tv series from 1970 starring Vince Edwards titled MATT LINCOLN

I have searched for all sixteen episodes of Matt Lincoln plus the pilot film titled Dial Hot Line. This series was the definitive 1970's show. Vince Edwards remains one of the most popular tv actors in history. There is a tribute to him playing on youtube with over 12,000 hits. Matt Lincoln was a well written series that was never given a chance by ABC in 1970. They aired this series at 7:30 opposite Flip Wilson and Jim Nabors. Have you ever heard of a drama series being scheduled at 7:30? Of course it missed its target audience completely and was cancelled. Matt Lincoln was never given a chance in the appropriate timeslot..
    This was the first series that addressed real mental health issues in an adult manner. Dr. Matt Lincoln, as played by the late, great Vince Edwards, practiced preventive psychiatry. He struggled to assist people in early stages of emotional distress to avoid further, more complicated treatment. "It was in the best tradition of Mod Squad, getting involved with people with a myriad of problems." Vince Edwards was a great actor who was never given his due by Hollywood after Ben Casey. Matt Lincoln deserves to be seen on dvd. Room 222 and Mod Squad have been released. The time has come to release Matt Lincoln and the pilot film Dial Hot Line. Let a whole new generation get introduced to Vince Edwards, which some call the George Clooney of his day. Vince would have been 81 years old today. Hard to believe..
     I am tired of some at The Home Theater Forum saying there is no chance that Matt Lincoln would be released on dvd. Ben Casey was an iconic series not only for the writing but mainly because of the talent of Vince Edwards. He still has a tremendous fan base out there. The internet proves this. The public want to see his tv series on dvd.

BEN CASEY was far from Iconic, It wasn't the first or last show of it's type! It was just a hit show for it's time, when the American viewing public got tired of Westerns 7 nights a week and wanted someting 'new'. 

Last time I checked the internet,  there's one WHOLE website for Vince Edwards and a handful of posts on the IMDB board - that's really "a tremendous fan base".  Vince Edwards was just an "ok" actor.  His counterpart, Richard Chamberlin was a much better actor who onto Bigger and Better things after DR.KILDARE while Vince Edward's post BEN CASEY appearances are forgetable at best!

The truth is that there IS Very little chance of MATT LINCOLN Coming out on DVD - it's an obscure show with a star who just happened to be on a popular tv show years before. (and BEN CASEY hasn't been seen in syndication in two decades.)

BTW,  MATT LINCOLN wasn't the first show to deal with real Mental Health issues in an Adult Manor - BREAKING POINT was almost a decade before. (Which Ironicly, was from the producers of BEN CASEY.)  Also. the British series, THE HUMAN JUNGLE (which was snydicated in America by United Artists) which was around the same time.

Edited by DeWilson - 7/11/2009 at 07:42 am GMT

I am sorry to say that you couldn't be more wrong. First of all, Ben Casey IS and always will be an iconic series. The writing was brilliant. Vince Edwards was truly a great actor who was typecast after Ben Casey. A price he paid for being too convincing in the role.  He is so far superior to Richard Chamberlain. Vince elevated any acting projects he did. Ever hear of Murder by Contract? This movie was a big inspiration to Martin Scorsese. He always cites this film and Vince's performance in it. If you ever get the chance, I suggest you get a copy of an episode of a series titled Medical Story that Vince was in. It is crime that Vince wasn't offered better roles. This by no means diminishes his tremendous acting ability. Richard Chamberlain a better actor than Vince? Surely, you jest. Just for the record, Vince passed away in 1996. Tens of thousands have viewed and continue to view the tribute to him on youtube. Read all the comments. People know quality and class when they see it. Even though Hollywood gave him the shaft after Ben Casey. I can only imagine how much better Vince would have been in the roles that were given to Richard Chamberlain. Again, if you read my previous post, you would see that Matt Lincoln was brainlessly scheduled at 7:30 and never had a chance. Have you ever heard of a drama series of this genre being aired at 7:30 and expect it to hit its target audience? Vince deserved so much better from Hollywood. The public recognize and realize this fact.

Reposting the same post every few months about wanting "Matt Lincoln" is not going to win over any converts to the idea that this is a show that should come to DVD, nor is it going to make any impact in terms of it actually appearing on DVD.     I can think of plenty of more one-season shows that deserve a DVD release AND which had the added value of longer-life in cable reruns afterwards ("Ellery Queen" with Jim Hutton for instance) but I don't decide to repost the same message in new threads again and again and again to tout the virtues of that show when there's no news on the horizon that ties in to a possible DVD release.

There's always one overly-obsessed fan in ever group

Unfortunately the internet doesn't prove this. 12,000 YouTube hits is a drop in the bucket. Heck, the girl that ate the praying Mantis got over 12 MILLION hits (I watched the VH1 special on Internet phenomenons yesterday...).

I suppose if a studio thought that 12K hits would turn into 12K units sold they *might* be interested, but it doesn't. That 12K includes people going to it multiple times, people accidentally seeing it and then clicking away, and people that just aren't *that* interested. Just like petitions are a poor data source to show intent to buy, YouTube hits are even worse.

And the issue isn't Vince Edwards (debatable) popularity, its the fact that MATT LINCOLN is not a big demand show. I've been in the TV on DVD business for a number of years, and I have seen very little buzz about this one. Its currently the 7223rd ranked show on TVShowsonDVD.com with a total of 26 votes. And Matt Lincoln ranks 13,306 out of the 18,230 shows on TV.com.

Unfortunately its the nature of the beast. We're in a down economy and we're oversaturated with TV on DVD. We all have a few favorites that we wish would make it to DVD, but studios aren't in the business of making small handfuls of people happy.

I agree.

MATT LINCOLN is just a short-lived show that has fallen through the cracks of time and no one cares about it, except 26 people according to the 26 votes  -Unless one person voted 26 times!
Edited by DeWilson - 7/13/2009 at 05:20 am GMT

First, you are all entitled to your opinion. I am not an overly obsessed fan. I am realistic about the chances of Matt Lincoln's release. I do believe that Ben Casey will be released in the near future. If it is released, distributors will see how well it sells which will give Matt Lincoln better odds for release. I am frustrated that the most obscure tv series and tv movies can be found through private collectors, and am hoping that my posts will prompt interest from the private collector community to obtain Matt Lincoln, and the ABC tv movie of the week Dial Hot Line. This is the pilot film for Matt Lincoln. Universal has released two unknown series with unknown actors titled Tate; and Brennan. Can someone explain to me how these series rate a release?.
          I would love to know why Matt Lincoln cannot be found through private collectors? For your info, there are many collectors out there who are interested in obtaining this series. For a lot of them it is a challenge. UCLA film and tv archives has all sixteen episodes and the pilot Dial Hot Line sitting on a shelf collecting dust. I recently came across an unknown series starring Ray Milland titled Markham. Also, another series with Robert Loggia. How do these collectors find these series?.
      Bottom line is The Immortal, The Magician, and Longstreet, just to name a few, can be obtained through private collectors. These series lasted only one season. Also, East Side West Side with George C. Scott. Just for the record, I do own the two Matt Lincoln movies that were culled from four episodes of the series. I am not requesting a little known tv series be released. I am asking for a Vince Edwards' tv series to be released. I think we can all agree that Ben Casey was a brilliantly written series. Why do you think it was such a hit? Quoting the creator of Ben Casey, James Moser "People love Vince Edwards." Mr. Edwards passed away in 1996 from pancreatic cancer. Neither one of his series are out on dvd. Koch ent. just released an unknown series  with a little known actor titled The Baron. How many dvds do you think it will sell? Enough to warrant a release. I think not. It is Vince Edwards' name that will sell enough dvds to justify a release. The fact that Ben Casey is not out on dvd is a crime in itself.

"The Immortal" and "Longstreet" have had cable reairings since their initial runs which accounts for why "private collectors" can have access to them (and I shouldn't say anything more than that).

PEYTON PLACE PART 2 OUT TODAY!!! PEYTON PLACE ICONIC I THINK SO.  Ben Casey  mentioned in the highly rated Pebbles birth on the Flintstones. Ben Casey was even mentioned  in the next Flintstone episode.  Ben Casey was  mentioned on Leave it to Beaver in it's last season.

I remember that you posted on our Peyton Place thread a few times.  I also remember Charles being Charles tried to give you hope and some suggestions.  He also mentioned not to give up as I recall.

I could never give you advice better then Charles because for us at PP he is our hero.  I do not mean that to sound mushy.  I only state what I think we all feel about him on the PP thread.  Charles kept Peyton Place on everyones mind in the "Forum".  The end result I was able to enter Best Buy today see my favortie show on the shelf  and buy it.

I would try to lobby "SHOUT" or "MPI".  MPI who released all of Dark Shadows on VHS and DVD.  I remember boy do I remember when fans asked would DS ever come out on home video?  We always were told forget it not possible. 

2009 Dark Shadows has annual conventions MPI has released all the shows on VHS and DVD. We now even have a new Dark Shadows movie in the works.

I think if Ben Casey ever got released then the Matt show might come with it.  We are hoping now that Peyton Place is being released that Return to Peyton Place might see  the light of day.  

I will hold a good thought that your dream will be answered some day.

Hi Mark
  I really appreciate your support. It means a lot. It doesn't sound "mushy" at all to state that Charles is your hero. In this world we need escapism. Great shows from our childhood bring us that. Mark, I do not like the hypocrisy of some of these distributors. They still release unknown tv series with unknown actors knowing they will not sell. I don't get it,. .
                I will never give up. Thank you very much for the good wishes. 
         

I agree that "Ben Casey" deserves a DVD release...its LONG overdue.
It was a well written show featuring a talented cast and many famous guest stars.
I find it extremely frustrating that "Ben Casey" sits on a shelf gathering dust, while poorly written and mindless shows go to DVD.
Eventually stronger heads will prevail and this show will make it to DVD. Most likely it will be released by a smaller outfit, not it's current owner. (Worldvision ??)
As for "Matt Lincoln" I think a much longer wait is likely. It just wasn't that popular and it wouldn't be cost effective at this time, for a company to put time and money into a DVD release.

     First off, neither Tate nor Brenner (not Brennan) had anything to do with Universal. They were both independently produced, which is why they were able to be released. As for how private collectors find shows like Markham and T.H.E. Cat, well they originated from 16mm film collectors who transferred them at some point to tape. Some shows wound up in film circles over the years when stations discarded the prints. The Immortal and The Magician both aired several runs on SciFi. Longstreet aired in Canada and East Side West Side aired on Trio.

Bottom line is that there is NO demand for Matt Lincoln. It wasn't a great show, it's not a cult show nor does it have any kind of fan following. It isn't available because it has never re-aired anywhere in the last 35 years. And no film prints of it ever made their way out into private hands. And, lastly, Universal most likely only has 35mm elements on it which means it will only be available if they decide to spend a couple hundred grand to transfer it.