''Julie Farr, M.D.'' (initial episodes aired as ''Having Babies'') is an American medical drama

limited-run series In television programming, a limited-run series (or simply limited series) is a Television program, program with an end date and limit to the number of episodes. For instance, The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' definition specifies a "pr ...

that was cancelled after airing six of its nine episodes on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

, from March 7 to April 18, 1978; the three remaining episodes were

burned off In American broadcast programming, "burning off" is the custom of quickly airing the remaining episodes of a television program, usually one that has already been or is planned to be cancelled, without the intent to attract a large number of vie ...

14 months later, in June 1979. It followed three television movies called ''Having Babies'' which aired from 1976 to 1978, and was not renewed after its initial run of episodes aired in March–April 1978. The series began airing as ''Having Babies'' but was renamed ''Julie Farr, M.D.'' during its short run after its lead character, played by

Susan Sullivan Susan Sullivan (born 1942) is an American actress known for her roles as Lenore Curtin Delaney on the NBC daytime soap opera '' Another World'' (1971–76), as Lois Adams on the ABC sitcom ''It's a Living'' (1980–81), as Maggie Gioberti Chan ...

Background

A series of three movie specials called ''Having Babies'' (''II'' and ''III'' for the latter installments) aired on ABC from 1976 to 1978.Terrace, Vincent
Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials: 1974-1984, Vol. II
p. 186-87 (1985) Following the airing of ''Having Babies III'' as the ''ABC Friday Night Movie'' on March 3, 1978, the storyline was continued as a six-episode "trial" one-hour series on Tuesday nights.Witbeck,Charles (3 March 1978)
'Having Babies' to return Tuesday as a six-week series
''

Boca Raton News The ''Boca Raton News'', owned by the South Florida Media Company, was the local community newspaper of Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 Unit ...

'' (King Features Syndicate article)O'Connor, John J. (3 March 1978)
TV: More On Having Babies
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''Elze, Winifred (26 March 1978)
Susan Doctors Her New Series
''

The Vindicator ''The Vindicator'' is a daily newspaper serving Youngstown, Ohio, United States and the Mahoning County region as well as southern Trumbull County and northern Columbiana County. ''The Vindicator'' was established in 1869. As of September 1, ...

'' As of March 28, 1978, the show began airing under the title of ''Julie Farr, M.D.'',(28 March 1978)
Previews
''

Evening Independent The ''Evening Independent'' was St. Petersburg, Florida's first daily newspaper. The sister evening newspaper of the '' St. Petersburg Times'', it was launched as a weekly newspaper in March 1906 under the ownership of Willis B. Powell. In Nove ...

'' apparently to try to attract more male viewers.Hanauer, Joan (7 April 1978)
How Sweet It Was
''Bryan Times'' After the initial episode run was completed on April 18, 1978, the show was not renewed, though three unaired episodes were later shown in June 1979.

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

(28 June 1979)
New Show Rate Well
''Toledo Blade'' (in a week filled with mostly re-runs, a newly aired episode of ''Julie Farr, M.D.'' ranked number 15) The show was the first American hospital drama that centered on a female character, and its failure caused some concern in Hollywood that such a show could not succeed, even though the poor quality of the story lines and fairly poor reviews of the show likely also played a part.Llewellyn-Jones, Margaret & Carson, Bruce (eds.
Frames and fictions on television: the politics of identity within drama
p.53 (2000)(2 March 1978)
Symbol of a Woman
''

The Hour (newspaper) ''The Norwalk Hour'' is a daily newspaper published in Norwalk, Connecticut, by Hearst Media Services, Connecticut. It primarily covers and serves the city of Norwalk. History The newspaper was founded in 1871. It was published under the titl ...

'' (UPI article)

Plot

The show starred Susan Sullivan as Dr. Julie Farr, a role which debuted in the ''Having Babies II'' movie.Scheuer, Steven H. (11 March 1978)
Susan jumps from soap to nighttime drama
''

The Miami News ''The Miami News'' was an evening newspaper in Miami, Florida. It was the media market competitor to the morning edition of the ''Miami Herald'' for most of the 20th century. The paper started publishing in May 1896 as a weekly called ''The Miami ...

Reception

Initial reviews of the show, as it transitioned from its movie-status to a series, were somewhat negative. One review opined that Sullivan "plays a better than average medico," but that the show was "one of the finer comedies of the season," which was a rather big problem since the show was a drama.Moody, Greg
TV Today: Having Babies Is No More Trying Than 'Having Babies'
''Milwaukee Sentinel'' The National PTA, however, ranked it number 7 among the top 10 shows on television.(11 August 1978)

''Boston Globe''

(12 August 1978). ttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tVRVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yj4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=5867,3188668&dq= Parents Object to Kojak ''Leader Post'' Sullivan was also nominated for an Emmy for her performance.(17 October 1981)
Susan Sullivan to star in 'Falcon Crest'
''Lewiston Daily Sun''Julie Farr, M.D. - Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series - 1978
emmys.com, Retrieved September 2, 2011 (

Sada Thompson Sada Carolyn Thompson (September 27, 1927 – May 4, 2011) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Though best known to television audiences as Kate Lawrence in ''Family'' (1976–1980), for which she won the Emmy Award for Outstan ...

won) The ratings for the series were far from stellar. Though the March 7, 1978 debut ranked 26th,(15 March 1978)
Happy Days Rerun Tops Weekly Nielsen Poll
''Los Angeles Times'' ("Having Babies placed 26th in its debut as a weekly series") the final episode tied for 60th place out of 68 prime time shows.Hanauer, Joan (26 April 1978)
On the bottom line: 'Holocaust' sold
''Ellensburg Daily Record''

Cast

as Dr. Julie Farr *Dennis Howard as Dr. Ron Danvers *

Mitchell Ryan Mitchell Ryan (January 11, 1934 – March 4, 2022) was an American actor. His six decades of television credits, he is best known for playing Burke Devlin in the 1960s gothic subculture, gothic soap opera ''Dark Shadows'', and later for his co- ...

as Dr. Blake Simmons *

Beverly Todd Beverly Todd (born July 11, 1946) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films '' Brother John'' (1971), '' Moving'' (1988), '' Lean on Me'' (1989), and '' The Bucket List'' (2007). On television, Todd appeared in the short lived ...

as Kelly

Episodes

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0077019, title=Having Babies 1978 American television series debuts 1979 American television series endings 1970s American medical drama television series American English-language television shows Television shows set in Los Angeles Television series by CBS Studios American Broadcasting Company television dramas