Emergency!
Emergency! is an American action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing two situation comedy series, The Partners and The Good Life, it ran for a total of 122 episodes until May 28, 1977, with six additional two-hour television films in 1978 and 1979.
The show's ensemble cast stars Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe as two rescuers, who work as paramedics and firefighters in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The duo formed Squad 51, a medical and rescue unit of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, working together with the fictional Rampart General Hospital medical staff, and with the firefighter engine company at Station 51.
Emergency! was produced by Jack Webb and created by Robert A. Cinader, who had also created the police dramas Adam-12 and Dragnet. Harold Jack Bloom is also credited as a creator; Webb does not receive screen credit as a creator. In the show's original TV-movie pilot, Webb was credited only as its director. However, the series aimed to be much more realistic than its predecessors as it portrayed emergency medical services. Pioneering EMS leader James O. Page served as a technical advisor, and the two main actors underwent some paramedic training.
The series aired at a time when ambulance coverage in the United States was rapidly expanding and changing, and the role of a paramedic was emerging as a profession, and is credited with popularizing the concepts of EMS and paramedics in American society, and even inspiring other states and municipalities to expand the service.
Nearly 30 years after Emergency! debuted, the Smithsonian Institution accepted Emergency! memorabilia into its National Museum of American History's public-service section, including the firefighters' helmets, turnouts, Biophone, and defibrillator. The vehicles of Station 51 are a part of the collection of the Los Angeles County Fire Museum.
Cast
Set at the fictional Fire Station 51 of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, where one fire engine and the paramedic rescue squad are stationed, the series focuses on two young firefighter-paramedics: young and immature John Roderick "Johnny" Gage, who is always unlucky in love, and more mature family man Roy DeSoto, who crew the rescue squad, Squad 51, and, in addition to providing emergency medical care, perform technical rescues such as vehicle extrication.The paramedics are supervised by the emergency room staff of Rampart General Hospital: head physician Dr. Kelly Brackett, head nurse Dixie McCall, neurosurgeon Dr. Joe Early, and young intern Dr. Michael "Mike" Morton.
Other regular characters are the firefighters of Station 51's "A" shift, Chester B. "Chet" Kelly and Marco Lopez. Mike Stoker, a Los Angeles County Fire Department firefighter specialist, drove Engine 51. Los Angeles County Fire Department Dispatcher Samuel Lanier portrayed himself in an uncredited voice role throughout the series, and he is also occasionally shown in a brief clip at the dispatch office just before a dispatch is heard in later seasons; he retired from the department shortly after Emergency! finished. Lopez speaks Spanish, and occasionally translated for the crew when a victim or onlooker spoke Spanish but no English. Unusually, Lopez, Stoker and Dick Hammer play characters named after themselves, though in two episodes, Hammer's character is played by John Smith.
Various characters held the rank of Captain throughout the series. These include Captain Dick Hammer, Captain Hank Stanley and Captain Gene "Captain Hook" Hookrader in a couple of later episodes. Actor John Anderson portrayed Captain Bob Roberts in one Season 4 episode, "Smoke Eater".
Other recurring characters include Battalion Chiefs Conrad, Sorensen, Miller, and McConnike, Firefighter Conway / Firefighter Paramedic Tom Wheeler / Animal Control Supervisor Walt Marsh, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy/Carson Police Officer/Sergeant Vince, and recurring ambulance attendants Albert "Al" and his assistant, George. Boyett and Crosby regularly appeared as Sergeant MacDonald and Officer Ed Wells respectively on Adam-12, while Gilmore appeared on that show as watch commander Lieutenant Moore, a recurring character.
- Robert Fuller as Kelly Brackett, M.D., F.A.C.S., A.C.E.P., chief of emergency medicine
- Julie London as Dixie McCall, R.N., chief nurse of the emergency room
- Bobby Troup as Joe Early, M.D., F.A.C.S., A.C.E.P.
- Ron Pinkard as Mike Morton, M.D..
- Randolph Mantooth as Firefighter Paramedic John Gage, L.A. County FD Squad 51
- Kevin Tighe as Firefighter Paramedic Roy DeSoto, L.A. County FD Squad 51
- Tim Donnelly as Firefighter Chester B. "Chet" Kelly, L.A. County FD Engine 51
- Marco Lopez as Firefighter Marco Lopez, L.A. County FD Engine 51
- Mike Stoker as Firefighter Specialist Mike Stoker, L.A. County FD Engine 51
- Dick Hammer as Captain Dick Hammer, L.A. County FD Engine 51
- John Smith as Captain Hammer in episode "Hang-Up" 1st season, as Captain in episode "Crash" 1st season, L.A. County FD Engine 51
- Art Balinger as Battalion Chief Conrad
- Art Moore as Battalion Chief
- Michael Norell as Captain Henry "Hank" Stanley, L.A. County FD Engine 51
- James McEachin as Detective Lieutenant Ronald Crockett LAPD.
- Vince Howard as L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy Vince Howard/Carson Police Officer/Sergeant Vince Howard.
- William Boyett as Battalion Chief McConnike Chief Battalion 14
- Sam Lanier as, and providing the voice of, the Los Angeles County Fire Department dispatcher.
Development
The series was created by Robert Cinader and Jack Webb. Webb had previously created Dragnet, and with Cinader had jointly created Adam-12, both of which were TV series about policing. In 1971, Cinader and Webb met with Captain Jim Page and other officers from the Los Angeles County Fire Department to discuss creating a show about firefighters. Initially they planned to focus the show on physical rescues, but felt that there would not be enough ideas for episodes. Page suggested they look to the Los Angeles County Fire Department's new paramedic program for ideas.At the time, the Los Angeles area was home to 2 of only 12 paramedic programs in the United States. In 1970, Governor Ronald Reagan had signed the Wedworth-Townsend Act which allowed paramedic programs to be trialed in Los Angeles County. In September 1971, Cinader and Webb signed a contract with NBC to develop the series. The initial pilot film of Emergency!, titled "The Wedworth-Townsend Act", focuses on the passage of a similar law to the Wedworth-Townsend Act that permits paramedics to operate.
Cinader asked the writers to get all the rescues that were to be portrayed on the show from fire stations' logbooks. Along the same line, the series was technically accurate as every script was fact-checked and approved by the series' technical consultants, Dr. Michael Criley and Los Angeles County Fire Department Battalion Chief James O. Page. There were always real paramedics serving as technical advisors on set every day for further technical advice.
To train for their parts, the actors, Mantooth and Tighe sat in some paramedic classes and went on extensive ride-alongs with Los Angeles County Fire Department. In an interview with Tom Blixa of WTVN, Mantooth said that the producer wanted them to train so that they would at least know the fundamentals and look like they knew what they were doing on camera. Mantooth mentioned that you needed to take the entire course and pass all the skills stations and final certification exam to be a paramedic, and went on to admit that "if anyone has a heart attack, I'll call 911 with the best of them." Mantooth became an advocate for firefighters and paramedics after the series ended. He continued, as of late October 2014, to give speeches and make appearances all over the country at special events.
Episodes
Setting
Interior scenes were shot on Universal's sound stages. Exterior scenes of the fire station were shot at Station 127 in Carson, while exterior scenes of the hospital were shot at Harbor General Hospital.Station 51
Station 51 was represented by Los Angeles Fire Station 127, located at 2049 East 223rd Street in Carson, California.At the time the series aired, the Los Angeles County Fire Department had no Station 51. It was the number of a station that had previously existed at the intersection of Arlington and Atlantic Avenues on the outskirts of Lynwood and Compton, and closed in the late 1960s when the area was annexed by Lynwood. Since 1994, the Los Angeles County Fire Department has had a Station 51 in a different location. In an homage to the show, the fire station on the grounds of Universal Studios was renumbered from Station 60 to Station 51, more than 20 years after the debut of Emergency!. The vehicles based at Station 60 were accordingly renumbered. This station is therefore home to an actual Engine 51 and Squad 51, as well as Patrol 51 and Quint 51.
Station 127 was chosen by series co-creator Robert A. Cinader, and the station was eventually named in his honor. Station 106 in Rolling Hills Estates, California, a similar design to 127, was initially the choice, but faced north, which would make it difficult to light properly. At the time of filming Station 127 housed Engine 127 and Truck 127, whereas the fictional Station 51 had a small rescue truck instead of a ladder truck. As of 2018, Station 127 now instead houses Quint 127 and Foam 127.
When filming on location took place, Truck 127 was moved off-site and replaced with Universal's Squad 51, while Engine 127 was disguised as Engine 51. After Universal obtained a 1973 Ward LaFrance to use as Engine 51, both of Station 127's apparatus would be replaced by Universal's Engine 51 and Squad 51 for filming on location. Despite being "kicked out" of their own station for filming, Truck 127 still appeared in numerous episodes under its own callsign. The Carson location of Station 127 was directly referenced in one episode where a phone call was traced to a house "in Carson" that Engine 51 and Squad 51 eventually responded to. Interior scenes at Station 51 were filmed on sets at the studio, which accurately recreated the interior of Station 127.
"KMG365", which is said by the crewmember acknowledging a call for a unit at Station 51, is a real FCC call sign used by Los Angeles County Fire Department assigned to Fire Station 98 in Bellflower, and it appears on the Station Patch for Station 127.