The Mrs. Hufnagel Chronicles, Part 11

Mrs. Hufnagel interrupts Jack's sleep, invades his privacy, and meets a doctor she actually likes.

Mrs. Hufnagel (Florence Halop) sheds some
crocodile tears.

The scenes in "Whistle, Wyler Works" featuring St. Eligius's most difficult patient, Mrs. Hufnagel (Florence Halop), are two of my favorites (her encounter with Westphall is probably #1). In the first scene, it's because of her reaction to having someone call her out on her behavior; in the second, I love that we see what happens when she meets someone about whom she has observed no personal weaknesses to exploit.

Dr. Jack Morrison (David Morse) is asleep in the on-call room when Mrs. Hufnagel wheels in to remind him that she wanted a consult with a plastic surgeon and to return his red knapsack, which he left in her room the day before. When she reveals that she read the letter his sister (probably; Jack doesn't confirm it), wrote him, Jack gets angry at her for violating his privacy. He berates her for only caring about herself, and her attempt to elicit his sympathy by "crying" proves ineffective.

Later, plastic surgeon Dr. Bobby Caldwell (Mark Harmon) arrives to provide a consult. The only flaw she can seem to find is that he looks young. She wants the Phyllis Diller treatment, as her new boyfriend Murray is in show business, and she needs to compete with the babes for his attention. Caldwell tells her that if he were to take away her lines, she would lose the beauty that comes with wisdom and experience. He says she doesn't need to change a thing, and that Murray probably agrees with him. She's thoroughly charmed.

Caldwell then runs into Ehrlich (Ed Begley, Jr.) and Fiscus (Howie Mandel) in the hallway and asks why everyone is so upset with Florence, who he found pleasant. They incorrectly presume she must be feeling better.

Other observations:

• Little did Mrs. Hufnagel know that Jack had plenty of practice dealing with awful patients. In "Bypass", the second episode of the series, he made a big speech to Westphall about how he didn't like having to treat awful patients like murderous terrorist bomber Andrew Rhinehardt (Tim Robbins). Seems like Jack has become more cynical since his first year of residency.
• "No wonder your girlfriend moved out. You look terrible when get up." Mrs. Hufnagel is apparently the hospital's busybody--Jack had recently attempted co-habitation with his girlfriend, Clancy (Helen Hunt). One of my favorite Hufnagel character traits is that she manages to discover all the major, defining events in other people's lives. How? We don't know. But she seems to know the hospital as well as anyone, except probably Luther.
• I think this is my favorite Bobby Caldwell scene, even more so than the dark stuff that comes the next season. I love that Mark Harmon's most charming moment is with Florence Halop. And because Mrs. Hufnagel is so vile to everyone else, it's hilarious.
• Mrs. Hufnagel is bored in the first scene because she can't watch Wink Martindale on her TV. At the time, he was the host of the game show Tic Tac Dough, which was one of my childhood favorites.

The Mrs. Hufnagel Chronicles, Part 2

The second in a series of videos featuring St. Eligius's most memorable repeat patient, Mrs. Hufnagel.

Mrs. Hufnagel (Florence Halop) has little sympathy
for Dr. Victor Ehrlich (Ed Begley, Jr.). Neither does
Dr. Bobby Caldwell (Mark Harmon).

Here's the second coming of Florence Hufnagel, from the third episode of season three, "Two Balls and a Strike". In this episode, the nurses have gone on strike, forcing the remaining hospital staff to cover nursing duties in their absence.

Here, aspiring heart surgeon Dr. Victor Ehrlich (Ed Begley, Jr.) is wheeling Mrs. Hufnagel (Florence Halop) down the hallway while bemoaning his share of the burden created by the nurses' strike to Dr. Bobby Caldwell (Mark Harmon). However, Mrs. Hufnagel has her own opinions about the situation.

You'd think it would occur to Victor to appreciate the nurses for their contribution to the care of the patients and functioning of the facility, but he's not yet the kind of person who would do that sort of thing.

The second clip in the continuing adventures of Mrs. Hufnagel:

Mark Harmon, Sexiest Man Alive, 1986

Yes, the second-ever "Sexiest Man Alive" was a St. Elsewhere cast member.

Here's the article from the January 27, 1986 issue of People magazine, "Charmin' Harmon", declaring St. Elsewhere's Mark Harmon, who had just wrapped his run as plastic surgeon and resident eye candy, Dr. Bobby Caldwell, the year's Sexiest Man Alive. The title of "Sexiest Man Alive" had been initiated the year before, as the tag line of a Mel Gibson cover, and since then, the feature has become an annual tradition (with a brief hiatus in the early 90s). Harry Hamlin from L.A. Law would "win" the following year, and after selecting John F. Kennedy, Jr. in 1988, the honour has strictly been bestowed on Hollywood film stars.

St. Elsewhere actually holds the distinction of being the only television series to have two main cast members be declared People's SMA, with Denzel Washington, Dr. Philip Chandler himself, earning the distinction ten years later. Not only was Denzel the first black doctor on a TV medical drama, but he was the first black SMA as well.

The thing I found interesting about the timing of the article was that it coincided with the demise of his character, who had turned heel during season 4. I guess they admired his dramatic chops, which, as he states in the article, weren't really put to much use in his first two seasons on the show. Mark Harmon's last appearance on St. Elsewhere was in the February 12, 1986 episode, "Family Affair", two weeks after his People cover story, an article which reveals upcoming plot developments in a way that would be considered spoiling these days.

I never knew that Harmon requested that the writers do something interesting and "get excited" about his character. The article echoes my reaction to that revelation:

You can just hear the show's writers now: "Is this what you had in mind, Harmon, heh-heh-heh?" Well, it was, precisely, even though it meant a hasty exit from the show recently nominated for an Emmy as TV's Outstanding Drama Series.