PILOT-Edward G. Robinson heads an all-star cast in the life-and-death medical drama Operation Heartbeat, co-starring Kim Stanley, Maurice Evans, Kevin McCarthy and Shelley Fabares. Lawsuits fly when a widow (Stanley) believes a gifted surgeon (Richard Bradford) allowed her husband to die so his heart could be transplanted into the doctor's ailing mentor and friend (Robinson). Operation Heartbeat was the pilot movie for the TV series Medical Center. And while James Daly would continue as chief of staff Dr. Paul Lochner, Chad Everett would replace Bradford as UMC's brilliant professor of surgery Dr. Joe Gannon. The seven-season Medical Center would tie Marcus Welby, M.D. as the longest-running medical drama in TV history until the 15-season-run of ER took the crown.

Between 1970 and 1971, the producers of Medical Center took part in an unprecedented behavioral experiment on the effects of mass media. To that end, three different story scenarios were developed for the episode Countdown, one negative, one positive, and one neutral. Most of the nation would view the positive episode in which anti-social behavior is punished. A select group would see these other endings.