Doctor in the House

- Season 1

(1969)

Michael Upton attends an interview at St. Swithin's and much to his surprise gets in. One his first day he meets fellow first year medical student Duncan Waring and Dick Stuart Clark who is taking the first year for the fifth time. After a rambling introduction by the Dean, Upton and Waring are sent to see Stebings by Professor Loftus. He gives them a frozen arm but due to some deliberate misdirection by Paul Collier, they end up upsetting some women patients and then being caught by a policeman outside who fortunately for them faints. The arm is eventually stored for...

Michael Upton is trying to move into his room and receives a few visitors. Dick Stuart Clark tries flogging him some old books that Duncan Waring ends up buying. He also leaves him a plastic skeleton on approval which later gets burnt. Dave Briddock makes his first appearance in the series as does Huw Edwards. Later on there is supposed to be a dance at the bar. Most of the lads get drunk and start hassling Alice. Michael jumps in to rescue her and they go to his room so she can dry off. Jealous that he might pull, his friends leave various unsuitable items around his...

Michael Upton is cajoled into getting someone to quiz him and Duncan Waring. He is supposed to ask a junior Doctor and ends up asking Professor Loftus. Needless to say they both fail hopelessly and are told to come back at five. Upton is put off by all the food in the canteen and so he and Waring go to the pub and drink three pints of an extra strength cider by the name of appleyard. They return St. Swithin's completely trolled and stumble into a few rooms they shouldn't be in before eventually arriving at their class. Professor Pearson gets them to take part in an ...

Michael Upton is fed up with various noises distracting him so decides to find a new room. He moves his stuff into one and resists the advances of the rather fit girl who let him the room for some reason. Her mother arrives home finds a skeleton in Michael's new room and think he is trying to murder his daughter. He doesn't even enter the next house he goes to see due to an extremely camp gentleman who answers the door. He is put off the third room due to the dead body of the previous occupant still being in the bed. He takes the rather spacious fourth room he visits ...

A photo of Michael on a magazine cover appears to show him at a protest and the dean is angry with him. However Professor Loftus points out that this is a picture taken in New York and anyway Michael was having tea with him at the time. Some student activists turn up looking for new recruits to their cause and Professor Loftus has the police called. However he is having car trouble and is outside with the protesters when the police arrive and he gets arrested with them. Michael and his colleagues then protest until the professor is released.

Michael Upton wants some peace and quiet to study (again) but is cajoled into taking part in a car rally. He is partnered with the mega posh Fiona who doesn't seem that concerned about making a quick start. They stop off to visit her sister and brother-in-law. As the weather is so bad they stay the night. Fiona's sister is heavily pregnant and about to give birth. Michael sends Fiona out to get the doctor as he doesn't think he can cope. She takes half an hour getting ready and making some tea before Michael can get her to leave. He practices delivering a baby by ...

Michael and his colleagues are attending a lecture on the appendix by the boring Dr. Crowfoot, so boring they change the hands on the clock to get out early. Unfortunately when Michael gets appendicitis, who should be operating on him but the myopic, clumsy Crowfoot! After the operation he believes he may have left a contact lens inside Michael but manages to retrieve it from his patient's pyjama pocket.

When Muriel, St. Swithins' gorilla mascot, is stolen by Highcross, a rival medical school, Michael and company steal the Highcross mascot but the Dean is not amused and says he will discipline the lads unless they beat Highcross at an upcoming rugby match. Paul Collier, however, manages to find a way to divert the opposition and steal Muriel back...though she does disappear again.

Tired of his lack of success with women, Michael goes on a date with a supposedly hot nurse nicknamed Rigor Mortis but, after an uneventful evening where he tries without any luck, to get her drunk, he comes to see how she got the name. Duncan admits to having proposed to girl-friend Frances when drunk and his friends have to supply him with an escape route, namely proposing to several other nurses.

To earn some money the boys turn their flat into a casino but are visited by The Boss and Malcolm, two heavies who force them to shut down their enterprise. Michael and Duncan then hope to gain extra cash by getting jobs at the casino owned by The Boss and, when the Dean and Professor Loftus come to the casino and the police raid it, they have to get them out undetected.

The ward annual entertainment show is due and the Dean wants it to be good, clean fun. Mike's brother Terry, a very camp ballet dancer, takes charge, recruiting three Christian boys to sing 'We Three Kings' and two female ballet dancers, both of whom do their stuff for the patients. However, the show is stolen by Duncan and company in drag performing saucy songs and the patients tell the - unknowing - Dean that they thoroughly enjoyed it.

Michael falls for a girl called Valerie, only to discover that she is Professor Loftus's daughter. Whilst Mrs. Loftus is civil to Upton, her husband is less so and the point is made that if they get married he should renounce medicine as one doctor in the family is enough. Though Michael does consider this, it's Valerie who breaks with him...and is soon after seen dating fellow medic Huw.

Whilst the boys enjoy themselves at a local club reality starts to bite with the fact that their exams are only a fortnight away and no manner of excuses can alter the fact that if they want to get qualified they will have to act in a responsible fashion - the more so as Professor Loftus has cancelled his proposed trip to Australia and will be breathing down their necks all the way.