Marcus Welby, M.D.

I enjoyed watching this show as a child. I often wondered though if Welby only had a few patients since he had time to do home visits and become godfather to one of his patient's baby. He also seemed to moralize a lot. He would go into these lengthy monologues about morality and human behavior. It is also interesting to watch him tell a pregnant woman that drinking a glass of red wine in the evenings would be good for her nerves. How times have changed.

Why can't we buy more than two seasons? They filmed 7. I haven't seen these since I was a kid and would love to watch the entire series. What a refreshing change from all of the garbage in the mature ratings now.

Before there were the onslaught of such Medical shows as "Trapper John" "St. Elsewhere","Chicago Hope","Doogie Howser,MD","ER","Presidio Med", there was one show that brought great medical drama at its very best.......

That show was "Marcus Welby,M.D.".

The series ran on ABC-TV from 1969-76. During its run on the air,the show garnered several Emmy nominations including one for best dramatic series which Robert Young won for best actor for one of the episodes which was directed by an unknown at the time who would go one to directed several episodes of the series before he established himself as one of Hollywood's biggest producers of all-time. Need I say more?

As for the series itself,the show dealt with several situations in and around the confines of his medical offices and his confrontations with the medical establishments at the local hospital where a patient's confidentality was being discussed(which was the focus of some of the episodes). Some topics on the show dealt with cancer patients,the effects of retardation in children,and the overall situations of the medical world,and one episode in particular dealt with two topics;one was the effects of depression and the other was with alcoholism and so much more. The show was produced in by the guidelines instructed by the American Medical Association and this series was the first to show a surgical procedure done by the book and its complications to follow. Very deep.

For one,Doc Welby stood his ground and spoke out where his patients were concerned and sometimes aided by his assistant,Dr. Kiley(played by James Brolin),and nurse Consuelo(played by Elena Verdugo). Unlike the other medical series that came out about the same time(Medical Center which was very controversial,but was on a rival network which went off the air

a year before this series did),but in all this was a TV classic that has stood the test of time and will continued to do so.

This show had a lot of guest stars on it than any other show,but it had some that were just starting out in some of them....check out guest appearances by actors Sharon Gless,Joanna Cameron,Heather Menzies, Richard Thomas,Teresa Graves,and Arthur Hill(who was sometimes the medical lawyer,Owen Marshall for Doc Welby and Dr. Kiley).

This episode focused on the diagnoses of breast cancer in two women, played by Elaine Giftos and Pamela Hensley, the latter of whom was one of the 'stock' players (actors who appeared in frequent episodes on the series. Miss Hensley later played Dr. Kiley's wife).

The episode was, in my opinion, time-sensitive, in that at the time of its airing, the wives of two public political figures were going through their diagnoses of breast cancer.

The most motivational moment of this episode is James Brolin's emerging from character to talk about diagnostic and early-detection tools for breast cancer. Such is the hallmark of television that is not only entertaining but informative.

Before there was "St. Elseware","Doogie Howser,M.D.","ER", and "Chicago Hope", there was Marcus Welby,M.D.

It was a TV show from 1969-1976, starring the late Robert Young (Father Knows Best) as a Southern California doctor with Dr. Steven Kiley (James Brolin) with Consuelo the nurse (Elena Verdugo).

It was a TV classic.

I give it *****.