Samuels operates on a hooker, who invites all her friends to visit her; Myra White gives her estranged husband some news; the racial tensions reach a climax when the truth about O'Connor's beating surfaces; and Ehrlich makes a fool of himself by drinking too much at a party given by Dr. Craig.

Morrison tries to reason with a patient determined to drink himself to death; Chandler faces a malpractice suit after a patient dies unexpectedly in an elevator; White goes crazy with jealousy; and Dr. Craig enjoys the company of a visiting Hungarian surgeon.

Dr. Craig and Ehrlich both prepare turkeys for the staff forced to work the holiday; injuries from the Thanksgiving Day parade pour into the ER; and a depressed Dr. Auschlander takes a special interest in an ailing 11-year-old.

Three women in a room become close despite their differences; an old woman facing the loss of her independence; a mother trying to deal with violent surges of erratic behavior; and a bland young woman searching for 'character' through a nose job.

Morrison and Clancy argue over what to do about her unexpected pregnancy; Rosenthal and Dr. Auschlander fail to agree about anything as a nurses' strike looms; the emergency room receives three seriously burned firefighters; and Dr. Westphall collides with a strong-minded Mother Superior over life support for a critically ill nun.

Dr. Westphall bans Sister Dominica from the hospital; the firefighters try to adjust to their injuries; Fiscus meets a fairy godmother; White returns to work; Clancy takes matters concerning her pregnancy into her own hands; and a Federal mediator joins the stalled contract talks.

Dr. Auschlander suggests a controversial liver dialysis procedure for Wegener's little girl, using her father's liver to do the work; Cavanero is stung by the same rumor she started about Dr. Holtz; and Chandler reports an old voodoo woman for practicing medicine without a license. Dr. Craig is called before the fees commission. Rosenthal meets Clarendon's wife.

Westphall's old friend, Capt. Gloria Neal, arrives to make sure everything is prepared for an emergency as the First Lady passes through the area; Ehrlich creates anguish for a mother and child when he casually reports suspected child abuse; Clarendon faces Rosenthal's children when he decides to move in; and Shirley, out on bail and awaiting trial, returns to St. Eligius.

Mrs. Auschlander faces major heart surgery; Dr. Craig is disturbed to see the ravages of time on his mentor, Dr. David Domedion; Ehrlich searches for a religion; the messiah shows up for a Celtics game; and Dr. Westphall announces his resignation at a friendly little bar called Cheers.

The hospital review board acquires a new member from the psychiatric floor; Chandler experiences long-suppressed resentments when he treats a Vietnamese patient; and Dr. Turner counsels an upwardly mobile couple who can't conceive a child.

The Endicotts try to adjust to losing a family member but gain good news about another; Dr. Caldwell's diagnosis of AIDS causes concern for his friends and a cooling in Fiscus and Clancy's relationship; and Ehrlich's outreach assignment involves the normal sized son of dwarf parents.

A depressed Father Joseph McCabe returns to St. Eligius; Morrison receives a visitor from Seattle; Dr. Craig seeks help for his injured hand from an old classmate; one of Axelrod's patients awakens in the morgue; and Luther plays musical air conditioners.

The representative of a foreign medical group interested in the hospital visits to absorb the psychic `aura' of the place (via flashbacks) but collapses from a heart attack before he can recommend the sale.

Auschlander tries to stop the demolition of St. Eligius.

One month after St. Eligius was shut down, it is reopened by The Ecumena Corporation and its head of medicine Dr. John Gideon. Meanwhile, Dr. Craig is offered the opportunity to design an artificial heart, which the younger doctors jokingly call the ""Craig 5000.""