Matt Lincoln
| Matt Lincoln | |
|---|---|
| Genre | medical drama |
| Starring | Vince Edwards |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Universal Television |
| Distributor | NBC Universal Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | September 24, 1970 – January 14, 1971 |
Matt Lincoln is a television medical drama which was aired by ABC as part of its 1970-71 lineup.
Based on a Universal made-for-tv movie called Dial Hot Line,Matt Lincoln starred Vince Edwards (best known as the lead in Ben Casey a few years earlier) as Dr. Matt Lincoln, a "community psychiatrist" who had founded a telephone hotline for troubled teenagers. He also operated a free walk-in clinic to help the needy with their mental health concerns, in addition to a private practice which apparently paid the bills for the other two endeavors. The focus of the program centered on the helpline, where he was assisted by Tag (Chelsea Brown) and Jimmy (Felton Perry), two "hip" young blacks; Ann (June Harding), an attractive young white woman, and Kevin, a somewhat cynical police officer.
The show's theme tune, "Hey, Who Really Cares" was written by Oliver Nelson and Linda Perhacs, and a full version of the song appears on Perhacs' legendary album Parallelograms.
Media critic Harlan Ellison analyzed this show in his column for the Los Angeles Free Press, reprinted in his anthology The Other Glass Teat. The original made-for-TV film, Dial Hot Line, had a social worker called David Leopold, also played by Edwards. Ellison asked executive producer Irving Elman about the name change, and was told that there'd been a number of jokes about it and references to the Leopold and Loeb murder case. Elman was afraid viewers would make the same connection. Subsequent to this interview, Ellison said he received a letter from a Minneapolis hotline worker, Martha Rosen. She described unrealistic, authoritarian portrayals in Dial Hot Line that might damage the credibility of real hotlines, both with the people who needed them, and with parents and authorities.
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