The Night Shift RECAP 5/27/14: Season 1 Premiere “Pilot”

The Night Shift RECAP 5/27/14: Season 1 Premiere "Pilot"

Tonight on NBC their new drama The Night Shift airs with it’s premiere episode. On tonight’s episode the lives of men and women who work the night shift at a hospital in San Antonio come to life in this drama. In the premiere, a former military doctor (Eoin Macken) deals with a life-threatening situation on his way to work; his ex-girlfriend pursues the night shift’s top job; and a clash over business matters unfolds.

Welcome to the night shift at San Antonio Memorial, where those who work the Night Shift are a special breed. Every night is a balancing act between the heroic efforts to save lives and the hard truths of running a hospital

On tonight’s episode every night is a balancing act between the heroic efforts to save lives and the hard truths of running a hospital. After a rough night, TC Callahan (Eoin Macken, “Merlin”), a gifted ex-Army doctor, deals with a life-threatening situation on his way into work. TC’s current colleague and ex-girlfriend Jordan Alexander (Jill Flint, “Royal Pains,” “The Good Wife,”) angles for the top job to run the night shift but she must convince their new boss Michael Ragosa (Freddy Rodriguez, “Six Feet Under”) that she has what it takes to bring order to the chaos. TC and Ragosa clash over hospital business matters – TC would do anything to save a patient while Ragosa has his eye on the bottom line. Later, TC and Topher (Ken Leung, “Lost,” “Person of Interest”) are called to the scene of a nighttime crash and must deal with a dramatic injury that demands all of TC’s expertise. Back at the hospital, ER psychiatrist Dr. Landry De La Cruz (Daniella Alonso, “Revolution”) consoles the brother of the wounded teen while TC performs an unusual and extremely risky surgery. TC later counsels Drew (Brendan Fehr, “Roswell”) about a secret he is keeping but unbeknownst to the staff, Ragosa is hiding a secret of his own. Robert Bailey, Jr. (“Criminal Minds”), Jeananne Goossen (“Emily Owens M.D.”) and JR Lemon (“Shadow Love”) also star.

Will The Night Shift be another huge hit for NBC? Tune in tonight at 10PM EST and let us know what you think. We’ll be recapping all of the action right here for you. Will you be checking out the action? Hit up the comments and let us know your thoughts!

Tonight’s episode begins now – Refresh Page for Updates

We see a battle field. Someone is injured and they call for a medic. TC wakes up in jail in the drunk tank and the cop kicks him and says to wake up and that if he’s going to fight in the biker bar he needs to keep his hands up. It’s 5:08 pm. TC rides his motorcycle into San Antonio. He sees an ambulance and an accident site. He pulls over and hears that someone is going into shock. He runs up and sees a guy has a branch stuck in him.

He tells them to bring a scalpel and some bags of saline. He pulls out the branch, packs the wound. He clamps the renal artery and says he’s going to put his own blood back in. He feeds a tube into his stomach and then puts into a bag. He tells them once the bag is full of the guy’s blood and then put it back into the wounded guy. The EMT asks where he learned to do it and TC says Afghanistan.

A woman is struggling in the ER and the doctor tells her husband that her pacemaker is shorting out and she’s being shocked continually. The husband says to make it stop and he says they have to wait for the pacemaker company to come in. Jordan comes in and says she’s going to shut it down with a magnet so she’s not in pain. She uses a magnet to get it to stop and says the tech will come and reset it and then she can be on her way.

TC comes in with the EMTs and Hank says he got lucky taking out the branch and he says it’s skills. Jordan says he looks like crap and says she needs his paperwork he’s a month behind on. She tells him to take one day and do the paperwork instead of drinking and brawling. She tells him she’s done being nice and will ride him until he does it. He tells her she has a BF so no sex. Topher comes in and Jordan says he’s hung over but Topher says he’s seen Jordan sucking a bong like she was giving it CPR.

A baby comes in with renal failure. TC calls for peds and a bedside ultrasound. It’s 7:01 pm. Paul tries to flirt with Krista and introduces himself. They swap MCAT scores then he juggles to try to impress her. Kenny tells him not to juggle that stuff and Paul says it’s stuff from the lost and found and Kenny says no, it’s the stuff the doctors dug out of people’s rectums this month.

Paul throws the stuff down in disgust. In the box of rectum items is a Mr Potato Head, a trophy, a Zhu Zhu pet hamster, a maracca, a whisk, a tennis bowl, a toy car, a flashlight and more. Keny laughs hard and tells Topher the new doctors will shadow him but not to shake his hand. There’s a guy whose cat attacked his scrotum.

Another guy complains and says he wants to be seen now and calls a nurse a bitch. He goes crazy and then Drew comes over and chokes the guy out. He tells him not to fight it and he slips into unconsciousness. The nurse thanks him. Jordan asks Ragosa who will be in charge of the ER for night shift and he tells her that someone on night shift stole his phone and sent erotic photos to his dentist.

Jordan explains that most of them are military and just need a focused leader. She asks for a chance to make it work so they can keep the ER open at night. Topher is stitching up the guy’s shredded scrotum and asks Paul if he wants to go first. Krista says she’ll do it because she’s seen worse testicles than those. The guys says ouch and she says sorry.

TC works on the baby and calls again for pediatrics but they said Ragosa said they can’t admit the baby. Also in the box is a hammer – they just dug it out of someone. Ragosa has the staff together and says Obamacare and other things are making it tough. He introduces Jordan as the new night shift chief. She says they are starting a new program with tablets that have helped the day shift a lot. TC walks up and asks about the baby. Ragosa asks if the ambulance arrived yet and TC says he determined she wasn’t stable enough to travel. TC asks Ragosa if that’s his opinion and then reminds him that he’s not a doctor. Ragosa tells Jordan to override TC and says to check the baby now TC welcomes her to the night shift. It’s 8:22 pm.

Mrs Palmer yells that she wants her cast off and pounds it against the counter. She’s ranting about Matt Damon and how much she liked the Talented Mr Ripley. Distracted, Landry (the psych resident) is able to give her a sedative. Jordan says to ask for anything she needs and Landry rattles off a list of things she needs and Jordan says she should have had those things on her first night and Landry tells her night shift is very Lord of the Flies.

The nurse tells Landry they need a psych consult in room four. Jordan says she will get her all the things she needs and Landry promises her coffee for a week. Krista and Paul are showed the night shift breakroom – aka the roof – where there is a basketball court, strings of fairy lights and fun stuff. TC tells them it’s for night shift only. There’s a keg as well.

Paul tells her that TC is a bad ass because he was top of his class at Johns Hopkins, an Army Ranger and a real tough guy. Drew is called ofr a GSW. Jordan asks if he’s checked for fragments and he says he’s got the bullet out but she says bone fragments and schools him that if bullet hits bone, you get fragments to dig out. She does an ultrasound and shows him where there’s a bone fragment making the spleen bleed and tells him to get to surgery.

TC checks on the baby who is responding to dialysis and tells the peds doc to call him if there is any change. Jordan waits outside and says they have to figure this out. She tells him he needs to show her respect and he tells her respect is earned and she’s Ragosa’s puppet. She says the baby will eat up their budget and asks if he learned nothing by being kicked out of the Army in war time. She asks what that says and he says that people care more about politics than lives.

TC tells Topher he needs his ATM card. His bookie is there to collect. Topher hands it over. Kenny asks Topher to check out a patient – Eddie’s daughter. She’s got a lump in her stomach that hurts. Paul asks what the other doctors have said. The lump has gotten bigger over the last few years. She says she doesn’t have insurance. Topher says they’ll figure it out and tells her to sit tight.

They have a female OD victim that’s unresponsive. TC tells Drew that GSWs in the civilian world is totally different and he’ll learn. He says Jordan has been in Baltimore which is a shooting gallery worse than Fallujah. Landry asks Jordan about her first night and she says she and TC don’t get along. Landr wants to know more and they make breakfast plans.

Krista and Paul hit up TC for help with the janitor’s daughter. Ragosa says if a patient can’t pay, the get minimum treatment and then have to go. TC reminds him they are the only trauma unit in 10 counties but Ragosa says that’s not the way the corporation sees it. Ragosa says he’s the one who will be able to save the place and that TC is a risk. He says if the tree trimmer had died, they would be sued.

Ragosa tells him to get in line or get out of there and says he’s on his last chance. TC tells him not to threaten him and they have a stare down. TC steps out of the way and Ragosa says he’s not as tough as people say. TC punches him and knocks him out. Kenny says he needs to go in the chopper with Topher for a multi-car pile up and TC tells him to get Ragosa some smelling salts. It’s 11:46 pm.

At the site of the car crash, the chopper touches down. It’s 12:04 am. They’ve got a kid in an SUV they are really worried about. A young guy screams at them to help his brother. The doors are jammed and they can only get to Mathew through the sun roof. TC talks to him and says they’re going to get him out. TC tells Topher that the kid’s skull is separated from his spinal column and he doesn’t know how he’s still alive. He’s still got motor action in his extremities so if they can get him out, he may not be paralyzed.

Topher tells them they have to craft a body board that will fit through the sun roof. Drew tells Krista and Paul to climb in and check the stiff senior in the back of a hearse. It stinks but Paul insists he’ll go first. He pulls back the sheet and the person screams at him and grabs him. They close him in with the guy – it was Kenny under the sheet – freshman hazing. Paul totally freaks.

Paul finds the janitor’s daughter leaving and asks why. She says they told her she had to go because she can’t have the tests because of lack of insurance, but he says Topher wants her to stay. Paul tells her to gag and act sick if anyone comes up to her and says he’ll come back soon. She demonstrates a good gag and he tells her she’ll be fine.

TC and Topher work to secure the kid in the SUV. The nurse calls and says the neurosurgeon will be on the way to Austin shortly. They work hard to get the kid stabilized so they don’t sever his spinal cord. TC reinflates his lung while hanging upside down and the kid can finally breathe. The chopper pilot says there’s a storm coming and they have to go in 10 minutes. Meanwhile they have to use an arc welder to cut the door open but TC has to keep the kid still. It’s 1:12 am. Sparks are flying all over TC.

They are in the chopper flying back in the high winds and rain. Jordan calls everyone around and says she checked the tablet to see new patients. Dick Hurts, Sum Yung Guy and Anita Lay. She tells them to take it seriously. Kenny asks if Ragosa fired TC and says it’s all over the fourth floor. Jordan goes to see Ragosa and tells him that he can’t fire TC because he’s irreplaceable. She says she can turn him and get him under control.

Ragosa says it sounds personal and she says it’s what’s best for the trauma department. He says it’s not and that TC is out of here. The chopper lands and Ragosa is there and tells TC that he’s fired and to get his stuff and get out. Topher gets in Ragosa’s face and asks about the MRI for the tumor girl. He says to send her to the clinic and Topher says it will take six months there and she’ll be dead.

Ragosa asks why it’s so hard for them to understand that if we keep treating everyone for free, we’ll go bankrupt. Topher says they are the ones dealing with the patients, not him. Inside, Drew lets Krista and Paul practice defibrillating on a dead homeless looking guy. He explains that he was an Army medic and was so good, they put him through med school. He says it’s a sweet deal because he won’t have any student loans and that he’s in it for life.

He tells Paul to hit the guy. Krista asks Drew about his mixed martial arts stuff and she flirts. Paul shocks him and loses control of the paddles and scares them. Topher asks where tumor girl is and goes to see Dwayne. He says he needs a scan for a girl with no insurance and may have a tumor. Dwayne says he has to see a hot girl die. He says to get him some lipo on his big belly and he’ll get her the MRI.

He goes to see the plastics guy who says he wants $2,500 and Topher says something else. Then he says if he sets him up with Krista, he’ll do the guy’s lipo. Topher says she’s out of his league but goes to talk to her. Topher says she needs to go on a date with a plastic surgeon to get lipo for the MRI tech so she can get scanned. Krista says she’s so glad she went to medical school.

TC is in with the kid from the car. He’s upset. Looks like he’s still alive judging by monitor beeps. Jordan pulls him outside for a talk. She asks about the kid and he says when he saw his neck, he was floored. He tells her about a soldier from Iowa named Bob that was in a humvee accident with this same injury and he had to operate on him.

She’s floored that he did a spinal decapitation surgery on him in a tent and he says he really thought he was going to make it and it was a hard letter to write to his parents because he was the one driving the humvee. She says she’s sorry and he says he shouldn’t have told her. He says she doesn’t need to hear his stories and that he’s told her enough already. Jordan says she still cares about him even though they’re not together.

The nurse says there are multiple accident victims coming in that were hit by a drunk and she tells him he has to go apologize to Ragosa if he wants to stay. It’s 2:47 am.

[11:07:49 PM] Rachel Rowan: Victims are pouring in from the car crash. Jordan grabs one and then TC snags one. There’s one guy that’s a real mess that Topher has. Mathew’s brother is in the waiting room and Landry goes to talk to him – he was driving in the accident. Drew is working on the drunk driver and all he has is a black eye. Topher’s guy dies and Krista and Paul are floored. The nurse tells Topher he did his best and he leaves cursing drunk drivers. Paul is really torn up.

The drunk is in the ER and Topher asks if he’s awake and asks if he knows the button in his hand controls the morphine to ease his pain. Topher takes the button and unplugs it from the machine and takes it away. The cop waiting outside smiles as Topher walks out.

The neurosurgeon isn’t there yet and TC says he needs to do the surgery. Jordan tells Ragosa that TC has done the operation before – she doesn’t tell him the patient died. Landry tells Tommy that his brother is alive because his reflexes kept him from being in a head on crash. She tells him it wasn’t his fault and that he saved him by crawling to the highway to get someone to call 911. His mom is there and she goes to him and hugs him. They both cry.

TC says they can’t get the skull attached. There’s nothing for the screws to attach to and they wonder about the front of the neck but there’s an injury there to. Ragosa tells them to attach the skull directly to the spine with a titanium loop and a piece of his rib to anchor it. He says he saw it at a seminar and Jordan says it’s their best option. Okay, Ragosa may not be a doctor, but he is up on his stuff in terms of medical advances.

TC asks Ragosa what’s next and he explains the process to Jordan and TC in stages as they go. They have the grafts in and they secure them then close the kid up. TC says he’s still glad he hit him. Cara, the tumor girl, goes into the MRI machine and Topher cautions her to be still and says they have only one shot.

Ragosa meets with a doctor who tells him that his vision is still deteriorating. Turns out, he had to quit medical school because of his traumatic eye issues. He needs more corrective surgery. Drew works the punching bag on the roof. It’s 6:45 am. He asks TC if the kid is going to be okay and he says he has to wait until the swelling goes down.

Drew tells him that Krista is into him and he would like to hit that but says it’s a gray area. TC tells him no one cares that he’s gay. Drew says he’s not and TC tells him he’s sorry he brought it up but he doesn’t have to pretend with him, if he’s pretending. He says he’s seen him there for a year and no women, no flirting. Drew tells him to stop and asks if anyone else has said anything.

Drew says he can’t come out because then he’ll be the “gay guy” and he won’t risk losing his Army career for anything. He says coming out is not an option. TC tells him “that is so gay.” Drew goes back to working the bag.

TC talks to Mathew and tries to wake him up. They ask him to move his hand if he can hear them. His mom asks if he can move his hand. Tommy watches in tears but then Mathew moves his hand a little. Jordan nods encouragingly. He opens his eyes and calls for his mom. She thanks TC and hugs him and tells her son it’s going to be okay.

Jordan and TC leave and he tells her that was amazing. Landry asks how it was and then Jordan gets a text and heads off. Landry says she loves to hear from her new boss that she’s banging her ex and says she thought he was a virgin.

Topher tells Cara that she has a condition called fetus in fetu. He explains that she had a twin and the twin didn’t develop but saved alive in a small, tumor sized form in her body. She’s thrilled that she’s not dying and he tells her that her condition is so rare, the medical school will do the surgery for free. She thanks him and hugs him.

TC is washing his face when Ragosa comes in. He tells him Mathew pulled though. Ragosa says they should have a conversation about what happened earlier and punches TC in the face. He says – now we’re even – and walks out. TC spits out a mouthful of blood into the sink and laughs. It’s 9:17 am. On the roof, the night shift doctors are gathered.

Jordan addresses them and says she knows they’re all off duty but wants to thank them for pulling together. Drew asks what about TC and she says she tried to help. He comes up and says he had a meeting with Ragosa and they worked it out. They can all see his blossoming black eye. He says he’s not going anywhere and they all applaud.

Jordan asks him about the bruise and he says he fell. He hands her his paperwork for the drug study she asked for. She thanks him. He hands her a beer and takes one from Paul. They welcome her to the night shift. They all drink. The night shift crew is in full party mode on the roof.

THE END!!