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Emergency! Season 10 Episode 1

The Wedsworth-Townsend Act [Part 1]

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 1/15/72

Seeing a dire need in the community for on-the spot medical assistance, LA County Firefighters Roy DeSoto and John Gage attempt to convince their staunchest opponent, Chief of Emergency Services Dr. Kelly Brackett, to support paramedic legislation that means getting help to where it's needed most. Martin Miller and Kent McCord of "Adam-12" guest star in this thrilling 2-hour pilot movie.moreless

FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (6)

The wedsworth-love every episode

10

By dinakrasny, Mar 28, 2013

Love every episode 8.9
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How it all started ...

8.0

By JayceeMaycee, May 08, 2012

I really enjoyed this "first" episode. Obviously, effects and manner of story telling are very different 40 years later, but the show was still enjoyable, the characters well-formed and the story interesting. It made me want to continue on to the next episode.
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This was a groundbreaking pilot and had a great "wow" effect but...

5.2

By davecgs9, Jul 23, 2010

Jack Web can't direct. He proved that in the pace, character, and structure of the episode. Nevertheless, Kevin and Randolph have enough acting chops to make it work. They are the best parts of the pilot. he Dr. Brackett character is about as likable as a wet tshirt in a snowstorm. He has an uncanny ability to be insulting without any effort. This of course was the dramatic tension between paramedics and doctors in the field; nevertheless, this was about as exciting as washing dishes. Pace is groaning nevertheless this was the setup for a great tv series that was always innocent and charming requiring not too much effort. Some will say this is too simplistic and foolish but considering how scary the world is today, sometimes dropping our tensions into the world of simplicity and charm seems like a pretty good recipe for a night off.moreless
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The start of It all. Emergency

10

By VMF-214, Jun 03, 2010

The start of it all. Roy and John are new to the paramedics there waiting for the legislation to pass so they can use there training. Dr. Brackett is against the program. Mean while Roy and John go on emergency calls but they half to have a Nurse along who can administer Drugs. When Dixie McCall is Injured they go against Dr. Brackett call to wait for another Nurse. Dr. Brackett finely changes his mind a goes to the legislation committee to testify that the Program is needed. Later when there's a cave in and a man is having a heat attack Dr. Brackett tells Roy and John to shock the man even though the bill has not pass. They do saving the man's life.

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In this pilot for the series, many people work together to get the Wedsworth-Townsend Act passed. Great introduction to the characters. Lots of action and excitement.

10

By rondasexton, May 23, 2009

This is one of the best pilots I have ever seen. It has action, adventure, character depth, a little comedy, and a good steady plot.

Action and adventure wise, the rescues are exciting. The best two are the accident where Dixie gets hurt and the cave in. These scenes were very realistic with the exception of the floating rocks in the cave in. Clearly they were made of some sort of foam. There is quite a bit of character development in this pilot. We see John Gage going from only wanting to be a rescue man to signing up for the training, telling Brackett "To hell with the orders", to stopping Roy from treating a man in the cave in because doing so might jepordize the bill's passage. Roy is a graduate of the first paramedic class. He helped train Johnny's class. He calls Johnny Junior at one point in the pilot. He is older than Johnny, and a war veteran. He is an encourger.

Dixie works in the ER as a nurse. She handles the nursing part of ER. She is a Korean war veteran. She is very much in favor of the paramedic program. She is in a relationship with Kel Brackett, Rampart's chief of Emergency services. They clash over the paramedic program. **Sidebar** Too bad they did not do anything with that relationship in the series.

Dr. Kel Brackett, as previsously mentioned,is Rampart's Chief of Emergency services. He is not at all in favor of the paramedic program...that is until Johnny ignores his orders and saves Dixie's life. He realizes that immediate on scene care is important, and that there are not enough doctors to do it alone. His speech to the committee about the bill helps it pass. His confidence in Roy and Johnny is shown when the lies, telling the the bill has already passed and has them treat a heart attack victim at the cave in rescue.

Dr. Joe Early has a small role in the pilot. We do know he has his own practice. He donates time to Rampart's ER. He can also play the piano and sing.

All in all this was an excellent pilot. It set the background for the series very well.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Randolph Mantooth	Firefighter John Gage
Kevin Tighe	Firefighter Roy DeSoto
Robert Fuller	Kelly Brackett, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Bobby Troup	Joe Early, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Julie London	Dixie McCall, R.N.

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Jack Kruschen	State Assemblyman Micheal Wolski	Guest Star
Martin Milner	Officer Pete Malloy	Guest Star
Virginia Gregg	Wilma Jacobs R.N.	Guest Star
Ann Morgan Guilbert	Woman In Trouble	Recurring Role
Lew Brown (II)	Man With Ulcer	Recurring Role
Art Balinger	Battalion Chief Conrad	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (5)
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- Robert Fuller (Dr. Kelly Brackett) had been close friends with Julie London (Dixie McCall) and Bobby Troup (Dr. Joe Early), long before he co-starred in Emergency!
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- Dixie lives in Apartment # 16.
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- While Dr. Brackett is blowing to get the chorloform into the the horn to relax the baby rabbit, there are shots of the little boy pursing his lip and blowing and Joe Early doing the same thing.
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- Prior to Julie London's marriage to Bobby Troup, she was married from July, 1947 to November, 1953, to this show's creator, Jack Webb.
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- Although their relationship was platonic on the show, Julie London (Dixie McCall) and Bobby Troup (Dr. Joe Early) were married in real life. Their marriage lasted from December, 1959 until Troup's death in February, 1999.
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QUOTES (2)
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- Johnny: Rescue, hell. All we rescued was a corpse.
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- Dr. Kelly Brackett: Get outta here, you hosejockey!
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NOTES (4)
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- Station 10's alarm tones are identical to the ones Station 51 used from the second episode on. Station 51's tones are also different.
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- Engineer Mike Stoker was a real Los Angeles County Firefighter. He was assigned to Station 21 in Lawndale, CA. He retired from the department in 1996 with the rank of Captain.
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- As Gage and DeSoto are rescuing the man caught under the trencher, the tunnel wall to their left gives way, causing water and rocks to rush down towards them. As the camera pans back to their continued rescue efforts, you can see several of the rocks floating on top of the water, rather than sinking like they should. This indicates the rocks were made of some other substance (foam, for example).
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- "Station 10" is LA County FD Station 8 in reality. Later episodes refer to it as such and stock footage of "10" from the pilot is used to show Station 8, which is also a part of Battalion 14 in the "Emergency!" universe.
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ALLUSIONS (3)
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- Dr. Early: Well good Doctor, you do recall The Longest Day? A reference to the movie "The Longest Day" a movie about D Day that tells both the Allied and German points of view.
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- Dr. Brackett's line, "That's what you get for playing the 'Perils of Pauline.'" is a reference to silent film episodic serial in which the main character Pauline evaded attempts on her life week after week.
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- Joe Early's line, "Tell me about the rabbits, George." is taken from Of Mice and Men. Lennie liked his friend George to tell him about the soft rabbits that he (Lennie)dreams of being able to tend and touch.
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