ST. ELSEWHERE CONTRACTS A PROBLEM WITH AIDS (original) (raw)

The adoring crowd that follows the docs and smocks at ”St. Elsewhere”

has been tested, along with Dr. Bobby Caldwell (Mark Harmon). Wednesday night, in a decision that the producers of this marginal-but-much-loved NBC series may rue, Caldwell was diagnosed as having contracted AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), the better to fulfill Harmon`s wish to become a hospital alumnus.

A ghoulish fascination with AIDS has swept through prime-time network programming of late, all of it presented as some sort of extraordinary public service. NBC got the hospital gurney going with ”An Early Frost,” a made-for-TV movie last year built around the response of parents to a homosexual son and his affliction.

A character in ABC`s vacant ”Hotel,” a bartender with a wife and child, got the disease, with utterly predictable melodramatic results. And another puerile offering on ABC, ”Mr. Belvedere,” has scheduled a show slapped together around AIDS for Friday night viewing.

The story line, to the degree that shows like ”Mr. Belvedere” have story lines, is the negative reaction of a young character in the series to news that a classmate has AIDS.

”Meanwhile,” according to the publicity machine at ABC, ”Kevin`s attempts at cooking and sewing as part of a class assignment prove disastrous for the Owens family.”

There is a qualitative difference between ”St. Elsewhere” and ”Mr. Belvedere.” The difference is that the former offers a legitimate reason to watch your TV. The latter offers a solid reason to sell it.

The risks are far greater for ”St. Elsewhere,” a decent program with an audience consisting of people who know their ZIP codes from their area codes. When not much is demanded (e.g., ”Hotel”), not much is expected. A choice like the one being made in Wednesday`s episode, where Caldwell learns that he has apparently contracted the illness through contact with a female prostitute, could undo almost four years of good will with a devoted but critical audience.

It is not so much the flirtation with a front-page disease that is a dicey matter for ”St. Elsewhere.” The show dealt with AIDS two years ago in an episode (”AIDS and Comfort,” November, 1983) in which a man with the inevitable family contracted AIDS through a homosexual liaison.

This time, with Harmon and the show`s producers (MTM) at odds, a conscious decision was made to dismantle Dr. Bobby Caldwell. ”We`re going to see dissolution of a character,” executive producer Bruce Paltrow said in a telephone conversation a few weeks ago.

In recent months, the formerly harmless, mildly amusing Caldwell has assumed satyric as well as satiric proportions. He has taken to chasing nurses into bathrooms, insulting his fellow doctors and, a few weeks ago, being paid off for his promiscuity by having his face slashed by an unfortunate choice of pickups.

Now, AIDS. Is this some sort of commentary of what used to be called the

”sexual revolution?” Will Bobby Caldwell die for our sins?

It looks that way. A nervous breakdown is in the works, along with a suicide attempt and then, well, contract expiration.

Tom Fontana, one of the producers and writers of the Emmy award-winning show, pontificated as follows when the AIDS ploy was revealed:

”We also wanted to look at sexual freedom and an entire generation`s attitude toward free love. For the last 15 years or so, we were told that free love was okay, but now it`s catching up with us. And most of the people who watch our show probably are those who have been out there for 15 years making love with various partners.”

Thanks, Tom. Monumental arrogance aside, the producers of ”St. Elsewhere” may have some medical problems of their own. There is much that is not known or understood about AIDS, and the transmission of the disease from female carriers to males is among the most complex of these tragic riddles.

If it were another show engaging in this brand of hormonal programming, a show less revered by folks who believe that it is possible for prime-time television to be of some quality, chances are a good deal more critical fire would be drawn.

This programming escapade smacks of hysteria, and looks like an unvarnished attempt to buck up those Nielsen ratings. That`s a maneuver the sensitive types at MTM Productions and NBC claim they never have to employ with ”St. Elsewhere.”

Originally Published: January 31, 1986 at 1:00 a.m.