Emergency!: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.5

Emergency!: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Justin Dekker September 30, 2025

From producer Jack Webb ('Dragnet'), the landmark medical drama that aired from 1972 to 1979, 'Emergency! The Complete Series' arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal. The series follows Roy DeSoto (Kevin Tighe) and John Gage (Randolph Mantooth) as they save lives as members of a newly created group of paramedics in Los Angeles. The drama deftly combines medical drama with a touch of comedy in the weekly episodes, which also included series' regulars singer and actress Julie London (R.N. Dixie MacCall), Robert Fuller (Dr. Kelly Brackett), and actor/musician/songwriter Bobby Troup (Dr. Joe Early). All 129 episodes are here and are spread across 28 Blu-ray discs, all of which are housed in an attractive slipbox. Sadly, on-disc extras are limited to a crossover episode with '70s police drama 'Adam-12'. A Digital Code is not included.

Medical dramas have been a television staple seemingly since the early days of the medium. In the beginning, the programs were largely wholesome, with wise doctors representing the best of us, saving lives on a weekly basis. More recent medical dramas present a more complex view of those in the white coats. Their level of intelligence hasn't diminished. If anything, given the advancements in technology and medical knowledge, coupled with a more global world, one could argue that doctors need to know more now than ever before. In conjunction with an expanded body of knowledge that television's best doctors need to have filed away in their brains, they themselves are more complex and realistically portrayed. On NBC's New Amsterdam (2018-2022) over the course of the series, Ryan Eggold's Dr. Max Goodwin needed to deal with losing a spouse, being a single parent to a young child, numerous crises at the hospital, managing an occasionally challenging staff, and, eventually, starting to date again. Hugh Laurie's Dr. Greg House on Fox's House (2004-2012) showed viewers a brilliant doctor with an almost unrivaled and encyclopedic knowledge of medicine whose chronic pain and substance abuse issues would lead to him doing stints in prison and rehab, along with a host of other behaviors that routinely put him and the hospital where he worked in legal and ethical jeopardy. Those on their respective staffs likewise dealt with issues ranging from the more mundane work-family balance to the more sensational, like infidelity, life-threatening medical conditions, and substance abuse and addiction.

Decades prior to that, Emergency! would go down a similar, but era-appropriate path, providing as realistic a portrayal of first responders and their world as it could. These people weren't perfect paragons of virtue and medical knowledge; they were regular people doing the best they could with what they had in order to save lives. The first episode, "The Wedworth-Townsend Act" takes viewers back to the very beginnings of the paramedic program. While the episode isn't as dramatic and tightly paced as those that would follow it, this initial outing does provide some of the needed background to help viewers understand the world as it was before the EMTs we take for granted today were commonplace. When Governor Ronald Reagan signed it into law, Wedworth-Townsend allowed for the creation of paramedic training so that this group of specialists could provide a base level of life-saving care in the field, rather than forcing people to wait to arrive at a hospital in order to begin to receive assistance. The act also provided the participating hospitals a certain amount of legal indemnification, shielding them from liability for negative health outcomes for care administered in good faith. The first episode does a fair job of capturing and conveying the attitudes around the creation of the program. Not yet signed into law, firefighters Roy DeSoto (Kevin Tighe) and John Gage (Randolph Mantooth) see nothing but the upside with them being able to save lives that would previously have been lost, should they be able to be paramedics. Dr. Kelly Brackett (Robert Fuller) is much more skeptical. As a practising doctor at Rampart General Hospital, he's very protective of his knowledge and is wary of those who haven't gone through years of medical school delivering anything that resembles medical care. Instead of believing lives would be saved, his sense is that people would be needlessly put in danger. Considering the fact that this is the first episode of a series that endured for six seasons, it's no real spoiler to state that by the end of the episode, the prestigious Dr. Brackett has had a change of heart and throws his full support behind the act. As a result, the program is a reality, and the series is off and running.

Periodically, the series reminds viewers of the fact that the program is forging new ground, working out best practices, and uncovering new needs, opportunities, and challenges in real time. Episodes would give over subplots to focus on training those who would be tasked with administering lifesaving care. Other moments would focus on the need to outfit their vehicles with additional equipment, such as defibrillators, to help those in need. Recognizing that not every life can be saved, the series also allows Roy DeSoto time to ruminate on a life that was lost, the decisions he made, and whether or not he should continue on as a paramedic. While dramatized to heighten the entertainment value of the situation, the topics are credibly and realistically handled.

While some of the issues handled by those in the field and back at the hospital may sometimes seem frivolous, such as the boy with his hand stuck in a gumball machine, or the fun-seekers stuck on a Ferris wheel, most others are more serious, and a few feel strangely relevant to today's world. The season two episode "Virus" sees a woman fall sick with a strange illness. Before long, others who came into contact with her become similarly afflicted with a life-threatening virus that initially presents with flu-like symptoms. Before long, it's a race against the clock to identify the source of the epidemic, isolate the infected so the virus doesn't spread further, and devise a cure before lives are lost. Due to budgetary and time constraints, if nothing else, the episode does not allow the situation to spiral to the level brought to dramatic life in 2011's Contagion, though viewers will no doubt see such an outcome as a logical next step and the link to the film. While it may have seemed more like science fiction at the time, with the flu pandemic of 1918-1920 a distant memory for the series' oldest viewers, in a modern post-COVID world, "Virus" is interestingly topical today.

While not only mixing a reasonable amount of comedy to relay the weekly life-and-death struggles of John, Roy, Nurse MacCall, and Doctors Brackett and Early, the series also functions as a time capsule of sorts. The episode "Fuzz Lady", brings to light attitudes related to the changing role of women in the work world as they take on roles in male-dominated professions, and other episodes highlight gender roles in general. "Peace Pipe" tackles racism and harassment in the workplace as best it can, and in a manner that was likely considered acceptable in the 1970s, though modern viewers may find it ill-advised. Agist and sexist comments, which were ubiquitous at the time, such as "old maid", also periodically work their way into the script. Never malicious or mean-spirited in its intent, Emergency! is simply a product of its time, using language that was acceptable to tell its stories.

Emergency! takes a few episodes to find its stride and refine its formula, but once it does, it's remarkably consistent. The pre-credits sequence serves numerous purposes: either depicting quieter moments in the life of a paramedic, setting up the main action of the episode, or providing a light-hearted start to the week's story before the episode gets down to grittier business. Roy DeSoto (Kevin Tighe) and John Gage (Randolph Mantooth) regularly provide the more action-oriented thrills, racing into fires, active shooter situations, and the like to save lives. Lest they appear too superhuman, Roy is ever the dedicated family man, while John routinely (and sometimes hilariously) struggles to get a date. Dr. Brackett (Fuller) is the series' de facto father. He patiently mentors interns, counsels other members of the staff, and does what he can to improve the lives of his patients via word and deed. If Brackett is one parent, London's Nurse MacCall is certainly the other, a strong maternal presence and the heart of the show. This foursome, along with the other supporting players, provides medical thrills that are a far cry from the more graphic nature of today's medical dramas. Blood appears in sufficient quantity to describe wounds but is never excessive, and certainly never rises to the level of gore. Medical procedures such as lumbar punctures (called "spinal taps" here), performed with wince-inducing realism in many episodes of House, are merely suggested here, with medical staff explaining their actions while the camera remains safely focused elsewhere. Viewers will also delight in spotting numerous stars of the current and preceding era appearing in cameos and guest roles, such as a pre-Eight is Enough Dick Van Patten and a post-Batman Adam West, just to name a few. Purposeful in its pacing but never manic, and with nary a quick-cut in sight, the adventures of Squad 51 hold up rather well and make for approachable and cozy medical drama viewing.

Emergency!: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, Emergency! looks great on Blu-ray, starting strong and maintaining a consistently appealing video image thought each subsequent season. Colors are very nicely saturated, with the frequently-seen red of the firetrucks popping nicely. Other primaries present well, also, but the fire-engine red is the highlight here. Skin tones are universally healthy throughout the series. Detail levels are impressively high, well beyond what I was expecting. Fine lines and wrinkles are plainly visible on actors' faces, as are make-up particulars, which sometimes display the less-than-ideal work of those in the make-up department. Costuming particulars of the 1970s fashions are open for inspection, including chunky knits, denims, and various gold chains and other jewelry worn by those who encounter the medical staff at Rampart General Hospital. Firefighting gear worn by our heroes and their peers displays clear evidence of soot, dust, and dirt, as do their helmets. Vintage vehicles of all makes and models allow viewers to examine chrome, paint, and trim work, with interior upholstery, wear, and damage of all types and degrees visible. Pavement, brickwork, and other environmental surfaces present with tactile realism, and wood grain is distinguishable in the hospital doors and other wooden elements. Image depth is pleasing. Low to moderate levels of noise are sometimes visible in the skies, but are never truly problematic and are primarily found in the stock shots of the station house exterior, hospital ambulance bay, or those that depict emergency vehicles leaving the station house. Some softness invades here as well, but these shots are generally quite brief. I didn't detect any banding or other defects or anomalies. A handful of day-for-night shots are perhaps the most troubling element of the video presentation from my perspective, appearing overly dark and not particularly realistic or convincing, but this is not the fault of the transfer and seems to be a function of how they were shot and processed. Overall, it's a splendid transfer.

Screenshots 1-5 and 38 are from Season One.

Screenshots 6-10 are from Season Two.

Screenshots 11-15 are from Season Three.

Screenshots 16-20 are from Season Four.

Screenshots 21-25 are from Season Five.

Screenshots 26-30 are from Season Six.

Emergency!: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track is a suitable accompaniment to the 70s-vintage on-screen action. Largely dialogue-driven, viewers should have no quibbles with the results here. Dialogue is never less than clean, front and center, and properly prioritized. From a frantic scream to a whispered aside, every word is intelligible. Sound effects are well-rendered and, for the most part, consist of mundane sounds such as footsteps, car doors, and medical equipment, but can occasionally include gunshots and explosions. With these more "exotic" sounds, the track does well enough, though they may sound thin to modern ears. Alarm tones are suitably brash and attention-grabbing, as they should be, as are the frequent wailing sirens. Nelson Riddle's jazzy theme song is handled well, with instrumentation being precise and horns sounding bright for this track, atmospheric, and transitional music as well.

Emergency!: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The lone special feature included on this complete series release is the cross-over episode with the series Adam-12. It's found on the first disc of the fifth season and is in standard definition. For fans in search of a specific episode, the artwork for each case features an inner print with an episode guide on a disc-by-disc basis. While summaries are not provided, the episode titles should provide at least some help for dedicated viewers find the episode they want to view, though a short synopsis of each episode or even a listing of guest stars would have been most appreciated.

Emergency!: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Those who grew up watching these episodes in real time or via reruns will no doubt enjoy a healthy dose of nostalgia with Emergency! The Complete Series. Moving at a slower but persistent pace, the episodes are consistently entertaining with a pleasing mix of medical drama, social commentary on then-current issues, and tension-breaking humor, which is often served up at the expense of leads Kevin Tighe and Randolph Mantooth. A profession most today could never imagine being without, it's also quite interesting to watch the role of the paramedic not only begin but evolve and grow over the course of the series's six seasons. Due to excellent production values, a talented cast, and compelling writing, the series holds up well despite the passage of over five decades since the first episode aired. On-disc supplemental material may be light, but the most important factors to consider here are the audio and video presentations, both of which should leave fans more than satisfied. Emergency! The Complete Series comes highly recommended.