Thomas McCandless

&nbsp Dr. Thomas McCandless is a fictional character on Capitol.

He was portrayed by Brian Robert Taylor and Michael Catlin.

Brief Character History
The compassionate, but cuckolded, son of Baxter and Clarissa McCandless, Thomas worked as a physician at University Hospital. Paralyzed since childhood, he hoped to regain use of his legs.

Early in the series, Thomas fell into a relationship with fickle Lizbeth Bachman, the best friend of his sister Gillian. However, Beth's roving eyes were also affixed to Jordy Clegg, whom she was secretly dating on the side. In the Fall of 1982, with the couple constantly arguing about Jordy, Thomas accepted a temporary job in Boston, leaving his girlfriend to sort out her feelings.

Thomas returned from Boston in 1983 to find that Lizbeth had taken up with Jordy. In July, he successfully underwent corrective surgery, which allowed him to walk again with the assistance of crutches. Lizbeth suddenly found him more attractive, dumped Jordy, and renewed her relationship with Thomas. Things went well until he discovered she was still having occassional sleepovers with Jordy.

In the summer of 1984, Thomas leapt from the frying pan into the fire when he became involved with Kelly Harper, who had just come back to Washington after a year's absence. He quickly drew the ire of Trey Clegg, Kelly's former lover, who decided he wanted her back. Once again, Thomas ended up odd-man out: Kelly cheated on him with -then dumped him for- Trey. By this point, Thomas had grown quite accustomed to daily doses of masochism. When Trey divorced Kelly in late 1986, Thomas was right there to pick up the pieces, and they were soon lovers again. Although Trey had no feelings left for his ex-wife, he still gained sadistic delight in destroying Thomas' life.

During the final week of the series, Trey bribed another doctor at University Hospital into framing Thomas for medical negligence. When last we saw him, he had lost his medical license, his job, his self-respect... everything, except a taste for Scotch liquor. For once, it was time for someone else to take care of him.