Marcus Welby, M.D.

Marcus Welby, M.D.
Marcus Welby, M.D. title card
Format	Medical Drama
Created by	David Victor
Starring	Robert Young James Brolin Elena Verdugo
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	169
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	September 23, 1969 – July 29, 1976

Marcus Welby, M.D. is a medical drama that aired on ABC from September 23, 1969 to July 29, 1976. It starred Robert Young as the title character, a family practitioner with a kind bedside manner, and was produced by David Victor and David J. O'Connell. The pilot aired as an ABC Movie of the Week on March 26, 1969.

Overview

As with most medical dramas of the day, the plots often concerned a professional conflict between well-meaning physicians. Here, Dr. Welby's unorthodox way of treating patients was pitted against the more strait-laced methods of Dr. Steven Kiley (James Brolin). The catch with this particular program was that the roles were reversed in that Dr. Kiley was much younger than Dr. Welby. In the similar series Medical Center, it is the older doctor who is more orthodox and the younger who is radical.

The opening credits of "Welby" for each episode reminded viewers of the generation gap between the two doctors, Welby driving his long sedan and Kiley riding a motorcycle.

The doctors worked alongside each other in their private practice in Southern California, regularly working in conjunction with the nearby Lang Memorial Hospital. At the office, their loyal secretary-nurse and friend was Consuelo Lopez (Elena Verdugo). Other characters that appeared throughout the years included Dr. Welby's frequent girlfriend Myra Sherwood (Anne Baxter), his daughter Sandy and her son (first Christine Bellwood, then Anne Schedeen; and, Gavin Brendan), and Kathleen Faverty (Sharon Gless), another secretary. Dr. Kiley met and married public relations director Janet Blake (Pamela Hensley) in 1975, at the beginning of the show's last season on the air.

In one 1974 episode, Young was reunited with his Father Knows Best co-star, Jane Wyatt; she played a fashion designer whose marriage to an embittered paraplegic led her to fall in love with the gentle doctor while keeping her marriage a secret most of the episode.

Its intelligent handling of many varied medical cases - some common, some uncommon - made it an instant hit for ABC. Story lines included impotence, depression, brain damage, breast cancer, mononucleosis, venereal disease, epilepsy, leukemia, dysautonomia, rape, and addiction to painkillers, among others. At its second season (1970–1971), it ranked #1 in the Nielsen Ratings, becoming the first ABC show to top the list. The same year, both Young and Brolin won Emmy Awards for their work, as did the show for Outstanding Dramatic Series. Young won a Golden Globe in 1972 for his performance.

The show twice found itself at the center of controversy and protests by gay activists. In response to the 1973 episode "The Other Martin Loring", about a middle-aged man whom Welby advises to resist his homosexual impulses, the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) zapped ABC, occupying its New York headquarters and picketing.^[1] The next year, "The Outrage" sparked nationwide demonstrations because its story of a teenage student's being sexually assaulted by his male teacher conflated homosexuality with pedophilia. Seven sponsors refused to buy advertising time and 17 affiliates refused to air the episode.^[2][3] This was the first known instance of network affiliates refusing a network episode in response to protests.^[4]

Cancellation

By the mid-1970s, the popularity of medical drama began to wane. Ratings for both Marcus Welby, M.D. and CBS' Medical Center began to drop, as did the ratings for daytime dramas General Hospital and The Doctors. The show ended its run in 1976 after a total of 169 episodes were made.

Television movies

In 1984, the reunion movie The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D. aired, with Young and Verdugo reprising their roles. Another movie was made in 1988, Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair.

Annual Nielsen Ratings

It was the first show in ABC's history to become the #1 show on television.

Notes

References

• Alwood, Edward (1998). Straight News: Gays, Lesbians and the News Media. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231084374.
• Capsuto, Steven (2000). Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0345412435.
• Tropiano, Stephen (2002). The Prime Time Closet: A History of Gays and Lesbians on TV. New York, Applause Theatre and Cinema Books. ISBN 1557835578.

External links

• Marcus Welby, M.D. (TV Movie/Pilot) at the Internet Movie Database
• Marcus Welby, M.D. at TV.com
• Marcus Welby, M.D. at the Internet Movie Database
• Marcus Welby, M.D. at TV.com
• The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D. at the Internet Movie Database
• Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Holiday Affair at the Internet Movie Database
• Encyclopedia of Television: Marcus Welby, M.D.
• Marcus Welby, M.D. episode guide