THE SCOFIELD DIAGNOSIS

A plotty medical opera about neurology and child abuse, with deep attention to medical detail—and somewhat less to the stereotypical characters. Neurologist Jean Scofield is embroiled in hospital politics while fighting for the right to help an abused child: difficult tests are needed to determine whether he has a brain tumor or is epileptic. The child is the son of wealthy parents who carry great weight with the hospital directors and who deny the depth of the boy's illness—it's the mother who's unstable and beats him. Beyond the issue-clanking, there's little to hold onto—unless the sudsy past of the prime medico appeals. Dr. Scofield, a widow, lost her husband, a diplomat, in Vietnam a dozen years ago; she'd been with him when he was fragged, but her medical skill was useless. She was also pregnant when her husband died, but lost the child and went into catatonia. She was egged on to recovery by being made to care for motherless infants who were wasting to death. Since then she's been dedicated to recovering children from vicious parents. Black, white, and blood-red. Denker keeps his stitches flowing, and there's no denying the pull of the operations, but it's all so pat, pat, pat.