''Island Son'' is an American

medical drama A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the chara ...

television series that aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

from September 16, 1989, to March 15, 1990, during the 1989–90 schedule. ''Island Son'' marked the return to regular weekly series television of

Richard Chamberlain George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934) is an American actor and singer, who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show ''Dr. Kildare'' (1961–1966). He subsequently appeared in several TV mini-series, such as ''Shōg ...

, who had not so appeared since his ''

Dr. Kildare Dr. James Kildare is a fictional American medical doctor, originally created in the 1930s by the author Frederick Schiller Faust under the pen name Max Brand. Shortly after the character's first appearance in a magazine story, Paramount Pictur ...

'' series almost 25 years earlier. In the interim he had enjoyed a somewhat successful career in feature films, and had become widely known as "The King of the

Miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

" due to his success in that format.

Premise

Chamberlain once again portrayed a dedicated

medical doctor A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, Dr. Daniel Kulani. Kulani was born in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and practiced on the mainland for many years prior to his return to work at the fictional Kamehameha Medical Center in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

. Kulani's complicated life involved his stressful work environment; his adoptive parents, Tutu and Nana; his 18-year-old son, Sam; and his love interest,

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

drama teacher Nina Delaney. Dr. Kulani's complicated life was never resolved to the satisfaction of the viewers because the program was canceled in March 1990.

Cast

* Richard Chamberlin as Dr. Daniel Kulani *

Brynn Thayer Brynn Thayer is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Jenny Wolek on the television soap opera ''One Life to Live'' from 1978 to 1986, which earned her a Daytime Emmy Award nomination. Career Thayer is best known for her ...

as Dr. Margaret Judd *

Clyde Kusatsu Clyde Kusatsu (born September 13, 1948) is an American actor and trade union leader of Japanese descent. Since 2013, he has served as the National Vice President of SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles Local. Life and career Clyde Kusatsu was born in Hawaii a ...

as Dr. Kenji Fushida *Carol Huston as Dr. Caitlin McGrath *Timothy Carhart as Dr. Anthony Metzger *Betty Carvalho as Nana Kulani *William McNamara as Sam

Episodes

References

External links

* CBS original programming 1980s American drama television series 1990s American drama television series 1989 American television series debuts 1990 American television series endings 1980s American medical television series 1990s American medical television series Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios English-language television shows Television shows set in Hawaii Television shows filmed in Hawaii {{US-drama-tv-prog-stub