a young boy's low white blood cell count may be the sign of a more serious illness--AIDS—than what was first suspected. Laurie found herself getting emotionally involved with the case of the young boy, as she compared the parents' fears with the concern she would share for son Leo. Cast Main DeLane Matthews as Dr. Laurie Hill Robert Clohessy as Jeff Hill Eric Lloyd as Leo Hill Ellen DeGeneres as Nancy MacIntyre Kurt Fuller as Dr. Spencer Kramer Joseph Maher as Dr. Walter Wiseman Doris Belack as Beverly Fielder Guest stars Ty Burrell as Arthur Larry Miller as Jack Episodes Broadcast and reception Laurie Hill aired Wednesdays at 9:30/8:30c, creating bookending of shows from creators Marlens and Black for that evening's comedy lineup. The Wonder Years, which Marlens and Black also created/produced, kicked off the Wednesday night schedule. Set to air in the coveted time slot after sophomore hit series Home Improvement (which had moved into the Wednesday 9/8c slot just prior to that season's start), and given its creative lineage, Laurie Hill was expected to be successful. However, when Marlens and Black appeared on a press tour for the series in the summer of 1992, the first questions asked by those who had screened the pilot concerned whether or not they were serious about airing the program. This reception eventually lead to reviews that cited the series as being uninspired, sorely lacking and not living up to the innovative Wonder Years. Originally slated to have a mid-September preview telecast in the Tuesday 9:30/8:30 slot (after Roseanne), Laurie Hill was denied a special preview in the eleventh hour, and had its proper debut moved up to September 30, in its regular time slot. It also became the last of ABC's new fall series to premiere. The pilot episode ranked a respectable 38th place in the Nielsens when it finally aired, but it lost a lot of the audience from Home Improvement, the #4 program that week and its lead-in. ABC canceled Laurie Hill after the fifth episode's airing on October 28, 1992, leaving five remaining episodes unaired. After cancellation From the show's premiere, Ellen DeGeneres was critically praised for her performance as Nancy MacIntyre. In the September 30, 1992 edition of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, columnist Tom Jicha explained in his review of the series, "The only comic relief comes from Ellen DeGeneres as Laurie's assistant. It's a brief