Marcus Welby, M.D.

Marcus Welby, M.D.
Marcus Welby, M.D. title card
Created by	David Victor
Starring	Robert Young James Brolin
Theme music composer	Leonard Rosenman
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	169 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	David Victor
Producer(s)	David J. O'Connell
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	60 minutes
Distributor	Universal Television NBCUniversal Television Distribution
Release
Original network	ABC
Audio format	Monaural
Original release	September 23, 1969 (1969-09-23) – July 29, 1976 (1976-07-29)

Marcus Welby, M.D. is an American medical drama television program that aired Tuesdays at 10:00–11:00 p.m. (EST) 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, who was on a first name basis with many of his patients (and who also made house-calls), James Brolin, as Steve Kiley, M.D, a younger doctor who played Welby's partner, and Elena Verdugo, who played Welby and Kiley's dedicated and loving nurse and office manager, Consuelo Lopez. Marcus Welby, M.D., was produced by David Victor and David J. O'Connell. The pilot, A Matter of Humanities, had 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, Welby's unorthodox way of treating patients was pitted against the more strait-laced methods of Steven Kiley (James Brolin). The catch with this particular program was that the roles were reversed in that Kiley was much younger than Welby. The opening credits of each episode reminded viewers of the generation gap between the two doctors, Welby driving his sedan and Kiley riding a motorcycle. Welby had served in the US Navy as a doctor during the war, and was a widower. He owned a sail boat and enjoyed the ocean. In an early example of product placement on television, Welby consumed many bottles of high-gravity malt liquor below deck and would, at times, gather inspiration for his novel treatments after one of these nautical benders.

The doctors worked alongside each other in their private practice in Santa Monica, California, regularly working in conjunction with the nearby Lang Memorial Hospital (this was later revealed in exterior shots to be the real-life Saint John's Hospital and Health Center in Santa Monica). At the office, their loyal secretary-nurse and friend was Consuelo Lopez (Elena Verdugo). Other characters that appeared throughout the series included Dr. Welby's frequent girlfriend Myra Sherwood (Anne Baxter), his daughter Sandy (first Christine Belford then Anne Schedeen) and her son Phil (Gavin Brendan), and Kathleen Faverty (Sharon Gless), an assistant program director at the hospital, who worked closely with Welby & Kiley. Kiley met and married public relations director Janet Blake (played by Pamela Hensley) in 1975, at the beginning of the show's final season on the air.

Young and Wyatt on Marcus Welby, M.D.

In the episode Designs (which aired on March 12, 1974), 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 doctor while keeping her marriage a secret most of the episode.

Medical features

Its 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, sexually transmitted diseases, epilepsy, learning disabilities, leukemia, dysautonomia, rape, Alzheimer's Disease 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. Members of the American Academy of Family Physicians served as technical advisers for the series and reviewed every script for medical accuracy.

Controversy

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 advised 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 being sexually assaulted by his male teacher conflated homosexuality with pedophilia. Seven sponsors refused to buy television advertising time, and 17 television network 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]

In a addition, an episode dealing with abortion was refused by San Diego area ABC affiliate XETV, a station licensed to Tijuana across the border in Mexico, due to that country's views on the practice at the time.^[5]

Episodes

Robert Young, James Brolin, Elena Verdugo (1971)

Nielsen ratings

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

Cancellation

By the mid-1970s, the popularity of medical dramas began to wane. Ratings for both Marcus Welby, M.D. and CBS's Medical Center began to drop, as did the ratings for daytime dramas General Hospital and The Doctors. Previous episodes initially went into syndication in the fall of 1975 as Robert Young, Family Doctor (to avoid confusion with the first-run episodes still airing on ABC). 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.

Home media

Shout! Factory (under license from Universal Studios Home Entertainment) has released the first two seasons of Marcus Welby, M.D. on DVD in Region 1.^[10][11]

Mill Creek Entertainment released a 10-episode best-of set entitled Marcus Welby, M.D.: The Best of Season One on March 22, 2011.^[12]

References

Bibliography

• Alwood, Edward (1998). Straight News: Gays, Lesbians and the News Media. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-08437-4.
• Capsuto, Steven (2000). Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-41243-5.
• Tropiano, Stephen (2002). The Prime Time Closet: A History of Gays and Lesbians on TV. New York, Applause Theatre and Cinema Books. ISBN 1-55783-557-8.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marcus Welby, M.D..

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