Chicago Hope Returns
By Margaret Lyons in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 2, 2004 5:25PM
Our prayers to the TV gods have been answered! Chicago Hope, one of Chicagoist's all-time favorite shows, is returning to the airwaves tonight. Well, yesterday afternoon, but it returns in earnest tonight. Amen.
Chicago Hope takes place guess where and premiered back in 1994, the same season that brought Chicago fake-hospital junkies ER. Even though both shows started out holding down Thursday line-ups, Hope got beaten and bad, and eventually set up shop on Monday nights. We just weren't ready for that David E. Kelly nuance, let alone the masterful work of Adam Arkin, Peter MacNicol, Hector Elizondo, and even Mandy Patinkin, who's kind of annoying otherwise. E.G. Marshall plays aging-but-brilliant surgeon on the first 13 episodes, and keep your eyes peeled for a newbie Teri Polo and her sexual harassment charges.
For a show with so many familiar faces, Chicago Hope had a lot of cast turnover. MacNicol left after the first 30 episodes, Patinkin shortly thereafter, making more room for Mark Harmon, Christine Lahti, Peter Berg, and Jayne Brook. Towards the end of its run, Hope cleared out most of its staff and replaced them with Lauren Holly, Barbara Hershey, and Carla Gugino, who all kind of sucked. Kelly's characters, including their shouting-over-each-other signature dialogue, constant singing, and extreme quirkiness, were sometimes an awkward fit for such a traditional environment, and the series had its severe ups and downs. Kelly left the helm in 1997 to do Ally McBeal, and Hope suffered from his absence. Kelly eventually returned, but it just wasn't the same.
Despite its flaws, Chicago Hope is still amazing. It rejected ER's breakneck pace for more plodding, intricate drama, and distinguished itself as the more character-driven of the two (at least early on). Its fantasy world of insane doctors, bizarre patients, and equal parts romantic and gritty Chicago keep this smart and entertaining drama on the map. Catch a new-to-you episode every weeknight at 6 p.m. on the Discovery Health Channel.