Reviewed By Jason LockardDanny Thomas is known for his charitable work with St. Jude's Children's Hospital and for his amazing classic sitcom "Make room for Daddy"! But in the mid 70s he returned to television to star in a comedy / drama entitled The Practice! Now Warner Archive is giving us the classic TV fans a chance to own this series on DVD. Thanks to their Made on Demand service!
The Practice follows Jules Bedford (Thomas), a grumpy, and absent-minded old-fashioned doctor with a true heartfelt love for his patients. His office is in a middle-class area on Manhattan's West Side. He is more interested in healing the sick than making money. The Polar opposite is Jules' son David (David Spielberg), also a doctor, but on Park Avenue. He is more interested success and money and wants his dad to move his practice in with David's and share office space.
Also in this series is Jenny (Shelley Fabares, Coach) is David's loving wife who simply tries to keep peach in the family. Their two boys, who as a running gag are always going to bed. There is Jule's nurse Molly Gibbons (Dena Dietrich) who has a crush on Jules and Helen (Didi Conn) is his young and slightly scatterbrained receptionist and office manager. Than in season 2 we get the debut of Lenny (Mike Evans, The Jeffersons), a young, wisecracking medical intern.
Our Rating System
**** = Don't Miss it!
***= Worth a look.
**= An OK way to spend a half an hour.
*=You haven't missed anything.
The Practice: David diagnoses Jules' longtime friend Arthur with a brain tumor and tells him he is terminally ill. While Jules refuses to except his friend's fate. ***
Love and Death: Jules treats a patient named Barbara Simms (Marge Redmond) for a thyroid condition and finds that she is suicidal because her husband left her. ***
The Vote: When it comes time to vote for a new chief of internal medicine for the hospital, Jules is forced to choose between David and Dr. Herb Chisholm – a brilliant but sloppy absent minded physician. ***
Molly and Jim: Molly falls in love with one of Jules' patients. ***
The Choice: Frankie Nyles, a known drug dealer, is in need of an operation. Jules' conscience won't let him turn Nyles away. ****
The Unsinkable Molly Gibbons: Molly might have cancer. ****
The Down Payment: After Jules' is burglarized office. His son offers to loan him the money he needs to put his office back in order, but Jules won't accept it. ****
Jules' Vacation: An overworked Jules grudgingly agrees to take a vacation in Florida, but he can't resist practicing medicine while he is there. ***
The Nose: Jules meddles in a disagreement between his old friend and the man's son. The doctor's advice is unappreciated and Jules is in danger of losing one his close pal. ***
Molly's Mistake: After Molly accidentally gives a patient an overdose of allergy medicine and loses confidence in herself. ***
Jenny's Despair: Jenny accuses Jules of meddling in how she and David are raising Paul and Tony. ***
Jules & Eddie: Eddie, a recently orphaned boy who is one of Jules' patients, gets along very well with Jules and wants Jules to adopt him. ****
Jules and the Bum: David takes in a once-acclaimed novelist who is one of his boyhood idols and has fallen on hard times. Even though Jules thinks it's a bad idea. ***
Jules' Investment: Jules invests his life savings into one of David's real-estate schemes.***
The Dream: An eccentric psychic named Matilda Morrison sees Jules because she is having headaches and visions that foretell her death in three weeks. ***
Helen's Beau: Jules arranges a date for Helen with a young medical intern, Dr. Byron Fisk. She thinks Byron is her new boyfriend – but he's got a secret. ***
Judy Sinclair: A tough and stubborn single mother patient named Judy Sinclair needs an operation. She is determined not to undergo the procedure because of her fear of leaving her mentally disabled son alone. ***
It's All in the Head: David hires a sexy woman named Rhonda Curtis as his new secretary. He is attracted to her and has trouble resisting temptation when she makes advances toward him. ***
Jules & Lenny: Jules wants Lenny to pass his medical exams and lets Lenny stay with him so he can study without the distractions of home. ****
Mulligan: Jules', police officer friend Mulligan, dies while pursuing a purse-snatcher. While alone with Mulligan's sheet-covered body, Jules reminisces about their friendship. ***
The Snow Job: A blizzard hits New York City, and David's apartment loses power – and then a pregnant woman in labor and her husband arrive at his door in need of medical help. ***
A Doctor's Doctor: Jules ends up in the hospital with painful cramps and is told he needs a gall bladder operation, but he does not want David to perform it. ***
Carlotta: An old flame tries to tempt Jules into marriage by promising a large donation to the hospital. ***
Jules Takes a Partner: Jules takes his friend Dr. Michael Harrigan into his practice to keep him from retiring – and then regrets it. ***
Oh, Brother: David and Jenny arrange a surprise meeting between Jules and his deadbeat brother Harry. The brothers continue to fight as always until Jules find out Harry may be dying.
Jule's In Jail: Police catch an innocent Jules in a massage parlor on his birthday. ****
Molly and Jules: Jules and Molly check into a hotel as "Dr. and Mrs. Bedford." ***
The Practice sadly only lasted 2 Season and 27 episodes. After watching this series I really wish it would have given more seasons! I think this show was really getting it's legs and I enjoyed Mike Evans addition to the show! The show also had some amazing guest stars including; Edie Adams, Victor Buono, Vic Tayback, Lucille Ball, and Danny's own daughter Marlo Thomas. This series is a great mix of laughter and drama!
This 3 Disc Set includes nine episodes per disc. The episodes are presented in their original full screen format. These episodes look really good! Of course they are not going to look HD, so don't expect that! I found little to no damage in the picture quality. And for 9 episodes on a disc, the picture quality doesn't suffer a bit! It looked stunning on the big screen TV!
I have to say I was extremely impressed with this Warner Archive Made On Demand DVD set here! The case is a sturdy hard shell case. Each disc has it's own hub, no stacking here. The DVD disc themselves are burned on demand, but the artwork on the discs is very well done! It is just a very good packaging for this series!
So if you're a fan of 70s Sitcoms as much as I am! I highly suggest The complete series of The Practice from Warner Archive! I can't recommend it enough! Head over to Amazon and pick up a copy today you won't be disappointed.
Audiences: Families
Objectionable Material: None
Length: Over 11 Hours
Genre: Comedy / Drama
DVD Value Rating: A
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