Cutter to Houston
Show Type: Medical Drama (CBS)
First Telecast: October 01, 1983
Last Telecast: December 31, 1983
First Telecast: October 01, 1983
Last Telecast: December 31, 1983
Premise:
Three young doctors with markedly different backgrounds and motives... Shelley Hack, Jim Metzler and Alec Baldwin star as three young doctors recruited to run a small hospital in the small Texas town of Cutter, 60 miles from Houston, where they face medical and personal challenges. When they run into major medical problems their local facility can't handle, they contact the Texas Medical Center in Houston.
For an updated guide on Cutter to Houston, check out:
Cast:
Shelley Hack as Doctor Beth Gilbert
Jim Metzler as Doctor Andy Fenton
Alec Baldwin as Doctor Hal Wexler
Susan Styles as Nurse Patty Alvarez
K Callan as Nurse Connie Buford
Noble Willingham as Mayor Warren Jarvis
Shelley Hack as Doctor Beth Gilbert
Jim Metzler as Doctor Andy Fenton
Alec Baldwin as Doctor Hal Wexler
Susan Styles as Nurse Patty Alvarez
K Callan as Nurse Connie Buford
Noble Willingham as Mayor Warren Jarvis
Various Comments (found on the net): 1.
Great young cast in a short-lived series. This was a very short-lived series that had great promise. The drama series, which first aired on Saturday, October 1, 1983, ran for just over 3 months before airing its final episode on Saturday, December 31, 1983. Shelley Hack and Jim Metzler were the "name" actors in the series, but a young Alec Baldwin really stood out. The premise of doctors in a Houston trauma unit was pretty routine, but the cast seemed to give the show life. Unfortunately, the show was buried in a bad timeslot and never really had a shot.
2.
Ahh - a real television obscurity Cutter to Houston (1983). I think I was the only person on this planet that watched this...In fact, I wonder if even Alec Baldwin remembers it. It was like a US Flying Doctors or something.
3.
Shelley Hack bounces back from her abbreviated Charlie's Angels stint and proves that, with the right material, she is not without acting talents and charms. I've always liked Shelley and in this show, she made the transition from Charlie's Angel to angel of mercy rather easily. She is joined by a talented newcomer Alec Baldwin. This was just before Alec made a career-making turn on Knots Landing. This was an interesting, critically well-received show that should have grown and progressed, if the network had only supported it. What a waste. From Cutter to Houston (originally dubbed "Scrubs") could have taken the credits for discovering Alec Baldwin and unveiling the star that Charlie's Angels failed to bring out in Shelley Hack.
4.
Baldwin on the Brink
Interview Magazine , October, 1989
CK: So then you started doing what— Knots Landing at this point?
AB: Shelley Hack and I and an actor named Jim Metzler, who's a friend of mine, did a medical series. Cutter to Houston, which could have been interesting if they had stuck to what they said they were going to do. It ran for only seven episodes.
CK: What network?
AB: CBS. I always liked working for CBS. They're very decent.
CK: You 're saying that with a straight face!
AB: Well, I mean decent for actors. I don't want to get into this, because it's like bashing people, but there's one network in particular where they just hate actors. They beat you down, they hire awful producers, and the actors are treated like scum. This network is doing very well right now, but every show that has become successful for them in recent times has been independently produced. The thing that's made them number one has nothing to do with them. Every time I've worked for them it's been a fucking nightmare.
After Cutter to Houston, I got Knots Landing. That was great. I was pretty happy there.
5.
Despite young stars like Shelley Hack, Jim Metzler and Alec Baldwin, Cutter to Houston only survived for three short months on CBS. The show was based upon a medical clinic in the town on Cutter, Texas 60 miles from Houston. The three doctors were serving the small Texas town's clinic for very different reasons. Ms. Hack (Dr. Beth Gilbert) was serving an apprenticeship while Alec Baldwin (Dr. Hal Wexler) was busy serving a probation brought on by charges of writing illegal prescriptions. Jim Metzler played the young surgeon Dr. Andy Fenton.
Great young cast in a short-lived series. This was a very short-lived series that had great promise. The drama series, which first aired on Saturday, October 1, 1983, ran for just over 3 months before airing its final episode on Saturday, December 31, 1983. Shelley Hack and Jim Metzler were the "name" actors in the series, but a young Alec Baldwin really stood out. The premise of doctors in a Houston trauma unit was pretty routine, but the cast seemed to give the show life. Unfortunately, the show was buried in a bad timeslot and never really had a shot.
2.
Ahh - a real television obscurity Cutter to Houston (1983). I think I was the only person on this planet that watched this...In fact, I wonder if even Alec Baldwin remembers it. It was like a US Flying Doctors or something.
3.
Shelley Hack bounces back from her abbreviated Charlie's Angels stint and proves that, with the right material, she is not without acting talents and charms. I've always liked Shelley and in this show, she made the transition from Charlie's Angel to angel of mercy rather easily. She is joined by a talented newcomer Alec Baldwin. This was just before Alec made a career-making turn on Knots Landing. This was an interesting, critically well-received show that should have grown and progressed, if the network had only supported it. What a waste. From Cutter to Houston (originally dubbed "Scrubs") could have taken the credits for discovering Alec Baldwin and unveiling the star that Charlie's Angels failed to bring out in Shelley Hack.
4.
Baldwin on the Brink
Interview Magazine , October, 1989
CK: So then you started doing what— Knots Landing at this point?
AB: Shelley Hack and I and an actor named Jim Metzler, who's a friend of mine, did a medical series. Cutter to Houston, which could have been interesting if they had stuck to what they said they were going to do. It ran for only seven episodes.
CK: What network?
AB: CBS. I always liked working for CBS. They're very decent.
CK: You 're saying that with a straight face!
AB: Well, I mean decent for actors. I don't want to get into this, because it's like bashing people, but there's one network in particular where they just hate actors. They beat you down, they hire awful producers, and the actors are treated like scum. This network is doing very well right now, but every show that has become successful for them in recent times has been independently produced. The thing that's made them number one has nothing to do with them. Every time I've worked for them it's been a fucking nightmare.
After Cutter to Houston, I got Knots Landing. That was great. I was pretty happy there.
5.
Despite young stars like Shelley Hack, Jim Metzler and Alec Baldwin, Cutter to Houston only survived for three short months on CBS. The show was based upon a medical clinic in the town on Cutter, Texas 60 miles from Houston. The three doctors were serving the small Texas town's clinic for very different reasons. Ms. Hack (Dr. Beth Gilbert) was serving an apprenticeship while Alec Baldwin (Dr. Hal Wexler) was busy serving a probation brought on by charges of writing illegal prescriptions. Jim Metzler played the young surgeon Dr. Andy Fenton.
