St. Elsewhere (1982–1988): Season 2, Episode 6 - Under Pressure - full transcript

We'll be all over you!
We know who you are!

Tonight on St Elsewhere...

Where did you pick up
that gorgeous brogue?

In Ireland, sir.

You have any idea why this happened?

Do you know about
The Troubles, Dr Morrison?

You made up your mind
about the breast implant?

Yeah, I'm taking the plunge.

# I don't hear a sound

# Just the lonely beating
of my heart... #

You're totally unfit for human
companionship. Why not go home?



I've had it with you, sister!

You got yourself a whole
bunch of rubble, real cheap.

Get off!

We'll be all over you, Carson!

TYRES SQUEAL

CRASH

CAR HORN BLOWS

What have you got?

Massive facial trauma
and haemorrhaging...

Luther, give me a hand, quick!

Probable fractured nose,

large patch of avulsed skin,

severe left periorbital damage,

BP 90 over 60,



heart rate 110,

respiration's regular.

Ready to transfer. One, two, three.

I got another one
coming in behind him.

Get vital signs, AVGs, lights, type
and crossmatch, four units, stat. >

I'm going to have to
intubate him first.

Luther, get these to the lab.

Waiting on you, Bobby. Come on.

Come on. >

Where's Fiscus, damn it?

Upstairs with a patient.

Cathy, get him in here, stat.
And get the portable X-ray unit.

Lois, start the blood work on that
one. Stay with this one, Shirley.

His wounds are still full of glass.

Start another IV, call Plastics
and Respiratory Therapy.

Only problem is,
his face won't keep very long.

Severe head wound,
possible fractured cervical spine,

protruding abdomen.

Get me a paracentesis tray.

Got it. Maintain traction.

Get vitals, admission labs, call
Surgery, and get me a med suit.

The portable X-ray's down.

You're going to have to move him.

If I move him,
it may damage his spinal cord.

It's your dance, Jack.

Four units of O positive
and plasmanate, no time to match.

OK, let's get him ready for OR.
He's bleeding to death.

Watch the neck.

Watch the neck!

Good morning, sweetheart.

Oh, hi, Dad. How's the old
lumbar spine feeling this morning?

You know, I play tennis
from time to time,

I do all the heavy work in the yard,

I even lifted a patient
a couple of days ago.

This time I think I did it
reaching for the toothpaste.

Oh, dad, don't forget to mail
the tuition deposit, OK?

I won't.

Sorry to be such an itch about it,
Dad, but the guidance counsellor

told me Vassar's pretty strict
about that type of thing.

And if we don't get it in...

As soon as I get
to the office.

Oh, dad, the school colours
are grey and pink

and I don't have a thing to wear.

Hmm. I guess that means we're going
to have to get some new clothes.

Yeah, I guess so.

Oh!

Furniture. I'm going to need
to bring up a rug, at least.

Elizabeth, we have until next fall
to take care of everything, OK?

So don't worry about it. The one
thing I want you to promise me,

I want you to promise you'll keep
your room here in one piece.

You know what's weird, Dad?

I haven't felt like telling
that many people about it.

I mean, I got accepted, fine,

but somehow Vassar just sounds
so highfalutin.

Well, that's a pretty terrific
secret to keep, isn't it, Lizzie?

And it makes me very proud of you.

OK, good.

That's good.

Go slow.

Slow-ly.

Always the teacher.

# Da-da-da-da dee-dee... #

(LAUGHS)

Would you call this being
out of the woods?

Are you kidding?
You're all the way downtown.

Thank God it wasn't an infection.

You wouldn't be doing
the Lindy Hop right now.

The Lindy Hop?

If only the kids at school
could hear you.

Oh, boy. All right, that's enough.

We shouldn't do too much.

You win.

But it was such a thrill to be
vertical instead of horizontal.

I understand. Even so,
enough of the aerobics for now.

Tuck in.

There you go.

You must be exhausted.

And very happy.

Now, this lets you
in the garage at night.

During the day,
all you need is cash.

I really appreciate...

This is for the staff lounges,

the on-call room, the solarium
and the canteen on the top floor.

Site department records,

this is for the higher-security
areas, the psych ward and so forth,

temporary health insurance ID,

two W4 forms, a beeper -
your number's on the back,

and our little booklet
on how to use the phones.

Welcome to St Eligius, Doctor.

Thank you very... Excuse me.

'Dr Michael Ridley, 3246.'

Hello, Dr Ridley.

Oh, yes, Nurse Daniels,
what can I do for you?

Sure. OK, just send up to my office
after she's squared away down here.

All right? Thank you, bye.

What's a good way to remember 4601?
Are you good at that kind of thing?

No? OK.

Hey, here's your daddy.

Hi, Dad.

I actually got an hour's sleep.

Boy, we had troubles
in the ER last night.

Huh?

A traffic accident,
one patient right after the other.

I lost spinal traction
on one of them.

Did he make it?

Uh, it's too early to tell. Hey.

The other half of the banana
is in the recovery room.

How about one of those
great big noisy giggles, huh?

Huh? Please?

For real, he laughs all the time.

He could use a good scraping too.

(LAUGHS)

Thanks, Wendy.

Dr Westphall.

Hello, Jack.

Sorry to hound you about this, but
I could really use those two days.

All right, I understand.

I'll put it through
as soon as I get to my office, OK?

You all right?

No, I'm not all right. I just got
a speeding ticket. First one - ever.

Fact is, I wasn't even speeding.

Well, at least we can be grateful
it stopped snowing.

Pardon me, boys, but move
your Chattanooga Choo-choos.

If you don't want to fight it,

you can mail them the ticket
with a cheque.

Yeah.

I'm sorry. Take the A train.

And thanks for the memories.

(HUMS TO HIMSELF)

BACKING BEAT PLAYS

It's magic time.

I just admitted
this patient last night.

There's been a three-month history
of night sweats,

intermittent fevers and nausea.
There's been a 20-lb weight loss,

no palpable lymph nodes,
lungs clear,

preliminary diagnosis -
idiopathic hyperthermia.

(CLEARS THROAT)

Five red cells in urinalysis,
chest X-ray negative,

creatinine and KUB pending.

Did you check for granulomas
in the apices?

No, sir.

Any flank tenderness
or history of TB exposure?

I don't know.

You don't know.

No, I didn't.

Thank you, Mrs Harrison.

Dr Armstrong,
I never want to hear the term

"idiopathic hyperthermia" again.

Yes, sir.

It doesn't mean anything,
and you know it.

If you're uncertain
of a diagnosis, say so.

Don't shovel this
meaningless medical jargon at me.

Yes, sir.

Or at your patients, either.

Order an IVP, get three first-voided
AM urines for AFB and TB culture.

There's also a very simple
skin test for tuberculosis, doctor,

you might want to try that as well.

"To transplant a heart from
one of God's creatures to another

"is a direct violation of His will.

"You have desecrated His divine plan.

"Beware the swift, sure hand
of retribution.

"Your arrogance and effrontery
will not go unpunished."

He writes like an angel.

What is this clod saying?
That God is in favour of death?

"Swift, sure hand of retribution."

Not if I see you first, buddy!

Let's assume
he was just blowing off steam.

By the way,
have you seen Donald today?

No, I haven't seen him.

A lot of real lunatics
out there, Daniel.

This kind of operation
draws them like flies.

Are you scared?

I'm concerned.

This was sent to my house.

Ellen spends a lot of time
alone out there.

I spent $2,500 on an alarm system.

You know what really bugs me?

The implication that
I did this operation

for ego reasons or publicity.

Or because I'm fishing for a grant.

People think that way
because of the charlatans

and hustlers who jumped into
the field in the early '70s.

Gave the whole idea
of transplants a bad name.

Well, the technology
is vastly improved since then.

The truth is, any surgeon in a
halfway decent, big city hospital

in this country
who can sew arteries together

can do this operation.

You've certainly proven that.

Huh! Look at this.

St Eligius stationery.

"I yearn to feel the touch
of your skilful fingers."

"You're the greatest. I love you."

(LAUGHS)

No signature.

Hard to tell from the writing
if it's male or female.

# All alone, with
just the beat of my heart

# People all around

# I don't hear a sound

# Just the lonely
beating of my heart. #

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Hello, sir. Which way you headed?

Uh...up.

Up!

Well, I think you're going to enjoy
my next number! Hit it!

# What goes up, must come down

# Spinning wheel got to go round

# Talkin' about your troubles,
it's a crying sin

# Ride a painted pony,
let the spinning wheel spin! #

Rough case last night.

Three periorbital fractures on top
of the split thickness skin graft.

Kid's only 15. That's his aunt
and uncle over there.

The fact that he's young
should work in your favour.

And his.

Good morning.

Is Eddie awake yet?

Can we see him?

Oh, absolutely.
I'm going to take a quick look.

Make sure the wounds are draining,
then he's all yours.

But do you think the surgery took?

That his face will be all right?

Well, both procedures
went very smoothly.

And I'm optimistic.

But it's just really
too soon to tell.

Thanks.

Morning, Eddie.

I'm Dr Caldwell,

the guy who gave you
the swollen face and all that pain.

Good to meet you, sir.

It's good to meet you.

Where'd you pick up
that gorgeous brogue?

In Ireland, sir.

I grew up in County Fermanagh.

Not far from Belfast.

Looks promising.

We won't know anything definite

until the xeroform
comes off in the morning.

You scared?

Yes, sir.

Don't fight it.

You've been through
something pretty heavy.

But you made it.

What about the other lad?

Brennan?

He may not be so lucky.

He's in the intensive care.

He's got about nine things
wrong with him.

Six of them are getting worse.

His mother's out there
in the corridor again.

I'm just worried
we perforated his dura.

He got jostled in the ER.

You're welcome to come in
for a few minutes, Mrs Brennan.

I was in earlier.

It's not so easy
just to sit there and watch.

I know. It's very difficult.

Excuse me.

Does he feel anything?

Is there any pain?

Well, as I said, he's in a coma.

But his reflexes are still strong.

So he definitely has a chance.

What's that thing for?

It's called halo traction.

Our main concern is to prevent
any internal bleeding

near the spinal column.

And to make sure that
the fractured vertebrae

don't do any more damage.

What do you mean, "damage"?

The spinal cord helps regulate
the breathing function.

And if a clot presses against
the spinal cord,

it could be fatal.

You have any idea why this happened?

I know the police are still trying
to put all the pieces together.

Do you know about the Troubles,
Dr Morrison?

The what?

In Northern Ireland, about all
the violence, and the terror,

and the endless, bloody need
for revenge.

I've read about it
in the paper.

Some people are threatened
by what other people believe.

They invent reasons
to keep fighting.

You're the one who wanted to
eliminate the fee for prenatal care.

Because a lot of women
in this community

can't afford a big outlay of money
to bring a child into this world.

Unlimited free care, that's the way
it's always been at St Eligius.

The $100 charge is hardly exorbitant.

It is if you're unemployed.

In any case, I'm downtown
talking to the Mayor,

at your request,

trying to rescind the fee,

and at the same time,
you're on the phone with his staff.

You can't put that kind of pressure
on these guys.

It takes a little finesse.

I'm afraid, Donald,
Joan has a point.

Leave the political machinations to
someone who knows what he's doing.

Discretion is the better part...

..of valour. You're a man
of great wisdom, Daniel.

All I'm saying is,

your actions backfired.

Yes, you've both made that
very clear. Thank you.

All right. I'll go along
with keeping the fee,

but I don't have to like it.

And I don't.

Hello, Helen.

Did you check in for tomorrow's
breast implant?

Mmm-hmm, but now I've gone
a little haywire.

I can't find my address book.

Well, good luck.

Oh, thanks.

Do you have a patient here,
a kid named Eddie Carson,

involved in a car accident?

Check with admitting.

They just said check with you!

Look, we're not allowed to let
anyone on the wards

without a security clearance
or the doctor's permission.

Who's his doctor?

Beats me.

And do you have a security clearance?

You know, we have this problem
with you people all the time.

I'm here for Deputy Supt. Erskine,
chief of the detectives office,

and he wants me to interview
Carson now.

Why don't you call Captain Holbrook
over at the precinct?

He's our liaison.

I'm sure he'll be glad
to explain the rules.

Hey, wait a minute!

You're not allowed on the wards!

This is a city hospital.

I'm a city cop. Here's my shield
number if you want to complain.

I'm complaining to you, Buster!

In the first place,
I don't know who the hell you are,

and in the second place,
we have a long-standing policy

to protect the health
of our patients here.

If you've got such a big mouth,
let me ask you question.

How do you know this kid
isn't in danger?

How do you know
he doesn't want to talk to me, hmm?

He can pick up the phone
and dial 911, can't he?

Let's ask him.

Call security, Tina!

I've had it with you, sister!

You've got yourself a whole
bunch of trouble, real cheap!

You're under arrest
for interfering with an officer

in the performance of his duty.

You have the right to remain silent.

Anything you say can and will
be used against you.

Helen had a subtotal mastectomy,

which means we have some
nipple tissue left to work with.

Otherwise?

Otherwise, you can transplant
a piece from the other side

and it'll actually regenerate.

It's not 100%, but pretty close.

Morning, Judy.

Now, Mr Schneider's got a
mandibular reconstruction at 10:30.

And it is going to be a bear.

Vijay, good morning.

Good morning, Bobby. Everyone.

So where's Helen?

Beats me.

Officer, I've got a speeding ticket.
How do I fight it?

Go down to Government Centre
and stand in line.

It'll have to be early
in the morning.

They open up at 9:30.

Not exactly the ideal pre-op
environment, is it?

I'm sorry to drag you down here,
Donald,

but Ira's snowbound in Toledo.

It's an unwritten hospital policy.

If you're arrested
in the performance of your duty,

we pay the bail.

I'm going to sue that jerk
for official harassment,

false arrest,
and whatever else I can think of.

Make a hobby out of him!

Oh, Ira knows a lot of lawyers,
believe me.

Any other formalities, officer?

Do yourself a favour, lady.
Disappear.

Don't tell me what to do!

Helen!

If you can't fight and
you can't flee, go with the flow.

Where can I drop you?

Home! I've got to get some rest!

I just saw Brennan's CAT scan.

I think there's some herniation.

Some pressure on the spinal cord.

Couldn't they correct that,
surgically?

The risks are too enormous.

I screwed up, Shirley.

Oh, come on, Jack.
It was a madhouse down in ER.

I broke traction.

I never should have moved him.

He was bleeding to death.
You had no choice.

I should have had more help.

I don't buy it. There's always
a risk of losing traction.

Thanks.

I don't know, maybe Westphall
was right.

After Nina died, maybe
I should've taken more time

before seeing patients.

I don't think so.

You know what a New York cop
told my sister once,

after he had broken into
her apartment by mistake,

and turned the whole place
upside down?

What?

He said, "Lady, now you know
why they put erasers on pencils."

Come on, Jack.

You may have lost traction,
but you saved that boy's life.

Art.

I'm going to sue these people
for every dime they've got!

Who?

Roadrunner Security Company.

Three people vowed that they were
the best outfit in Boston.

What they didn't say was that the
damn alarm goes,

"BEEP! BEEP!" every ten minutes!

I mean, if a bird flies
over the roof,

the whole system goes mad.

When I unlock my front door,
I've got 15 seconds

to run down the hall
and punch in the secret code

to deactivate the damn thing.
Otherwise, bedlam!

I guess that means you won't be
putting an alarm system in your car?

I've already got it.

I bought the package deal.

Did you want to see me?

Yes, I did.

It seems that
some of your patients are upset.

(SNIGGERS) Name one!

Mrs Pagano.

I was with her five minutes ago.

She feels you're neglecting her.
Frankly, so do I.

That's crazy! I'm with that woman
morning, noon and night!

I'm also carrying
more than my full load in the OR.

Mark, you seem to be obsessed

with Eve Leighton's recovery
from the transplant.

You won't give a second thought
to any cases less interesting.

Now you're only giving
the basic, minimal care

to the rest of your patients.

How can you say that?

Because it's true!

I don't want to disappoint you.

I think it's going to snow soon.

Wonderful!

I've got a good excuse
not to get chains on my car!

Did I wake you?

Oh, no!

No, I was having a nightmare.

My students
had taken over my classes.

Were they rioting?

(LAUGHS) No, they were teaching!

I had to sit there
and pretend to enjoy it.

So, what's your name?

Jack Morrison.

Ah, another of Dr Craig's boys.

Just wanted to see how you are.

Exhibit A,
the amazing transplant lady!

I can come back, if you're sleepy?

Oh, no, no.

Stick around.

If I can't knock some sense
into my students,

at least I can hold a conversation.

You really love teaching, don't you?

Oh, God. It's my life.

My husband died about six years ago
and we never had children.

So, now I got 82 kids,
seven hours a day.

Do you still miss you husband?

Well, let me put it this way.

The junk mail is the worst.

You know,
Mr and Mrs Thomas G Leighton.

I'd prefer, "Occupant".

Are you married, Dr Morrison?

My wife died in an accident.

Recently.

We both pledged our organs
to science.

And as it turned out...

..the day Nina was...

..they needed a heart.

# I've got you under my skin

# I've got you

# Deep in the heart of me

# So deep in my heart

# You're really a part of me

# I've got you under my skin. #

FAINT APPLAUSE

You know, the St Allegis audience is
the greatest audience in the world.

You drive carefully now.

# I've got you under my skin... #

Well, hello, hello, hi!

If I could, may I?

Oh, here is a beautiful little song,

written many, many years ago
by a wonderful gentleman

by the name of Paul Anka,
and it goes something like this.

By the way, what's the matter
with Westphall?

I don't know.

# Having my baby

# What a wonderful way of saying
how much you love me

# Having my baby... #

Beat me, daddy. Eight to the bar.

I'm not your daddy, and I have
no intention of beating you.

Promise me brother with a solid four.

You really must stop.

In the name of love.

KNOCK AT DOOR

Come in, please.

Dr Ridley, good to see you.

I'd like for you to meet,
er, Mr Entertainment.

Hello.

Dolly, well hello...

You see?

So, I hear you're nuts about music.

I am music and I write the songs.

Well, Dr Auschlander,
would you mind if I put a record on?

Be my guest.

So, I wonder also,
can we be on first name basis?

I mean, that way we'd be more
relaxed. I would. All right, er,

this is Daniel and I'm Michael,
what's your first name?

It's Mr.

OK.

CLASSICAL MUSIC

That's pretty.

The Magic Flute.

It doesn't come near the Beecham
recordings, Sir Thomas Beecham, 1937.

I always thought Beecham
paced it too slowly.

Not in the scene with the priests.

They play that with great,
like great balls of fire.

Jerry Lee Lewis, hey?

You know...

Mr, we're having a tough time
figuring out why you're doing

what you're doing and,
well, why you're doing it here.

It all started the day
the music died.

I was working in the library at the
Boston Conservatory, shelving books

that sort of thing.

I'm the sort of guy who likes
to whistle while they work

and sing, out loud.

I guess it kind of bothered people
who were trying to do their homework,

trying to study.

So, they fired me.

I thought, I'll never smile again.

1939. Virgin Music by Ruth Lowe.

Yes.

Losing a job is, er, no fun.

No, no, I thought, I thought it was
kind of funny, you know,

a conservatory of music
and they fire people for singing.

Yes, but, libraries are,
they're supposed to be quiet.

Like hospitals.

You know, I was lost and walking
through Boston, and I came here

and I was lucky, they had an opening
in the maintenance department,

and then I got in the elevator,
the doors closed

and I was in a void,
no sound, no music.

It's wrong.

You can't help but agree, hearing
the great songs relaxes people,

eases them through the day.

Mr Entertainment,
be that as it may,

we simply cannot have you doing that
kind of thing in our elevators.

No more elevators.

I promise.

Promises, promises.

# All through with promises,
promises now! #

KNOCK AT DOOR

Come in.

Hi.

Well, well, well.
The phantom patient.

Thanks for the conference,
Dr Caldwell.

Sure.

Good work on that nursing
productivity memo.

I'm really sorry about
hanging you up this morning.

Helen, I wouldn't have let you go
through with it anyway.

Not after hearing about your stay
in the Suffolk County jail.

How did you hear about it?

It's all over the hospital.

Helen Rosenthal,
public enemy number one.

I've never been in jail before.

The most hopeless, desperate
group of women I've ever seen.

State-raised, some borderline
psychotic. They're still in there.

And somehow, the idea of going
through weeks of pain,

side effects, possible complications

just to try and obliterate
the last little remnants of,

physical imperfection, didn't seem
to make much sense any more.

OK.

It still doesn't.

(DONALD) Daniel?

Right here.

Is that you?

What's left of me.

Looks to me like it
could be stabilising.

I just overheard one of the nurses
saying, "Watch out for Westphall,

"he has a hair up his stethoscope."

Mark told me
about your little fandangle.

You're totally unfit
for human companionship.

Why don't you go home?

No, I can't. I'm giving a lecture
tomorrow to the med students

in the sixth year programme at BU.

Which, of course,
I haven't written yet.

And I haven't touched the work
on my desk.

I'm awfully sorry, Daniel, I've been
popping off at everyone these days.

Something's wrong.
I don't know what it is.

Maybe I should have myself taped
and play it back in slow motion.

I tell you what you'd see.

You'd see an extraordinary man in the
prime of life, burning himself out.

I don't work any harder around here
than anyone else. Especially you.

At least I don't consider
every single problem

in this hospital to be
my personal responsibility.

That's my job.

Well, then, perhaps it's time
we ought to redefine it.

Through the years you've shown
an incredible proficiency

at handling the big crisis.

But it's the little things,

the shoelace that snaps
with no time left

that determine the rate
of wear and tear on the body.

The little things?

A probable nurses' strike,

the city coming down us
all the time.

Daniel, you're asking me to care
and at the same time not care.

I'm asking you as a friend,
as a colleague,

to try to find a way
to balance the stress

so it enriches your life
rather than ravages it.

It's a whole lot easier
said than done.

Well, you better start
somewhere, Donald.

Because if you don't, before you know
it'll be hypertension and ulcers.

I'm serious.

Now go.

SOFT MELANCHOLIC MUSIC

How do you feel?

Sore.

That's to be expected.

Now hold onto your socks, Eddie boy.

I'm going to take
the Xeroform dressing off

and see just how well
you're healing.

(Just one more.)

Some rather nice healing
down here towards the jaw.

Is there much more, sir?

No.

No, I'm finished.

You got a lot of courage, Eddie.

But I gotta tell you,
it doesn't look too good.

Only about 30% of the graft took.

There may be some infection here.

And it looks like the possibility
of some scar tissue forming.

I'd like to see for myself.

You won't be able to tell much
about...

Could you hand me a mirror,
please, sir?

I just don't want you
jumping to any conclusions.

There will be some more healing, OK?

We did everything right, Eddie.

Sometimes it just doesn't work.

It's fine.

I don't mind it at all.

I'm very sorry, but the graft
didn't take completely.

Does this means he'll be disfigured?

How badly?

He'll have scar tissue
over most of his cheek.

We can try and reconstruct later,
but there are no guarantees.

He's coped with worse, I suppose.

He's holding an awful lot inside.

It's family tradition, Dr Caldwell.

It's in the blood over there.

He was only going be with us
for a few months before he moved on.

What's going on?
What is it with him and Brennan?

There's such a tradition of hatred.

The worst part is the way both sides
use the children as a weapon.

Because they lend moral authority
to the cause.

Cause? What cause?

It's perfectly simple, doctor. We're
Protestant and they're Catholic.

You can see him now.

SOFT PLAINTIVE MUSIC

I'm depressed.

Again?

This time I mean it.
Severe holiday blues.

I can't decide if I should get
Dr Craig a Christmas gift.

And if I don't get him one,
he might be offended.

But you know Craig, if I do get him
one, it might set him off.

Besides, what do I get him?
The man has everything.

I saw some great looking
V-neck sweaters at Jordan Marsh.

Oh, really, how much?

$75.

Wow. Fantastic.
Would you pick me one up?

OK, Ehrlich.

Boy, I hope this isn't
putting you out.

No problem.

Boy, this is my lucky day.

I never thought you'd put out for me.

You're a pig, Ehrlich.

# And I think of my life
as vintage wine

# In fine old kegs

# From the brim to the dregs

# It poured sweet and clear

# It was a very good year. #

Come on in, come on.

What a lovely couple. All right.
No cover, no minimum.

What's going on here?

Ever since I was a little boy,
I wanted to work a room like this.

I mean, I mean, Tony Francandino,
they'll all tell you,

playing a lounge is the greatest.

And here I am in the best of all,
the Doctors Lounge at St Eligius.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Steve Lawrence, eat your heart out!

All right, and now to a special time

when you, the audience,
tell me what you want to hear.

Any requests?

Come on.

Any anniversaries out there?

Anybody from out of town?

He is.

Well, come on, son. Come on up
and tell me about yourself.

No, no, no.

Let's give a big hand...

No! Cut it out.

Come on! Big hand. Great.

OK. What's your name, doc?

Victor. Victor Ehrlich.

Victor Ehrlich.
And where are you from?

Berkeley.

Berkeley.

A kissing cousin to that cable car
city, that golden gate town.

And right now, Vic,
I'd like you to join me

in a musical salute
to your hometown.

No way.

Oh, come on. Come on, Vic!

CHEERING

Come on, Vic. Come on, Vic!

It's that special time of year, and
you're away from your loved ones.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

# Jack Frost nipping
at your nose... #

I know you body's hearing Boston,
Vic, but if you're like me and...

and I think you are,

well, then, you'd say...

MUSIC COMMENCES

# I left my heart in San Francisco

# High on a hill, it calls to me

# To be where little cable cars
climb halfway to the stars

# The morning fog
may chill the air

# I don't care

# My love waits there

# In San Francisco

# Above a blue

# And windy sea

# When I come home to you

# San Francisco

# Your golden sun will shine

# For me. #

WHISTLING AND CHEERING

# At a time when the world
seems to be spinning

# Hopelessly out of control

# There's deceivers... #

Oh, hi, Dad.

Hey, what are you doing home
so early?

My back is still acting up.

Oh. Want me to get the heating pad?

No, no, no. Thank you.
I feel better just being here.

Where's Tommy?

Oh, he's out shopping
with Mrs Catalano.

Rough day?

No.

Come on, Dad. I can tell
when something's bugging you.

You can, can you?

I wish you'd stop treating me
like I'm a kid.

That's the hard part.

You know what I mean,
you can talk to me.

Right.

I made a complete mess
out of the last couple of days.

I owe apologies to a lot of people.

Why, what did you do wrong?

I don't really know, kid.

I really don't. I was...

You know, I like to think of myself

as the kind of person
who's open to everyone.

Willing to get involved
when I'm needed.

I'll tell you something,

these last couple of days it just
hasn't worked out that way at all.

Snapping at people
that I really care about...

Stupid.

You know what I'm talking about?

Sort of.

That's OK.

Guess what?

I got a part
in The Fantastics at school.

I'm playing The Mute.

You did? Well, congratulations.
You're on a roll, aren't you?

You want my opinion, Dad?

Sure.

I think you worry too much.

You do, do you?

Yeah.

And when are you going to see
someone about your back?

Sweetheart, it never seems to help.

You're right. You're right.
I'll have it checked out.

Anything else?

Yeah. You know Betty Russell's
father?

He's always worrying,
and he meditates.

Yeah, well, I don't think
that's quite right for me.

But I can hear what you're saying.
Thank you.

Now...

I think what it is, it's just
a matter of listening

to all the different parts
in myself. You know?

Yeah.

Hmm.

It's nice to know
you still need me, Dad.

More than you know, kid.

Come here, will you?

I love you.