Island Son

Returning to weekly series television for the first time since Dr. Kildare in the 1960s, Richard Chamberlain was again cast as a dedicated physician. Dr. Daniel Kulani had had a successful career as an internist on the mainland but decided to return home and take a staff position at the Kamehameha Medical Center in Honolulu. It was here that he could be close to the family that had adopted him as a child and work with needy native Hawaiians.

Working with Daniel at the medical center were the chief surgeon, Kenji Fushida, two talented young residents, Metzger and McGrath, and the cost-conscious chief of staff, Margaret Judd. Although the series centered around activities at the hospital, the divorced Dr. Kulani did spend time with his adoptive parents, Tutu and Nana; his stepbrother James; and his own son, 18-year-old Sam, who was unsure about whether he wanted to be in college or out on his own. In the spring of 1990, Daniel fell in love with high school drama teacher Nina Delaney, a divorcee with a 13-year-old daughter, but Island Son was cancelled before the course of their relationship was determined.