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Post by ellynmacg on Dec 9, 2018 19:42:36 GMT
Anybody else remember this classic series that aired 1961-1966? I just finished watching the first four episodes of Season I (comprising 34 eps on 9 discs), so I have a lot of binge-watching to do.  I'll post some thoughts on those first four (having already mentioned #4 on another thread) when I have more time, but I wanted to kick this off before I left for work. If you enjoyed this show, (whether during its original airing, reruns, DVD, or some combination) feel free to jump in and share your thoughts. Or you can jump in even if you didn't enjoy it, but then...why waste your time?  |
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Post by snsurone on Dec 10, 2018 20:57:23 GMT
Richard Chamberlain was my first teenage crush.
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Post by ellynmacg on Dec 11, 2018 5:16:13 GMT
He was a crush of mine even before I hit my teens.  But to return to (semi-) seriousness, I'm making my way through a complete DVD set of the First Season. Being a working person, I don't have time to binge-watch, but I'm managing to get through one or sometimes two a day. Here are the episodes I've watched so far: Disc One 1. "Twenty-Four Hours" (Guest star: Beverly Garland) - Our first look at the young doctor; we learn, for example, that he chose to intern at Blair General Hospital in order to serve/study under the highly respected Dr. Leonard Gillespie. We also learn that Jimmy has a long way to go in reading people--particularly an alcoholic woman patient with suicidal tendencies. 2. "Immunity" (Guest stars: Gail Kobe, Ted Knight (!))- Kildare works with a woman doctor, embittered from her personal and professional difficulties, who is called in as a consultant and interpreter for a Polish man diagnosed with smallpox. 3. "Shining Image" (Guest Stars: Suzanne Pleshette, Edward Andrews, John Fiedler, and Harvey Korman (!) ) - My only quarrel with this ep is that it cast Edward Andrews as Suzanne's half-brother--supposedly 19 years her senior, but they share the same mother...highly unlikely. Other than that, an all-round excellent effort, in which young Kildare learns--among other lessons--that an approach to life that would drive him crazy can actually work for other people, who should be allowed to live as they please...especially if they're dying of leukemia. 4. "Winter Harvest" (Guest Stars: Charles Bickford, Herschel Bernardi) - I'll just post here an abbreviated version of a comment I posted in another thread: Dr. Charles Dubro, a revered surgeon with a long, distinguished career, but now slowing down drastically while operating, to the point of endangering his patients' lives. This episode was the first to relegate "young Jimmy Kildare" to a supporting role; after reporting Dr. Dubro's problem to Gillespie (Dubro's lifelong friend), Kildare gets saddled with a bored, wealthy hypochondriac (amusingly played by a startlingly youthful Gavin MacLeod). But this subplot, besides giving the episode some much-needed levity, also gave RC a chance to show off his lighter side. The episode surprised me with its unexpected, but believable, happy ending . . Disc Two 8. "A Million-Dollar Property" (Guest Stars: Anne Francis, Cathleen Nesbitt, and Jan Murray) - a beautiful young actress is torn between hanging out with her hangers-on (aka leeches) and seriously pursuing a worthwhile acting career. 9. "Admitting Services" (Guest Stars: William Shatner (!!), Gloria Talbott) Kildare disputes the diagnosis delivered by a resident--who later faces a possible lawsuit from the patient's family. (Personal note: as a fan of Star Trek as well as of Dr. Kildare, I found it highly enjoyable to see Dr. James Kildare nose to nose with Captain James T. Kirk!) |
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Post by telegonus on Dec 12, 2018 8:06:38 GMT
I remember Dr. Kildare as a phenomenon more than as a TV series, though I did watch a few. It felt rather "soapy" and "girly" to this (at the time) pre-teen boy, and maybe it was. If I saw it today I'd probably feel differently. Many if not most black and white dramatic TV series of the same period were good to excellent.
It's "brother" show, Ben Casey, also had a popular, good looking young lead player (Vince Edwards), and my sense is that it was somewhat more highly regarded by the critics, which isn't to say Kildare was dogfood; and it did have Richard Chamberlain, who, shortly after George Maharis arrived on the scene in the Corvette, was a pioneer teen idol for a few years there.
One could see that, between them, Chamberlain and Edwards were becoming bona fide stars in the movie star mold rather than, as had been the case since network television began taking off, circa 1950, personalities, usually comedians, singers game show hosts and the like. A new era was dawning with those more serious prime time show of the early Sixties.
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Post by ellynmacg on Dec 15, 2018 3:36:06 GMT
Not to dispute what you say, Telegonus, but Richard Chamberlain was a lot more than a "teen idol". From Wikipedia: I looked up Vincent Edwards in Wikipedia, and found this, regarding his post- Ben Casey career: Now, to get back on topic, I watched a couple more eps of Dr. K, which I'll post on in the next few days--you lucky people! |
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