7.8/1024 votes#1 - To the Pure
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 10/2/1961
Dr. Ben Casey is at odds with the medical board, particularly Dr. Zorba and Dr. Jensen, because of his manner toward interns. Under a reprimand, Casey tries to persuade the board to approve neurosurgery on nine-year-old Pete Salazar. After the first of three operations on the boy, Casey is accidentally jabbed with a needle while administering a rabies test to a female patient. During his thirty-day wait for a life-or-death prognosis, he is given permission to resume the surgery.
Director: Fielder Cook
Writer: N/A
- 7.7/1017 votes
#2 - But Linda Only Smiled
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 10/9/1961
Little Cathy Reed is brought to the hospital for emergency treatment after an auto accident. Casey prepares a blood transfusion, but her mother won't consent.
Director: Abner Biberman
Writer: William Bast
- 7.8/1016 votes
#3 - The Insolent Heart
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 10/16/1961
Dr. Michael Waldman, a former professor of Casey's and a former colleague of Zorba's, comes to the hospital with a cardiovascular ailment diagnosed as fatal. Casey and Zorba want to try a new surgery on him, but the medical board is opposed.
Director: Alex March
Writer: N/A
- 6.6/1022 votes
#4 - I Remember a Lemon Tree
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/23/1961
Dr. Karl Anders is a brilliant surgeon, and Zorba wants to keep him on at the hospital. But Anders is concerned with illnesses of his own—he's addicted to morphine, and suffers from leukemia.
Director: Alex March
Writer: Jack Laird
- 7.9/1022 votes
#5 - An Expensive Glass of Water
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/30/1961
Casey has Walter Tyson for a patient, the president of a large corporation in difficulties, who makes treatment impossible by ordering him about. Zorba and Dr. Jensen try to dissuade him from withdrawing, because his patient is a big donor to the hospital.
Director: Fielder Cook, Robert Ellis Miller
Writer: Gilbert Ralston
- 8.1/1016 votes
#6 - The Sound of Laughter
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 11/6/1961
Tony Romano, a struggling nightclub comic, suffers a cranial seizure. Dr. Casey operates, but Tony is left a paraplegic.
Director: Fielder Cook, Irving Lerner
Writer: Gilbert Ralston
- 7.6/1012 votes
#7 - A Few Brief Lines for Dave
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/13/1961
Dr. Dave Taylor returns to the hospital to do research, but Dr. Casey diagnoses him as a ""hospital bum"" afraid of competition, and also treats a woman's hypochondria.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.4/1019 votes
#8 - Pavane for a Gentle Lady
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/20/1961
By degrees to the bare facts.
Director: Abner Biberman
Writer: N/A
- 8.4/1013 votes
#9 - My Good Friend Krikor
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/27/1961
Orderly Nick Kanavaris' good friend Krikor Dakopian is committed by his family to the psychiatric ward. Dr. Casey, however, thinks the ailment is likely to be responsive to neurosurgery.
Director: Irvin Kershner
Writer: N/A
- 8.9/1011 votes
#10 - The Sweet Kiss of Madness
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 12/4/1961
Dr. Alan Reynolds' mental state is not improved by constant pressure from his wife to be a successful neurosurgeon. The strain increases when he treats an abused 10-year-old boy. Dr. Casey forestalls an unnecessary operation, and tries to persuade Dr. Reynolds to receive treatment.
Director: Robert Ellis Miller
Writer: N/A
- 8.2/1016 votes
#11 - A Certain Time, a Certain Darkness
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 12/11/1961
Expectant mother Ellen Parker loses her child after an auto accident. Casey examines her and finds that she is subject to chronic seizures, and these, not the accident, are responsible for the loss of her baby.
Director: Abner Biberman
Writer: Gilbert Ralston
- 8.5/1010 votes
#12 - A Dark Night for Billy Harris
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 12/18/1961
Dr. Casey operates on Billy Harris, a holdup man shot and paralyzed, but he's also concerned about the policeman, who may have been too keen and might be mentally hampered.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.4/1013 votes
#13 - And If I Die
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 1/1/1962
""The faith that looks through death."" (Wordsworth)
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.1/1013 votes
#14 - A Memory of Candy Stripes
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 1/8/1962
Recollections.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.8/1016 votes
#15 - Imagine a Long, Bright Corridor
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 1/15/1962
A clean, well-lighted place.
Director: Arthur Hiller
Writer: Jack Laird
- 9.1/1012 votes
#16 - A Story to Be Softly Told
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 1/22/1962
Between you, me and the nurse's station.
Director: Alex March
Writer: N/A
- 8.0/1012 votes
#17 - The Big Trouble with Charlie
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 1/29/1962
He's not quite himself, or is he?
Director: Sydney Pollack
Writer: N/A
- 8.4/109 votes
#18 - Give My Hands an Epitaph
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 2/5/1962
Post-scriptum to a surgeon's operating life.
Director: Alex March
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/1012 votes
#19 - Victory Wears a Cruel Smile
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 2/12/1962
From another point of view.
Director: Abner Biberman
Writer: N/A
- 7.9/1012 votes
#20 - Odyssey of a Proud Suitcase
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 2/19/1962
A piece of baggage.
Director: Leo Penn
Writer: Gilbert Ralston
- 8.7/1014 votes
#21 - Behold a Pale Horse
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 2/26/1962
""And his name that sat on him was Death.""
Director: N/A
Writer: Jack Laird
- 8.2/1016 votes
#22 - For the Ladybug, One Dozen Roses
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 3/5/1962
A decorated aviator with an alias goes into surgery.
Director: Sydney Pollack
Writer: N/A
- 8.8/1011 votes
#23 - To a Grand and Natural Finale
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 3/12/1962
A consummation devoutly to be wished.
Director: Abner Biberman
Writer: N/A
- 7.8/1017 votes
#24 - Monument to an Aged Hunter
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 3/19/1962
Souvenirs and trophies.
Director: Sydney Pollack
Writer: Gilbert Ralston
- 8.1/1010 votes
#25 - All the Clocks are Ticking
Season 1 Episode 25 - Aired 3/26/1962
As time goes by.
Director: Abner Biberman
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Ben Casey Season 1
Every episode of Ben Casey Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Ben Casey Season 1!
Ben Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which...
Genre:Drama
Network:ABC
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"To the Pure" is the best rated episode of "Ben Casey" season 1. It scored 7.8/10 based on 24 votes. Directed by Fielder Cook and written by N/A, it aired on 10/2/1961. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "But Linda Only Smiled".