# Nurse (American TV series)

Nurse is an American medical drama television series that aired on CBS from April 2, 1981, to May 21, 1982. Series star Michael Learned won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1982 for her role on the show. It was based on the bestselling book Nurse (1979) by Peggy Anderson.

## Synopsis

The series follows Mary Benjamin, the supervising nurse at Grant Memorial Hospital in New York City who returned to work after the death of her physician husband.

## Cast

* Michael Learned as Nurse Mary Benjamin
* Robert Reed as Dr. Adam Rose
* Hattie Winston as Nurse Toni Gilette
* Bonnie Hellman as Nurse Penny Brooks
* Hortensia Colorado as Nurse Betty LaSada
* Dennis Boutsikaris as Joe Calvo
* Clarice Taylor as Nurse Baily
* Christopher Marcantel as Chip Benjamin
* Rex Robbins as Dr. Greg Manning

## Episode list
### Pilot (1980)

| Nº | Ep | Title | Directed by | Written by | Airdate |
| 0 | 0 | Nurse | David Lowell Rich | Sue Grafton | April 9, 1980 (1980-04-09) |
| Mary Benjamin is a widowed nurse who, after her son leaves home for college, decides to resume her career as head nurse at Grant Memorial Hospital in New York City. A two-hour television film pilot. ||||||

### Season 1 (1981)

| Nº | Ep | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 1 | 1 | "A Little Rain" | James Sheldon | Story by : Chris Abbott Teleplay by : Chris Abbott & Max McClellan | April 2, 1981 (1981-04-02) |
| A friend of Mary's son may be supplying him with diet pills; hospital routines are interrupted by two disagreeable persons. ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "The Gifts" | Virgil W. Vogel | Story by : Tom Egan Teleplay by : Tom Egan & Max McClellan | April 9, 1981 (1981-04-09) |
| An anonymous person upsets Mary with sexually suggestive gifts that are delivered to her apartment; an anorexic patient (Theresa Saldana) continues to starve herself. ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Listen to Me" | James Sheldon | Story by : Michael McGreevey Teleplay by : Michael McGreevey & Max McClellan | April 16, 1981 (1981-04-16) |
| A deaf hospital employee (David Purdham) reacts in an unexpected manner to Mary's news that his hearing can be restored. ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Life Begins at Dinner" | Virgil W. Vogel | Virginia Aldridge | April 23, 1981 (1981-04-23) |
| Mary faces the trauma of turning 40 and complications by the romantic attentions of a younger man, Dr. Benson (Peter Coffield). ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Long Day's Journey Into Morning" | Virgil W. Vogel | Tom Egan | April 30, 1981 (1981-04-30) |
| A reporter doing a story on Grant Memorial Hospital shows up on the day Mary's department is in chaos. ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Best Friends" | James Sheldon | Story by : Noreen Stone Teleplay by : William Parker & John Welden | May 7, 1981 (1981-05-07) |
| Mary's close friend (Joan Copeland) is admitted to the hospital after a suicide attempt and then insinuates she once had an affair with Mary's late husband. ||||||

### Season 2 (1981–82)

| Nº | Ep | Title | Directed by | Written by | Airdate |
| 7 | 1 | "Margin for Error" | Gwen Arner | Rena Down | November 11, 1981 (1981-11-11) |
| Mary battles a conspiracy of silence when one of her nurses is accused of giving a patient the wrong medication. ||||||
| 8 | 2 | "My Life as a Woman" | Gwen Arner | Hindi Brooks | November 18, 1981 (1981-11-18) |
| Mary is having symptoms and her long-time physician wants to schedule a hysterectomy which her colleagues feel may be unnecessary. ||||||
| 9 | 3 | "Rivals" | Harry Harris | Fred Freiberger | December 2, 1981 (1981-12-02) |
| A new nurse (Diane Venora) joins Mary's staff and Mary, for reasons unknown to herself, takes an instant dislike to the girl. ||||||
| 10 | 4 | "Equal Opportunity" | Seymour Robbie | Ray Brenner | December 17, 1981 (1981-12-17) |
| A male nurse (David Morse) is assigned to Mary's department and Dr. Rose tries to persuade an aging doctor to retire from surgery. ||||||
| 11 | 5 | "Going Home" | Unknown | Camille Marchetta | December 24, 1981 (1981-12-24) |
| Mary quits both her job and New York City after an argument with Dr. Rose, and tries to return to her life as a suburban housewife. ||||||
| 12 | 6 | "A Question of Dignity" | Philip Leacock | Lionel E. Siegel | December 31, 1981 (1981-12-31) |
| A woman, pregnant with her seventh child, accuses Mary of encouraging her to sign a sterilization consent form. ||||||
| 13 | 7 | "To Life" | Philip Leacock | Rena Down | January 7, 1982 (1982-01-07) |
| Mary falls deeply in love with an art history instructor, then learns that he is terminally ill. ||||||
| 14 | 8 | "The Store" | Seymour Robbie | George Bellak | January 14, 1982 (1982-01-14) |
| A prostitute with a heart-valve infection checks into the hospital, and she later disappears with her pimp. ||||||
| 15 | 9 | "A Place to Die" | Philip Leacock | Joel Steiger | January 21, 1982 (1982-01-21) |
| An aging and terminally ill social activist (James Cromwell) insists on dying at home instead of in a hospital. ||||||
| 16 | 10 | "A Matter of Privacy" | Unknown | Brad Radnitz | January 28, 1982 (1982-01-28) |
| Mary reconsiders her role in the cover-up shooting of a congressman involved in a love triangle. ||||||
| 17 | 11 | "Hands of Gold" | Unknown | Joyce Perry | February 11, 1982 (1982-02-11) |
| Drugs are found to be missing from the medical room in Mary's department. ||||||
| 18 | 12 | "Blackout" | Unknown | Norman Katkov | February 18, 1982 (1982-02-18) |
| During a city-wide blackout, Mary tries to calm patients, Calvo organizes a neighborhood patrol and Toni delivers a baby. ||||||
| 19 | 13 | "Where's Mary?" | Unknown | Philip Rosenberg | March 4, 1982 (1982-03-04) |
| Mary is taken hostage during a bank robbery and tries to persuade her captors to let a wounded guard be treated. ||||||
| 20 | 14 | "On the Line" | Unknown | Philip Rosenberg | March 11, 1982 (1982-03-11) |
| Mary is torn between the needs of her patients and the cause of her nurses when the nurses go on strike. ||||||
| 21 | 15 | "Father" | Alex March | Allan Leicht | April 23, 1982 (1982-04-23) |
| Mary is worried when her perfectionist physician father (E.G. Marshall) comes for a visit and tries to repair their strained relationship. ||||||
| 22 | 16 | "The Clown Prince is Indisposed" | Tony Mordente | Unknown | April 30, 1982 (1982-04-30) |
| A boisterous, self-centered talk show host (Steve Allen) and his entourage turn his hospital room into a private office – complete with piano. ||||||
| 23 | 17 | "Fevers" | Unknown | Stuart Rosenberg | May 7, 1982 (1982-05-07) |
| A new inexperienced nurse suffering from job burnout takes the law and the life of a patient into her own hands. ||||||
| 24 | 18 | "A Necessary End" | Bernard L. Kowalski | Unknown | May 14, 1982 (1982-05-14) |
| The question of euthanasia is raised in the story of a dying woman suffering great pain. ||||||
| 25 | 19 | "Impressions" | Unknown | Jerome Coopersmith | May 21, 1982 (1982-05-21) |
| A surgeon (John Rothman), who has allowed his gambling debts and reckless investments get out of hand, finds his competence questioned following a post-operative death. This episode was delayed for a few hours in Boston, Massachusetts on the last day of broadcasting for WNAC-TV ||||||