Trapper John, M.D.

Trapper John, M.D.
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Created by	Richard Hooker
Developed by	Don Brinkley Frank Glicksman
Starring	Pernell Roberts Gregory Harrison Charles Siebert Mary McCarty Madge Sinclair Brian Mitchell Christopher Norris Timothy Busfield Lorna Luft
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	151 (list of episodes)
Production
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	45–48 minutes
Production company(s)	Don Brinkley Productions 20th Century Fox Television
Distributor	20th Television
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	September 23, 1979 (1979-09-23) – September 4, 1986 (1986-09-04)
Chronology
Preceded by	MASH (1970 film)
Related shows	M*A*S*H AfterMASH

Trapper John, M.D. was an American television medical drama and spin-off of the film MASH. Pernell Roberts portrayed the title character, a lovable surgeon who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, California. The show ran on CBS from September 23, 1979, to September 4, 1986. Roberts played the character more than twice as long as had Wayne Rogers (1972-1975) in the series M*A*S*H.

Synopsis

Trapper John, M.D. focuses on Dr. "Trapper" John McIntyre (Pernell Roberts) twenty-eight years after his discharge from the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) in the Korean War. In the nearly thirty year interim, the character had mellowed considerably. He did not just learn how to stop fighting the system but became a part of it, in a sense, as the Chief of Surgery at San Francisco Memorial Hospital. Trapper showed tremendous compassion toward his patients, often violating "established hospital procedures." Working with Trapper was an aspiring young professional named Dr. George Alonzo "Gonzo" Gates (Gregory Harrison). Gates had a lot in common with Trapper, as he too had served in a MASH (albeit during the later Vietnam War). His sense of humor and love of life also reflected elements of Trapper's younger days. In the show, Gonzo resided in a motor home (dubbed "The Titanic") in the hospital parking lot.

File:Trapper John MD Cast.jpg

The cast of Trapper John, M.D. season 6 (1984-1985).

The show also involves many supporting characters that served as hospital staff. One was Clara "Starch" Willoughby (Mary McCarty), a nurse who had served in the Korean War with Trapper (McCarty died after the first season). She was replaced by Ernestine Shoop (Madge Sinclair). Other characters included young nurse Gloria "Ripples" Brancusi (Christopher Norris) who later adopted a sickly, homeless girl, Andrea; Stanley Riverside II (Charles Siebert), a pompous, but nonetheless capable doctor (whose father was the head of the hospital board of directors) who later married a dentist named E.J. (Marcia Rodd); and Justin "Jackpot" Jackson (Brian Stokes Mitchell), a young doctor always interested in wagers. Character actress Lurene Tuttle guest starred six times in different roles.

In the 1984–1985 season, Trapper's son, J.T. (Timothy Busfield) graduated from medical school and arrived at the hospital to work on his internship. When Gloria left the next fall, she was replaced by Libby Kegler (Lorna Luft). Subsequent additions included the beautiful and mature administrator, Catherine Hackett (Janis Paige), and ER service helicopter pilot and surgeon, Dr. Andy Pagano (Beau Gravitte).

Cast

• Pernell Roberts as Dr. "Trapper" John McIntyre, M.D.
• Gregory Harrison (1979–1985) as Dr. George Alonzo 'Gonzo' Gates, M.D.
• Charles Siebert as Dr. Stanley Riverside, III, M.D.
• Mary McCarty (1979–1980) as Nurse Clara 'Starch' Willoughby
• Madge Sinclair (1980–1986) as Nurse Ernestine Shoop
• Brian Stokes Mitchell as Dr. Justin 'Jackpot' Jackson, M.D.
• Christopher Norris (1979–1985) as Nurse Gloria "Ripples" Brancusi
• Timothy Busfield (1984–1986) as Dr. John 'J.T.' McIntyre, Jr., M.D.
• Lorna Luft (1985–1986) as Nurse Libby Kegler
• Kip Gelman (1986) as Dr. Jacob Christmas
• Simon Scott as Arnold Slocum, Hosp. Administrator
• Jessica Walter as Melanie McIntyre

Production notes

Legally, the show is considered a spin-off the original motion picture, MASH, rather than the M*A*S*H television series. This is due to a court case in which the producers of the television series sought royalty payments on the grounds that Trapper John, M.D. was a spin-off of their series. The court found, however, that the series was a spin-off of the original movie – itself an adaptation of Richard Hooker's MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. As a result, the producers of the M*A*S*H series did not receive any royalties from Trapper John, M.D., with the common threads being 20th Century Fox Television as producers of both the M*A*S*H television series and Trapper John, M.D., and the movie studio in general producing both series and the film MASH.

External links

• Trapper John, M.D. at IMDb
• Trapper John, M.D. at TV.com
• Trapper John, M.D. at Celebrating The Life Of Pernell Roberts
• Trapper John, M.D. at The Legacy Of Pernell Roberts