Marcus Welby, M.D.
The Brittle Warrior
TV Flash files “The Brittle Warrior” as a desk essential hour — Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969–1976) on ABC, season 6, episode 1, aired 1974-09-10, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S06E01: listed hour 125 of 172 in the Marcus Welby, M.D. guide, first listed hour of season 6. It aired 1974-09-10 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Designs” (S05E25). Next is “The Faith of Childish Things” (S06E02).
Essential hour: “The Brittle Warrior”. The Brittle Warrior is a late-run season door: the GP still making house calls after the Nielsens had already crowned him.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Policeman Andy Stewart puts his life on the line by refusing treatment from Dr. Welby and the Family Practice Center for Rheumatoid Arthritis in order to keep his job.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Brittle Warrior sit in the Marcus Welby, M.D. guide?
S06E01 is listed hour 125 of 172 — first listed hour of season 6, season 6 episode 1.
When did Marcus Welby, M.D. S06E01 air?
The Brittle Warrior aired 1974-09-10 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.…