“Hello there, this is The Family Doctor ....”
So began the 1932 radio program The Family Doctor. This introduction came from the family doctor himself, Dr. Grant Adams.
The Family Doctor was a family drama. Cedarton is a typical small town in an unnamed state, where you knew your neighbors and you could leave your doors unlocked. Today the show is a reminder of simpler times, when old-fashioned moral values were in full bloom and the sense of community was strong.
Adams is a kindly small town doctor who serves the citizens of Cedarton, tending their bodies as well as their souls. He is a pillar of the community, dispensing both medical advice and common sense wisdom to patients in need of both. Wise and humorous, Adams helps keep his patients on a moral path when they stumble while tending to their bodily ills. This includes an overweight policeman who’s distrustful of strangers and the town gossip who hurts the feelings of others with her insensitivity.
Each episode is a combination of medical treatment and sage advice, not to mention drama such as dam burstings, robberies and attempted suicides, and it’s easy to see that The Family Doctor was an early prototype for television’s later medical soap operas. Unlike many programs of the day, The Family Doctor had re-appearing characters and story arcs.
With its roster of colorful characters, from Griff, the boat rental proprietor who works too hard and won’t rent boats to young unmarried couples, to Pete May, the drugstore owner who has to drive Dr. Adams on a house call, to Elle Marie, who is suicidal, to Chick, who works at the drugstore and is the object of affection of two young girls who vie for his attention, Cedarton feels three-dimensional.
The show ended with a three-part storyline in which Dr. Adams was forced to decide about his future, and that of Cedarton, in the episodes “The Call”, “The Decision” and “Farewell to Cedarton”.
The Family Doctor was produced by Transco Syndication. There were a total of 39 fifteen minute episodes produced, and are included in this set.
This doctor makes house calls.
#1 False Witness
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#2 Wanted, A Bright Youngster
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#3 Error in Diagnosis
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#4 Enjoyment
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#5 Once to Every Boy
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#6 Cupid Without Wings
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#7 Glass Houses
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#8 A Race with the Stork
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#9 A Secret Between Three
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#10 The Flood
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#11 The Fatty Brain
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#12 Farewell to Johnny
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#13 The Fire Alarm
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#14 Bison Pete's Revenge
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#15 The Love Scene
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#16 The New Home
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#17 Nature Takes its Course
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#18 Tolerance
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#19 The Prospectors
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#20 All Bets Are Off
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#21 Dr. Adams, Detective
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#22 The Committee Meeting
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#23 Pete May, Ambulance Driver
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#24 Louder than Words
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#25 The Carnival
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#26 Patchwork
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#27 Chick's Date
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#28 The Beauty Contest
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#29 Casting
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#30 The Pageant
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#31 The Doctor Goes Shopping
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#32 House Cleaning
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#33 Campaigning
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#34 The New Suit
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#35 New Folks
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#36 Out of Control
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#37 The Call
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#38 The Decision
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication
#39 Farewell to Cedarton
1932 - 15:00 - Transco Syndication