DVD Spotlight on "The Bold Ones: The New Doctors"

On March 1st, Timeless Media will release a DVD set containing all 45 episodes of The Bold Ones: The New Doctors. Debuting in 1969, The New Doctors ran for four seasons on NBC as part of the rotating umbrella TV series The Bold Ones. Last year, Timeless Media released the other three Bold Ones shows: The Senator starring Hal Halbrook; The Protectors with Leslie Nielsen and Hari Rhodes; and The Lawyers headlined by Burl Ives.

These earlier series featured headline-grabbing stories, strong performances, and well-written teleplays. And yet, none of them can match the consistent high quality of The New Doctors. Ironically, it was the one Bold Ones installment I didn't watch regularly when it was originally broadcast. However, after previewing the DVD set, I can state definitively that Timeless Media has saved the best for last.

E.G. Marshall as Dr. David Craig.

Veteran TV actor E.G. Marshall (The Defenders) stars as Dr. David Craig, a middle-aged neurosurgeon who has established the David Craig Institute of New Medicine. As its name implies, the Institute boasts state-of-the-art medical technology and a staff headlined by physicians exploring the frontiers of medicine. Two of Craig's "stars" are Dr. Ted Stuart (John Saxon), chief of surgery, and Dr. Paul Hunter (David Hartman), who specializes in internal medicine. Stuart can be arrogant and blunt while Hunter exudes warmth and quiet intelligence. They share a common passion for research and a desire to treat their patients with understanding and respect.

John Saxon as Dr. Ted Stuart.

This trio of stars differentiates The New Doctors from other medical series from the 1960s and 1970s, which tended to pair a young good-looking doctor with a curmudgeonly mentor (e.g. Dr. Kildare, Ben Casey, Medical Center). The New Doctors also separates itself from similar series by highlighting promising medical advances. In the first season episode "What's the Price of a Pair of Eyes," one of Stuart's colleagues experiments with a sensory device that enables certain blind patients to "feel" images. In "And Those Unborn," Dr. Hunter uses pre-natal genetic counseling to determine the health of an unborn baby. And in "Crisis," Dr. Stuart almost loses a hefty grant because he refuses to perform an experimental heart procedure that hasn't been perfected in humans.

The New Doctors also excels at tackling ethical dilemmas. In one of the best first season episodes, "Man Without a Heart," an attorney (Howard Duff) has a heart attack while cross-examining Stuart during a malpractice trial. When the attorney, now a patient, wants to transfer to the Craig Institute for care, Dr. Craig must decide if the risks outweigh the code of his profession. In another episode, Craig convenes an ethics committee to provide advice on how to handle a sensitive issue. This inside look at the politics and ethical challenges of a major hospital make for compelling viewing.

David Hartman as Dr. Paul Hunter.

All three lead actors are at the top of their game. However, the real revelation is David Hartman's marvelous portrayal of Paul Hunter. To be frank, Hartman never impressed me in TV series such as The Virginian or feature films like Disney's The Island at the Top of the World. However, The New Doctors provides him with an ideal role, allowing him to channel his innate amiability and curiosity. Those same traits also served him well in his follow-up TV series Lucas Tanner (1974-75), in which he played a teacher.

John Saxon left The New Doctors prior to its fourth and final season. Robert Walden, who would later earn three Emmy nominations for Lou Grant, replaced Saxon as the chief of surgery at the Craig Institute for the show's final 15 episodes. Meanwhile, one of Saxon's first post-Bold Ones roles was as a karate champion in the Bruce Lee martial arts classic Enter the Dragon (1973).

Richard Dreyfus as a season 2 guest star.

The New Doctors' guest stars form a "who's who" of of veteran stars and would-be stars of the 1970s, such as: Milton Berle, Ron Howard, Ida Lupino, Gloria Grahame, Lou Gossett, Jr., Donna Mills, Loretta Swit, DeForest Kelly, Dorothy Malone, Jack Klugman, Julie Adams, and Richard Dreyfus. There's even some star power behind the cameras with Jerry Lewis directing the 1970 episode "In Dreams They Run."

The New Doctors was the only Bold Ones series to last for the umbrella show's entire run. During its first year, The New Doctors rotated with The Lawyers and The Protectors. In season 2, The Protectors was replaced by The Senator. The third season reduced the format to just The New Doctors and The Lawyers and, by the fourth year, only The New Doctors remained. The series was co-created by television legend, Steven Bochco, the creative genius who would later develop Hillstreet Blues, L.A. Law, and NYPD Blue.

The discs include a disclaimer stating the episodes were "mastered from the best available video sources." Overall, the image quality is good, although the color has understandably faded over the last four decades. The only bonus is a good one: the second part of a cross-over episode of Ironside. Of special note, Raymond Burr was an executive producer for The Bold Ones: The New Doctors.

You can view our unofficial trailer for The Bold Ones: The New Doctors DVD set on the sidebar. If using a mobile device, you can click here.

Timeless Media provided a review copy of this DVD set.

Claudine Longet and the Death of Spider Sabich

Claudine Longet on The Bold Ones.

I recently watched a 1969 episode of The Bold Ones: The Lawyers called "The Rockford Riddle." It guest starred Claudine Longet as a woman accused of murdering her husband's mistress. Anyone who remembers the French actress/ singer will recognize the irony immediately. Eight years after this episode, she would be tried in a Colorado courtroom for reckless manslaughter in the death of her lover Vladimir "Spider" Sabich.

Claudine Longet was born in Paris in 1942 and became a dancer at age 17. The demure beauty was trying to make it in Vegas when she caught the eye of entertainer Andy Williams. She was almost 20 and he was 34 when they married in 1961.

Williams was already an established star, having scored several top ten hits and a chart-topper with 1957's "Butterfly." He launched his long-running NBC TV series The Andy Williams Show in 1962 and Claudine made frequent appearances alongside her husband. Her voice, often described as girlish and breathy, was certainly distinctive, but she failed to score a hit single in the U.S. Her highest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100 was "Love Is Blue" in 1968, which peaked at #71. Her albums fared better, with the self-titled Claudine reaching #11 and selling over 500,000 copies.

Andy Williams and Claudine Longet.

She also branched out into acting and made guest appearances on TV series such as Hogan's Heroes, Run for Your Life, The Rat Patrol, and The Name of the Game. Her most successful theatrical film was Blake Edward's silly, but funny The Party (1968), which paired her effectively with Peter Sellers.

Offscreen, she and Andy Williams had three children and became close friends with Robert and Ethel Kennedy. They appeared to be a blissful couple, but the marriage fell apart in the late 1960s. They separated in 1969 and divorced six years later.

Longet with Spider Sabich.

By 1976, Claudine Longet had moved in with her boyfriend, American skier Spider Sabich, in Aspen, Colorado. The grandson of Croatian immigrants, Sabich finished fifth in the slalom in the 1968 Olympics. After a moderately-successful career on the World Cup circuit, he turned professional after the 1970 season. Good-looking and charismatic, the popular Sabich won several professional championships and made a good living off endorsement deals. He and Longet met at a celebrity-pro benefit in 1972.

On March 21, 1976, Sabich died from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Various sources have different accounts about what happened on that afternoon. Most claim that Longet said Sabich's .22 caliber handgun accidentally discharged while he was showing her how it worked. After a police investigation, Longet was arrested and charged with reckless manslaughter (which carried a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison). She hired L.A. attorney Charles Weedman and Aspen lawyer Ron Austin.

The trial drew national attention.

Andy Williams supported his former spouse throughout her four-day trial. Evidence, to include a diary and blood and urine tests, were ruled inadmissible (police confiscated the diary without a warrant). After less than four hours of deliberation, the jury found Claudine Longet guilty of criminal negligence. The judge sentenced her to a $250 fine and 30 days in county jail, which did not have to be served consecutively. Sabich's family later filed a lawsuit against Longet, but it was settled out of court. According to some sources, the settlement contained a proviso that she could not write a book about Sabich.

Longet and her co-defense attorney Austin married in 1985 and currently live in Aspen. She will turn 74 in January.

Although Claudine Longet has kept a low profile over the years, she has remained a fixture in pop culture. Mick Jagger wrote a controversial song about her called (appropriately) "Claudine." It was pulled from the Rolling Stones 1980 album  Emotional Rescue, but later appeared on a deluxe version of Some Girls. And in 1975, Saturday Night Live did a skit abut a skiing competition called the Claudine Longet Invitational, in which the skiers were "accidentally" shot by Longet. After receiving a cease-and-desist order, SNL producer Lorne Michaels issued a formal apology on the show the following week.


For more information on Claudine Longet's trial, you may want to seek out True Crimes: Celebrity Murder Stories by Ryan White and the article "Claudine Longet: Aspen Femme Fatale," which was published in a May 2013 issue of the British edition of GQ magazine.

DVD Spotlight on "The Bold Ones: The Lawyers"

Good news for classic TV fans! On December 1st, Timeless Media continues its DVD releases of the social dramas that aired under the umbrella TV series The Bold Ones (1968-73). The Lawyers stars Burl Ives as a crafty attorney working with two junior associates played by Joseph Campanella and James Farentino. The DVD boxed set includes two made-for-TV movies and 27 episodes that aired in a one-hour time slot. Earlier this year, Timeless Media offered boxed sets of two other Bold Ones TV series: The Senator (with Hal Holbrook) and The Protectors (starring Leslie Nielsen and Hari Rhodes).

Guy Stockwell and James Farentino.

The highlight of The Lawyers DVD collection may be the 1968 TV-movie The Sound of Anger. Often listed as a pilot, it's actually a "one off" telefilm starring Lynda Day George and David Macklin as young lovers accused of murdering George's wealthy father. Macklin's sister enlists brothers Brad and Nick Darrell (Guy Stockwell and Farentino) as defense attorneys. Ives plays sly local lawyer Walter Nichols, who agrees to defend Lynda Day George. Initially, there is a lack of trust among the attorneys...until the brothers learn to value Nichols' understanding of Citrus County politics.

Allegedly based on a true Orange County murder case, the script was co-written by Roy Huggins, the man behind such TV classics as Maverick and The Fugitive. Huggins and co-writer Dick Nelson pull off not one, but two two nifty and very satisfying twists. Director Michael Ritchie edits the film flashily, which is occasionally distracting and sometimes very clever. Ritchie went on to become a successful big screen director, helming critically acclaimed films (Downhill Racer, Smile) and mainstream hits (The Bad News Bears).

Lynda Day George,

Although the three male leads all acquit themselves nicely, the revelation here is Lynda Day George's performance. The former model, and widow of actor Christopher George, was a busy television actress in the 1960s and 1970s. She eventually joined the cast of Mission: Impossible as a regular in 1971. The Sound of Anger features what may be her finest performance as a defendant who may be a loving innocent daughter--or a cold-blooded, manipulating killer.

Hal Halbrook prior to The Senator.

The DVD set's second telefilm, The Whole World Is Watching (1969), clearly serves as the pilot film for The Lawyers TV series. Joseph Campanella replaces Guy Stockwell as Farentino's brother (now called Brian Darrell). Walter Nichols (who almost seems to be a different character) and the Darrell brothers have started a practice together in San Francisco. The plot centers around a student protester who allows himself to be arrested for murder in order to "teach the Establishment a lesson." Hal Holbrook has a small but key role as a university chancellor-- a performance that earned him an Emmy nomination (and also no doubt led to his casting in the pilot for The Senator). Although not as gripping as The Sound of Anger, this series pilot focuses on the kind of legal and social issues that would serve the resulting TV series well.

Joseph Campanella.

The one-hour episodes of The Lawyers sometimes eschewed the courtroom, as in "A Game of Chance," which finds Brian Darrell going undercover to clear his brother of drug charges. The best episodes, though, are those that focus on the ethics of the legal profession. For example, in "The People Against Ortega," Brian faces potential disbarment at the episode's conclusion for misleading the judge in his efforts to win acquittal for his client.

The Lawyers debuted as one of The Bold Ones rotating series in September 1969. Originally, it aired alongside The New Doctors and The Protectors. In 1970, The Protectors was replaced by The Senator, which only lasted one year despite much critical acclaim. For its third season, The Bold Ones consisted of The Lawyers and The New Doctors. That proved to be the closing argument for The Lawyers, which was cancelled after 27 episodes over three seasons. (The New Doctors continued for a short fourth season.) During its run, The Lawyers won Emmys for direction (Alexander Singer) and music (Pete Rugolo).

Burl Ives as Walter Nichols.

Following The Lawyers, James Farentino immediately started another rotating TV series, Cool Million, which was part of the short-lived NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie. Joseph Campanella carved out a highly successful career guest-starring in television series such as One Day at a Time, The Colbys, and Beauty and the Beast. Burl Ives made several appearances on another Roy Huggins TV series, Alias Smith and Jones, but reduced his roles before retiring from film and TV in 1988.

Timeless Media's The Bold Ones: The Lawyers boxed set contains eight discs. There are no bonus features, but visual quality is good for a 1970s television show. One can only hope that a release of The Bold Ones: The New Doctors is in the wings.

Timeless Media provided a copy of this DVD set for review.

DVD Spotlight on "The Bold Ones: The Protectors"

Originally broadcast in 1969-70 as part of the umbrella TV series The Bold Ones, The Protectors made its long-awaited DVD debut last week courtesy of Timeless Media. The DVD set includes the pilot film Deadlock plus all six episodes that rotated with The New Doctors and The New Lawyers during the first season of The Bold Ones.

Deadlock, shown as a 1969 NBC made-for-TV movie, introduces the two protagonists: ambitious African-American district attorney Leslie Washburn (Hari Rhodes) and hard-nosed police lieutenant Sam Danforth (Leslie Nielsen). Racial tensions are running high in San Sebastian, a West Coast metropolis, after a white newspaper reporter is murdered in possible retaliation for a black youth killed by a cop. Washburn, who is running for the Senate, is tagged to head a special task force to investigate the journalist's death. That pairs him with Danforth and their strong personalities clash immediately.

Hari Rhodes as D.A. Washburn.

Deadlock is more social drama than mystery. Washburn, whose primary focus is to prevent a race riot, tries to enlist the aid of influential black activists. They think Washburn wants to "put a lid on the brothers and sisters" and question the affluent attorney's motives, telling him: "You think white. You look white. You dress white."

Meanwhile, Danforth has little success with the investigation, since none of the ghetto eyewitnesses are willing to talk with the police. (His inquiries do lead to one of the film's best scenes, with the marvelous Ruby Dee playing a prostitute who uses Danforth's presence to frighten away children spying on her.)

Leslie Nielsen as Lt. Danforth.

Although Deadlock could have benefited from tighter pacing, it's still an engrossing urban drama. Its plot parallels with recent events in the U.S. adding unexpected relevance. Nielsen and Rhodes are convincing as the leads. The latter is particularly effective in the kind of role that Sidney Poitier would have played if Deadlock had been a theatrical film.

Film buffs will no doubt appreciate the impressive visuals which bring the city to life, especially at night. This was one of the earliest films credited to cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, who would later gain prominence for his collaborations with directors such as Robert Altman, Steven Spielberg, and Brian De Palma. In a 2012 survey by the International Cinematographers Guild, Zsigmond was ranked among the ten all-time most influential cinematographers.

The Protectors TV series--which premiered in the fall of 1969--carried over the pilot film's strongest attributes, namely the actors and the emphasis on societal themes. Episodes dealt with corruption within city hall and the police department as well as the church's right to harbor a wanted fugitive. Attorney Washburn and detective Danforth (who has been promoted to deputy chief of police) remain at odds occasionally, but their mutual respect has evolved into a friendship.

Guest star Robert Drivas.

One of the best episodes, "If I Should Wake Before I Die," deals with a death-row inmate who gets a second trial when a law is changed by a Supreme Court ruling. Guest star Robert Drivas (Cool Hand Luke) gives a chilling performance as the charismatic convicted murderer who has penned a best-selling autobiography. Until the climax, one is never sure if he's an innocent victim of circumstantial evidence, a guilty man who has repented, or a master manipulator that masks the face of a heartless killer.

The Protectors rotated with the The New Doctors and The Lawyers during the first season of The Bold Ones. It was replaced by a better show, The Senator starring Hal Holbrook, the following year. The inability of The Protectors to find a viewing audience can be attributed, in part, to its sporadic scheduling and lack of episodes. Only six episodes were produced and there were occasions when it wasn't on NBC's schedule for a full month.

Rhodes and Nielsen.

The two stars remained in demand after its cancellation, especially Nielsen. He found his greatest fame as a comedian, spoofing police detectives like Danforth, in the Police Squad! TV series and Naked Gun movies. Hari Rhodes, who had previously starred with Marshall Thompson on the Daktari TV series, later appeared in Roots and theatrical films like Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972).

The DVD set from Timeless Media includes Deadlock and all six episodes of the TV series on two discs. There are no extras. There's a disclaimer that the DVDs were mastered from the best sources available. Given the rarity of these prints, some scratches are to be expected. Overall, the image quality is fine.

Timeless Media provided a review copy of this DVD set.

DVD Spotlight Review: Hal Holbrook as "The Senator"

Hal Holbrook's critically-acclaimed TV series finally gets its long-awaited DVD release when Timeless Media Group releases The Bold Ones: The Senator (The Complete Series) today. Originally broadcast on NBC in 1970-71, The Senator was nominated for 11 Emmys and won five, including Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series. (If you're unfamiliar with this classic series, check our our tribute to it on the Cafe's YouTube Channel.)

The pilot film A Clear and Present Danger aired in March 1970. The TV series The Senator debuted the following September as part of the already established umbrella TV series The Bold Ones. During the 1970-71 season, The Bold Ones consisted of three separate TV series which rotated from week to week: The New Doctors, The Lawyers, and The Senator. As a result, only eight episodes of The Senator were produced.

Hal Holbrook as Hays Stowe.

In A Clear and Present Danger, Holbrook plays Hays Stowe, a lawyer in the Attorney General's office who starts a crusade against air pollution when he learns it contributed to the death of a former Yale Law School professor. It's clear from the beginning that Stowe comes from an affluent family; his father is an incumbent U.S. Senator who has announced plans to retire. The media stalk Stowe in the hope of learning about his political aspirations, but the lawyer just wants to discuss air pollution. His interest in his cause reaches new heights when a college professor warns the public that environmental conditions are perfect for a repeat of the Donora "killing smog." This real-life 1948 incident resulted in the deaths of at least 20 people in a Pennsylvania mill town.

Sharon Acker as Erin/Ellen.

Hal Holbrook's portrayal of Hays Stowe is fully developed from the beginning. Although his party affiliation is never stated, Stowe comes across as an intelligent, energetic liberal who, despite his upper-class background, connects with the "common people." (While some critics have speculated that Stowe was based on Robert Kennedy, Holbrook has never publicly revealed his inspiration.) The pilot film efficiently establishes the relationships among Stowe and his father, his wife Erin (Sharon Acker), and his staff (especially assistant Jordan Boyle, played by Joseph Campanella). Still, it's a leisurely film with too many scenes of Stowe walking around and thinking. We don't need to see Stowe think; Holbrook conveys that through his actions.

When the regular series debuted several months after the pilot, several key changes occurred. Hays Stowe was now a junior senator, his wife's name had changed from Erin to Ellen (still played by Sharon Acker), and Michael Tolan took over the role of Jordan Boyle (since Campanella was a regular on the The Lawyers segment of The Bold Ones). The one-hour running time tightened the focus on the issues, several which seem as relevant today as they were in 1970. In an interview included in the new boxed set, Holbrook reflected: "(The Senator) was saying something important. I wasn't interested in politics. I was interested in America."

The highlight of the show's only season was a two-part episode called "A Continual Roar of Musketry." It's a fictional reworking of the May 1970 Kent State shootings, in which four college students were killed by the Ohio National Guard during a campus protest. In the Senator episode, Stowe is appointed to head a commission tasked with looking into a campus shooting by National Guardsmen. This well-written episode captures all viewpoints (in Rashomon-like style) leading up to and including the shootings. The committee's deliberations and Stowe's report of its findings make for exceptional television drama. Not surprisingly, Universal Studios, which produced The Senator, and NBC considered pulling this hot-button episode. But after the real President's Commission on Campus Unrest issued its findings in September 1970, NBC broadcast "A Continual Roar of Musketry" the following November.

Michael Tolan as Jordan Boyle.

Other episodes of The Senator revolve around the influence of the Mob, the rights of Native Americans, personal privacy, and political infighting at the state level. Senator Stowe deals with these issues with honesty and resolve, but his flaws come through as well. His aide, Jordan Boyle (the excellent Tolan), often serves as his confidante and conscience ("Every senator has days when he wants to be President").  And yet, as much as Stowe trusts and relies on Boyle, he is willing to sever ties with him when he learns that Boyle has been used unwittingly to promote Mob-financed construction.

Guest star Burgess Meredith.

The reason behind the cancellation of The Senator remains a mystery. Certainly, The Bold Ones was not a big ratings hit; it didn't crack the Top 30 for the 1970-71 season despite following No. 9 Bonanza on NBC on Sunday nights (The ABC Sunday Night Movie won the 10:00-11:00 P.M. time slot). Still, NBC renewed The Bold Ones--just not The Senator. In the Hal Holbrook interview, the actor hints that the cancellation may have been "politically inspired." Timing may have been a factor, too. The Senator was cancelled before it won all those Emmys.

Timeless Media Group's 3-disk DVD set includes: the pilot film A Clear and Present Danger; all eight regular season episodes; a new 34-minute interview with Hal Holbrook on the series; a 3-minute interview with Holbrook from a 1971 episode of The Dick Cavett Show; and an anti-drug PSA with Holbrook. Picture quality is acceptable for a 1970-71 TV series; the series has not been digitally remastered. For those of us who fondly remember this quality TV series, The Bold Ones: The Senator (The Complete Series) is a must-have. It is also strongly recommended for anyone who appreciates classic television that remains as timely today as it was 45 years ago.

Timeless Media provided a review copy of this DVD set.