Emergency!

This weekend, I came across a positive Catholic message in a surprising place:  the 1970s TV show Emergency!  

 
Emergency!  aired from 1972 to 1977.  The show was a fire/medical drama set in Los Angeles, California.  The show featured paramedics Roy DeSoto (played by Kevin Tighe) and John Gage (played by Randolph Mantooth) of Squad 51 and doctors and nurses of fictional Rampart General Hospital, most notably Robert Fuller as Dr. Kelly Bracket, Bobby Troup as Dr. Joe Early and Julie London as Head ER Nurse Dixie McCall and a supporting cast of firefighters from Engine 51. With the LA Fire Department and medical professionals as consultants, Emergency! had realism and intriguing story plots. 

 
Growing up, I watched Emergency!  when it was broadcast and again during syndication. Emergency! was one of my favorite tv shows then and now. A few years ago, I introduced Emergency! to my sons who instantly loved the show and it quickly became one of their favorite television shows too.  

 
Over the weekend, my sons and I were watching the episode “Saddled!”  (Season 2 Episode 6) in which a school bus with students driven by a religious sister has a mechanical steering failure and crashes down a steep slope.  The kids suffer minor injuries but Sister Barbara is pinned in the wreckage.  Roy and John respond to the accident.  Sister Barbara is clearly in a lot of pain but her primary concern is for her students.  At one point, she asks Roy to retrieve her prayer book from her purse and read a prayer inside it for her.  “I’m not Catholic,” Roy said.  “I don’t think God would mind,” Sister Barbara answers.  Per her request, Roy prays the Memorare reverently: 

 
Remember O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who implored your help or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence I fly to you O virgin of virgins my Mother. To you I come, before you I stand sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate despise not my petition, but in your mercy hear and answer me. Amen. 

 
Yes, the show’s writers left out a few words of the prayer but that does not diminish the impact of the scene.  

 
Sister Barbara is portrayed in an inspiring way: selfless, trusting in God, faithful.  Roy, who by his own admission is not religious, clearly is affected in a positive way by her faith and piety. Sister Barbara’s students are also positively portrayed as being anxious and concerned about her safety.  When Roy and John first arrive in the bus, one of the students tells them that their Sister Barbara is trapped and badly injured.

 
This episode of Emergency! is surprising in such a good way. In the character of Sister Barbara, the Catholic faith is portrayed in a positive but not preachy way.  In the character of Sister Barbara, the episode portrays religious sisters in a very positive and inspiring way, which is refreshing given that religious sisters are too often stereotyped, mocked and denigrated by Hollywood and the entertainment industry.

 
I do not remember the Emergency! episode about Sister Barbara from my childhood but I certainly will not forget it.