Credit
Roy DeSoto smiled as he greeted his Station 51 crewmates. "Good morning, everyone," he said.
"Good morning," and "Hey, Roy" were among the responses from his captain and the engine crew.
"Mornin'" came glumly from his paramedic partner, who sat at the kitchen table, staring into space.
"Hi, Johnny," Roy responded cheerfully. "Everything OK?"
"Yeah."
Still glum.
"How was your date with Jackie?"
"Fine." Same tone.
"I'll bet she dumped him," Chet Kelly piped up.
"She did not dump me," Johnny Gage shot back.
"Then you dumped her," Chet suggested.
"I did not…..Oh, shut up, Chet!"
With that, Johnny got up and stalked out of the room. Roy followed.
"Johnny…..is everything OK between you and Jackie?" Roy asked softly.
Johnny whirled around to answer, then saw the look of concern on Roy's face. He sighed. "Yeah. Jackie's not the problem."
"So what is?"
"It's the show we watched last night."
Roy's eyes got big. A television show? All this for a television show?
Then he remembered. This is Johnny.
"What show?" Roy asked.
"A show on public television."
"Gage watching public television?!" Neither paramedic had seen Chet follow them into the engine bay.
Johnny sighed. "Chet, go play in traffic!" he exclaimed.
"Aw, come on, Gage! You're making progress, watching public television!"
"Chet!"
Roy DeSoto got surprised looks from both younger crewmates as he called Chet's name abruptly. Chet got the message, though.
"I know when I'm not wanted," he muttered, and stalked off.
Johnny shook his head.
"What show, Johnny?"
Johnny looked back at Roy. "Huh?"
Roy smiled. "What show were you and Jackie watching?"
"Oh." Johnny thought a moment. "Some documentary about old television shows. It was about medical shows."
"Sounds interesting."
"It was." Johnny paused to reflect. "But….Man, what they missed."
Roy understood. "Your favorite show not mentioned?"
"Yeah."
Roy waited for his paramedic partner to continue.
"They had the newer shows, and the ones with all the people who became movie stars," Johnny said. "They didn't interview any of the movie stars. Too big, I guess."
Roy nodded in agreement. "It's a tough thing to get big stars."
"Right. And when they started mentioning the old shows, they were really snobbish, like those old shows didn't mean anything," Johnny continued. "And of course, they didn't mention my favorite medical show at all."
"Well, there are some who don't think it's is a medical show, but a show about firemen," Roy said.
"It's still a medical show!" Johnny insisted.
Roy nodded. "They might also think it's too funny to be a serious show," he added.
"Funny?!" Johnny exclaimed.
"Yeah…..you know, that goofy fireman," Roy said.
"Goofy? Just because he likes girls and comes up with some crazy ideas?" Johnny asked.
Roy grinned. "He kind of reminds me of you," he teased.
"What do you mean?! He's nothing like me!" Johnny defended himself. "Now, that other goofy guy does kind of remind me of Chet…."
Roy chuckled, then turned serious. "So what else did the show say?"
"It credited the newer shows with the handheld camera shots," Johnny replied bitterly. "You know, those cameras that people hold, that make the shots look like they're in motion. A friend of mine at the TV studio where we taped that show told me about it."
"Oh, now, I know that's not true," Roy replied. "The show you like had the handheld cameras in the operating room!"
"And it should have gotten credit for the diversity of the cast," Johnny said. "Blacks, whites." He grinned. "Even Indians." Roy nodded in agreement.
"And the newer shows also had the innovative medical procedures, according to these folks," Johnny continued.
"Oh, that's too much!" Roy exclaimed.
Johnny chuckled and nudged Roy's shoulder with his own. "Look at you, getting all riled up over a television show," he teased.
Roy thought a moment and joined in the laughter. "Well, I like it, too!"
Johnny sighed. "I wish public television did."
Hey, PBS! How about some "Credit" for "Emergency!"