Medic, Vol. 7 (1954) On DVD

When it ran in network TV's prime time in 1954, Medic was a television milestone. A pioneering, innovative and often controversial show, known for its realistic and honest portrayal of the medical profession, it featured well documented case histories "dedicated to the profession of medicine and to the men and women who labor in its cause." The four Medic episodes here, each one introduced by the stern yet friendly face of Doctor Konrad Styner (Richard Boone), are representative of the well-researched style that helped lead the way for so many of today's doctor and hospital-based programs.

MY VERY GOOD FRIEND ALBERT: A musician is on a spiral towards oblivion when the onset of deafness causes him to lose his livelihood.

BREATH OF LIFE: When a headache and stiff neck lead to a diagnosis of polio, a successful doctor becomes suicidal.

ALL MY MOTHERS, ALL MY FATHERS: Doctors desperately work to save a critically ill six month old infant that has been abandoned.

THE WORLD SO HIGH: In 1943, a U.S. Air Force doctor risks his own life to discover the reason pilots are mysteriously losing consciousness at high altitude.

20 year old Nathan (Bradley Dorsey) uses the loss of his job and break-up with his girlfriend as the motivators to find his biological mother, who gave him up shortly after birth before vanishing without a trace. Upon returning to his hometown, Nathan checks into a local hotel, where wise housekeeper Mave (Della Reese) offers some kind words of encouragement. Meanwhile, a chance encounter with another guest (Kristen Renton) reinforces Nathan's determination to succeed, and before long he's managed to track down his mother's address. Two decades after making the most painful decision of her life, Nathan's mother Linda (Erika Eleniak) still carries the guilt of giving him up for adoption. As she attempts to pay penance by convincing pregnant teen Tori (Erin Sossoman) not to get an abortion, Nathan returns into her life, in the process unearthing a painful secret that sheds new light on his reason for being.