Dr. Simon Locke
Encyclopedia
Dr. Simon Locke was a Canadian
medical drama
that was syndicated
to television stations in the United States
from 1971 to 1974 through the sponsorship of Colgate-Palmolive
.
The series was initially a medical drama
that originated from the fictional rural town of Dixon Mills, where a young physician
, Dr. Simon Locke (played by soap star Sam Groom
), arrived in town to assist veteran physician Dr. Andrew Sellers (played by veteran actor Jack Albertson
). The plot lines were more fitting for a big city medical drama, including a typhoid epidemic
, child abuse
, and even a murder
.
In 1972, Albertson left the series on unfavorable terms, and the series was renamed as Police Surgeon, where Dr. Locke moved back to the city and worked for the police department's emergency unit, where he assists the cops in solving crimes that require medical research. As Police Surgeon, the series also featured guest stars such as William Shatner
, Leslie Nielsen
, Donald Pleasence
, and Keenan Wynn
.
Canada's CTV
network, which co-produced this series under network president Murray Chercover, did not offer this series to its stations until 1972, when the show became Police Surgeon.
regulations, but also to satisfy the American Prime Time Access Rule
regarding early-evening network programming restrictions, which was mandated by the FCC
in 1971. To make American broadcast possible, Colgate-Palmolive
, the producers and sponsors of NBC
medical soap opera
The Doctors, funded production of the series, and hired Groom and Albertson to play the starring roles. However, to save money, the producers opted to film the series in Toronto
, instead of Hollywood or New York City
. The main problem, however, was the monetary budgeting for the series, as a result of not only a choice of venue, but also the fact that the CTV network in Canada, which picked up the series for Canadian viewers, was still experiencing financial problems at the time, expecting its affiliated stations to help produce and fund its programming in a cooperative
set-up. (see also "The Trouble with Tracy
")
; also, the producers refused to screen the day's shooting for the actors, and the results generally weren't seen until the episode actually aired. The editing
in the series was rather slipshod and poor, with bad lighting
, boom mikes making "cameo" appearances, choppy editing and dreadful scripts.
Alberston quit the series after the first season as the result of the producers' cheapness. When they reminded Albertson that he was under contract, he rebuffed, "After what I just saw, there's not a jury in the world that would convict me!" (Albertson's next series would be a popular Hollywood-produced sitcom, Chico and the Man
.)
Reviewers were very unkind to the program in their reviews -- TV Guide
called it a "syndie quickie", while Variety
, which called the show "sub-sub-par", said that it was "impossible to assume that any viewer would return for a second look."
Nevertheless, the series remained in production for three seasons under Colgate's sponsorship, until 1974, when the sponsor withdrew its money from the series. The series remained on the air in reruns for a few years afterward, under independent distribution.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
medical drama
Medical drama
A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
that was syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
to television stations in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from 1971 to 1974 through the sponsorship of Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American diversified multinational corporation focused on the production, distribution and provision of household, health care and personal products, such as soaps, detergents, and oral hygiene products . Under its "Hill's" brand, it is also a manufacturer of...
.
The series was initially a medical drama
Medical drama
A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
that originated from the fictional rural town of Dixon Mills, where a young physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, Dr. Simon Locke (played by soap star Sam Groom
Sam Groom
Sam Groom is an actor most noted for his numerous roles on television. He portrayed the title role in the Canadian television series Dr. Simon Locke . Prior to that, he had played Dr. Russ Matthews in the daytime soap Another World...
), arrived in town to assist veteran physician Dr. Andrew Sellers (played by veteran actor Jack Albertson
Jack Albertson
Jack Albertson was an American character actor dating to vaudeville. A comedian, dancer, singer, and musician, Albertson is perhaps best known for his roles as Manny Rosen in The Poseidon Adventure , Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Amos Slade in the 1981 animated film The Fox...
). The plot lines were more fitting for a big city medical drama, including a typhoid epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
, child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
, and even a murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
.
In 1972, Albertson left the series on unfavorable terms, and the series was renamed as Police Surgeon, where Dr. Locke moved back to the city and worked for the police department's emergency unit, where he assists the cops in solving crimes that require medical research. As Police Surgeon, the series also featured guest stars such as William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
, Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
, Donald Pleasence
Donald Pleasence
Sir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
, and Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn was an American character actor. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he rarely had a lead role, he got prominent billing in most of his film and TV parts....
.
Canada's CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
network, which co-produced this series under network president Murray Chercover, did not offer this series to its stations until 1972, when the show became Police Surgeon.
Context
Dr. Simon Locke was a series that was produced not only to fulfill Canadian contentCanadian content
Canadian content refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requirements that radio and television broadcasters must air a certain percentage of content that was at least partly written, produced, presented, or otherwise contributed to by persons from...
regulations, but also to satisfy the American Prime Time Access Rule
Prime Time Access Rule
The Prime Time Access Rule was instituted by the Federal Communications Commission in 1970 to restrict the amount of network broadcast programming that a local television station, Owned-and-operated station by or affiliated with a television network may air during "prime time"...
regarding early-evening network programming restrictions, which was mandated by the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
in 1971. To make American broadcast possible, Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American diversified multinational corporation focused on the production, distribution and provision of household, health care and personal products, such as soaps, detergents, and oral hygiene products . Under its "Hill's" brand, it is also a manufacturer of...
, the producers and sponsors of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
medical soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
The Doctors, funded production of the series, and hired Groom and Albertson to play the starring roles. However, to save money, the producers opted to film the series in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, instead of Hollywood or New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The main problem, however, was the monetary budgeting for the series, as a result of not only a choice of venue, but also the fact that the CTV network in Canada, which picked up the series for Canadian viewers, was still experiencing financial problems at the time, expecting its affiliated stations to help produce and fund its programming in a cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
set-up. (see also "The Trouble with Tracy
The Trouble with Tracy
The Trouble with Tracy was a Canadian television series produced by CTV for the 1970–1971 television season, with intended distribution by the U.S.-based National General Pictures. It is considered by some to be one of the worst situation comedies ever produced.The show was produced as a daily...
")
Filming budget
As a result of this, the conditions faced by the show's stars and staff were draconian—stars, especially Albertson, changed behind the bushes instead of a dressing room, or even a bathroomBathroom
A bathroom is a room for bathing in containing a bathtub and/or a shower and optionally a toilet, a sink/hand basin/wash basin and possibly also a bidet....
; also, the producers refused to screen the day's shooting for the actors, and the results generally weren't seen until the episode actually aired. The editing
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
in the series was rather slipshod and poor, with bad lighting
Lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate application of light to achieve some practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight...
, boom mikes making "cameo" appearances, choppy editing and dreadful scripts.
Alberston quit the series after the first season as the result of the producers' cheapness. When they reminded Albertson that he was under contract, he rebuffed, "After what I just saw, there's not a jury in the world that would convict me!" (Albertson's next series would be a popular Hollywood-produced sitcom, Chico and the Man
Chico and the Man
Chico and the Man is an American sitcom which ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 13, 1974 to July 21, 1978. It stars Jack Albertson as Ed Brown , the cantankerous owner of a run down garage in an East Los Angeles barrio, and Freddie Prinze as Chico Rodriguez, an upbeat, optimistic Chicano...
.)
Reviewers were very unkind to the program in their reviews -- TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
called it a "syndie quickie", while Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, which called the show "sub-sub-par", said that it was "impossible to assume that any viewer would return for a second look."
Nevertheless, the series remained in production for three seasons under Colgate's sponsorship, until 1974, when the sponsor withdrew its money from the series. The series remained on the air in reruns for a few years afterward, under independent distribution.