Ben Casey (1 Viewer)

[Sky King]

Hi All,


I'm getting very frustrated here as I see the releases into May of this year and not even a hint of news regarding the release of a Ben Casey DVD.

It so damn frustrating to see shows with lesser quality content being released, while this classic just gathers dust on a shelf. I know there are some music rights issues, with Ben Casey, but how many can there be ? Gomer Pyle, Wonder Years and WKRP to name a few have managed to get released with this obstacle...why not Ben Casey ??

Does any know the contact email for CBS/Paramount which apparently is digging its heals in on this show ? I need to vent my frustration at them.

Okay...I'll jump down off my soapbox now.


John

 

[Ron1973]

Well, CBS has a FB page, but I did get blocked from commenting or liking anything after I called them out for releasing Californication over The Beverly Hillbillies. They finally blocked a friend of mine after he kept questioning their treatment of Petticoat Junction. It seems they don't take well to anyone questioning their methods.


With all due respect, though, Gomer Pyle, USMC and Wonder Years did have music cuts/substitutions. And although I'm not the biggest fan of Wonder Years, it probably has better name recognition than Ben Casey at this point.

 

[dhammer]

Hi All,


I'm getting very frustrated here as I see the releases into May of this year and not even a hint of news regarding the release of a Ben Casey DVD.

It so damn frustrating to see shows with lesser quality content being released, while this classic just gathers dust on a shelf. I know there are some music rights issues, with Ben Casey, but how many can there be ? Gomer Pyle, Wonder Years and WKRP to name a few have managed to get released with this obstacle...why not Ben Casey ??

Does any know the contact email for CBS/Paramount which apparently is digging its heals in on this show ? I need to vent my frustration at them.

Okay...I'll jump down off my soapbox now.


John

I have seen most old shows but I have missed this one. I would be interested in seeing it. It was popular in it's time I believe. I remember the Flintstones and Batman making references to it.

 

[Gary16]

I believe the bigger issue is that no acceptable transfers of Ben Casey exist that cbs would release and new transfers are very costly unless they can justify enough sales.

 

[smithbrad]

I believe the bigger issue is that no acceptable transfers of Ben Casey exist that cbs would release and new transfers are very costly unless they can justify enough sales.

The cost of making new transfers wouldn't appear to be an obstacle for CBS since they've done it for most of their older releases in what can only be thought of as preparation for HD syndication. But the fact that there doesn't appear to be any current syndication prints could be an issue since they probably have no clue what type of market might be available since it hasn't been shown.


I had never seen Ben Casey or Dr. Kildare when growing up. However, a friend (Gary O) got me to watch the first season Christmas episode of Dr. Kildare and I was sold, and have bought the season as released by WB. When I told my brother (four years older) about my watching Dr. Kildare, his immediate reaction was "Dr. Kildare?, What about Ben Casey?" Based on that I am now very curious about Ben Casey, and would absolutely blind buy if released.

 

[jimmyjet]

those were the first 2 doctor shows, running head and head against one another


it was quite competitive


as a young kid, i can remember many people "arguing" about which show was better.


i know my dad liked dr dildare better


so many of these shows i have seen only during its original run, and so dont have much memory of them, until and unless i see them again.

 

[LouA]

those were the first 2 doctor shows, running head and head against one another


it was quite competitive


as a young kid, i can remember many people "arguing" about which show was better.


i know my dad liked dr dildare better


so many of these shows i have seen only during its original run, and so dont have much memory of them, until and unless i see them again.

I was in grammar school when these two shows aired. I remember that there were two camps among the girls as to which Doctor was better looking ,although some liked both .Kildare bored me back then , but I love it now . I also hope Ben Casey eventually makes it to DVD. I recall that both shows were very popular for a while in the early 60's .

 

[jimmyjet]

i am about your age, as i was in elementary, as well


i do not recall the "better looking" aspect of it - i did not recall that ben casey was that sort of looker.


james franciscus certainly was considered handsome at the time.

 

[Mulroon14]

There was an earlier doctor series starring Richard Boone, called Medic, which ran 3 seasons on NBC in the mid-'50's.

 

[jimmyjet]

i think this was after kildare, but if i recall, he was involved in a 3-or-4 way series, which was a bit unusual.


but they rotated them back and forth, and i guess they wanted you guessing which was gonna be on the following week.


it is a real vague memory. does anyone know what i am referring to ? hopefully, not my imagination !!

 

[Mike Frezon]

Richard Boone also starred in Hec Ramsey--part of the NBC Tuesday Mystery Movie lineup in the 70s. Also featured in that series were McMillan & Wife (Rock Hudson & Susan St. James), Columbo (Peter Falk) and McCloud (Dennis Weaver).


When you referenced the handsome James Franciscus earlier, did you mean Richard Chamberlain? Franciscus was on a different series about the same time as Casey & Kildare were on the air: Mr. Novak (a story about a high school teacher).

 

[Joe Lugoff]

There were other doctor shows besides "Medic" before Kildare and Casey came along.


"Doctor Christian," "Dr. Hudson's Journal" and "Janet Dean, R.N." were in syndication at the time "Medic" was on NBC. (OK, the last one was about a nurse, not a doctor, but it's the same "sickness of the week" format.)


"Medic" caused a huge controversy in the 1950s when it dealt with childbirth. I think people back then preferred to think we really were brought by storks. If I remember correctly, "Medic" was canceled not long after thousands of letters of complaint flew into NBC.


Kildare and Casey were mentioned constantly during their first couple of seasons. Comedians joked about them a lot. Teenage girls supposedly had crushes on Vincent Edwards and Richard Chamberlain. They probably made up a large percentage of the audience.


I had a very goofy girl cousin who stopped whatever she was doing on Thursday nights to sit transfixed watching Dr. Kildare.

 

[jimmyjet]

i am about your age, as i was in elementary, as well


i do not recall the "better looking" aspect of it - i did not recall that ben casey was that sort of looker.


james franciscus certainly was considered handsome at the time.

boy, i was getting james franciscus and richard chamberlain mixed up.


even now when i look at their early pics, they resemble one another, to me.

 

[Sky King]

Hi All,


For those of you who've never seen Ben Casey or need a memory refresh, there are several episodes available on YouTube. I would like to see some thoughts on the show from those who view the YouTube Ben Casey episodes.

As much as I like older B/W shows like My Little Margie and Car 54 Where Are You? (both available on DVD), I can't believe they were even considered for release before Ben Casey. I wish CBS/Paramount would just release the prints to another company for pressing and distribution. The Casey prints I saw on CBN years ago were acceptable and of the same visual quality as those used for The Adventures Of Superman DVD set. While I'd love to see Ben Casey remastered, I'd take a clean 16mm transfer over what is now available....nothing !!!

Unfortunately, as time passes, the show becomes less of a priority as this show's fan base diminishes.

 

[jperez]

I don't know the quality or availability of syndication prints, but Amazon.com does have three Ben Casey DVD releases, amounting to 60 episodes. The picture quality may not be great, but I find them perfectly watchable, specially when the alternative is watching a couple of episodes on Youtube.

 

[Sky King]

I don't know the quality or availability of syndication prints, but Amazon.com does have three Ben Casey DVD releases, amounting to 60 episodes. The picture quality may not be great, but I find them perfectly watchable, specially when the alternative is watching a couple of episodes on Youtube.

Hi,


I am aware of the Ben Casey DVDs on Amazon and I'm frankly surprized that Amazon allows these bootleg copies to be sold on their site.

I have spoken to several who have bought these and 3 out of 5 told me to stay away from them, they are of poor quality. The fact that CBS/Paramount allows these to be sold, kinda tells me they dont care about this property.

I have about 6 episodes on BetaMax tape from when CBN used to run this show. I might just transfer these to DVD when time allows.

Thanks jperez for the heads up anyway. If Ben Casey isnt released on DVD in the next few years, I might just go for those bootlegs...after all beggars can't be choosers.

 

[HenryDuBrow]

Their policy may be to only release remastered material, which makes the situation with a show like Cannon an odd one. If they can release that (and later on as MOD) looking quite lackluster, surely they could do this with Ben Casey too. And lots of other stuff too naturally, they could have a great thing going there with MOD but seem reluctant even here.

 

[Gary16]

There's still the music rights issues that have been mentioned.

 

[Sky King]

Warner Brothers released The Adventures Of Superman DVD set in less than stellar visual quality and still it sold well. The prints of Ben Casey used by CBN in the 90's looked to be of equal visual quality as Superman which were 16mm "fine grain" prints transferred to tape for syndication.

i guess CBS/Paramount would rather sit on this show instead of making some kind of profit off of it especially since it isn't currently in syndication.

As for the music rights issues, I was never told what the specific rights issues were, but can't see them being too difficult to correct. After all, it didn't use well known contemporary music on its soundtrack. As long as they didn't mess with the main theme song, I'd be okay.

 

[Richard V]

I remember Ben Casey reruns during the daytime hours. As far as the two characters go, Dr. Casey was more of a tormented, yet arrogent, soul. He was constantly bucking authority and suffered from a "nobody can take care of this patient as well as I can" attitude. He treated his patients in a rough manner, much as Dr. House did, years later on Fox, but with less sarcasm. Dr. Kildare was much more human, humble, and gentle, until he was pushed, then he would fight back. Both were fascinating characters. Both shows were excellent, and the Christmas episode of Dr. Kildare was one of the best ever.