History Series / Emergency

* RandomSmokingScene: Dixie has a cigarette on her break in one early episode. Back then, smoking in hospitals wasn't banned as it is today. Also counts as EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, since we don't see any of the other main characters smoking anywhere. (we did sometimes catch a glimpse of a pack of smokes in Gage's shirt pocket, but that was because Mantooth forgot to take them out, not because of Gage being a smoker to our knowledge.)

* CatchPhrase:

** And "10-4, Rampart" [[note]]meaning that the paramedics have acknowledged and are carrying out what one of Rampart General Hospital's doctors (Brackett, Early or Morton) or the nurse ([=McCall=]) has directed them to do with the patient at hand, based on the paramedics' report about that patient's problem/condition and the vital signs (pulse, respiration, blood pressure), and anything else that may be pertinent with the patient at hand.

** And "10-4, Rampart," meaning that the paramedics have acknowledged and are carrying out what one of Rampart General Hospital's doctors (Brackett, Early or Morton) or the nurse ([=McCall=]) has directed them to do with the patient at hand, based on the paramedics' report about that patient's problem/condition and the vital signs (pulse, respiration, blood pressure), and anything else that may be pertinent with the patient at hand.

* DrunkDriver: Sometimes causes the accidents the paramedics respond to; they use it as an opportunity to remind the audience about the hazards of drunk driving. Season 1 played this trope for humor, but subsequent seasons turned it around in the all-too-fatal direction.

** Doctor Morton started out as an excellent example. In the early seasons he had no bedside manner whatsoever, a fault which got lampshaded by Gage in one episode. He also had a tendency to jump to conclusions, such as a case where he harshly interrogated a young man who had brought his unconscious friend to the ER. Morton angrily insisted that the man stop lying to him and tell the "truth" about the drugs the patient took, even though the friend says over and over that there were no drugs. It took Dr. Brackett coming in to calm the situation down, and to discover that the patient was having a reaction to a black-widow-spider bite, not drugs.
** Somewhat justified in that Morton was identified early on as an intern, and later as a resident. This meant that he was not long out of medical school, and was still learning the finer points of being a doctor. He mellowed a lot over time; by the later seasons, his attitude has substantially improved. For instance, in a late episode, a heavy rainstorm trapped the paramedics in a remote fire station with no accessible hospital or even a local doctor's office, with only their own supplies and a psychologist for help. Morton flew in with fresh supplies, and his arrival was all that's necessary for the audience to know the medical situation at the station is now well in hand.

* AFatherToHisMen: Captain Hank Stanley (played by [[https://www.firerescue1.com/celebrity/articles/emergency-actor-michael-norell-captain-stanley-passes-away-cEtlK969bwtFbJcr/]]the late Michael Norell). He isn't just Station 51's commander on truck runs; he encourages his men to work as a good team and takes an interest in their off-duty lives as well. On one occasion when Gage and [=DeSoto=] are very obviously moping around the station, he pushes to find out what's wrong: both men are down because Dr. Early, who's their friend as well as their colleague, has been diagnosed with a serious heart condition and is undergoing open-heart surgery.

** And "10-4, Rampart," meaning that the paramedics have acknowledged and are carrying out what one of Rampart General Hospital's doctors (Brackett, Early or Morton) or the nurse (McCall) has directed them to do with the patient at hand, based on the paramedics' report about that patient's problem/condition and the vital signs (pulse, respiration, blood pressure), and anything else that may be pertinent with the patient at hand.

* FiremensSafetyNet: An episode, "Details," had the firefighters have to use a life net to evacuate John and Roy off a burning building. The Station 51 captain noted that was the only time he's ever seen that piece of equipment used.

** In one of the two-hour movies, "The Convention", Gage and [=DeSoto=] are riding with a team of San Francisco paramedics when they get called to the scene of a shooting. The shooter is a Vietnam veteran of the darker type: he lives in a run-down studio apartment, drinks a lot, and seems to be jobless. He also has a secret stash of guns and ammunition: a military M1911 pistol, a couple of rifles, and even some ''grenades''. When his landlord threatens to evict him, the guy goes full SanitySlippage, shoots the guy, and then holes up in his apartment. The paramedics and the police have to figure out how to evacuate the badly-wounded landlord while the veteran is shooting at them from his apartment window, apparently with the sirens from arriving emergency vehicles causing him to suffer major PTSD flashbacks.

** A tragic example: In one incident, Station 51 is called to a movie set after a stunt with a car goes awry. The driver is trapped in the car, so a crewman grabs an acetylene torch and starts cutting open the wreck so the driver can get out. The gasoline leaking from the car's tank puts a quick end to that. The crewman survives, although with extensive burns. The driver doesn't.

* SeventiesHair: The show is a veritable time capsule of '70s hair styles: sideburns (Dr. Brackett and [=DeSoto=]), feathered mullets (Gage), {{Pornstache}} (Kelly and Marco), and the Afro (Dr. Morton). Gage starts with a fairly conservative haircut in the pilot, but you'd swear he never had another haircut for the entire rest of the show's run as he grows out that feathered mullet.

* GenreMashup: MedicalDrama + {{Rescue}} show.

* MixAndMatch: MedicalDrama + {{Rescue}}

** Subverted with Johnny Gage's car: it looks like a worn-out old beater, but it's actually a recent-model Land Rover Series Late IIA -- not much for looks, and not very fast, but a master of rough-road and off-road terrain.

''Emergency!'' was a MedicalDrama series which aired for six seasons (1972–77) on Creator/{{NBC}}.

The first television show to depict the lives and work of paramedics, this was a very well-done and medically-accurate series, which inspired countless children to want to be in Squad 51, and supposedly many communities to get their own paramedics. An hour-long drama, it had elements of comedy, drama, angst, and many other things in its episodes, and although it had a shorter run, could be said to be a domestic civilian version of one of the best shows ever in the field, ''Series/{{MASH}}''. It was also responsible for popularizing nationwide the concept of paramedics. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Stewart_%28politician%29 One technical advisor to the show]] went on to [[http://novascotia.ca/dhw/ehs/ overhaul another EMS system]] two decades later.

''Emergency!'' was born when TV producer Robert A. Cinader came to Los Angeles to look into creating a standard MedicalDrama. Once there, he learned of the paramedic program, which was just getting started, and realized it was a dynamite idea to create a show based around these brave special firefighters rushing about rescuing people. Executive producer Creator/JackWebb of ''Franchise/{{Dragnet}}'' fame added his trademark strict attention to accuracy, the Los Angeles County Fire Department threw in its complete support for the production, and the first and most famous live-action {{Rescue}} TV show was born.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/emergencycast_7499.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:The core cast of ''Emergency!'' [[note]]From left to right, Dr. Joe Early (Bobby Troup), FF/PM Roy [=DeSoto=] (Kevin Tighe), FF/PM John Gage (Randolph Mantooth), Dr. Kelly Brackett (Robert Fuller), Nurse Dixie [=McCall=] (Julie London)[[/note]]]]

'''''Emergency!''''' is the first TV show to show the lives of paramedics. This was a very well-done and medically accurate show which inspired countless children to want to be in Squad 51, and supposedly many communities to get their own paramedics. An hour-long drama, it had elements of comedy, drama, angst, and many other things in its episodes, and though it had a shorter run, could be said to be a domestic version of one of the best shows ever in the field, ''Series/{{MASH}}''. It was also responsible for popularizing nationwide the concept of paramedics. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Stewart_%28politician%29 One technical advisor to the show]] went on to [[http://novascotia.ca/dhw/ehs/ overhaul another EMS system]] two decades later.

* GhostExtras:
Done to a fault at Rampart General Hospital, the ER hallway is an endless parade of extras.
Also, most outdoor rescues have a tight group of extras standing nearby.