Ben Casey, Season 1, Volume 1

I've been waiting on the official, licensed release of Ben Casey for a long, long time, and although we only have the first season released as of now, and only via MOD, it's a start, and I'm very thankful to CBS Home Entertainment for doing so. I'd also like to echo the other reviewer's plea to them to not stop here, but to commit to releasing all five (5) seasons of this excellent medical drama.I'll start with the technical quality aspect of this release. Were I limiting my review to just the visual and audio quality and the packaging, I'd probably give this 3-1/2 stars - rounding up to four to meet the "whole star" review increments. To be sure, there are some places where the picture quality suffers - moments of jerkiness; brief flashes of lines/blurring; some dirt in the film - but it's a lot better than the average quality of the non-official versions also available for sale on Amazon, and is certainly watchable. I'd give overall visual quality 3-1/2 to 4 stars. As you would expect, it in the typical 4:3 presentation ratio that characterize television productions of this time. Audio quality is somewhat better, a solid 4 stars to my ears. The original was monaural, so you can't really expect to improve off of that, but it's perfectly serviceable, and I've encountered no sync problems in the first five episodes of set one that I've watched thus far. CBS Home Entertainment has obviously not lavished the level of remastering on this show that it has on other, perhaps better known (or, maybe more accurately stated - deemed relevant) shows from this era, but again, I'm thankful they've at least displayed a willingness to test the waters by offering any formal release of this show at all - especially given the fact that its a MEDICAL drama, wherein the great advances in technology over the past 5-1/2 decades could easily dissuade people to relegate this show to obsolescence. But that would be a mistake - more on this below. Packaging-wise, I would again give it 3-1/2 stars. Certainly workable, but not much in the way of bling/attractive graphics; more or less a few pedestrian photos from the series and the blandest of descriptions. No extras here, but at least the episode titles appear on each DVD, and there are four episodes/DVD across 4 DVDs for each part of this first season.. . . Now on to the main course: the series itself! Yes, it's in black-and-white. Yes, the medical equipment looks almost neanderthal in its technology, being awash in a sea of analog gauges and meters, and polished chrome/stainless steel knobs (vs. colorful digital readouts and high-tech monitors). But you're not buying a 1961-66 medical drama in late 2019 expecting to be wowed by the technology; you're buying for the DRAMA, for the stories themselves, and this is where Ben Casey shines like polished gold. Like Route 66, The Fugitive, Dr. Kildare, and other dramas from the early 1960s, it features very well-written scripts and hard-hitting storylines - addressing societal issues just beginning to emerge in this pivotal decade, and some that weren't hit head on until a decade or more later. The titles of the episodes themselves read like poetic extracts, and the storylines are anything but hackneyed. At the same time, it's pleasant to watch thoughtful drama that doesn't feel the need to attract/retain its audience based upon gratuitous sex or sordid relationships, but rather intelligent, thoughtful treatment of life - where there aren't always happy endings; where major characters actually die - sometimes after initially giving signs of rallying from disease/affliction; where arguments aren't for the sake of argument, but for standing up for principle and right (. . . and not the "right" of today's political correctness). The first episode is a little stiff as the actors are settling into their roles, but by the second (and certainly by the third), the dialogue exchanges flow more smoothly and naturally, and the regular cast is essentially established in their roles. Creator James Moser brought in renowned neurosurgeon Joseph Ransohoff as technical consultant to ensure accuracy in terminology and actor portrayal of the medical characters. Vince Edwards was perfect in the role of the highly capable - and equally highly principled - chief resident Ben Casey who has little patience for politics, but deep dedication to his patients well-being. Sam Jaffe was equally well-suited as sage/mentor Dr. David Zorba who has to provide equal measures of latitude allowing Casey to put his talents, knowledge, and principles to work for the patients while also realizing and reigning in Casey's push back against the "system" - a battle still raging today nearly six decades later between the needs of the patients and the bean counters/"suits" comprising the medical establishment. The other central characters help round out the cast, providing both male and female peer balance (Harry Landers as Dr. Ted Hoffman; Bettye Ackerman as Dr. Maggie Graham), along with some needed secondary supporting roles (Jeanne Bates as Nurse Wills and Nick Dennis as Orderly Nick Kanavaras). As a testament to its quality, Ben Casey garnered no less than five (5) Emmy nominations in its inaugural season alone!Yes, it's a bit expensive - even more so when you have to factor in two outlays to purchase each part of season 1 - but if you want enjoy some well-written drama, stemming from a time when substance outweighed sensationalism, you'll be hard-pressed to find a much better offering.

Ben Casey and Dr. Kildare both went on the same year, were national phenomenons, made stars of both Richard Chamberlain and Vince Edwards, lasted 5 years and then both were gone. Even though I was eleven when both went on, I watched them both. I always preferred Kildare because it was a bit less depressing. Casey was a Neurosurgeon and seemed to lose a lot more patients than Kildare. Also felt that Chamberlain was a lot more charismatic than Edwards. I have purchased all 5 seasons of Kildare and have enjoyed them as much or more than all the other tv series of that period that I have purchased, I have even started watching them again. I purchased both parts of season one of Casey and I have to say that I am really enjoying it as well. The picture quality does not seem as crisp as Kildare which was released by another company, Warner Archives. The production values of Kildare seem to look a lot better to me than Casey, although the cramped and overcrowded hospital of Casey may be a bit more realistic. At the time, writers and tv comics made fun of how angry Vince Edwards was as Casey, I don't remember noticing it, but I do now and his anger seems very refreshing to me. Edwards also seems a lot more charismatic than I remember him being. In conclusion, I am greatly enjoying these episodes and hope that CBS releases the next four years of Ben Casey as well.

I would have given 5 stars except that one of the episodes didn't play well. Other than that, I thought the quality of the DVDs were very good. Looking forward to the release of the additional seasons.

This is the one for my money. Dr Kildare, Marcus Welby M.D. were good as were other shows of this kind to follow but this medical series was the best.It stars Vince Edwards in the lead as Ben Casey the young neurosurgeon and Sam Jaffe as his mentor Dr David Zorba.It was a very intense dramatic series and these are the episodes that keep you glued to your TV set. There are a few lighter episodes but it is the dramatic ones which are the best.Shot in black and white the picture quality is good as is the audio.Guest stars include Lee Marvin, Tuesday Weld,Jack Klugman Eddie Albert, James Franciscus, George C Scott and Telly Savalas to name a few.I have heard that Jack Lord was considered for the lead role but for one reason or another it didn't happen. Enter Vince Edwards and a new star was born.This was TV at it's best with high standards in story telling and production. It was a Bing Crosby Production with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz production company Desilu involved.There are 32 episodes in Season One split over into two volumes.So happy that this series has finally been released on DVD.

For a show this old, they've found a pretty good set of prints to produce digital copies from. Now I'm wondering if they'll release later seasons as well, or if this is going to be as fortunate as it gets for we fans of the show.If the episodes were remastered I probably would have given five stars, but I'm not complaining, as these episodes could have looked far worse than they do.Overall, I'm pleased.

I have been emailing companies for years trying to get Ben Casey released on DVD box sets. Thanks to CBS Home Entertainment it has finally happened! The episodes were filmed and have not been cleaned up so there are some artifacts. Overall the picture quality is very good. Much better than the bootleg copies. It is best viewed in the 4:3 aspect ratio. The sound quality is also very good. If you like classic TV shows especially medical dramas, you can't go wrong with Ben Casey! Let's hope CBS Home Entertainment releases the 2nd season very soon!

Ben Casey is a tremendous show! Vince Edwards is superb! Ben Casey was the forerunner of all medical shows which followed. The stories are very well written and the support actors are excellent. I have been waiting a long time for Ben Casey to be released on DVD. I truly hope the complete series will eventually become available. Season 1 is almost 60 years old; however the show is not dated like a lot of 70s shows now are. I thoroughly recommend Ben Casey Volumes 1 and 2.

This DVD does not work in Australia. A waste of money