Doctors' Private Lives

American TV series or program

Doctors' Private Lives
Written by	James Henerson
Directed by	Steven Stern
Starring	John Gavin Donna Mills Ed Nelson Barbara Anderson
Music by	Richard Markowitz
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	David Gerber
Producer	Robert Stambler
Cinematography	Howard Schwartz
Editors	Ronald LaVine David Wages
Running time	100 minutes
Production company	Columbia Pictures Television
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	March 20, 1978 (1978-03-20)

Doctors' Private Lives is a 1978 American made-for-television drama film starring John Gavin, Donna Mills, Ed Nelson, Barbara Anderson, and directed by Steven Stern. It was broadcast on ABC on March 20, 1978.^[1]

It was a pilot for a short-lived television series of the same name that aired for four episodes from April 5 to April 26, 1979.^[2]

Cast

John Gavin as Dr. Jeffrey Latimer
Donna Mills as Dr. Beth Demery
Ed Nelson as Dr. Mike Wise
Barbara Anderson as Frances Latimer
William Kerwin as Dr. George Bana
Bettye Ackerman as Sylvia
John Randolph as Irv
Randolph Powell as Dr. Rick Calder
Fawne Harriman as Phyllis
Leigh McCloskey as Kenny
Kim Hamilton as Kitty
Elinor Donahue as Mona Wise

Reception

The Los Angeles Times called the film "lively but ludicrous and verges on self parody."^[3] It ranked 86th out of 114 shows airing that season, with an average 14.1/26 rating/share.^[4]

TV miniseries

One year after the TV movie's network premiere, a four-episode miniseries was produced and directed by Edward M. Abroms, Richard Benedict and Marc Daniels. John Gavin, Ed Nelson and Randolph Powell reprised their respective roles from the 1978 TV movie. The miniseries focused on the personal and professional crises of two heart surgeons: Chief Surgeon Dr. Michael Wise and cardiovascular Unit Chief Dr. Jeffrey Latimer.

Cast

Ed Nelson as Dr. Michael Wise
John Gavin as Dr. Jeffrey Latimer
Randolph Powell as Dr. Rick Calder
Phil Levien as Kenny Wise
Gwen Humble as Sheila Castle
Eddie Benton as Nurse Diane Cooper

Episodes

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Doctors' Private Lives: Part 1"	Unknown	Unknown	April 5, 1979 (1979-04-05)
A distaff surgeon who joins the hospital unit headed by Dr. Latimer becomes romantically involved with his associate, Dr. Wise.
2	2	"Doctors' Private Lives: Part 2"	Unknown	Unknown	April 12, 1979 (1979-04-12)
Dr. Wise confronts his feelings for his ex-wife when he learns that she and her lover have separated; Dr. Latimer has to step in when a nurse in the hospital falls in love with a patient.
3	3	"Doctors' Private Lives: Part 3"	Unknown	Unknown	April 19, 1979 (1979-04-19)
A young doctor is blamed for the death of some teenagers when a prescription drug is found in their smashed-up auto.
4	4	"Doctors' Private Lives: Part 4"	Unknown	Unknown	April 26, 1979 (1979-04-26)
A young attorney uses her romance with a medical student to gain malpractice evidence against two heart surgeons.

References

^ "'Doctors' Private Lives' Set". Los Angeles Times. Feb 15, 1978. p. g23.
^ Rosenberg, Howard. (Mar 10, 1979). "CBS, ABC Revamp Their Schedules". Los Angeles Times. p. b3.
^ Thomas, Kevin. (Mar 20, 1978). "TV MOVIE REVIEW: 'Doctors' Lives' a Self-Parody". Los Angeles Times. p. e16.
^ https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/79-OCR/BC-1979-06-18-OCR-Page-0056.pdf#search=%22rounding%20up%20the%20ratings%22 ^{[bare URL PDF]}