Less Than Zero (18 Jan. 2001)

When anorexic actress Thalia Roselawn (who wears a size "less than zero") faints on the TV set of "Med Squad," Amanda admits her, but Dr. Sloan is unable to save her life. Her nutritionist ... See full summary »

Director:

Christian I. Nyby II

Writers:

Joyce Burditt (creator), Cathryn Michon

Stars:

Dick Van Dyke, Victoria Rowell, Charlie Schlatter

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Dick Van Dyke	...	Dr. Mark Sloan
Victoria Rowell	...	Amanda Bentley-Livingston
Charlie Schlatter	...	Dr. Jesse Travis
Barry Van Dyke	...	Steve Sloan
Michelle Burke	...	Claire Sheldrake (as Michelle Rene Thomas)
Debra Christofferson	...	Lena
Nike Doukas	...	Heather
Andi Eystad	...	Laurel
Jennifer Gareis	...	Thalia
Russell Edge	...	Police Officer
Nicolas Mize	...	Carl (as Nick Mize)
Richard Molinare	...	Henry

Storyline

When anorexic actress Thalia Roselawn (who wears a size "less than zero") faints on the TV set of "Med Squad," Amanda admits her, but Dr. Sloan is unable to save her life. Her nutritionist Hank Sheldrake's diet is blamed at first, but a Chinese herb in her teabag is found to be the cause. Steve begins to date a 'pleasingly plump' food reviewer who has recently come to accept her body type. Dr. Sheldrake is arrested, but Jesse is convinced it could be Sheldrake's wife or Thalia's younger sister. The Sloans' investigation must catch the correct culprit.

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 January 2001 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fred Silverman Company, Dean Hargrove Productions, Viacom Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Dr. Sloan and his crew wind up intervening to rescue two sisters struggling with eating disorders

This episode, 11 of season 8, filmed in 2001 during the last season of Diagnosis Murder showed so much genuine insight rather than expected sensationalism that it is what media can do at its finest. It educated and informed in a caring way about the tricky process involved in developing and curing an eating disorder where awareness of the problem is often absent in the person as well as the support environment. Awareness is needed and aid consistently provided in order to heal before the spiral down causes death. Dr. Sloan and gang address all of the problems and show how cure is so possible with a team approach and genuine love. The two sisters, Heather and Thalia, showed eating disorders with totally different characteristics. Thalia was anorexic and a young and involved professional, while Heather was bulimic and in high school. A refreshing twist, they didn't have the expected support of family. There wasn't a neat package to drop this one into. It didn't show parents wringing their hands or outbursts over wanting to make the cheer leading squad. It showed abandonment issues, loneliness and basic human needs in an amazing way. Dr. Sloan created a family of friendship, thus providing a safe and nurturing environment for happiness and good health. The writer and director of this episode had such tremendous skill and feeling. The characters quickly became very human with shockingly devastating disorders and difficult to realize. They showed the problem, possible causes and then realistic cure methods with support and love being central to the well being needed for anyone to thrive. It's a must see and a harbinger for eating disorder awareness. I was stunned at the quality of the one hour show and wanted to immediately discover the producer, casting agent, director and writer of such fine material. It's an episode everyone should see. Cautionary for young children, Thalia looks great and smiles frequently, but the anorexia causes such fluid imbalance and heart disturbances that she does die before anyone realizes how much trouble she is in. She didn't know. She was trying to obtain goals or be the best that she could be without knowing that she was instead, killing herself. It demonstrated that addressing and providing support quickly and consistently are essential. That's all it took for Heather to slowly heal from bulimia. As Dr. Sloan closed with, "We are all here for you", it shed light on how important that feeling is for anyone.