The Interns (TV series)
# The Interns (TV series)

The Interns is an American medical drama series that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1971. It was based on the 1962 film The Interns and the 1964 sequel The New Interns.

## Overview

The stories centered on the activities of Dr. Peter Goldstone (Broderick Crawford) and five medical interns at New North Hospital in Los Angeles. The series dealt with issues of the day including the racism faced by one of the African American interns. The other interns consisted of a newlywed, two bachelors, and a woman.

## Cast

| Actor | Role |
| - | - |
| Broderick Crawford | Dr. Peter Goldstone |
| Mike Farrell | Dr. Sam Marsh |
| Skip Homeier | Dr. Hugh Jacoby |
| Christopher Stone | Dr. Pooch Hardin |
| Stephen Brooks | Dr. Greg Pettit |
| Hal Frederick | Dr. Cal Barrin |
| Elaine Giftos | Bobbe Marsh |
| Sandra Smith | Dr. Lydia Thorpe |
| Simon Scott | Jim |

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | "The Quality of Mercy" | Bob Claver | William Blinn | September 18, 1970 (1970-09-18) |
| A monk who has been cloistered for 40 years is treated for a tumor, while a stripper suffers from a bone spur and a distraught wife pleads for the mercy killing of her dying husband. Bert Convy and Sherry Jackson guest star. |||||
| 2 | "Death Wish" | Allen Reisner | William Blinn | September 25, 1970 (1970-09-25) |
| Dr. Hardin refuses to believe warnings that a pretty girl patient is in fact a desperate heroin addict. |||||
| 3 | "Some Things Don't Change" | William Hale | Story by : Larry Brody Charles E. Israel Teleplay by : Larry Brody | October 2, 1970 (1970-10-02) |
| A young man, fearful of passing on an inherited brain disease, demands that his girlfriend have an abortion. Christopher Connelly guest stars. |||||
| 4 | "An Afternoon in the Fall" | Daniel Petrie | Mark Rodgers | October 9, 1970 (1970-10-09) |
| A would-be killer (William Devane) threatens to complete his job against the victim, who is being treated at New North Hospital. Albert Salmi and Brooke Bundy also star. |||||
| 5 | "Eyes of the Beholder" | Ralph Senensky | Skip Webster | October 16, 1970 (1970-10-16) |
| A recently blinded pickpocket joins a group therapy program in order to help blind persons. Milt Kamen and Meg Foster guest star. |||||
| 6 | "Miss Knock-a-Bout" | Allen Reisner | William Blinn | October 23, 1970 (1970-10-23) |
| A female clown (Bridget Hanley) files a $1 million lawsuit after she claims she has been permanently damaged by a woman-hating surgeon. |||||
| 7 | "The Price of Life" | Michael O'Herlihy | Jack Miller | October 30, 1970 (1970-10-30) |
| Enraged when he is refused life-saving treatment because no kidney dialysis machine is available, a young man tries to steal the costly equipment. Pete Duel guest stars. |||||
| 8 | "The Oath" | Jerry Thorpe | Arthur Dales | November 6, 1970 (1970-11-06) |
| Dr. Marsh (Mike Farrell) finds it difficult to practice professional detachment when he realizes that the man he is treating is the assailant who had beaten his wife (Elaine Giftos). Mills Watson and Malachi Throne guest star. |||||
| 9 | "Act of God" | Don McDougall | Charles Larson | November 20, 1970 (1970-11-20) |
| After an argument with Dr. Goldstone (Broderick Crawford) over a dying child, Dr. Pettit (Stephen Brooks) is involved in an auto accident that leaves him stranded in rough country with two critically injured young people. Lane Bradbury and Charles Aidman guest star. |||||
| 10 | "Mondays Can Be Fatal" | Marvin J. Chomsky | Don Brinkley | November 27, 1970 (1970-11-27) |
| Dr. Harden (Christopher Stone) is suspected of murdering the hostess at a party, but he can't remember anything because he was served spiked punch. Ron Rifkin and Sabrina Scharf guest star. |||||
| 11 | "The Fever" | Allen Reisner | Story by : Alan Gadney Teleplay by : Charles Larson | December 4, 1970 (1970-12-04) |
| Fear of an epidemic sweeps the city after Dr. Marsh is stricken with bubonic plague. Viveca Lindfors and Eduard Franz guest star. |||||
| 12 | "The Prisoners" | David Lowell Rich | Charles Larson | December 11, 1970 (1970-12-11) |
| Dr. Pettit (Stephen Brooks) gets in the middle of a prison riot led by a badly-scarred killer, while Dr. Thorpe (Sandra Smith) deals with a mute child whose inability to speak has no physical diagnosis. Warner Anderson and Kaz Garas guest star. |||||
| 13 | "Dancy" | Leo Penn | Barry Oringer | December 18, 1970 (1970-12-18) |
| The death of a 14-year-old from a drug overdose overwhelms Dr. Marsh, forcing him to investigate the world of drug abuse. John Randolph and Georg Stanford Brown guest star. |||||
| 14 | "Changes" | Allen Reisner | Inez C. Boyd Marshall D. Wilkerson | January 1, 1971 (1971-01-01) |
| A bomb explodes at New North Hospital on the eve of a threatened strike, injuring Dr. Barrin (Hal Frederick) and forcing Dr. Goldstone to order evacuation of all patients who can be moved. Robert Lansing and Billy Dee Williams guest star. |||||
| 15 | "The Secret" | Jud Taylor | Samuel Roeca | January 22, 1971 (1971-01-22) |
| A playboy (Martin Sheen) takes the blame for a fatal hit-and-run auto accident in order to protect his guilty brother, a senatorial candidate. |||||
| 16 | "Tasha" | Michael Caffey | Arthur Dales | January 29, 1971 (1971-01-29) |
| Dr. Pooch Hardin sees a long term mental patient, Tasha (Signe Hasso), who refuses to speak. The more he delves into the case the more Pooch believes she may be faking. |||||
| 17 | "Metamorphosis" | Allen Reisner | Jack Miller | February 5, 1971 (1971-02-05) |
| A librarian (Lois Nettleton) with a dual personality exhibits a crush on Dr. Marsh (Mike Farrell). |||||
| 18 | "The Challenger" | Paul Stanley | Don Brinkley | February 12, 1971 (1971-02-12) |
| After the world's foremost billiards player (Frank Gorshin) undergoes an emergency amputation of the hand, his wife (Sheree North) files a lawsuit against both Dr. Pettit and the hospital. |||||
| 19 | "Casualty" | Richard Donner | Story by : Barbara Torgan William Blinn Teleplay by : William Blinn | February 19, 1971 (1971-02-19) |
| An author astonishes everyone with her callous attitude after she learns that her brother has been diagnosed with leukemia. Diana Hyland and John Davidson guest star. |||||
| 20 | "Heart Trouble" | Unknown | William Blinn | February 26, 1971 (1971-02-26) |
| An executive becomes jealous when he believes that Dr. Marsh is giving his pregnant wife a bit too much attention. Peter Haskell and Meredith MacRae guest star. |||||
| 21 | "The Guardian" | Unknown | Unknown | March 5, 1971 (1971-03-05) |
| The arrival of a famed heart specialist stirs resentment at the hospital when rumors surface that is to be the successor of the ailing Dr. Goldstone (Broderick Crawford). Lew Ayres and Shelley Fabares guest star. |||||
| 22 | "The Manly Art" | Unknown | Unknown | March 12, 1971 (1971-03-12) |
| A veteran boxer (Ron O'Neal) stages a surprising comeback. |||||
| 23 | "Castle of the Lion" | Marvin J. Chomsky | Story by : Tina Pine Les Pine Teleplay by : William Blinn | March 19, 1971 (1971-03-19) |
| An Italian mother (Pat Carroll) desperately tries to find a kidney donor in order to save the life of her critically ill daughter. |||||
| 24 | "The Choice" | David Lowell Rich | Story by : Stephen Karpf Elinor Karpf Teleplay by : Charles Larson Stephen Karpf Elinor Karpf | March 26, 1971 (1971-03-26) |
| Just as Dr. Thorpe (Sandra Smith) undertakes a heavy workload at her inner city clinic, her fiance asks her to give up medicine. |||||

## Reception

Most reviews were critical, citing the predictable and formulaic nature of the "new hip cast" of doctors. Clarence Petersen wrote in the Chicago Tribune:

   [The Interns] is pretty much like all the other doctor shows except maybe a bit more relevant because the doctors are a bit more hip. They are dedicated after the fashion of Ben Casey, of course, but unlike Ben, they also smile and laugh. In one scene, moreover, they all run down the street, as if they were doing a Pepsi commercial or auditioning for The Mod Squad, but they aren’t. They are trying to catch a bearded orderly who has slipped poison to a dying patient who wanted to end it quickly.
