Chicago Hope

{{Infobox television

| image = Chicago Hope (CBS television series) logo.svg

| caption =

| alt_name =

| genre = {{Plainlist|

}}

| creator = David E. Kelley

| writer =

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| theme_music_composer =

| opentheme = "Theme from Chicago Hope" by Mark Isham

| endtheme =

| composer =

| country = United States

| language = English

| num_seasons = 6

| num_episodes = 141

| list_episodes = List of Chicago Hope episodes

| executive_producer = {{Plainlist|

}}

| producer =

| location = Los Angeles
Chicago

| cinematography = James R. Bagdonas

| runtime = approx. 42–44 minutes

| company = {{Plainlist|

David E. Kelley Productions
20th Television
(1994–1995)
(season 1)
20th Century Fox Television
(1995–2000)
(seasons 2–6)

}}

| network = CBS

| first_aired = {{Start date|1994|09|18}}

| last_aired = {{End date|2000|05|04}}

| related = Picket Fences

}}

Chicago Hope is an American medical drama television series created by David E. Kelley,{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-04-03-ls-50397-story.html |title=Some say the exciting plots of 'Chicago Hope' lack medical accuracy. But the drama's creator says caution is exercised-and that people know too much to be fooled. : False Hope? |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1995-04-03 |access-date=2012-06-18 |author=Pamela Warrick}} that originally aired for six seasons on CBS from September 18, 1994, to May 4, 2000, with a total of 141 episodes. The series is set in a fictional private charitable hospital in Chicago, Illinois.{{cite news |author=Howard Rosenberg |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-09-17-ca-39695-story.html |title=TV Reviews : 'Chicago Hope' a Medical Melodrama|work=Los Angeles Times |date=1994-09-17 |access-date=2012-06-18}}

Overview

The show starred Mandy Patinkin as Dr. Jeffrey Geiger, a hot-shot surgeon with emotional issues stemming from the psychiatric condition of his wife (played by Kim Greist), who drowned their infant son. Adam Arkin plays Dr. Aaron Shutt, a world-renowned neurosurgeon and Geiger's best friend. Thomas Gibson played Dr. Daniel Nyland, a promiscuous ER doctor and trauma surgeon who was later suspended due to his having an affair with a patient's family member and later was injured in a car crash. Dr. Keith Wilkes played by Rocky Carroll, often clashed with Nyland and was known for his back-to-basics and rough demeanor. He was good friends with Peter Berg's character, Dr. Billy Kronk. Kronk was known for his cowboyish demeanor and known to be very cocky, as showed in an episode where he cuts off a man's injured leg with a chainsaw in a scene where Kronk helps out at an accident site. Peter MacNicol, Alan Rosenberg, and Héctor Elizondo feature as the hospital's in-house attorneys and chief of staff, respectively. Christine Lahti joined in the second season as Dr. Kate Austin, a talented heart surgeon with a chip on her shoulder, vying with Geiger for the chief of surgery position. She was known fighting in a custody battle with her malicious ex-husband and businessman, Tommy Wilmette, played by Ron Silver. Mr. Wilmette did everything he could to get Austin to lose custody of their daughter. He purchased the hospital at the end of Season 2. Dr. Austin is suspended because she and her daughter go AWOL on a trip to New Zealand. Mr. Wilmette was upset because it took him three months to find his ex-wife and daughter. In Season 3, the doctors want Mr. Wilmette to sell the hospital and the doctors would run it. The doctors viewed that Wilmette did not know how to run a hospital and cut too many costs that involved patient care. Mr. Wilmette later met with Senator Kennedy at the White House to talk about Healthcare Reform. In Season 2, Geiger resigns from Chicago Hope after trying to save Alan Birch from a deadly gunshot wound to his heart.

Geiger adopted Birch's baby daughter. Geiger later rejoins the doctors at the end of Season 5 when he becomes Chairman of the Board and fires half of the doctors. In Season 4, Dr. Shutt became a psychiatrist and temporarily loses his ability to operate after suffering from a brain aneurysm. In Season 6, Shutt returns to Neurosurgery and works alongside Carla Gugino's character, Dr. Gina Simon.{{cite news |author=Howard Rosenberg |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-10-13-ca-49596-story.html |title='ER' vs. 'Hope': Which Medicine Is Easier to Swallow?s |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1994-10-13 |access-date=2012-06-18}}

Episodes

Chicago Hope ran six seasons, airing a total of 141 episodes.

=Crossovers=

Fyvush Finkel and Kathy Baker appeared as their Picket Fences characters in the first season. Likewise, Mandy Patinkin and Héctor Elizondo brought their Chicago Hope characters to Picket Fences that year. Both Adam Arkin and Lauren Holly had previously appeared on Picket Fences as a lawyer and as a deputy sheriff, respectively.

Mandy Patinkin appears in an uncredited role as Geiger in a 1995 episode of NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street. Chicago Hope producer John Tinker shot this footage as a favor to his St. Elsewhere colleague Tom Fontana.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}

Chicago Hope characters crossed over to Early Edition early in that show's run. Rocky Carroll, Jayne Brook, and Héctor Elizondo all guest-starred in scenes taking place in the hospital.

Characters

File:Chicago Hope.jpg

rowspan="2" \|Name ! rowspan="2" \|Portrayed by ! rowspan="2" \|Occupation ! colspan="6" \|Season
class="wikitable"
style="width:6%;"\| 1 ! style="width:6%;"\| 2 ! style="width:6%;"\| 3 ! style="width:6%;"\| 4 ! style="width:6%;"\| 5 ! style="width:6%;"\| 6
Aaron Shutt	Adam Arkin	Neurosurgeon	colspan="6" {{CMain}}
Phillip Watters	Hector Elizondo	Hospital Chief of Staff	colspan="6" {{CMain\|Main}}
Jeffrey Geiger	Mandy Patinkin	Cardiac Surgeon	colspan="2" {{CMain\|Main}}	colspan="3" {{CRecurring}} \| colspan="1" {{CMain\|Main}}
Danny Nyland	Thomas Gibson	E.R. surgeon, chief of trauma	colspan="3" {{CMain\|Main}}	colspan="3" {{CNone}}
Camille Shutt	Roxanne Hart	Nurse	colspan="2" {{CMain\|Main}}	colspan="4" {{CNone}}
Alan Birch	Peter MacNicol	Hospital Attorney	colspan="2" {{CMain\|Main}}	colspan="4" {{CNone}}
Arthur Thurmond	E. G. Marshall		{{CMain\|Main}}	colspan="5" {{CNone}}
Angela Giandamenicio	Roma Maffia		{{CMain\|Main}}	colspan="5" {{CNone}}
Billy Kronk	Peter Berg{{cite news\|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-04-08-ca-52231-story.html \|title=Peter Berg: A Man of Action and Words : Television: His dual life as actor and screenwriter has put him in a state of enjoyable overload. He is on 'Chicago Hope' and has a production deal for his screenplay. \|work=Los Angeles Times \|date=1995-04-08 \|access-date=2012-06-18 \|author=Tom White}}	E.R. Doctor	{{CGuest\|Guest}}	colspan="4" {{CMain\|Main}}	{{CNone}}
Dennis Hancock	Vondie Curtis-Hall	Clinic Physician	{{CGuest\|Guest}}	colspan="4" {{CMain\|Main}}	{{CNone}}
Diane Grad	Jayne Brook	Internal Med/Research Scientist	{{CGuest\|Guest}}	colspan="4" {{CMain\|Main}}	{{CNone}}
Kate Austin	Christine Lahti	Cardiac surgeon	{{CNone}}	colspan="4" {{CMain\|Main}}	{{CNone}}
John Sutton	Jamey Sheridan	OB/GYN	{{CNone}}	{{CMain\|Main}}	colspan="4" {{CNone}}
Keith Wilkes	Rocky Carroll	E.R. Doctor	colspan="2" {{CNone}}	colspan="4" {{CMain\|Main}}
Jack McNeil	Mark Harmon	Orthopedic Surgeon	colspan="2" {{CNone}}	colspan="4" {{CMain\|Main}}
Lisa Catera	Stacy Edwards	Neurosurgeon	colspan="3" {{CNone}}	colspan="2" {{CMain\|Main}}	{{CNone}}
Robert Yeats	Eric Stoltz		colspan="4" {{CNone}}	{{CMain\|Main}}	{{CNone}}
Gina Simon	Carla Gugino	Neurosurgeon	colspan="5" {{CNone}}	{{CMain\|Main}}
Francesca Alberghetti	Barbara Hershey	Cardiac Surgeon	colspan="5" {{CNone}}	{{CMain\|Main}}
Jeremy Hanlon	Lauren Holly	Plastic Surgeon	colspan="5" {{CNone}}	{{CMain\|Main}}
Stuart Brickman	Alan Rosenberg	Hospital Attorney	colspan="5" {{CNone}}	{{CMain\|Main}}

Production

With the exception of some infrequent on-location scenes, the vast majority of Chicago Hope was filmed on sound stages at the studios of Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, located in the Century City area of Los Angeles.

Three of the cast (Harmon, Carroll and Holly) would later go on to star together in NCIS.

=Firsts=

The series broke a network television taboo by showing a teenager's breast after her character underwent reconstructive surgery. This was generally seen as relevant to the subject matter and went relatively uncriticized.{{cite news |author=Michael Blowen |title=Television censors use situational standards |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1995/03/12/television-censors-use-situational-standards/ |work=The Baltimore Sun |agency=The Boston Globe |date=1995-03-12 |access-date=2014-07-02}}

On November 18, 1998, Chicago Hope became the first regular series episode to be broadcast in HDTV.[http://www.ce.org/Press/CEA_Pubs/928.asp CEA: Digital America – HDTV] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061011121134/http://www.ce.org/Press/CEA_Pubs/928.asp |date=2006-10-11 }} The episode was entitled "The Other Cheek".

Mark Harmon's character uttered the word "shit" during a trauma. Little criticism was made, although it did inspire the South Park episode It Hits the Fan.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}

Broadcast

=Domestic reruns=

Reruns of Chicago Hope aired on Pop (then the TV Guide Network) from 2010 to 2012. OWN also aired reruns of Chicago Hope on a semi-regular basis.

=International=

In the UK, seasons 1 and 2 originally aired on BBC One. More recently, all seasons of the show have been shown on ITV3. Starting on September 3, 2007, it began airing on Zone Romantica in the UK and Ireland. It was also shown on Sky One in the UK and Ireland in its prime-time slots. In Australia, the series originally aired on the Seven Network. In Germany, the first seasons were shown in the 1990s. In Hungary, the series aired on Viasat3.
In Indonesia, the series originally aired on RCTI, starting from October 1998 ended from July 2002. As of November 2013, it was airing on British channel True Entertainment. In New Zealand, the series originally aired on TV2, now TVNZ 2.

Home media

Revelation Films has released all 6 seasons of Chicago Hope on DVD in Region 2 (UK) for the first time.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chicago-Hope-Season-1-DVD/dp/B006546EVE |title=Chicago Hope- Season 1 |website=Amazon.co.uk |date=5 March 2012 |access-date=2012-06-18}}{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chicago-Hope-Season-2-DVD/dp/B007I5NACU |title=Chicago Hope- Season 2 |website=Amazon.co.uk |access-date=2012-06-18}}{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chicago-Hope-Season-3-DVD/dp/B007IT89HC |title=Chicago Hope- Season 3 |publisher=Amazon.co.uk |access-date=2012-06-18}}{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chicago-Hope-Season-4-DVD/dp/B007IU4O02/ |title=Chicago Hope- Season 4 |website=Amazon.co.uk |access-date=2012-06-18}}{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chicago-Hope-Season-5-DVD/dp/B00A7SFWBW |title=Chicago Hope- Season 5 |publisher=Amazon.co.uk |access-date=2012-06-18}}{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chicago-Hope-Season-6-DVD/dp/B00A7U2QZ0/ |title=Chicago Hope- Season 6 |website=Amazon.co.uk |access-date=2012-06-18}}

class="wikitable"
rowspan="2" \| DVD Name ! rowspan="2" \| Ep# ! colspan="3" \| Release dates
Region 1 ! Region 2 ! Region 4
Season One \| style="text-align:center;"\| 22 \| style="text-align:center;" \| {{TableTBA\|N/A}} \| March 5, 2012 \| style="text-align:center;" \| {{TableTBA\|N/A}}
Season Two \| style="text-align:center;"\| 23 \| style="text-align:center;" \| {{TableTBA\|N/A}} \| July 23, 2012 \| style="text-align:center;" \| {{TableTBA\|N/A}}
Season Three \| style="text-align:center;"\| 26 \| style="text-align:center;" \| {{TableTBA\|N/A}} \| November 5, 2012 \| style="text-align:center;" \| {{TableTBA\|N/A}}
Season Four \| style="text-align:center;"\| 24 \| style="text-align:center;" \| {{TableTBA\|N/A}} \| March 18, 2013 \| style="text-align:center;" \| {{TableTBA\|N/A}}
Season Five \| style="text-align:center;"\| 24 \| style="text-align:center;" \| {{TableTBA\|N/A}} \| September 16, 2013 \| style="text-align:center;" \| {{TableTBA\|N/A}}
Season Six \| style="text-align:center;"\| 22 \| style="text-align:center;" \| {{TableTBA\|N/A}} \| July 21, 2014 \| style="text-align:center;" \| {{TableTBA\|N/A}}
The Complete Collection \| style="text-align:center;"\| 141 \| style="text-align:center;" \| {{TableTBA\|N/A}} \|December 14, 2015{{Citation\|title=Chicago Hope Complete\|date=2015-12-14\|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chicago-Hope-Complete-Adam-Arkin/dp/B016C4MRTE/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=chicago+hope&qid=1578175372&sr=8-5\|publisher=Revelation Films Ltd\|language=en\|access-date=2020-01-04}} \| style="text-align:center;" \| {{TableTBA\|N/A}}

class="wikitable"

rowspan="2" | DVD Name

! rowspan="2" | Ep#

! colspan="3" | Release dates

Region 1

! Region 2

! Region 4

Season One

| style="text-align:center;"| 22