The Mrs. Hufnagel Chronicles, Part 12

Mrs. Hufnagel is discharged from St. Eligius, but suffers a great loss along the way.

Mrs. Hufnagel (Florence Halop) isn't about to let
"Butch", a.k.a. Dr. Annie Cavanero (Cynthia Sikes),
lay a hand on her.

"Bye, George" features the most of Mrs. Hufnagel we've seen in any one episode so far. For the first time, we see that maybe there's a vulnerable, caring person in there somewhere after all.

Once again, Mrs. Hufnagel (Florence Halop) has been passed to another doctor. This time, attending physician Dr. Annie Cavanero (Cynthia Sikes) gets the nod, having taken over the case from Dr. Jack Morrison (David Morse), who can no longer see patients since it was revealed that he had fast-tracked his education and was not qualified to practice medicine.

Fortunately for Annie, Mrs. Hufnagel's treatment for phlebitis has ended. She asks Annie about her decision to propose to her new love, Murray Robbin (Murray Rubin). The rumors about Cavanero that Hufnagel refers to involve visiting surgeon Dr. Christine Holtz (Caroline McWilliams), who became fast friends with Annie and stayed at her home, but then Annie became uncomfortable when she found out that Holtz was a lesbian. Rumors flew that relations between the two were more than platonic. I enjoy the shout out to Miami Vice, which had just debuted a few months earlier.

Dr. Elliott Axelrod (Stephen Furst) tries to comfort a
greiving Mrs. Hufnagel.

Mrs. Hufnagel's proposal to Murray doesn't work out as she had hoped, as Murray is not ready to be tied down. Meanwhile, Dr. Elliott Axelrod (Stephen Furst) has asked Murray to teach him how to tell jokes. Sadly, their first lesson is cut short when Murray's pratfall turns out to be a fatal heart attack.

Elliott now must tell Mrs. Hufnagel the terrible news. Axelrod, the sensitive son of a callous veterinarian (he'll be played by Louis Nye), can't bring himself to tell her, as he is reminded of the childhood trauma of losing his dog to a passing car and having to bury it. According to Edward Copeland, their scene in the chapel is Stephen Furst's personal favorite.

You'd think that Murray's story would be over, but two seasons later, we find out what happened to Murray once he departed this earthly realm. In "After Life", we learn, courtesy of Dr. Wayne Fiscus (Howie Mandel), that Murray had unfinished business, and as a result, his spirit was still languishing in purgatory, alongside fellow former St. Eligius patient Rockin' Ralph (Richard Marcus), a.k.a. the Birdman of St. Eligius, who had been there since season one. Murray hadn't yet achieved his dream of making people laugh. By the end of Wayne's time there, Murray manages to get a chuckle out of him.

If you haven't seen St. Elsewhere before, I understand if this sounds strange. And I'm surprised that you read this far.

The Mrs. Hufnagel Chronicles, Part 9

Mrs. Hufnagel is visited by friend and amateur magician Murray Robbin, who loses his dove.

Mrs. Hufnagel (Florence Halop) is delighted by
Murray Robbin's (Murray Rubin) sort-of-magic trick.

In "The Children's Hour", the twelfth episode of the third season of St. Elsewhere, Mrs. Hufnagel (Florence Halop) gets the most screen time of any of her appearances to date. She pops up in an early scene, when she wheels up to the door of a room where a woman can be heard screaming and implores Nurse Helen Rosenthal (Christina Pickles) to give the woman something for the pain.

Later, she is in her room when former patient and friend Murray Robbin (Murray Rubin) drops in for a visit. In addition to his singing and comedy, Murray is also a budding magician, and for one of his tricks, he produces a dove from his coat pocket. When Dr. Elliott Axelrod (Stephen Furst) arrives and scolds Mrs. Hufnagel for bringing a live pet into the hospital, the bird escapes during Elliott's attempt to confiscate it.

Orderly Luther Hawkins (Eric Laneuville) manages to capture the bird in hand from atop a light fixture, much to the delight of Florence and Murray, who actually manages to get a laugh from her with a joke. Later, Axelrod discharges Hufnagel whose treatment for phlebitis ("I don't know what Nixon was complaining about") has ended, but his relief at her departure is snuffed out when she informs him that she'll be back to visit Murray, who is about to be re-admitted for his colitis.

Luther (Eric Laneuville) rescues Murray's dove.

The other story, alluded to here, involves the woman who was screaming in the first scene. Mrs. Dowd (Anne-Marie Martin) is the attractive, nymphomaniac wife of a patient who begs Dr. Victor Ehrlich (Ed Begley, Jr.) to figure out a way she can have her needs satisfied while her husband is admitted to St. Eligius. Ehrlich turns to Luther for a solution, but is shocked to learn that couple is using Dr. Craig's office while he's at a conference. Ehrlich hides his face and retreats hastily when he spots Hufnagel approaching.

Last time we saw her, Hufnagel was Wayne Fiscus's patient, but clealry Fiscus has managed to dump her on Axelrod in the meantime. Here are Florence and Murray's misadventures in 'The Children's Hour":

The Mrs. Hufnagel Chronicles, Part 7

Mrs. Hufnagel demands better accommodations and makes a new friend in fellow patient Murray Robbin.

Mrs. Hufnagel (Florence Halop) reluctantly
relinquishes the role of physician to Dr. Elliott
Axelrod (Stephen Furst).

St. Elsewhere's writers took a break from their favorite curmudgeon in season three's "Sweet Dreams", the first episode to not mention the patient since her debut in "Playing God (Part 2)". In "Up on the Roof", she's back, having escaped from her room to complain about the malfunctioning electric bed in her current room and demand a room in the new wing, much to the frustration of her physician, Dr. Wayne Fiscus (Howie Mandel). I've left in the entire shot, which also includes the arrival of visiting bone marrow specialist Dr. Christine Holtz (Caroline McWilliams); it runs for 1 minute, 8 seconds.

For the first time, Hufnagel gets two scenes in an episode. After we see her in the opening scene, she pops in on the patient next door in search of a spare bedpan. The patient is aspiring stand-up comedian and colitis sufferer Murray Robbin (Murray Rubin). He's probably the worst comedian in the world, but the two patients bond over their common afflictions. Dr. Elliott Axelrod arrives to find that Hufnagel has taken issue with how he diagnosed his patient.

And so begins the relationship between Florence Hufnagel and Murray Robbin: