Thoughts about "The Doctors" - February 1973

Another month's worth of episodes of "The Doctors" has aired on RetroTV. Below are my thoughts on what has aired for the month of February 1973.

Hank was recuperating at Hope Memorial, and was visited by Lauri. They didn't get back together, but it is evident that his feelings for her didn't disappear. Lauri was keeping a secret that she lost her ability to sing. She admitted this to Mike after the doctor confronted her for leaving town after one night. Later he told Toni, who felt that Hank should know the truth about Lauri's situation. That said, Lauri not being able to sing, and Hank not being able to do surgery are comparable as these situations are keeping them from doing what they love. Hank was released and went back to work for Nick in the lab. He had to start with the index cards, and felt it was beneath him. Martha got him for that, but otherwise he is getting along with the lab team.

We got another update on Harold Baylor. He got a job, and is moving out of the family home. This proved how successful of a team Althea and John are professionally. Althea returned home without Penny as she wanted to finish her marking period at school in California. John felt that Penny could benefit from them being together as a family, while Althea didn't feel she could have a marriage based on friendship instead of romantic love. Maggie mainly played a confidante to Althea and discussed work and home issues.

The main story of the month was the climax of Stephanie's kidnapping and the death of Cathy Riker. At home, Carolee had a nightmare about Stephanie, while sleeping, and the sedatives weren't successful. Mona was decent with Carolee, and protected her from the press's phone calls. Carolee made an appeal and shared some tidbits about Stephanie to give Cathy information on how to care for her daughter. Dwayne saw this while with Cathy and the baby, and thought something was wrong. Once he discovered that the baby boy Nicky, was a girl, he became suspicious. He called the cops, and Cadman, Matt and Steve rushed to the building. Cathy went on the roof holding Stephanie in a blanket. Everyone tried to get her out to no avail. Nick was called, and was nearly successful until she referred to the baby as her instead of Nicky. Cathy became agitated, and John Morrison in desperation went out on the ledge with only a rope held by a police officer to keep him from falling 14 stories. John was able to convince Cathy to give him the baby as he would help her leave town. It was a lie, but it worked. Once the baby was safe, John returned, but Cathy became stuck, she fell, missed the safety net and didn't survive. Steve and Matt checked out Stephanie, and while she was a little cold, she was fine. Steve called Carolee on the phone with the good news, and rushed home to reunite mother and child. Everyone except Nick, considered John a hero, and was on the cover of the local newspaper. Carolee wanted to make a statue in his honor. The most surprising part was once everything was back to normal in the Aldrich house, we saw Steve and Carolee in bed together. It was a tame love scene, as the only nudity we saw was Steve's feet/ankles when he went into bed. Basically to summarize, after cuddling and Steve not wanting Carolee to go to the baby, they kissed. Steve then went to turn off the light, and then we saw them begin to kiss again with him on top of her.

After Stephanie was rescued, Carolee and Mona continued to get along. Unlike today, Mona invited Steve and Carolee to lunch, alcoholic drinks were served and they went back to work. Though Mona was working hard to set up a private practice location for Ann in Madison. She was planning on buying a home with three professional offices for doctors and invite Ann to live upstairs with her. Mona wanted Ann and Cliff to team up, but obviously she wanted Steve to quit the hospital and join them. Steve did admit having problems with the new OBGYN chief who is mentioned on screen, but not seen. The new head of the service cared more about getting patients out quickly and paperwork than anything else. Carolee went to Matt's office to talk about changing the hospital uniforms for the student nurses from miniskirts to pantsuits, which are now all the rage. Matt said he will have to see with the board though the interns appreciated the short skirts on the nurses. Carolee also questioned Matt about Steve's professional future. She hopes that one day he can take over his department, and Matt admitted that he admired the way Steve changed from his early days at Hope Memorial. Steve took Ann with him on rounds, and Nick invited Ann out on a date.

Those were the highlights of February 1973. There are no records that "The Doctors" wasn't on and there were no missing episodes. I hope we don't have as many flashbacks in March, as February had numerous, including some of scenes that aired one episode prior. There was also a lot of music, as Lauri James's song "No Way" was in constant rotation in Hank's hospital room.