The Wedsworth-Townsend Act

The Wedsworth-Townsend Act is the pilot episode for the TV series Emergency!, a made-for-TV movie, broadcast on NBC on January 15, 1972. The primary cast from the pilot also starred in the TV series for the entire run through 1977.

The title refers to the Wedworth-Townsend Paramedic Act of the California State Legislature, which that legislature passed and which the then State Governor Ronald Reagan signed into law on July 14, 1970.^[1]

Synopsis

After a late-night fire run, Los Angeles County Station 10 Fire & Rescue man John Gage (Randolph Mantooth), gets into a discussion with his chief (Art Balinger) about joining a new program called the paramedics. At first Gage turns the offer down because he doesn't want to be an "ambulance attendant," but a rescue follows, in which the victim dies on arrival at Rampart General Hospital. After that failure, Gage regards the markings reading "rescue" on the side of the unit and remarks derisively, "Rescue, hell. All we rescued was a corpse." He reconsiders his earlier reluctance and talks to someone about joining the paramedics; it is at this point that he first meets Los Angeles Fireman (and future partner) Roy DeSoto (Kevin Tighe).

At first Gage is still not convinced to join; while he would have the training, he would not have the authority, but DeSoto tells him of a bill before the California State Legislature that would commission the paramedics, meaning that if the bill had any chance of passage they would have to be ready. DeSoto further states there are presently only six qualified paramedics for the entire population of the Los Angeles area – over 6¹⁄₂ million people. That convinces Gage to sign the application, and he begins his paramedic training at Rampart under the tutelage of ER senior doctor Kelly Brackett (Robert Fuller), neurological surgeon and ER doctor Joe Early (Bobby Troup) and chief nurse Dixie McCall (Julie London).

Despite his willingness to train the paramedics, Brackett is firmly against the paramedic program itself, preferring highly skilled medical help in the field rather than barely trained "hose jockeys," as he refers to them, running the risk of losing a life due to inexperience or ineptitude. His attitude toward the program does not go unnoticed by Gage, who passes the paramedic course and is reassigned and partnered with DeSoto at the new Station 51. With the paramedic program not yet authorized, any emergency involving injury requires Gage and DeSoto to stop at Rampart en route and pick up a nurse (namely McCall) to administer authorized medical help.

When Squad 51 is called out on a traffic crash involving a vehicle over a cliff with two injuries, they again pick up McCall at Rampart, but a freak occurrence on-scene renders McCall unconscious, and the paramedics are forced to call Rampart for instructions. When they tell Brackett that McCall is also unconscious, Brackett orders them not to treat the patients. But Gage is still embittered over his failure when "all [Squad 10] had rescued was a corpse," and thus he insubordinates and says into the biophone, "To hell with the orders!" With that he shuts off the radio.

Later at Rampart, though Brackett reprimands Gage and DeSoto for their insubordination, he also compliments them on their job performance; the three victims were stabilized; McCall had vasovagal syncope (unconsciousness brought on by intense stress) while the other two patients were simple cases according to Dr. Early (Bobby Troup). Finally realizing the paramedic program does indeed work, though he still opposes it, Brackett takes an unscheduled trip to Sacramento to address the State Assembly. To the relief of L.A. Assemblyman Michael Wolski (Jack Kruschen), Brackett throws his (reluctant) support and powerful influence behind the paramedic bill; since he cannot get the highly skilled medical help in the field he would rather have, he is willing to settle for the "hose jockeys," since they do indeed have enough training to stabilize victims without doctors or nurses in the field. The bill is approved by the Assembly, sending it to the floor of the Legislature, but Brackett is due back in Los Angeles before the vote that evening.

Back in L.A., Gage and DeSoto are dispatched on a major night call, consisting of an explosion and cave-in at a flood-control tunnel at the Alameda Diversion Complex. Gage realizes that Brackett is right–-not showing discipline could permanently end the paramedic program, but seeing all the injuries and people begging for help only serves to aggravate their respective feelings of helplessness.

Ultimately, Gage and DeSoto reach a victim pinned under a trencher, and whom they soon find out has a bad heart. After jacking up the trencher freeing the victim, they radio Rampart with their situation. When the victim's heart starts fibrillating during the EKG reading, Brackett orders them to defibrillate. At first DeSoto reminds Brackett of the risks, but thinking more about the patient, Brackett lies to the paramedics telling them that Wolski had called; the Legislature had already approved the Paramedic bill. He then spits at them, "Come on, zap 'im, damn it!" Reluctantly, Gage defibrillates the patient, who revives after the second attempt. Brackett offers his "highest congratulations" to the "doctors" for saving the man's life.

At daybreak with the situation under control, as the exhausted rescue workers make their way out of the Complex, DeSoto finds a folded newspaper (dropped by a woman grieving over her husband killed in the disaster). The paper was folded to a story about the Paramedic bill; it passed the previous night and would be signed into law thanks to support from none other than Dr. Brackett (his picture was in the story). Brackett and McCall drive out to the scene to see Gage and DeSoto in person and to compliment their performance. DeSoto and Gage offer their compliments in return to Brackett on what he did:
Gage: I really don't know what to say.
Brackett: Who asked?

See also

• Emergency!
• List of Emergency! characters

References