Shelley with Jim Metzler and Alec Baldwin
in a promo pic for the TV series
Cutter to Houston, 1983
Shelley's second foray into series TV was Cutter to Houston. It was about three young doctors recruited to run a small hospital in the fictional rural town of Cutter, Texas. Shelley played Dr. Beth Gilbert, an ambitious surgeon on temporary assignment in Cutter. Beth aspired to become a heart surgeon in Houston. Jim Metzler played idealistic GP Dr. Andy Fenton, who grew up in Cutter and was glad to be back in the town that financed his medical education. Alec Baldwin played internist/ladies man Dr. Hal Wexler, who was getting through his probation, having been relegated to Cutter for being a little too fast and free with his prescriptions. Other regular cast members included K Callan as Nurse Connie Buford, Susan Styles as Nurse Patty Alvarez and Noble Willingham as Mayor Warren Jarvis.
screen captures from a TV promo
for the Cutter to Houston episode
"From the Smallest Crystal,
From the Smallest Stone," 1983
Cutter to Houston was a short-lived TV series that began airing in the fall of 1983. Although it received mixed reviews, it had great promise; plus, the cast had an easy rapport and was talented enough to carry an hour-long drama. Prior to the series, former Charlie's Angel Shelley Hack had already proven that she had acting chops, having received great reviews for her work on stage as well as in the big and small screens. Jim Metzler had a Golden Globe Award nomination under his belt for his supporting role in the 1982 feature film Tex. Alec Baldwin had come from his 1980-1982 stint in the NBC daytime soap opera The Doctors. The medical drama, which was aired Saturday nights, had a difficult time finding an audience. Aside from a bad time slot, it seemed to have lost network confidence early on; a "sleeper hit" was still an uncommon notion at the time. It was first aired on October 1, 1983 and it ran for just 7 episodes, airing its final episode on December 31, 1983. There were two more completed episodes; but they weren't aired during the show's initial 1983 run.
screen captures from a TV promo
for the Cutter to Houston episode
"From the Smallest Crystal,
From the Smallest Stone," 1983
