Customer Reviews

Medic, Volume 1 (TV Series)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are someone interested in early television, "Medic" is worth your time and investment. I used an episode of the series when I taught a "History of Television" college course. The show represented a programming trend in the 1950s of featuring a docudrama approach to medical subjects, much in the way police work was treated in "Dragnet". The show's creator James Moser managed to have many of the show's segments filmed in actual Los Angeles-area hospitals and clinics. The show also intercut actual surgery footage in the realistic depiction of medical procedures. The show also became embroiled in censorship battles. For instance, one show was to feature a cesarean birth (including the incision). However, the New York Archdiocese protested and NBC forced the elimination of the footage from the episode. Another show dealing with a Black doctor struggling with whether he should return to the South to practice medicine led to an uproar from Southern TV affiliates, and NBC again buckled and rejected Moser's demand that the episode be aired. The show is also noteworthy for featuring Richard Boone as Dr. Konrad Styner, who served as the show's narrator and an occasional character in the show's anthology-style episodes. Boone would later make a more indelible mark by starring as Paladin in the landmark western series, "Have Gun-Will Travel" (also worth your time and monetary investment).

I bought this dvd to see more of Richard Boone's acting but was a little disappointed that he is just the narrator. The episodes are very good though surrounding what were "hot" topics of the day like a doctor's wife leaving him due to his long hours at the job, the death of a child due to head trauma in an auto accident, the word "breast" was actually said several times and graphic medical illustration showed a cancerous breast, when an episode centered around a young woman with cancer who underwent a mastectomy. I fully enjoyed the episodes other than my initial disappointment in not seeing more Boone, thus a 4 star rating rather than 5. Quality of shows is very mostly good, very viewable, some odd noises in one episode probably due to age of show, which probably could have been cleaned up with all the new fangled technology they have today.

I have this disc and loved the series... way before Dr.Kildare or even Ben Casey this series was truly
a major advancement in the early days of television. The stories are GREAT and the acting better.. The
cases were real and guess stars were many. This program was a forerunner todays medical shows and was
truly the FIRST to show actual medical procedures.. Love the beautiful and haunting Theme Song "Bluestar" from Victor Yound...