The Psychiatrist (TV series)
The Psychiatrist is an American drama series about a young psychiatrist with unorthodox methods of helping his patients. Roy Thinnes played the title role of Dr. James Whitman. Luther Adler co-starred as Dr. Bernard Altman, the older psychiatrist with whom Whitman worked. Two episodes of the short-lived series, "The Private World of Martin Dalton" and "Par for the Course," were directed by Steven Spielberg. The regular hour-long series ran from February 3, 1971, to March 10 of the same year.
| The Psychiatrist | |
|---|---|
 Roy Thinnes as Dr. James Whitman. | |
| Starring | Roy Thinnes Luther Adler |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 7 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Norman Felton |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production companies | Arena Productions Universal Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | TV-movie pilot: December 14, 1970 Regular series: February 3, 1971 – March 10, 1971 |
The pilot for the series, a made-for-TV movie called The Psychiatrist: God Bless the Children, aired on December 14, 1970. Actor Pete Duel was at the center of this 90 minute drama, as Casey Poe, a former drug addict who, after finishing a two-year prison sentence, must battle his own personal demons, as well as the prejudices of others, in order to reenter society. Dr. Whitman is the psychiatrist who must break through Poe's resistance in order to help him form a new life for himself. Duel received much praise for his performance and reprised his role in the first regular episode of the series, "In Death's Other Kingdom."
The Psychiatrist was an element in the wheel series Four in One, which NBC aired in the 10 PM Eastern time slot during its 1970-71 series. The Psychiatrist was the final series of the four to air, following the first-run conclusions of the other three components, McCloud, Night Gallery, and San Francisco International Airport. After all four series had completed their initial six-episode runs, reruns of the four were interspersed with each other until the end of the summer. Of the four elements, McCloud was picked up as one element of a new wheel-format series, the NBC Mystery Movie, and Night Gallery was picked up as a stand-alone series, while San Francisco International Airport and The Psychiatrist were cancelled with no further episodes ordered beyond the original six.
Cast
- Roy Thinnes as Dr. James Whitman
- Luther Adler as Dr. Bernard Altman
Episode list
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TVM | "God Bless the Children" | Daryl Duke | Story by : Richard Levinson & William Link Teleplay by : Jerrold Freedman | December 14, 1970 |
| 1 | "In Death's Other Kingdom" | Jerrold Freedman | Jerrold Freedman | February 3, 1971 |
| 2 | "The Private World of Martin Dalton" | Steven Spielberg | Bo May | February 10, 1971 |
| 3 | "Such Civil War in My Love and Hate" | Daryl Duke | Story by : Jack Morse Teleplay by : Jack Morse and Bo May | February 17, 1971 |
| 4 | "The Longer Trail" | Douglas Day Stewart | Charles Israel | February 24, 1971 |
| 5 | "Ex-Sgt. Randell File, U.S.A." | Jeff Corey | James Woodall | March 3, 1971 |
| 6 | "Par for the Course" | Steven Spielberg | Story by : Thomas Y. Drake Teleplay by : Thomas Y. Drake, Herb Bermann, Jerrold Freedman, & Bo May | March 10, 1971 |