|
 Authoritarian and narrow-minded, Dr. Arthur Donnelly is a
C.C. Capwell transposed in the medical field. Heather and Michael's
father arrives at the summer of 1988 to take over the reins of the
surgery department of the Santa Barbara hospital. Immediately, it
appears that his relationship with his children have never been rosy.
Arthur has in fact never accepted his son Michael's commitment to
priesthood, and that his daughter Heather got specialized in psychiatry,
a field he denigrates.
Too much sure of himself and unable to recognize his
mistakes, Arthur finds his new whipping boy in the person of Dr. Scott
Clark, Heather's boyfriend, whom he never ceases to jeer at in front of
her. He does everything he can to separate them : to hire Heather's
former boyfriend, Dr. Zack Kelton, at the hospital with his daughter, to
exile Scott in a clinic in a poor district of the city... But he however
fails in his purpose. The conflict between Arthur and Scott gets more
acute when Arthur operates in emergency Ben, Scott's father, without
telling him. Ben dies on the operating table and Arthur is accused of
murder by Scott. Then, Arthur lets quickly seen some really human
feelings for once, while bursting out sobbing after the death of this
man.
On his love side, Arthur experiences also a few failures, as
with Sophia Capwell Armonti or Victoria Lane, whom he tries to seduce
both, but in vain. After a slight reconciliation with his children,
Arthur suddenly leaves Santa Barbara for long without explanation.
He is back in the summer of 1989, called in emergency by
Heather to support Michael, arrested for murder. Arthur strangely
returns to the hospital as if he had never left it. His behavior towards
Scott changes completely, since he makes many efforts so that this
latter resumes with Heather whom he had meanwhile abandoned for another
woman, Celeste. The idea of knowing his daughter pregnant with a man she
is separated with may be the reason behind this change. Still, he
manages his way this time, because after her delivery, Heather will
decide to go back with Scott. Arthur, as for him, will disappear again
without explanation...
|
