Dr. Simon Locke

Dr. Simon Locke (on-screen title is Doctor Simon Locke) is a Canadian medical drama that was syndicated to television stations in the United States from 1971 to 1974 through the sponsorship of Colgate-Palmolive.^[1] After the first season, the show was renamed Police Surgeon.

For the 1960 British television series of the same name, see Police Surgeon (UK TV series).

Dr. Simon Locke
Len Birman, Jack Albertson and Sam Groom in "Dr. Simon Locke"
Also known as	Police Surgeon
Created by	Chester Krumholz and Wilton Schiller for Dorian-Bentwood Productions
Starring	Sam Groom as Dr. Simon Locke Jack Albertson as Dr. Andrew Sellers (1971–1972) Larry D. Mann as Lt. Jack Gordon (1972–1974)
Country of origin	Canada
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	104
Production
Executive producers	Wilton Schiller Murray Chercover for CTV
Producer	Chester Krumholz
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	The ValJon Production Company (Dr. Simon Locke) Four Star International (Dr. Simon Locke/Police Surgeon) Viacom Enterprises (Dr. Simon Locke) CTV Television Network (Police Surgeon) Sterno Productions Limited (Police Surgeon)
Original release
Network	Syndication (1971–1974) CTV (1972–1974)
Release	1971 (1971) – 1975 (1975)

Plot

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 opera star Sam Groom), yearning for more than the big-city medical environment, arrives in town to assist veteran physician Dr. Andrew Sellers (played by veteran actor Jack Albertson), with some pushback and resistance from the local citizens to the new doctor. The plot lines were more fitting for a big city medical drama, including a typhoid epidemic, child abuse, and even a murder. The series co-starred Len Birman as Sheriff Dan Palmer and Nuala Fitzgerald as Nurse Louise Wynn.

In 1972, Albertson left the show, and the series was renamed 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. The reworked series initially featured Len Birman returning in his role, now as Lieutenant Dan Palmer, but in the third season Larry D. Mann stepped into the role as Locke's superior, as Lieutenant Jack Gordon. Nerene Virgin played Ellie the Dispatcher in over thirty episodes of the reworked series, best known for her "3-M-D-9" radio call. The series also featured guest stars such as William Shatner, Leslie Nielsen, Donald Pleasence, Michael Ansara, Martin Sheen, and Keenan Wynn. Additionally, a then-unknown John Candy made his 1974 TV debut in episodes "Target: Ms. Blue" and "Web of Guilt".^[2]

Series overview

Season		Episodes	Premiered:	Ended:	On-screen title
	1	26	13 September 1971 (1971-09-13)	6 March 1972 (1972-03-06)	Doctor Simon Locke
	2	26	11 September 1972 (1972-09-11)	12 March 1973 (1973-03-12)	Police Surgeon
	3	26	10 September 1973 (1973-09-10)	11 March 1974 (1974-03-11)
	4	26	5 September 1974 (1974-09-05)	6 March 1975 (1975-03-06)

Episode list

Season 1: 1971–72

Nº	Ep	Title	Director	Writer	Original air date
1	1	"The Day Simon Locke Came to Dixon Mills"	John Meredyth Lucas	Chester Krumholz and Wilton Schiller	13 September 1971 (1971-09-13)
2	2	"Gun Point"	Unknown	Unknown	20 September 1971 (1971-09-20)
3	3	"Max"	George Gorman	Story by : Jeff Kantor Teleplay by : Barry Oringer	27 September 1971 (1971-09-27)
4	4	"Walden Lost"	Richard Gilbert	Harry Kronman	4 October 1971 (1971-10-04)
5	5	"Death Is a Wanderer"	Richard Gilbert	Chester Krumholz and Wilton Schiller	11 October 1971 (1971-10-11)
6	6	"Royal Treatment"	George Gorman	Chester Krumholz and Wilton Schiller	18 October 1971 (1971-10-18)
7	7	"Death Holds the Scales"	Richard Gilbert	Chester Krumholz and Wilton Schiller	25 October 1971 (1971-10-25)
8	8	"The Cage"	John Meredyth Lucas	John Meredyth Lucas	1 November 1971 (1971-11-01)
9	9	"Bad Blood"	John Meredyth Lucas	Chester Krumholz and Wilton Schiller	8 November 1971 (1971-11-08)
10	10	"Where Are the Lucky Stars"	Gerald Mayer	Fred Freiberger	15 November 1971 (1971-11-15)
11	11	"The Hero"	Gerald Mayer	Jim Carlson	22 November 1971 (1971-11-22)
12	12	"Two Points of a Pitchfork: Part 1"	Gerald Mayer	Mort Forer, Marian Waldman, Chester Krumholz, and Wilton Schiller	29 November 1971 (1971-11-29)
13	13	"Two Points of a Pitchfork: Part 2"	Gerald Mayer	Mort Forer, Marian Waldman, Chester Krumholz, and Wilton Schiller	6 December 1971 (1971-12-06)
14	14	"The Healer"	John Meredyth Lucas	Story by : Brad Radnitz Teleplay by : Chester Krumholz and Wilton Schiller	13 December 1971 (1971-12-13)
15	15	"Crash"	John Meredyth Lucas	Howard Dimsdale	20 December 1971 (1971-12-20)
16	16	"The Perfect Specimen"	Richard Gilbert	Chester Krumholz and Wilton Schiller	27 December 1971 (1971-12-27)
17	17	"Coo-Coo in the Nest"	Gerald Mayer	Story by : Helen French Teleplay by : Helen French, Chester Krumholz, and Wilton Schiller	3 January 1972 (1972-01-03)
18	18	"The Man Who Hunted Hunters"	George Gorman	Story by : S. Rodge Olenicoff Teleplay by : Mort Forer and Marian Waldman	10 January 1972 (1972-01-10)
19	19	"Too Many Candles"	Gerald Mayer	Chester Krumholz and Wilton Schiller	17 January 1972 (1972-01-17)
20	20	"Child of Silence"	Gerald Mayer	Oliver Crawford	24 January 1972 (1972-01-24)
21	21	"Dark Future"	John Meredyth Lucas	Jim Carlson	31 January 1972 (1972-01-31)
22	22	"The Cortessa Rose"	Gerald Mayer	John Meredyth Lucas	7 February 1972 (1972-02-07)
23	23	"The Meddler"	John Meredyth Lucas	Chester Krumholz and Wilton Schiller	14 February 1972 (1972-02-14)
24	24	"Quiet Sunday"	Gerald Mayer	Chester Krumholz and Wilton Schiller	21 February 1972 (1972-02-21)
25	25	"Marooned"	Unknown	Unknown	28 February 1972 (1972-02-28)
26	26	"The Wanderer"	John Meredyth Lucas	Chester Krumholz and Wilton Schiller	6 March 1972 (1972-03-06)

Season 2: 1972–73

Nº	Ep	Title	Director	Writer	Original air date
27	1	"The Text According to Gracie"	John Meredyth Lucas	Fred Freiberger	11 September 1972 (1972-09-11)
28	2	"Lady X"	Gerald Mayer	Oliver Crawford	18 September 1972 (1972-09-18)
29	3	"Ten Kilos to Nowhere"	Unknown	Unknown	25 September 1972 (1972-09-25)
30	4	"Confined Panic"	Unknown	Unknown	2 October 1972 (1972-10-02)
31	5	"The Caller"	Gerald Mayer	Arthur Weiss	9 October 1972 (1972-10-09)
32	6	"Blackmail"	Unknown	Unknown	16 October 1972 (1972-10-16)
33	7	"Summer Sunday"	Unknown	Unknown	23 October 1972 (1972-10-23)
34	8	"Crossfire"	John Meredyth Lucas	Maureen Daly	30 October 1972 (1972-10-30)
35	9	"Time Out"	Unknown	Unknown	6 November 1972 (1972-11-06)
36	10	"High Tension"	Unknown	Unknown	13 November 1972 (1972-11-13)
37	11	"Night Watch"	Unknown	Unknown	20 November 1972 (1972-11-20)
38	12	"No Place to Hide"	Unknown	Unknown	27 November 1972 (1972-11-27)
39	13	"One Way to Heaven"	Unknown	Unknown	4 December 1972 (1972-12-04)
40	14	"Bust Out"	Eric Till	Mort Forer	11 December 1972 (1972-12-11)
41	15	"Shadows"	Unknown	Unknown	18 December 1972 (1972-12-18)
42	16	"Castle Queen"	Unknown	Unknown	1 January 1973 (1973-01-01)
43	17	"Veil of Death"	Unknown	Unknown	8 January 1973 (1973-01-08)
44	18	"Assassin"	John Meredyth Lucas	Jack Guss	15 January 1973 (1973-01-15)
45	19	"A Deadly Favor"	Unknown	Unknown	22 January 1973 (1973-01-22)
46	20	"Requiem for a Canary"	John Meredyth Lucas and Brian Walker	Chester Krumholz and Wilton Schiller	29 January 1973 (1973-01-29)
47	21	"4th and Cherry: Code Three"	Gerald Mayer and Brian Walker	Howard Dimsdale	5 February 1973 (1973-02-05)
48	22	"Death in the Last Row"	Unknown	Sam Ross	12 February 1973 (1973-02-12)
49	23	"Kill the Apple Tree"	Gerald Mayer and Brian Walker	Oliver Crawford	19 February 1973 (1973-02-19)
50	24	"Ordeal"	John Meredyth Lucas and Brian Walker	Maureen Daly	26 February 1973 (1973-02-26)
51	25	"A Bullet for the General"	Gerald Mayer	Jonah Royston	5 March 1973 (1973-03-05)
52	26	"Death Holds an Auction"	John Meredyth Lucas and Brian Walker	Mort Forer and Marian Waldman	12 March 1973 (1973-03-12)

Season 3: 1973–74

Nº	Ep	Title	Director	Writer	Original air date
53	1	"Ticket to Nowhere"	John Meredyth Lucas	Wallace Bennett	10 September 1973 (1973-09-10)
54	2	"An Equal Right to Die"	Gerald Mayer	Chester Krumholz and Wilton Schiller	17 September 1973 (1973-09-17)
55	3	"The Judas Goat of Ebony Street"	Gerald Mayer	Chester Krumholz and Wilton Schiller	24 September 1973 (1973-09-24)
56	4	"Star Witness"	John Meredyth Lucas	Theodore Apstein	1 October 1973 (1973-10-01)
57	5	"Killing Favors"	Gerald Mayer	Arthur Weiss	8 October 1973 (1973-10-08)
58	6	"Losers, Weepers"	Gerald Mayer	Kevin De Courcey	15 October 1973 (1973-10-15)
59	7	"Body Count"	John Meredyth Lucas	Chester Krumholz and Wilton Schiller	22 October 1973 (1973-10-22)
60	8	"Deadly Exchange"	John Meredyth Lucas	Maureen Daly	29 October 1973 (1973-10-29)
61	9	"A Very Quiet Street"	John Meredyth Lucas	Jim Carlson	5 November 1973 (1973-11-05)
62	10	"Kiss and Kill"	John Meredyth Lucas	Oliver Crawford	12 November 1973 (1973-11-12)
63	11	"Dark Pages"	Gerald Mayer	Chester Krumholz and Wilton Schiller	19 November 1973 (1973-11-19)
64	12	"For an Encore, Murder"	John Meredyth Lucas	Randy Kreuger, Chester Krumholz, Wilton Schiller	26 November 1973 (1973-11-26)
65	13	"Lies"	Unknown	Unknown	3 December 1973 (1973-12-03)
66	14	"Vengeance"	Gerald Mayer	Chester Krumholz and Wilton Schiller	10 December 1973 (1973-12-10)
67	15	"At the Stroke of Death"	Gerald Mayer	Chester Krumholz, Marjorie Priest, and Wilton Schiller	17 December 1973 (1973-12-17)
68	16	"Dangerous Windfall"	Gerald Mayer	Calvin Clements Jr.	31 December 1973 (1973-12-31)
69	17	"Smash Up"	John Meredyth Lucas	John Meredyth Lucas	7 January 1974 (1974-01-07)
70	18	"A Taste of the Sun"	John Meredyth Lucas	Bryan Barney and Kaino Thomas	14 January 1974 (1974-01-14)
71	19	"North Light"	John Meredyth Lucas	Story by : Martin Leager Teleplay by : Lew Lehman	21 January 1974 (1974-01-21)
72	20	"The Importer"	John Meredyth Lucas	Helen French, Chester Krumholz, and Wilton Schiller	28 January 1974 (1974-01-28)
73	21	"House Guest"	Eric Till	Kaino Thomas	4 February 1974 (1974-02-04)
74	22	"Portrait of Florenza"	John Meredyth Lucas	Garard Banning and Mel Goldberg	11 February 1974 (1974-02-11)
75	23	"Man Outside"	Peter Carter	Mel Goldberg, Chester Krumholz, and Wilton Schiller	18 February 1974 (1974-02-18)
76	24	"Borrowed Trouble"	John Meredyth Lucas	Susanne K. Burnie, Chester Krumholz, and Wilton Schiller	25 February 1974 (1974-02-25)
77	25	"A Bagfull of Dreams"	Eric Till	Chester Krumholz, Lew Lehman, Jonah Royston, and Wilton Schiller	4 March 1974 (1974-03-04)
78	26	"A Sound from Edward Sanchez"	Unknown	Unknown	11 March 1974 (1974-03-11)

Season 4: 1974–75

Nº	Ep	Title	Director	Writer	Original air date
79	1	"He Is Among Us"	John Meredyth Lucas	Phyllis White and Robert White	5 September 1974 (1974-09-05)
80	2	"Man in the Middle"	John Meredyth Lucas	Phyllis White and Robert White	12 September 1974 (1974-09-12)
81	3	"Secrets"	John Meredyth Lucas	Lou Shaw	19 September 1974 (1974-09-19)
82	4	"Target: Ms. Blue"	Peter Carter	Maureen Daly	26 September 1974 (1974-09-26)
83	5	"The Militant"	Peter Carter	Fred Freiberger	3 October 1974 (1974-10-03)
84	6	"Bad Apple"	John Meredyth Lucas	Howard Dimsdale, Chester Krumholz, and Wilton Schiller	10 October 1974 (1974-10-10)
85	7	"No More Brass Bands"	Peter Carter	San Ross	17 October 1974 (1974-10-17)
86	8	"Final Approach"	John Meredyth Lucas	Donald Jack	24 October 1974 (1974-10-24)
87	9	"Fatal Deception"	Peter Carter	Wallace Bennett	31 October 1974 (1974-10-31)
88	10	"The Killer"	John Meredyth Lucas	Chester Krumholz, Barry Pearson, Wilton Schiller, and Kaino Thomas	7 November 1974 (1974-11-07)
89	11	"Lady Be Dead"	Peter Carter	Kaino Thomas	14 November 1974 (1974-11-14)
90	12	"The Loser"	Peter Carter	Oliver Crawford	21 November 1974 (1974-11-21)
91	13	"Stairwell"	Peter Carter	E. Jack Kaplan	28 November 1974 (1974-11-28)
92	14	"Time Bomb"	Peter Carter	Robert Hamner	5 December 1974 (1974-12-05)
93	15	"My Son, My Son"	John Meredyth Lucas	Gerard Banning and Mel Goldberg	12 December 1974 (1974-12-12)
94	16	"Cry Murder"	John Meredyth Lucas	George Salverson	19 December 1974 (1974-12-19)
95	17	"Requiem for an Animal"	John Meredyth Lucas	Robert Hamner, Chester Krumholz, Wilton Schiller, and Kaino Thomas	2 January 1975 (1975-01-02)
96	18	"Mannequin"	Gerald Mayer	Chester Krumholz, Wilton Schiller, and Lou Shaw	9 January 1975 (1975-01-09)
97	19	"Insight to Murder"	Peter Carter	Jim Carlson	16 January 1975 (1975-01-16)
98	20	"Web of Guilt"	Gerald Mayer	Kaino Thomas	23 January 1975 (1975-01-23)
99	21	"Vanished"	John Meredyth Lucas	Mort Forer	30 January 1975 (1975-01-30)
100	22	"Angel of Mercy"	John Meredyth Lucas	John Meredyth Lucas	6 February 1975 (1975-02-06)
101	23	"Run Harry Run"	John Meredyth Lucas	Jonah Royston and Kaino Thomas	13 February 1975 (1975-02-13)
102	24	"Pint of Friendship"	John Meredyth Lucas	Chester Krumholz, Martin Roth, and Wilton Schiller	20 February 1975 (1975-02-20)
103	25	"Halfway House"	Gerald Mayer	Lew Lehman	27 February 1975 (1975-02-27)
104	26	"Sing a Sad Song"	Peter Carter	Jim Carlson	6 March 1975 (1975-03-06)

Syndication/current airings

While this series appeared on some stations in Canada in syndication, CTV, which co-produced this series under network president Murray Chercover, did not offer this series to its affiliates until 1972, when the show became Police Surgeon.

In December 2014, it was announced that the Retro Television Network would begin broadcasting reruns of Police Surgeon.

As of December 2023, the series was dropped from their schedule. https://www.tvpassport.com/tv-listings/stations/retro-tv-network/14646/2023-12-30

Filming locations

Most of the filming of the original season one episodes set in the fictional town of "Dixon Mills" took place in the village of Kleinburg, and surrounding Nashville and Vaughan areas of Ontario, often along more rural countryside roads. A number of episodes featured scenes filmed along Kirby Road and at the bowstring arch bridge by the Humber River in the Nashville Conservation Reserve. One episode "Crash" was filmed along present day Rutherford Road near Pine Valley Drive, another, "Two Points of a Pitchfork" used the Humber River bridge along Huntington Road north of Kirby Road as the checkpoint into town during a Typhus outbreak.

Some episodes were also filmed at the Valley Halla Estate on the Toronto Zoo grounds, and featured the house as the doctor's office and residence building. One episode from season 1 was shot at the old Markham, Ontario water tower in a story involving a mute boy who dangerously climbs the tower. Other season 1 scenes were shot at Highland Creek in Scarborough, Ontario, and at the old ski hill on Twyn Rivers Road in Pickering, Ontario.

Starting in the second season when the series was renamed and moved to a big-city setting, the filming moved strictly to Toronto (although Toronto wasn't specifically mentioned in the show as the setting). Much of the filming took place in the Etobicoke area, usually in various Mimico and New Toronto neighbourhoods, plazas, industrial areas and train yards. A lot of the stock footage of the ambulance van driving on the highway was filmed along the Gardiner Expressway around Sunnyside and downtown Toronto. One episode featured scenes shot inside Westwood Theatre, another a ride on a Gray Coach bus.