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.

Bad Movie Theatre: Jerry Lewis Pays a "Visit to a Small Planet"

This review isn't about Charo and
The Concorde...Airport '79.

I originally intended to review The Concorde...Airport '79 in this column. I actually watched that debacle because of its notoriety as an awful movie. After all, Roger Ebert included it in his book I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie (he doesn't review the film, but addresses one incredulous scene). However, I ultimately decided that the makers of The Concorde must have made a bad movie on purpose. I mean, I like Charo, but when you film a scene of her smuggling a chihuahua aboard an airplane--well, it's obvious that you knew what you were doing. We don't pander to the makers of bad movies at the Cafe, so that's all the press we'll devote to The Concorde... Airport '79 (for reviews of Airport 1975 and Airport '77, click here.)

I apologize for the digression. Let us shift our attention to Visit to a Small Planet. It's also a bad movie, but clearly not intended as such. Acclaimed playwright and author Gore Vidal, who penned The Best Man (a favorite), originally wrote Visit to a Small Planet in 1955 for the Goodyear Television Playhouse. He adapted it for Broadway in 1957, where it ran for almost a year. Cyril Ritchard--best known as Captain Hook opposite Mary Martin's Peter Pan--directed and starred as an alien being who visits Earth. The play earned three Tony nominations: Ritchard for Best Actor in a Play; Eddie Mayehoff for Best Featured Actor in a Play; and Best Scenic Design.

Lewis on the ceiling.

When Paramount decided to mount a film version in 1960, it naturally wanted to cast an established star in the lead. According to a 2012 article for Film Threat, David Niven, Alec Guinness, and Danny Kaye (my pick!) were considered for the role of Kreton the alien. Any of them would have been a better choice than Jerry Lewis--who got the part. Of course, to put things in historical perspective, Lewis was a reliable box-office star in the 1950s and early 1960s. His casting surely seemed like a good idea at the time.

Alas, my friends, I can attest to the fact that the combination of Gore Vidal and Jerry Lewis does not make for a funny movie. Nor even a good one. Of course, one can't really blame Mr. Vidal. I haven't seen the television or Broadway versions of Visit to a Small Planet, but I suspect they featured more social satire than what finally made it to the silver screen.

Kreton mugging in school.

Jerry Lewis plays Kreton as a child-like alien from Planet X47 with an infatuation with the Earth. Ignoring his teacher Delton (John Williams), Kreton sneaks off to visit his favorite planet during the time of the U.S. Civil War. However, he miscalculates by 99 years and lands near Richmond, Virginia, in the year 1960. He first reveals his identity to Major Roger Putnam Spelding (Fred Clark), a TV commentator who recently proclaimed: "Flying saucers--there ain't no such animal." Pretty soon, though, Spelding's whole family knows that Kreton is an alien being, including Roger's daughter Ellen (Joan Blackman) and her goofy boyfriend Conrad (Earl Holliman).

Delton soon tracks down Kreton, but decides to let the younger alien study the Earthings for a short period. However, he cautions Kreton not to "get involved." Naturally, Kreton ignores that advice and, after misinterpreting Joan's kindly actions toward him, he decides that he's in love for the first time (incidentally, love does not exist on X47).

The over-used right ear tug.

From the opening scene, Lewis appears to have no confidence in the screenplay. He resorts to over-the-top mugging whenever a visual gag falls flat. Yes, I realize that mugging was always part of Lewis' shtick, but there's an air of desperation in Visit to a Small Planet. It eventually grows tiresome watching Jerry issue commands by tugging his right ear and flaring his nostrils.The one scene with genuine possibilities--Kreton's visit to a beatnik club called The Hungry Brain--starts out well (seeing Kreton in his spacesuit, a groovy patron observes: "Who laid the threads on you?"). Unfortunately, it segues into a musical number that drones on for too long and deflates any sense of fun.

Blackman, Lewis, and Holliman.

Lewis can't be faulted for everything. Joan Blackman is a dull female lead and Earl Holliman grates as a country bumpkin with a pet goat named Myrtle. Even veteran comedians like Fred Clark and Gale Gordon are incapable of finding a way to salvage the humorless proceedings.

I must admit that I had fond memories of watching Visit to a Small Planet as a youth. Honestly, I thought I was a more discerning film buff even back then. Perhaps, the movie still holds some appeal for juvenile audiences--though I doubt it. Still, if you're a fan, please remember that dissenting opinions are always welcomed at the Cafe!

The Nutty Professor (1963)

The Nutty Professor (1963). Science-fiction comedy film produced, directed, co-written with Bill Richmond and Jerry Lewis. The score was composed by Walter Scharf.
Professor Julius Kelp (Jerry Lewis) is a nerdy, introverted, accident prone, university professor who always seems to find himself in trouble with the university by continually destroying the classroom lab. When a football-player bullies Kelp, he decides to join a gym, with no results. He then invents a potion that turns him into the handsome, smooth, obnoxious, Buddy Love.
As Buddy Love, he now as the confidence to date one of his students, Stella Purdy (Stella Stevens), who finds herself strangely attracted to him. Buddy impresses the crowd with his jazzy personality at the Purple Pit, a nightclub where everyone hangs out. He also teaches the bartender how to mix the cocktail, The "Alaskan Polar Bear Heater" (which is two shots of vodka, a little rum, some bitters, a smidgen of vinegar, a shot of vermouth, a shot of gin, a shot of scotch, a little brandy, a lemon peel, orange peel, cherry, and some more scotch). At one point, the bartender says: "You going to drink this here, or are you going to take it home and rub it on your chest?"
Love says "mix it nice" and pour it into a tall glass. The bartender asks if he can take a sip, when he does he freezes like a statue. While the drink started as fictional, it now listed among real drinks.
Later that night, Buddy performs at the student dance and while on stage, the formula starts to wear off. Will this Jekyll and Hyde's real identity be revealed?
I thought Jerry Lewis must be a very talented actor to be able to manage two very distinct characters with two distinct personalities.
Fun Facts:
Film debut of Henry Gibson.
Buddy Love is often thought to be Lewis' former show business partner Dean Martin. Film Critic Danny Peary wrote in his book Cult Movies that the character of Love is actually the real counterpart of Jerry Lewis. Les Brown and his Band play themselves in the senior prom scenes. Stella Steven's costumes (and the rest of the casts costumes as well) were designed by Edith Head.
The Nutty Professor was filmed mostly on the campus of Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ) in 1962 with the prom portion filmed in the newly completed Gammage Auditorium Hall (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright).
Stella Stevens was first under contract to 20th Century Fox. Then after performing in the role for the musical Li'l Abner (1959), she signed a contract with Paramount Pictures (1959-1963) and later Columbia Pictures (1964-1968). She shared the 1960 Golden Globe Award for "Most Promising Newcomer - Female", with Tuesday Weld, Angie Dickinson and Janet Munro for the film, Say One For Me.
In 1962, Stevens performed with Elvis Presley in the movie, Girls! Girls! Girls. Later that year, she played Jerry Lewis's love interest in The Nutty Professor. This was followed by other comedy, The Courtship of Eddie's Father and opposite Dean Martin in the Matt Helm film The Silencers, plus How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life.
Stevens was featured in the western, The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970) and in the film The Poseidon Adventure (1972), as the wife of Ernest Borgnine's character.
Stevens was a regular on the 1981-1982 prime time soap opera Flamingo Road. She teamed with Sandy Dennis in a touring production of an all-female version of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple, playing the Oscar Madison character. She had a contract role on NBC's daytime drama Santa Barbara as Phyllis Blake from 1989 to 1990. Stevens produced and directed two films, The Ranch (1989) and The American Heroine (1979).