Chicago Hope backdrop
Chicago Hope poster
Soap
Drama

The Best Episodes of Chicago Hope

Every episode of Chicago Hope ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Chicago Hope!

The Best Episodes of Chicago Hope

Chicago Hope is an American medical drama television series, created by David E. Kelley. It ran on CBS from September 18, 1994, to May 4,...

Seasons6

  1. Background image for Brain Salad Surgery
    8.6/10(63 votes)

    #1 - Brain Salad Surgery

    S4:E3

    Dr. Shutt views his life as a musical after he collapses from an aneurism.

    0 Comments
    View all
  2. Background image for Waging Bull
    8.4/10(33 votes)

    #2 - Waging Bull

    S4:E18

    Dr. McNeil attends a medical convention in Las Vegas, believing he can control his gambling addiction. After the son of a close friend dies, McNeil begins gambling again. Watters, Shutt, and Wilkes are forced to share a room in the hotel, when it is overbooked for the convention.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Bill D'Elia
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for Physician, Heal Thyself
    8.3/10(32 votes)

    #3 - Physician, Heal Thyself

    S4:E24

    As Dr. Wilkes takes his son to school gunfire errupts. The victims are brought to Chicago Hope and Wilkes finds himself having to deal with his sons post-tramatic distress. Kronk also finds himself viewing the situation in a new light, due to the recent arrival of his daughter. The situation also brings back memories of his son to Dr. Watters. Catera had to operate on the shooter, and feels conflicting emotions. Dr. McNeil pops the question to Dr. Catera. Austin is still turmoiled over the incident at the cabin.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Lou Antonio
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for Liver, Hold the Mushrooms
    8.2/10(22 votes)

    #4 - Liver, Hold the Mushrooms

    S4:E17

    A family eats poisonous mushrooms and the mother and two sons must receive a liver transplant. A donor is found for the mother and the father is a match for the two sons. The father decides to have a live donor transplant, but is told by Kronk that only one of his children can receive the organ. Austin and Cacaci have to attend a sensitivity seminar, which only makes Austin worse. With Shutt's help a patient remembers a sexual abuse that happened during childhood, but the parent vehemently deny it ever happening. Drs. Grad and Kronk get kicked out of lamaze class.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Kenny Ortega
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for Heartbreak
    8.1/10(65 votes)

    #5 - Heartbreak

    S1:E9

    Camille has an innocent and unavoidable mishap in the operating room during a heart transplant on the rabbi who performed her wedding ceremony to Aaron, and blames herself when the rabbi dies later, even though her mishap had nothing to do with his death; an inexperienced new nurse stands up to Arthur; wracked with guilt, Camille reveals the operating room mishap to the rabbi's widow, and only Alan's ingenuity in demanding an autopsy keeps the hospital from a major lawsuit; Aaron and Camille have it out over his lack of emotional support after the rabbi's death, and each of them admit to the hurt caused by their divorce.

    0 Comments
    View all
  6. Background image for Full Moon
    8.0/10(37 votes)

    #6 - Full Moon

    S1:E21

    A troubled Dr. Geiger seeks a blessing from his institutionalized ex-wife so he can continue his relationship with Dr. Infante. A dying AIDS patient hopes Hancock can arrange a surgical procedure that would allow him to see one more sunrise.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of Chicago Hope

    READ
  8. Background image for Growth Pains
    7.9/10(35 votes)

    #7 - Growth Pains

    S1:E17

    An explosion sends a dry cleaner to the ER. Dr. Kadalski is pressured to change his unorthodox methods when he treats a man who compulsively pulls out his hair. A fearful Birch lets off steam at Jeffrey as baby Alicia's condition worsens.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for Over the Rainbow
    7.8/10(38 votes)

    #8 - Over the Rainbow

    S1:E2

    Jeffrey runs afoul of the trustees when a grieving husband has second thoughts after allowing him to test an artificial heart on the body of the man's newly deceased wife; Alan comes to the rescue when a patient's HMO refuses to cover Aaron's operating on her very complicated and potentially fatal brain tumor; Jeffrey visits his wife Laurie, a straitjacketed patient in a mental hospital who apologizes for drowning their son Joey; Arthur's refusal to remove his wagging finger from Jeffrey's face during an argument leaves him with a bitten digit, and enables Jeffrey to diagnose the curable medical condition that's causing Arthur's resting tremor.

    0 Comments
    View all
  10. Background image for Shutt Down
    7.8/10(34 votes)

    #9 - Shutt Down

    S1:E6

    Aaron, the staff, and the patients are caught in the crossfire when Antoine Metcalf, a gangbanger and career criminal, follows his latest victim into the E.R. to finish off the job he started, and sprays a room with automatic gunfire before hospital security shoots him down; Karen joins the staff, and successfully teams with Paula to remove hematomas that are preventing Marcus Lavelle from walking, but the trauma of witnessing his mother's being injured in the E.R. shooting leaves the little boy afflicted with hysterical paralysis and still unable to move although the surgery has left him physically fine; reluctantly operating on the shooter, Aaron jokes about how easy and perhaps appropriate it might be to cause Metcalf's death through a surgical hiccup, a remark which comes back to haunt him later when Metcalf dies soon after surgery and his family sues Aaron and the hospital for failure to provide adequate care; Arthur engages in a little ex parte communication to put in a good word

    0 Comments
    View all
  11. Background image for The Virus
    7.8/10(33 votes)

    #10 - The Virus

    S1:E20

    When the Board of Health closes the hospital doors after several patients die from a deadly staph infection, the staff scrambles to find the source of the infection; Jeffrey and Geri help each other work through feelings of grief, loss, and guilt.

    0 Comments
    View all
  12. Background image for ... And the Hand Played On
    7.8/10(27 votes)

    #11 - ... And the Hand Played On

    S4:E5

    Dr. Shutt may have brain damage after his aneurism, so a new neurosurgeon, Dr. Lisa Catera, is brought into the hospital. Dr. Austin gets trapped on an elevator with a sexy electrician.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
  13. Background image for The Lung and the Restless
    7.8/10(24 votes)

    #12 - The Lung and the Restless

    S4:E6

    Kate suspects that the parents of a boy who needs a liver transplant may have pressured his sister, who has cystic fibrosis, into being his donor; Diane learns that she's pregnant; Billy announces that he's going to South America; Aaron tries biofeedback.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:David Semel
  14. Background image for White Trash
    7.8/10(29 votes)

    #13 - White Trash

    S4:E7

    Hancock and the police search trash bins for a newborn; male rape; Drs. Kronk and Grad wed at the airport. A basketball player has a heart defect.

    0 Comments
    View all
  15. Background image for Cabin Fever
    7.8/10(34 votes)

    #14 - Cabin Fever

    S4:E9

    McNeil offers his cabin to Drs. Austin, Catera, and Grad, whom each want to get away from the city for a while. While at the cabin they receive a visit from an unexpected and deadly visitor.

    0 Comments
    View all
  16. Background image for Absent Without Leave
    7.8/10(47 votes)

    #15 - Absent Without Leave

    S4:E23

    Dr. Kronk's mother visits. Aaron spends time with Samara in California. A woman offers Dr. Hancock money to sterilize some of his patients.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  17. Background image for Pilot
    7.7/10(48 votes)

    #16 - Pilot

    S1:E1

    Camille serves Aaron with divorce papers; Phillip benches Arthur from further surgery when Arthur's resting tremor begins to endanger patients; Aaron removes a brain tumor from an elderly patient; Jeffrey and Aaron separate conjoined twins.

    0 Comments
    View all
  18. Background image for You Gotta Have Heart
    7.7/10(33 votes)

    #17 - You Gotta Have Heart

    S1:E5

    Phillip's religious beliefs and Jeffrey's grief over the death of his son put them on opposite sides of whether to convince a young mother to remove her infant from life support so that her daughter's organs can be donated to save the life of another baby; Karen deflects a flirtation from Jeffrey, but romantic sparks fly between her and Aaron.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Tim Hunter
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for Genevieve and Fat Boy
    7.7/10(50 votes)

    #18 - Genevieve and Fat Boy

    S1:E7

    After Karen begins having seizures, Aaron discovers that she is terminally ill from the multiple brain metastases of a melanoma; Jeffrey resents having to perform surgery on a mobster about to enter the witness protection program; when the residents attempt to pull a practical joke on Jeffrey, they unwittingly provide comfort to a dying Karen.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Oz Scott
  20. Background image for Death Be Proud
    7.7/10(32 votes)

    #19 - Death Be Proud

    S1:E8

    Jeffrey strongly objects when his old nemesis is hired into the plastic surgery department, but they are able to set aside their differences to bring some peace to the mother of a young girl who dies during surgery; a nurse impedes Aaron's plan to allow Karen to die peacefully.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for Great White Hope
    7.7/10(32 votes)

    #20 - Great White Hope

    S1:E12

    Phillip is unable to save a promising young boxer who succumbs to the fatal effects of steroids his father gave him to enhance his performance in the ring; a pregnant young teenager carrying a baby with a heart defect seeks Alan's help when she is unable to find adoptive parents for her infant; Aaron fires Angela after his tax audit reveals that she's been embezzling money from his pension plan.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Claudia Weill
  22. Background image for Sympathy for the Devil
    7.7/10(26 votes)

    #21 - Sympathy for the Devil

    S4:E4

    Dr. Kronk must decide whether or not to grant the request of a convicted child molester who wants to be castrated. Dr. Shutt struggles to regain his health after his aneurism. McNeil refuses an ""easy cure"" to a heroin addict, and Dr. Grad treats an HIV positive 14-year-old.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Director:Lou Antonio
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for Risky Business
    7.7/10(53 votes)

    #22 - Risky Business

    S4:E22

    A famous artist has an inoperable brain tumor. She convinces Dr. Shutt to run away to California with her.

    0 Comments
    View all
    Writer:Unknown
  24. Background image for With the Greatest of Ease
    7.6/10(34 votes)

    #23 - With the Greatest of Ease

    S1:E4

    Jeffrey tells Nadine about Laurie's schizophrenia and the death of his son; Aaron and Camille grieve about their impending divorce; several members of a family of trapeze artists are brought into the hospital in critical condition after a devastating accident during a circus performance; one of Aaron's former patients reveals his bigotry when he refuses to allow Nadine to remove his diseased gall bladder and insists that Aaron or another Jewish surgeon perform the procedure; Jeffrey exhibits signs of a meltdown when, in the space of a few hours, outrageous conduct in a nightclub gets him mistakenly arrested for soliciting a prostitute and he vandalizes the car of a man who stole his parking space; Phillip incorrectly attributes Aaron's angry outburst at one patient minutes after losing another young patient in surgery to tensions with Camille, and threatens to fire Camille if there's a recurrence.

    0 Comments
    View all
  25. Background image for Informed Consent
    7.6/10(49 votes)

    #24 - Informed Consent

    S1:E18

    Dr. Kronk's feelings towards his girlfriend undergo changes when he find out about her past. Geiger's heart patient develops an aneurysm which would take him off the heart recipient list unless highly experimental methods are tried. Meanwhile, Dr. Hancock's ejection from his clinic leads to bringing the HMO provider into the courtroom.

    0 Comments
    View all
  26. Background image for Internal Affairs
    7.6/10(42 votes)

    #25 - Internal Affairs

    S1:E19

    Dr. Kronk makes a rushed decision to rescue a man by amputating his leg with a chainsaw, only to discover later that the man is a place kicker. A friend of Aaron's with Parkinson's disease comes to him for an operation...bringing his own donor material. A ex-nurse is admitted into the hospital and is given special treatment by Dr. Nyland, whom she used to date.

    0 Comments
    View all

Best Episodes Summary

"Brain Salad Surgery" is the best rated episode of "Chicago Hope". It scored 8.6/10 based on 63 votes. Directed by Bill D'Elia and written by Nicole Yorkin, Dawn Prestwich, it aired on 10/15/1997. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "Waging Bull".