Ben Casey
For San Diego, You Need a Different Bus
TV Flash files “For San Diego, You Need a Different Bus” as hour 145 of 153 in the TV Flash guide — Ben Casey (1961–1966) on ABC, season 5, episode 18, aired 1966-01-17, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E18: listed hour 145 of 153 in the Ben Casey guide, hour 18 of 26 in season 5. It aired 1966-01-17 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Meantime, We Shall Express Our Darker Purpose” (S05E17). Next is “Smile, Baby, Smile, It's Only Twenty Dols of Pain” (S05E19).
Viewer FAQ
Where does For San Diego, You Need a Different Bus sit in the Ben Casey guide?
S05E18 is listed hour 145 of 153 — hour 18 of 26 in season 5, season 5 episode 18.
When did Ben Casey S05E18 air?
For San Diego, You Need a Different Bus aired 1966-01-17 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Where should I start?
The chalkboard creed is the cold open you want: then Edwards's Casey under Jaffe's Zorba on a surgical-stakes hour. Intensity is the brand.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Ben Casey is the grim twin of Kildare: Vince Edwards's intense neurosurgeon, Sam Jaffe's Dr. Zorba, and that chalkboard creed — man, woman, birth, death, infinity. ABC wanted adult hospital drama, not just bedside charm. The starker medical hour of the early sixties, when a brooding lead and surgical stakes sold as seriousness.
The look is a chalkboard creed before a white coat: man, woman, birth, death, infinity. *Hospital corridor as moral arena, no magazine smile, surgical stakes as the silhouette.* Ben Casey is the grim twin of Kildare — Vince Edwards's intense neurosurgeon, Sam Jaffe's Dr. Zorba, Bettye Ackerman's Dr. Maggie Graham in the orbit. James Moser's ABC medical drama (1961–1966; five seasons) wanted adult hospital drama, not bedside charm. **This was not intern couture; this was a staring contest in scrubs.**
Filed against
- Vince Edwards as Dr. Ben Casey
Vince Edwards’s Dr. Ben Casey was the grim twin of bedside charm — intense neurosurgeon, Sam Jaffe’s Dr. Zorba, the chalkboard creed of man, woman, birth, death, infinity. ABC wanted adult hospital drama, not just a smile in scrubs. TV…
- Sam Jaffe as Dr. David Zorba
Sam Jaffe's Dr. David Zorba chalked Ben Casey as the grim twin of Kildare — Vince Edwards's intense neurosurgeon, the creed of man, woman, birth, death, infinity. ABC wanted adult hospital drama, not just bedside charm. TV Flash files him…
- Bettye Ackerman as Dr. Maggie Graham
Bettye Ackerman’s Dr. Maggie Graham walked Ben Casey as the grim twin of Kildare — Vince Edwards’s intense neurosurgeon, Sam Jaffe’s Dr. Zorba, the chalkboard creed of man, woman, birth, death, infinity. ABC wanting adult hospital drama,…