It's 28 years after Korea, and Dr. John Mcintyre—the legendary Trapper John of “M* A*S*H* fame—now a noticeably older and more sedate civilian, is finally learning what it's like to be on the receiving end when he's faced with a carbon copy of what he used to be—an impetuous, rebellious wiseacre of a young surgeon. Pernell Roberts stars in the title role of “Trapper John, M.D." that premiered Sunday, Sept. 23, 1979 (9:00-10:00 p.m.) on the CBS Television Network. Gregory Harrison stars as the brash, rule-flouting Dr. Gonzo Gates, who has the potential of dumping Trapper into water up to his ears.
Jack Gilford and Roddy McDowall guest star as a couple of disaster-victim patients who figure prominently in the developing relationship between trapper and Gonzo.
His days of sewing up and cutting up with the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital far in his past, Trapper is now the chief surgeon at the mammoth San Francisco Memorial Hospital.
Gonzo, himself a jobless M.A.S.H. veteran of Vietnam, shows up to apply to Trapper for a surgical post just as emergency cases are flooding into the hospital from the scene of a flaming hotel. Seeing that the hospital's surgical emergency staff is swamped,Gonzo characteristically bitches in with scalpel and clamps without going through any formalities.
Two of the mob of casualties are Irving Ziegler (Gilford), a critically hurt oldster who is, nevertheless, sufficiently conscious to be staging some kind of suspicious masquerade, and the Reverend Barnaby Box (McDowall), a sleek ind well-known religious figure whose motives and fundraising activities are considered suspect in certain quarters.
The hectic situation peaks at crisis when two things happen: Ziegler is stricken with sudden cardiac arrest at about the same time that trouble-making Dr. Stanley Riverside realizes that he has evidence of apparent misfeasance, creating serious problems for Gonzo and especially, Trapper.
Also prominent in the case are Mary McCarty. starring as Nurse Starch Willoughby, whose close association with Trapper dates back to Korea; Charles Siebert, starring as Dr Riverside; Brian Mitchell, starring as Dr. Jackpot Jackson; Christopher Norris, starring as the voluptuous Nurse Ripples Brancusi, and Jessica Walter in a special guest appearance as Trapper's ex-wife, Melanie.
“Trapper John, M.D" was written by Don Brinkley, directed by Jackie Cooper and produced by Frank Glicksman. Brinkley and Glicksman were the key figures in the development and production of the long-popular series, “Medical Center,” which starred Chad Everett, on the Network. “Trapper John, M.D." is the product of Frank Glicksman Productions in association with Don Brinkley, Inc., and Twentieth Century-Fox Television
Written by TVgy1960wXc on Dec 3, 2025