Marcus Welby, M.D.
The Tortoise Dance
TV Flash files “The Tortoise Dance” as the last listed hour of season 4 — Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969–1976) on ABC, season 4, episode 24, aired 1973-03-06, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E24: listed hour 99 of 172 in the Marcus Welby, M.D. guide, last listed hour of season 4. It aired 1973-03-06 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The Day After Forever” (S04E23). Next is “The Panic Path” (S05E01).
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Tortoise Dance sit in the Marcus Welby, M.D. guide?
S04E24 is listed hour 99 of 172 — last listed hour of season 4, season 4 episode 24.
When did Marcus Welby, M.D. S04E24 air?
The Tortoise Dance aired 1973-03-06 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Where should I start?
Young's Welby on a house-call case with Brolin's Kiley is the bedside-manner contract. Patient-of-the-week, not a hospital-soap serial you must enter at episode one.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Marcus Welby, M.D. recast Robert Young as America's bedside manner: a Santa Monica GP with James Brolin as the younger partner, house calls as weekly ritual. It launched in 1969 and soon owned the Nielsens. Patient-of-the-week medicine at peak trust — the last stretch when a network doctor still felt like a national uncle.
The timeline still argues whether a kindly GP counts as appointment TV. Marcus Welby, M.D. recast Robert Young as America's bedside manner: a Santa Monica GP with James Brolin as the younger partner, house calls as weekly ritual. David Victor's ABC medical drama premiered September 23, 1969, and soon owned the Nielsens — television's top-rated show in the 1970–71 season. Elena Verdugo's Consuelo Lopez kept the office human. Cases were moral and medical; trust was the brand. **Peak-trust doctor TV, and the chart…
Filed against
- Robert Young as Dr. Marcus Welby
Robert Young’s Jim Anderson sold middle-class calm as destiny on Father Knows Best — polished patriarch sitcom, a Springfield that looks like a furniture catalog, a title that is a verdict. Later satire never stopped targeting the…
- James Brolin as Dr. Steven Kiley
James Brolin’s Dr. Steven Kiley rode shotgun on Marcus Welby, M.D. — Santa Monica GP ritual, house calls as weekly trust, Robert Young’s bedside manner with a younger partner in the passenger seat. 1960s patient-of-the-week medicine at…
- Elena Verdugo as Consuelo Lopez
Elena Verdugo ran the office as Consuelo Lopez on Marcus Welby, M.D. — Robert Young's bedside manner, Santa Monica house calls, and the last stretch when a network doctor could own the Nielsens. Patient-of-the-week medicine at peak trust.…