Strong Medicine: Season 05 (2004)

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Joining the cast of the Lifetime network doctor series Strong Medicine during its fifth season is Tamera Mowry as Dr. Kayla Thornton, new first-year resident at Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Women's Health Clinic. Though raised in a rural community, Kayla has returned to her home town of Philadelphia to pursue a medical career that was inspired by the tragic death of her brother. The arrival of Kayla proves to be a blessing for the clinic's male nurse Peter (Josh Coxx), who falls in love with the attractive resident--even though his feelings are not entirely reciprocated, at least not at first. Otherwise, Season Five picks up where Season Four left off, as Dr. Lu Delgado (Rose Blasi), one of Rittenhouse's two medical directors, falls in love with Ben Sanderson (Grant Show), the hospital's chief benefactor. Even so, Lu balks when Ben begs her to come with him when he is transferred to Hawaii. Meanwhile, Lu's partner Dr. Andy Campbell (Patricia Richardson) continues having issues with her daughters Jessie (Michelle Horn) and Lizzie (Morgan Flynn) over her divorce from her abusive husband Les. Andy tries to move on with her life by dating Dr. Milo Morton (Richard Biggs), but this proves difficult thanks to the resistance of her ex-husband. Tragically, Milo is slated to be killed by a drunken motorist, which is one of the motivating factors for Andy to consider giving up the clinic and lobbying for the position of State Attorney General (the other is the fact that she is denied the position of clinic chief of staff, a post recently departed by Dr. Paul Santiago [Philip Casanoff]). Meanwhile, Lu has problems of her own, beginning with the likelihood that her son Marc (Chris Marquette) has gotten a girl pregnant.On a more positive note, Lu enters into a relationship with Jonas Ray (Nestor Carbonel), a self-made millionaire from humble Cuban-refugee origins. Guest stars this season include Olympic athlete Keri Strug) and versatile actresses JoBeth Williams, Lynn Whitfield and Charlotte Rae. The series' 100th episode "Cinderella in Scrubs" manages to find roles for the likes of Fran Drescher, Camryn Manheim and Sara Gilbert. And in the 108th episode "First Response", the series' regulars are shunted into the background while the focus is on Nicole Hiltz and Lauren Velez as Kate and Vanessa, dedicated members of Rittenhouse's EMS team, and foster sisters (one white, one black) in the bargain. Can it be that "First Response" was intended as a spinoff for a new series? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi