screen captures from the Cutter to Houston pilot episode, 1983
Shelley's second foray into series TV was Cutter to Houston. It was about three young doctors from the world-famous Texas Medical Center in Houston who were recruited to run a small hospital in the fictional rural town of Cutter, Texas. Jim Metzler and Alec Baldwin played the other two doctors. Jim played idealistic GP Dr. Andy Fenton, who grew up in Cutter and is glad to be home. Alec played internist/ladies man Dr. Hal Wexler, who is getting through his probation, having been relegated to Cutter for being a little too fast and free with his prescriptions. And Shelley played Dr. Beth Gilbert, an ambitious surgeon on temporary assignment in Cutter and aspires to be a heart surgeon in Houston.
more screen captures from the Cutter to Houston pilot episode, 1983
To continue, Ginny Bickum is on the operating table. She has been experiencing complications in her pregnancy due to the stress caused by her husband Frank's accident and subsequent arm amputation (an the operation performed by Beth). He has become volatile and moody and has stormed into Cutter Community Hospital looking for his wife. Beth, assisted by Andy, is in the operating room ready to perform a C-section on Ginny to save both mother and child when Frank storms in, points a gun at Beth and threatens to shoot if she doesn't stop whatever she's doing. He doesn't trust Beth and is suspicious of her intentions. Hal, as well as one of the nurses, is right behind Frank and tries to reason with him.
