Emergency!
The Lighter-Than-Air Man
TV Flash files “The Lighter-Than-Air Man” as hour 85 of 128 in the TV Flash guide — Emergency! (1972–1979) on NBC, season 5, episode 9, aired 1975-11-15, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E09: listed hour 85 of 128 in the Emergency! guide, hour 9 of 22 in season 5. It aired 1975-11-15 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “One of Those Days” (S05E08). Next is “Simple Adjustment” (S05E10).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
A crossing guard is run down, allegedly by Squad 51 en route to an emergency labor, and is investigated by the police. A couple en route to a wedding hits a fire hydrant. A camper on fire arrives at Station 51 with a boy trapped inside, and is taken to Rampart with smoke inhalation and burns, with the help of Dixie, Drs. Early, and Morton. The firefighters rescue the driver of a semi truck hauling insecticide that overturned and caught fire on the freeway, sending toxic fumes into the air.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Lighter-Than-Air Man sit in the Emergency! guide?
S05E09 is listed hour 85 of 128 — hour 9 of 22 in season 5, season 5 episode 9.
When did Emergency! S05E09 air?
The Lighter-Than-Air Man aired 1975-11-15 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Where should I start?
Start with Squad 51 and Rampart as a closed loop: Gage, DeSoto, and the ER doctors. Rescue-of-the-week structure does not need a binge map.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Squad 51 rolls before medical dramas discovered handheld cameras and hallway shouting. Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe play paramedics as civic heroes while Jack Webb's shop keeps the procedures honest. The series that sold America on paramedic programs, sirens included, without turning the station house into a soap.
Squad 51 rolling is the whole assignment: L.A. County firefighter-paramedics answer rescue calls while Rampart Hospital doctors support from the ER, and NBC's Emergency! (1972–1979) keeps the procedures honest before medical dramas discovered handheld cameras and hallway shouting. Harold Jack Bloom, R.A. Cinader, and Jack Webb's Mark VII shop put Randolph Mantooth's John Gage and Kevin Tighe's Roy DeSoto in the squad with documentary-style urgency. Robert Fuller's Dr. Kelly Brackett, Julie London's Dixie McCall,…
Filed against
- Robert Fuller as Dr. Kelly Brackett
Robert Fuller's Dr. Kelly Brackett backed Emergency! before medical dramas discovered handheld cameras and hallway shouting — Squad 51 rolling, Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe as civic heroes, Jack Webb's shop keeping procedures honest.…
- Julie London as Dixie McCall
Julie London’s Dixie McCall kept Emergency! honest in the hospital — Squad 51 rolling before medical dramas discovered handheld cameras and hallway shouting, Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe as paramedics, Jack Webb’s shop keeping…
- Randolph Mantooth as Firefighter John Gage
Randolph Mantooth played Firefighter John Gage on Emergency!, 1970s Squad 51 rolling before medical dramas discovered handheld cameras and hallway shouting. Kevin Tighe as partner, Jack Webb’s shop keeping the procedures honest. TV Flash…
- Kevin Tighe as Firefighter Roy DeSoto
Kevin Tighe's Firefighter Roy DeSoto rolled Squad 51 on Emergency! before medical dramas discovered hallway shouting — paramedics as civic heroes, Jack Webb's shop keeping procedures honest, sirens as a public argument. TV Flash files him…
- Bobby Troup as Dr. Joe Early
Bobby Troup’s Dr. Joe Early rode Emergency! before medical dramas discovered hallway shouting — Squad 51, Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe as paramedics, Jack Webb’s shop keeping procedures honest, the series that sold America on…