Marcus Welby, M.D.
The Latch-Key Child
TV Flash files “The Latch-Key Child” as hour 120 of 172 in the TV Flash guide — Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969–1976) on ABC, season 5, episode 21, aired 1974-02-19, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E21: listed hour 120 of 172 in the Marcus Welby, M.D. guide, hour 21 of 25 in season 5. It aired 1974-02-19 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The Mugging” (S05E20). Next is “Out of Control” (S05E22).
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Latch-Key Child sit in the Marcus Welby, M.D. guide?
S05E21 is listed hour 120 of 172 — hour 21 of 25 in season 5, season 5 episode 21.
When did Marcus Welby, M.D. S05E21 air?
The Latch-Key Child aired 1974-02-19 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.…