...First Do No Harm

Marking Meryl Streep's return to television, this recently broadcast movie tells the story of the Reimullers, whose happy home life is shaken when their four-year-old son develops epilepsy. With the failure of all attempted medications and the unhappy prospect of impending surgery, Streep comes across the controversial ketogenic diet and enrolls her boy in a program at Johns Hopkins. Despite its star power, this is a typical disease-of-the-week movie which asks the same old question: namely, why is the medical establishment always so unfeeling and inflexible? The film does provide a lot of basic information on epilepsy, and might be useful where fictionalized medical accounts are needed. Half-heartedly recommended. (K. Glaser)