Nina Morrison..................................Deborah White
Mr. Reinhardt...............................................
Mrs. Reinhardt..............................................
Mrs. Lawson.................................................
ST. ELSEWHERE
SETS
Exterior
St. Eligius
Whitehill Home
Rifle Range
Interior
ST. ELSEWHERE: Lecture Room
E.R. Hallway/Ward/Admitting
Reinhardt's Room
Hallways
OB/GYN Consulting Office
Taylor's Room
Beale's Office
Visitor's Waiting Room
McAllister's Room
O.R.
Cafeteria
Immunology Lab/Basement
Westphall's Office
Auschlander's Office
Whitehill Home: Kitchen
Master Bedroom
Stephanie's Bedroom
Michelle's Bedroom
Fiscus' Apartment/Living Room
ACT ONE
FADE IN
Slide of Technectium Sulfur Colloid Liver Scan.
AUSCHLANDER (V.O.)
Here, the liver is quite healthy.
White light, another slide of a liver scan.
AUSCHLANDER (CONT.)
Now we see numerous discrete areas
of diminished activity in both
hepatic lobes...
White light, a slide of a liver-biopsy specimen.
AUSCHLANDER (CONT.)
This liver-biopsy shows the
adenocarcinoma is consistent with
the metastatic adenocarcinoma of
the stomach.
White light, a slide of another liver specimen.
AUSCHLANDER (CONT.)
And here is a focus of fat
necrosis. Note that most of the
neclei have disappeared and the
cell walls are blurred.
WIDEN TO REVEAL
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY
Doctor DANIEL AUSCHLANDER at lecturn, slide looming large
behind him. Residents, including JACK MORRISON, PETER WHITE,
WAYNE FISCUS and WENDY ARMSTRONG, are slumped in the seats,
yawning, drinking coffee from styrofoam cups. AUSCHLANDER
touches a light switch. The cells disappear as the
fluorescent lights blink on.
AUSCHLANDER
All right, you --
(indicates WHITE)
What do I tell Miss Taylor?
A beat.
WHITE
I'm not sure....
AUSCHLANDER
That should ease her mind.
ARMSTRONG
(calling out)
Tell her the truth.
Everyone turns to ARMSTRONG. There is an uncomfortable
pause.
AUSCHLANDER
And what exactly is the truth, Dr.
Armstrong?
ARMSTRONG
She's dying.
AUSCHLANDER
Would you like to be one to tell
her?
ARMSTRONG
She has a right to know. I will if
I have to.
FISCUS gives MORRISON a "get-her" look.
AUSCHLANDER
Ah, you will be the one to tell
Miss Taylor that she's dying.
ARMSTRONG
Yes, I would.
AUSCHLANDER
Very good. And are you going to
tell her when she's going to die?
ARMSTRONG
What do you mean?
AUSCHLANDER
Well, will she die tomorrow? Is
she going to die next week? Next
month? Next year?
ARMSTRONG
(a little embarrassed)
I don't know.
AUSCHLANDER
You don't know. It seems Miss
Taylor is in the same predicament
we all are. We know that someday
we're going to die, we just don't
know when.
Residents laugh.
ARMSTRONG
What I'm saying, Doctor Auschlander
--
AUSCHLANDER
I know what you're saying, Dr.
Armstrong. I'm questioning how you
would say it... Let's think about
that before we see Miss Taylor.
AUSCHLANDER heads for the door. Instinctively, the RESIDENTS
stand up. AUSCHLANDER looks back, surprised, goes.
WHITE
We're lucky to have Auschlander
around to discuss this case.
FISCUS
Yeah, it's like Marie Antoinette
discussing the inner mechanisms of
the guillotine.
On MORRISON finishing his last drop of coffee,
CUT TO
TIGHT SHOT -- DIGITAL CLOCK - DAY
Reading 809 a.m. CAMERA PULLS BACK to reveal Dr. ANNIE
CAVANERO and Nurse HELEN ROSENTHAL walking at a brisk pace
down the hall.
CAVANERO
What about Mister Berman? Did he
have a good night?
ROSENTHAL
Hardly. He was bouncing around his
room like a ping-pong ball,
yelling, "gimme some Reserpine,
gimme some Reserpine."
CAVANERO
I told him yesterday, it's the
Reserpine that's making him
hypersensitive --
They pass Doctor DONALD WESTPHALL, who has better things to
do, leading two VIPs down a hallway. The VIPs, new members
of St. Eligius' Board, are SARAH ORDOVER, forty-five, an
attractive widow from Beacon Hill, and JUDGE FAHEY, sixty, a
tiger on the bench but terrified of hospitals.
WESTPHALL
Sometimes we suffer from a kind of
schizophrenia here.
MRS. ORDOVER
I don't understand...
WESTPHALL
The doctors, nurses and staff view
this hospital as a place to work.
The residents and externs want it
to be a place to learn. The
community alternates between
thinking of it as a Renaissance
cathedral and Frankenstein's
castle.
FAHEY
There is talk among the Board of
closing this facility and moving
St. Eligius out to one of the
better suburbs, like Newton or
Wellesley.
WESTPHALL
I'm perfectly aware why you're here
today, Judge. That king of talk
has been going on a long time.
MRS. ORDOVER
You don't agree with the idea?
WESTPHALL
St. Eligius is a part of this
neighborhood. Like old Mrs. Weber,
the crossing guard in front of
Pogansett School, or that rusty
fountain in John Adams Square. You
can't take it out without leaving a
hole.
DONALD OSTERWALD, half-asleep, sits in an uncomfortable
plastic chair, outside a patient's room. WESTPHALL, MRS.
ORDOVER and FAHEY approach.
WESTPHALL (CONT.)
Good morning, Doctor Osterwald.
OSTERWALD grunts an acknowledgement.
WESTPHALL, MRS. ORDOVER and FAHEY walk a few steps away from
OSTERWALD.
FAHEY
I wouldn't want that guy examining
me.
WESTPHALL
Too bad. He's the best
cardiologist in New England.
They reach Emergency Room, pushing doors open.
INT. E.R. HALLWAY - DAY
WESTPHALL, MRS. ORDOVER and FAHEY enter through the doors and
walk towards E.R. Ward. A twenty-three-year-old red-headed
orderly, SEAN ROONEY, approaches WESTPHALL, who stops
walking.
ROONEY
So what happened?
WESTPHALL
I talked to sanitation.
ROONEY
Well, they didn't hear you. We had
another kid in here last night,
twelve years old.
FAHEY turns and listens to WESTPHALL, as they start walking.
WESTPHALL
I'll talk to them again.
ROONEY
See that you do. This damn
hospital --
ROONEY breaks off from GROUP as they reach E.R. Ward.
MRS. ORDOVER
Angry young man...
WESTPHALL
That's Rooney, he's an orderly.
MRS. ORDOVER
You let an orderly talk to you like
that?
WESTPHALL
He's talking about syringes.
Sanitation doesn't get rid of them
fast enough. The kids steal them,
use them again.
MRS. ORDOVER
You mean the children are junkies?
WESTPHALL nods, as they turn into the E.R. Ward, passing
cubicles. Nurse SHIRLEY DANIELS faces a TEENAGE BOY in a
leather jacket. She's picking pieces of broken glass out of
the BOY's bleeding leg.
DANIELS
Next time, try ringing the
doorbell.
FAHEY
You got that terrorist guy,
Reinhardt in here, don't you?
WESTPHALL
Yes.
MRS. ORDOVER
And the woman who was in the bank
when the bomb went off?
WESTPHALL
(nodding)
Katherine McAllister.
MRS. ORDOVER
How is she?
WESTPHALL
Alive.
WHITE is dressing down a twentyish girl named BARBARA, who
sits on the gurney serenely.
WHITE
Listen up, Barbara. I am not
giving you any more demerol. And
I'm not going to give you percodan.
(his frustration growing)
You want to get high -- go buy it
on the streets like everyone else --
EHRLICH sticks his head into cubicle. In b.g. WESTPHALL,
FAHEY and MRS. ORDOVER are moving away.
EHRLICH
There's a call for you on line 2.
Your wife.
WHITE
What's she want?
EHRLICH
She wants to know if you've got the
ticket for the laundry.
WHITE looks up.
WHITE
What ticket?
EHRLICH
She's your wife.
(goes)
WHITE
(to BARBARA)
I'll be right back.
WHITE comes out of cubicle, closing curtain on BARBARA. He
passes WESTPHALL, FAHEY and MRS. ORDOVER, who are about to
exit. There is a commotion from one of the cubicles, yelling
and slapping. WESTPHALL and the VIPs turn to see Nurse
DANIELS shutting the curtain on the TEENAGE BOY in the
leather jacket.
DANIELS
Touch me again, you little creep,
and I'll smash your other leg.
VICTOR EHRLICH passes a WOMAN whose dress has been torn off
her and reaches the door between the Ward and the hall. He
stops, obviously seeing something that interests him.
POV -- EHRLICH
In the hall near E.R. admitting, FISCUS leans into Doctor
CATHY MARTIN, the pathologist, talking. She turns and walks
toward EHRLICH, who walks to FISCUS.
EHRLICH
I don't know what you've got,
Fiscus, but if you could freeze dry
it, you'd make a fortune.
FISCUS
Cover for me tomorrow and I'll give
you the secret.
EHRLICH
What's tomorrow?
FISCUS
Cathy and I are going to the rifle
range.
EHRLICH
You've got a date with Cathy Martin
and you're going to the rifle
range?
FISCUS
She's a sharpshooter.
EHRLICH
I'll bet she is.
A sleazy BUM is trying to listen to their conversation.
FISCUS
Victor, I've got a secret to tell
you, just between you and me, all
right?
EHRICH nods.
FISCUS (CONT.)
All we do all the time is have sex.
Sex, sex, sex.
EHRLICH
My heart bleeds for you.
To get away from the BUM, they cross to a bench and sit down.
FISCUS
She's crazy about me. I keep
telling her this is just a sexual
relationship, nothing more.
EHRLICH
Women are suckers for integrity.
FISCUS
I don't want her to get too serious
or she'll ruin it, know what I
mean? But I gotta tell you --
between double shifts here and her,
I'm drained.
EHRLICH
Like a maple tree after sap sucking
season.
FISCUS
Right.
EHRLICH
So when you suggested a more
mundane activity she suggested --
FISCUS
The rifle range. Exactly. Sex and
violence. It's the American way.
Cover for me?
As EHRLICH nods,
CUT TO
INT. KITCHEN IN THE SUBURBS - DAY
BRIAN WHITEHILL stands at counter, pouring a glass of milk.
He's a good-looking man in his late thirties, wearing a
Brooks Brothers suit.
MICHELLE (O.C.)
It's my turn!
STEPHANIE, nine, and MICHELLE, five, fighting over a "Missing
Link" toy, while sitting at kitchen table. BRIAN comes over
to table, puts milk in front of STEPHANIE and puts out his
hand for the toy.
STEPHANIE
But Daddy!
BRIAN gives her a long look. She reluctantly gives up toy.
BRIAN
We're leaving for school in five
minutes and I want that food gone.
STEPHANIE
Why didn't Mommy make breakfast?
BRIAN
She's sleeping late.
MICHELLE
Is she sick?
STEPHANIE
No.
MICHELLE
Then why's she still sleeping?
STEPHANIE
(impatient)
She's going to have a baby.
MICHELLE
I know that. A little brother.
Right, Daddy.
DENISE WHITEHILL stands in kitchen doorway, in her bathrobe.
An attractive woman in her late thirties, four months
pregnant.
DENISE
Not necessarily...
She gives BRIAN a kiss.
BRIAN
That's right, Michelle, a big
strong boy, who'll protect you two
from... all the other big strong
boys.
MICHELLE
And we're gonna name him Big Bird.
BRIAN
(to DENISE)
Hungry?
She shakes her head no, feeling queezy.
DENISE
I've got news for you Even if this
one's a girl, we're stopping. I'm
too old for this.
BRIAN
Gimme a "b" --
MICHELLE/STEPHANIE
"B"!
DENISE
What if the test says "girl"?
BRIAN
Gimme an "o" --
MICHELLE/STEPHANIE
"O"!
DENISE
(picks up MICHELLE)
Stubborn. Your father is the most
stubborn man in Massachusetts.
BRIAN
Gimme a "y" --
MICHELLE/STEPHANIE
"Y"!
BRIAN
What have we got?
MICHELLE/STEPHANIE/BRIAN
Boy! Boy! Boy!
On DENISE looking heavenward,
CUT TO
INT. REINHARDT'S ROOM - DAY
ANDREW REINHARDT, the terrorist, sits up in bed, reading a
newspaper. A knock on the door. He looks up.
Doctor HUGH BEALE stands in the doorway, holding REINHARDT's
white sheet and case history. BEALE is smiling.
BEALE
Hello there. I'm Doctor Beale.
BEALE enters.
REINHARDT
Somebody just examined me.
BEALE
(smiling)
I'm a psychiatrist.
REINHARDT
I didn't ask to see you.
BEALE
No, you did not. But you don't
really have a choice either.
REINHARDT
(beat)
You want to see if I'm crazy.
BEALE
That's what they pay me for.
REINHARDT
(challenging)
How're you going to find out?
BEALE
I figure the best way is to come
right out and ask you. Are you
crazy?
REINHARDT
Are you?
BEALE
As a loon. Why else would I be a
psychiatrist? 'Course, we're a
little reluctant to use the word
"crazy."
(leaning in, smiling)
It's a little vague.
(indicating white sheet)
Says here you're a bright person.
(reading)
Top of your class. Honor student,
till you dropped out.
(smiling)
What is the Douglas Sterner Award?
REINHARDT
Science.
BEALE
(impressed)
Well, then, you and me've got a lot
in common, don't we?
REINHARDT
I doubt it.
BEALE
Here's something that's been
gnawing at me, maybe you can help
me out... For Christmas, I got this
v-neck sweater, a hundred per cent
cotton, size large. And by mistake
my cleaning lady, Erma Castro, put
the sweater in the washing machine,
and when it came out, I couldn't
even fit it over my arm. Now, my
question is, where'd all that
cotton go?
REINHARDT
You're a real down-home, good ole
boy, aren't you?
BEALE
(laughing)
Yeah, I guess... Play chess?
REINHARDT
Why?
BEALE
I've been playin' with Dr. Craig.
He's a surgeon and these surgeons
only play chess but a few ways.
Once they get somethin' in their
heads, it's stuck there.
(taps REINHARDT's arm)
You and me'll play.
BEALE gets up and starts to walk toward the door.
REINHARDT
Dr. Pig... I don't trust you at
all.
BEALE
I'm told paranoids make the best
chess players 'cause, naturally
they assume, with every move, their
opponent's out to get 'em...
BEALE smiles, exits. On REINHARDT,
CUT TO
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