HART OF DIXIE: PILOT {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)

Summary

One in this medical drama series about a young New York doctor who moves to Alabama to pursue a practice there. Dr. Zoe Hart, a young up-and-coming doctor from New York City, is moving to the small town of Bluebell, Alabama. She explains that at her graduation speech at medical school, she was approached by an old country doctor named Harley Wilkes from Bluebell, interested in having her practice medicine there, but she declined in order to serve a residency in the city to become a cardiothoracic surgeon like her father. However, she is turned down for her fellowship because her supervisor feels that despite her great talent for medicine she isn’t connecting to her patients on an emotional level, seeing them merely as “puzzles to solve.” He recommends her serving a general practice for a year before reapplying. All this time, Dr. Wilkes has sent her postcards from Bluebell and she finally takes him up on his offer. She arrives in Alabama and hitches a ride with George Tucker, a local lawyer. She arrives at Wilkes’ office and meets his secretary, Emmaline Hattenbarger, or “Mrs. H” for short. Mrs. H tells Zoe, to her shock, that Dr. Wilkes passed away four months ago and she kept writing to Zoe because he knew she would eventually come. Furthermore, Dr. Wilkes left half of his practice to Zoe in his will, to be shared with his associate, the competitive Dr. Brick Breeland, who wants the entire practice to himself. Zoe is disparaging towards many of the customs of Bluebell, including the “southern belles” she encounters. One of them is Lemon Breeland, Dr. Breeland’s daughter, who seems disparaging towards her as well. Zoe visits Harley’s old office. She tries to tell her mother that she moved to Alabama while simultaneously administering an eye test to an old resident. She helps another patient with a hand injury, noticing some strange skin patches on her daughter Mabel before they leave; the woman does not seem to care for Zoe at all. Mrs. H arranges for Zoe to stay on the mayor’s plantation. She is pleasantly surprised to discover that the mayor of Bluebell is Lavon Hayes, a former NFL pro footballer. He explains that after ten years in the NFL he did some soul-searching and returned to his home town. He shows Zoe her quarters and explains she’ll be sharing a generator with the groundskeeper, Wade Kinsella. She confronts Wade that night when he overheats the generator and they get into an argument. On the way back Zoe runs across an alligator which George “saves” her from; it turns out to be the mayor’s pet. That night Zoe gets a call from Mrs. H: it turns out the old man she signed the papers for was legally blind and had the eye chart memorized. He ran over George in his car, dislocating his shoulder. Zoe rushes to the office and relocates his shoulder. She meets Rose Hattenbarger, Mrs. H’s niece, a young blogger for the Bluebell website, and the two of them seem to get along well. Dr. Breeland returns from his hunting trip and chastises Zoe for her actions, saying she isn’t wanted in Bluebell. George turns out to be his lawyer and he is confident he will help him carry out legal action against Zoe. Stressed out, Zoe goes to a local convenience store to get wine. There she runs into Mabel and tells her that the patches on her face are most likely melasma, a skin condition commonly affecting pregnant women. Reluctantly, Mabel admits to being pregnant from having unprotected sex. Zoe vows to help her and keep it confidential. Lemon bursts into the store furious at Zoe; it turns out she and George are engaged to be married and the car accident that she inadvertently caused has ruined their engagement party. Zoe drinks heavily on the way back to her place and runs into Wade. In a moment of weakness, she makes out with him before realizing what she’s doing and leaving. She returns to her quarters, finding her mother waiting for her. She convinces Zoe that Bluebell isn’t right for her and they arrange to get her to leave. Before that, Zoe meets with George about handing over the practice to Brick. George expounds upon his reasons for returning to Bluebell and his upcoming marriage to Lemon. While packing, Zoe is called by Mabel, who is working at the Breeland party but is feeling intense pain. Despite her deadline to leave, Zoe agrees to go there to help her. She has difficulty getting into the party until Mayor Hayes covers for her. George and Lemon talk; she notes that the upcoming wedding is making her irritable. Zoe runs into them, to their mutual surprise. She finds Mabel suffering from pain spasms and deduces that she is giving birth; the operation will have to be performed then and there. Dr. Breeland walks in during the operation and wants to take over, but Mabel insists on having Zoe perform the operation. A stunned Dr. Breeland complies. Meanwhile, Lemon talks in private with Mayor Hayes; they hint at some sort of prior relationship with each other. Despite some difficulties Zoe manages to safely deliver the baby with the help of Dr. Breeland and Mrs. H. Mabel gives birth to a healthy baby girl and is overjoyed. Mabel’s mother shows up, shocked that her daughter has given birth; Mabel vows to raise her baby away from her mother’s harmful influence. Despite this experience, Zoe still feels unwanted in Bluebell. Mrs. H gives her something she has secretly kept from her: an old photograph of Dr. Wilkes and her mother. Mrs. H reveals that Dr. Wilkes is Zoe’s real father. Zoe confronts her mother about this revelation and she admits to a brief affair she had with him. Realizing that she has been lied to her entire life, Zoe decides to stay in Bluebell after all. The episode ends as Zoe speaks at Dr. Wilkes’s grave, vowing to make a difference in Bluebell. Commercials deleted.

Details

• NETWORK: CW
• DATE: September 26, 2011 9:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 0:42:08
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: 106339
• GENRE: Drama, medical
• SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, medical
• SERIES RUN: CW - TV series, 2011-2015
• COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

• Jason Ensler … Executive Producer, Director
• Leila Gerstein … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
• Len Goldstein … Executive Producer
• Josh Schwartz … Executive Producer
• Stephanie Savage … Executive Producer
• Kelly Van Horn … Producer
• Ben Kunde … Associate Producer
• Jeremy Adelman … Music by
• Rachel Bilson … Cast, Dr. Zoe Hart
• Jaime King … Cast, Lemon Breeland
• Cress Williams … Cast, Lavon Hayes
• Wilson Bethel … Cast, Wade Kinsella
• McKaley Miller … Cast, Rose Hattenbarger
• Scott Porter … Cast, George Tucker
• Tim Matheson … Cast, Dr. Brick Breeland
• JoBeth Williams … Cast, Candace Hart
• Nicholas Pryor … Cast, Dr. Harley Wilkes
• Ann Mahoney … Cast, Mabel
• Bruce Altman … Cast, Supervisor
• Nancy Travis … Cast, Emmeline "Mrs. H" Hattenbarger
• Robin Mullins … Cast, Colleen
• Bethany Geaber … Cast, Belle #1
• Moses Gibson … Cast, Old Man Jackson