Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing St. Elsewhere, a medical show which ran on NBC from 1982 to 1988.  The show can be found on Daily Motion.

Life goes on at St. Eligius.

Episode 4.19 “Out On A Limb”

(Dir by Eric Laneuville, originally aired on February 26th, 1986)

A new crop of residents has come to the hospital. Among them is Carol Novino (Cindy Pickett), who we are told was a nurse at the hospital before Dr. Westphall encouraged her to go to medical school. That’s right — Carol is a protégée of Donald’s. That really should put fear in the heart of anyone who has been watching this show from the start. The only people more depressing than Donald are the people who look up to him. Just look at Jack Morrison.

Novino has a difficult first day. The nurses think that she’s a snob. Dr. Chandler gets mad at her for disagreeing with him while doing rounds. She manages to get on Dr. Craig’s bad side… well, everyone gets on Dr. Craig’s bad side so I’m not sure why she should be any different. That said, I’ve already checked and I’ve discovered that Novino is going to be with the show to the end. It pays to be friends with Westphall. At least, I hope they’re just friends. If this turns into a romance, it’s going to be the most depressing romance ever.

There were a few other things that happened. Jack, paranoid after Pete got abducted, carried his son around with him while doing his job. Meanwhile, Dr. Craig carried his granddaughter with him. Axelrod and Fiscus went to California for a medical conference. Axelrod loved the sunny weather while Fiscus realized that he’s a Boston guy at heart. Morrison had to tell a little boy that he was going to lose his arm. Alan Autry showed up as a football player who could barely walk after all the damage he had sustained on the field.

It was …. well, to be honest, this season was kind of boring. After Bobby leaving the hospital and the two-part flashback episode, I guess it was inevitable that St. Elsewhere would need at least one episode to reset. This was a reset episode and a reminder that not every day is a melodrama.