St. Elsewhere quotes

Dr. Fiscus

Dr. Cavanero, I see you're working the halls like everyone else. [gesturing to prostitutes gathered in the hallway] Don't get caught under any red lights.

Dr. Kochar

[looking at woman on operating table] She doesn't look like a prostitute.

Dr. Samuels

Come on, Vijay. We're all selling something. It's just a matter of setting the price.

Dr. Morrison

I guess I never had to be concerned with the big issues of race relations. I always dealt with people one on one. I mean, we're friends aren't we? [silence] Aren't we?

Dr. Chandler

Look, Jack, I'd like to say "Sure. No problem. We're friends. Everything's fine." But I can't. There's things you'll never understand because you're white. I'm not trying to pass judgment but there are things you'll never understand about your wife because she's a woman.

Dr. Morrison

Yeah, but she's still my wife and we're still friends.

I went to a lot of trouble, Ehrlich, and you let me down. Now, I can understand you being nervous or uncomfortable and I've been known to hoist a few in my time but what disappoints me the most is that you are on call today. And I don't think you're capable of doing the work.

Dr. Ehrlich

But I am.

Your responsibility is to your patients, damn it. Twenty four hours a day. I thought you were the brightest. I thought you were the best. Now, I'm not so sure any more. [pause] I'll be down in five minutes. I'll drive you to the hospital. :[Mark exits as Ellen walks towards Ehrlich]

Ellen Craig

Just ignore him, Victor. That's what I do.

If you act with authority, people will tell you anything.

Your pool was paid for by Crestline, the same corporation that makes the pacemakers that you use exclusively.

That's right.

Well now, that might not be a felony, Larry, but at the very least it's a conflict of interest and I know it's more than that. It's a bribe, Larry. So I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to go after you with everything that I've got. It may take day or a month or a year but I'm going to get you unless you save me the trouble.

And...?

Get out of my hospital.

Dr. Fiscus

Any communicable diseases?

What would you like?

My apologies to Hippocrates but sometimes the best cure for all is death.

Dr. Fiscus

Ehrlich, you know what they say about falling off a horse? The same thing goes for a woman.

[after shooting stereo playing music] I hate rock and roll!!

Dr. Ehrlich

Wipeout....

What do you want?

Justice!

He did a good job today, Ehrlich.

Dr. Westphall

Yeah. He seemed to handle himself very well.

He really measured up to the situation. You know, I'm tough on him day in, day out. And God knows, everything about him grates like sandpaper; the hair, the clothes, the lingo... But he really came through today. I think I'll keep on cracking the whip.

Dr. Westphall

Sometimes, the people closest to a situation have the least amount of insight into it especially when it means they're going to have to recognize something they don't want to see.

Dr. Westphall

[to Anya] Dr. Craig's philosophy is this: The only problem with being on call every other night is that you miss half the interesting cases.

Now, I know I'm going to die soon and there isn't anything anyone can do about it. But I'd give everything I own, if I could have just one more day... one more minute... to enjoy everything my family has meant to me. And that's why I know... that what you're doing to yourself is absolutely wrong.

Yeah, it's easy for you to say but I bet if you died 20 years ago, you'd have still lived a better life than I ever will.

Life has dealt us both a bad card but you have many more left in the deck and it's only a fool who wouldn't play out his hand.