1 9 7 1 – 1 9 7 5 (Canada)
95 x 30 minute episodes
Originally broadcast under the title Dr Simon Locke, this Canadian drama series featured American actor Sam Groom as the handsome young titular physician who moved to the small town of Dixon Mills.
The series was actually filmed in Kleinburg (a small town outside Toronto) with the interiors filmed at the Massey Tudor Mansion, once the home of Raymond Massey – most famous for his portrayals of Abraham Lincoln but known to television viewers for his work in the Dr Kildare series.
Here, Locke set up practice with his curmudgeonly older mentor Dr Andrew Sellers (Jack Albertson, best known as Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) to treat crime victims, abused children and a variety of diseases.
Louise Wynn (Nuala Fitzgerald) was their nurse.
In the second season, Dr Locke left Dixon Mills and his colleagues behind for the big city, where he joined the police emergency unit and received a new boss in former Dixon Mills cop Dan Palmer (Len Birman).
The title of the series then changed to Police Surgeon and filming relocated to Toronto’s Lakeshore Studios.
Palmer was later replaced by Lt. Gordon (Larry D. Mann), as Locke investigated a number of crimes associated with the patients he was treating.
Before taking this series, Sam Groom had just completed a four-year run as Dr Russ Matthews on NBC’s Another World.
Not to be confused with the 1960s British series of the same name, starring Ian Hendry, which was a prequel of sorts to The Avengers.
Dr Simon Locke
Sam Groom
Dr Andrew Sellers
Jack Albertson
Nurse Louise Wynn
Nuala Fitzgerald
Lt. Jack Gordon
Larry D. Mann
Lt. Dan Palmer
Len Birman
