Back in the mid to late 60's, the major networks were getting "hip" about current events which were affecting the attitudes of younger people. There was Vietnam, a growing concern for the environment, drug use, the Generation Gap and even, believe it or not, a focus on race relations.Amidst all of these issues, the networks created a plethora of TV programs such as The Mod Squad, Ironside, The New People, Adam 12,and, of course, Medical Center. All of these programs came about after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr and one has to wonder if this event triggered an interest in both the networks and their sponsors. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that it was all about ratings and not about addressing and correcting the social issues of the times.As a member of the baby boomer generation, I, too, was a naive teenager who experienced all of these turbulent issues, believing that my generation could change the world for the better. It didn't have to be me that changed the world; only someone else of my generation who could do it. The sad part was that everyone was like me and there really weren't any leaders, so to say, who would be able to change things for the better. Our expectations, although buoyed by such television programs, turned out to be one of disappointment; the world hasn't changed primarily because of obstinacy and compromise; the former being the way the world has always been and the latter being a trap the world had laid for us as we got older.These television programs were made in order for the networks to cash in. Medical Center was no different from the other "cookie cutter" plots of The Mod Squad, Ironside or The New People. Medical Center focused on current issues affecting the mindset of my generation: the proverbial "generation gap" sticks out like a sore thumb in the episodes "The Deceived" and "Thousands and Thousands of Miles". The drug problem raises it's ugly head in the episode "The Crooked Circle". The naiveté of young people hoping to change the world simply oozes in the "A Duel With Doom" and, again, in "The Deceived" and of course the program has to touch on race relations with "The Last Ten Yards", but what television program back then would avoid that issue?Television successfully capitalized on these issues, totally deceiving us that they were on our side and would do anything to correct the wrongs of the older generation. Unfortunately, the networks were only interested in profit, and not at all concerned for a cure of the problems we faced 45 to 50 years ago.These issues have been quickly forgotten, replaced by a world that has worsened and unable to climb out of it's morbid and immoral abyss, let alone trying to address the issues of today which have totally dwarfed the problems we had as teenagers.However, there is good news: Dr. Joseph Gannon was and is still the best looking doctor of any medical show.

By the late 1960's,two brilliant medical shows made their debut on network television during the year of 1969. The other was "Marcus Welby,MD" for ABC,and the other great medical drama was "Medical Center" that was on CBS."Medical Center" was one of the great drama shows that premiered in the late 1960's,and continue onward toward that streak during the early and mid-1970's. The show was a CBS-TV staple for the seven years that it was on the air from September 24, 1969 until September 6, 1976. Produced by Frank Glicksman under executive producer Herbert F. Solow,the show focus on the medical happenings that were conducted at a large general hospital complex that was part of a large university campus(actually the University of California Medical Center at Los Angeles). Dr. Paul Lochner(James Daly)was the head chief of staff who was an experienced,professional,compassionate man who was very knowledgeable in the field of medicine and science.His assistant,Dr. Joesph Gannon(Chad Everett)was the young professor of surgery and the close friend and colleague of Dr. Lochner. Dr. Gannon was also the head director of the student health services department which became an appropriate post for a young physician who could identify closely with the students and their problems not only within the medical establishment,but Dr. Gannon was also a liaison for those who needed his assistance outside the medical establishment. For the seven seasons that this show was on the air,"Medical Center" established some great acting and riveting drama for this series and it shows in some of the episodes that were woven into the personal and private lives of the doctors not to mention the medical stories of the doctors and their patients,as well as others to whom they came in contact with,when was the fuel for this series which in some episodes had explicit subject matter that was unheard of for a television series during the late 1960's and early 1970's. "Medical Center" push the envelope further and when into more depth then any other medical show before it,and then some.The team of Gannon and Lochner embodied the youth versus experience tension which seems was the necessary ingredient element of every medical show back then,and the element worked here with the sheer brilliance of Chad Everett,who delivered his performances with astonishment and charm which made this show one of the most watched series of the early 1970's,not to mention cracking the top ten Nielsens during its seven year run. The guest star roster for "Medical Center" was basically a who's who of Hollywood's best ranging from Jodie Foster to Richard Thomas,Vic Morrow,Cyd Charisse,David Cassidy,Michael Douglas to Joanna Cameron,Martin E. Brooks,O.J. Simpson,and even Robert Reed that produced over 170 episodes,was a television staple during its day.

I was rather young when this show ran and really do not remember a lot about it other than the tinted opening sequences featuring the actors in doctor's masks accompanied by the Wulitzer organ score. For some reason I found this to be unsettling and it made me quite afraid of hospitals. I eventual grew out of that but until then I used to leave the room when my mom had it on. Maybe not being able to completely see the actors was scary to me. Little kids get scared of some dubious things, right? I do remember the episode where Robert Reed wanted a sex change operation. I saw it years later rerun on TNT and I thought it was even funnier than I remembered. I am sure it was not supposed to be but the idea of Mike Brady wanting to be a women and the sight of him dressed like one was humorous.

Not only were the topics that were discussed out near the edge, the weekly cast of guest stars were top notch. Many of those are on todays lists of entertainments "Who's Who". But one episode sticks out in my memory plainly as being way out beyond the edge for 1970's TV. The episode was " Ghetto Clinic", guest starring William Devane. In a scene where Chad Everette was scolding William Devane for not treating a street criminal mortally wounded in an altercation, allowing him to die, Devane explains simply "He was a scumbag"....I literally sat on my couch in shock. "Did I really hear that?" I thought. Friends at work the next day confirmed that I did'nt imagine it. To this day, I have yet to hear that term used on network TV. Medical Center raised the bar for TV drama. The stage was set for the next best, "St. Elsewhere"