Doc Elliot

{{Unreferenced|date=February 2024}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}

{{infobox television

| image =

| caption =

| genre = Medical drama

| runtime = 60 minutes

| company = Corsican Productions
Lorimar Productions

| creator= Allen S. Epstein

| developer = Lewis John Carlino

| producer =

| camera =

| starring = James Franciscus

| theme_music_composer = Marvin Hamlisch

| composer = Earl Hagen

| country = United States

| language = English

| network = ABC

| first_aired = {{start date|1973|10|10}}

| last_aired = {{end date|1974|5|1}}

| num_seasons = 1

| num_episodes = 14

| list_episodes = Doc Elliot#Episodes

}}

Doc Elliot is an American medical drama series that aired on ABC from October 10, 1973 until May 1, 1974.

Premise

Dr Benjamin R. Elliot (James Franciscus) is a successful New York City doctor who decided to leave Bellevue Hospital, drop out of the big-city rat race, and take on a new job as a doctor in Gideon, in the backwoods of southern Colorado. Most of his house calls had to be made via plane or four-wheel drive vehicles as his practice covered over 600 square miles. Mags Brimble (Neva Patterson) is the widow of the former town’s doctor, who became Elliot’s helper. Barney Weeks (Noah Beery) owns the town’s general store. Eldred McCoy (Bo Hopkins) works as a bush pilot.

Cast

Episodes

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{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=

|Title=Pilot

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1973|3|5}}

|DirectedBy=Robert Butler

|WrittenBy=Lewis John Carlino

|ShortSummary=Urban physician Doc Elliot relocates to a rural area to enjoy a less hectic life. One of his first patients is a young man suffering from depression, because he feels responsible for the accident that maimed his older brother.

Guest stars: Joe Don Baker, Jim Antonio, Perry Lopez and Verna Bloom.

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{{Episode list

|Title=And All Ye Need to Know

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1973|10|10}}

|EpisodeNumber=1

|DirectedBy=Robert Totten

|WrittenBy=Sandor Stern

|ShortSummary=Doc Elliot treats Jenny (played by Meredith Baxter), a blind woman who is very dependent on her reclusive husband. When Ben suggests an operation that will restore Jenny's eyesight, her spouse opposes the procedure, fearing that his wife will leave him.

Guest stars: Woodrow Chambliss, William Mims and Mills Watson.

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{{Episode list

|Title=A Man of Importance

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1973|11|3}}

|EpisodeNumber=2

|DirectedBy=Harry Harris

|WrittenBy=Charles McDaniel

|ShortSummary=Paul Bartlett (Will Geer) is an eccentric elderly man who owns valuable property that others covet. He is determined to have grandson Jamie (Leif Garrett) inherit it, but his behavior leaves his sanity in question. Doc Elliott is asked to sign off to have him committed.

Guest stars: Leonard Stone, Russell Thorson and George DiCenzo.

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{{Episode list

|Title=The Touch of God

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1974|1|23}}

|EpisodeNumber=3

|DirectedBy= Robert Totten

|WrittenBy= Anthony Lawrence

|ShortSummary=Doc Elliot finds himself challenged when his patients turn to a faith healer for their illnesses. Ben's years of medical training are at odds with the community's spiritual beliefs.

Guest stars: Royal Dano, Tyne Daly, Gail Bonney and Ford Rainey.

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{{Episode list

|Title=No Place to Go

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1974|1|30}}

|EpisodeNumber=4

|DirectedBy=Daniel Haller

|WrittenBy=Walter Black

|ShortSummary= A car accident victim turns out to be a young man on the run from the law, who forces Doc to drive him to Mexico.

Guest stars: John David Carson, Kathleen Cody, Maggie Malooly and R.L. Armstrong.

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{{Episode list

|Title=A Small Hand of Friendship

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1974|2|6}}

|EpisodeNumber=5

|DirectedBy= Robert Totten

|WrittenBy= Alan Savage

|ShortSummary= One of Ben's patients is Bonnie Ames (Beverly Garland), an unmarried schoolteacher. After learning she is pregnant, she knows the community will pressure her to quit her job. Doc Elliot vows to stand behind her during this difficult time.

Guest stars: Clint Howard, Dee Carroll, Leonard Stone and John Mitchum.

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{{Episode list

|Title=The Runner

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1974|2|13}}

|EpisodeNumber=6

|DirectedBy= Edward M. Abroms

|WrittenBy= Richard Carr

|ShortSummary= Doc Elliot sees a young man who doesn't want to follow in his father's footsteps as a bronco-buster. The patient, named Gary (Sam Bottoms) has over-exerted himself by constantly running. Doc soon learns that Gary's father Stuart (Morgan Woodward) is very disapproving and rigid; consequently, Gary 'escapes' by running.

Guest star: Harry Carey Jr.

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{{Episode list

|Title=The Carrier

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1974|2|20}}

|EpisodeNumber=7

|DirectedBy= Harry Harris

|WrittenBy= John McGreevey

|ShortSummary= Cases of typhoid begin occurring in the small community and Doc looks for the source. His investigation leads him to a young couple who are intent on keeping a secret.

Guest stars: Heather North, Anthony Geary, John Lupton, Jeanne Cooper and Lonny Chapman.

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{{Episode list

|Title=A Time to Live

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1974|2|27}}

|EpisodeNumber=8

|DirectedBy= James Sheldon

|WrittenBy= Walter Black

|ShortSummary= Lee Barrows (Sam Elliott) learns he has leukemia and returns to the town where he grew up, to die by himself. Doc Elliot counsels Lee and his wife Pamela (Katherine Justice) about different options, while trying to make the dying man comfortable.

Guest star: John Mitchum

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{{Episode list

|Title=A Time to Grow

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1974|3|6}}

|EpisodeNumber=9

|DirectedBy=Harry Harris

|WrittenBy=Sandor Stern

|ShortSummary= Samantha Wells (Susan Brown) is a well-known New York actress who has relocated to Colorado to improve her son's asthma. Her son, Robert (Brandon Cruz), chafes because of the many restrictions but finds an ally in Doc Elliot who helps his mother better understand his condition.

Guest stars: Ike Eisenmann, Kathrine Baumann, Sally Kemp and Victor Kilian.

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{{Episode list

|Title=The Gold Mine

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1974|3|13}}

|EpisodeNumber=10

|DirectedBy= Robert Totten

|WrittenBy={{StoryTeleplay

| t = Sandor Stern

| ex1 = John Kingsbridge

| tlabel = {{abbr|T|Teleplay by}}

| ex1label = {{abbr|S/T|Story and teleplay by}}

}}

|ShortSummary= Emma Johnson (Edith Atwater) is anxious to keep her gold mine, because the men that work in it frequently fall ill and are getting old. Unfortunately, they've been unable to extract enough gold to pay the debts or even the payroll. Desperate to find a new vein, the miners resort to stealing supplies and creating an unsafe new tunnel.

Guest stars: Merle Haggard, Hoke Howell, Ken Mayer, Heidi Vaughn and Karl Swenson.

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{{Episode list

|Title=Survival

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1974|3|27}}

|EpisodeNumber=11

|DirectedBy= Harry Harris

|WrittenBy= Robert Earll

|ShortSummary= Doc and his companions are stuck in the wilderness after a plane crash.

Guest stars: John Ericson, Kathrine Baumann, Phillip Pine, Harry Hauss and Christine Belford.

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{{Episode list

|Title=Things That Might Have Been

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1974|4|3}}

|EpisodeNumber=12

|DirectedBy= James Sheldon

|WrittenBy= Skip Webster

|ShortSummary= The father of a young woman with facial scars is reluctant to allow her to have reconstructive surgery.

Guest stars: Joan Blackman, Lane Bradbury, Tim O'Connor and Stuart Nisbet.

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{{Episode list

|Title=The Brothers

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1974|4|10}}

|EpisodeNumber=13

|DirectedBy= James Brown

|WrittenBy= Don Ingalls

|ShortSummary=A carefree Native American youth crashes his speeding motorcycle, seriously injuring his brother who was riding with him. In sorrow, the youth goes into the mountains to offer himself as sacrifice for his brother's health. Doc Elliot finds the youth near death from exposure.

Guest stars: Victor Mohica, Cal Bellini, Howard Platt and Victoria Racimo.

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{{Episode list

|Title=The Pharmacist

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1974|5|1}}

|EpisodeNumber=14

|DirectedBy= Sandor Stern

|WrittenBy= {{StoryTeleplay

| s = Gerri Chuchian

| ex1 = Sandor Stern

| slabel = {{abbr|S|Story by}}

| ex1label = {{abbr|S/T|Story and teleplay by}}

}}

|ShortSummary= Doc Elliott must convince pharmacist Gus Turners (Paul Fix) that his age no longer allows him to do his job properly.

Guest stars: John Karlen, Rutanya Alda, Jordan Rhodes and Mitch Vogel.

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References

{{reflist}}