The Eleventh Hour
There were only two seasons of this show. Both featured Jack Ging as Dr. Paul Graham, a passionate and caring young psychologist, working under the ægis of elder psychiatrists - first played by Wendell Corey, and later Ralph Bellamy. While the first year often focused on Dr. Theodore Bassett and court cases, the second season was more concerned with private practice. The series shared a two-part crossover episode with Dr. Kildare' (1961) in 1963 and clearly used the same basic theme of wise teacher and young intern. Some of the most notable writers, actors, and actresses in Hollywood participated on this show. Scripts were thoughtful and intense. Given the focus on guest characters, it felt more like an anthology series than episodic drama.
- 1962-1964
- 2 seasons
- NBC
- Drama
There were only two seasons of this show. Both featured Jack Ging as Dr. Paul Graham, a passionate and caring young psychologist, working under the ægis of elder psychiatrists - first played by Wendell Corey, and later Ralph Bellamy. While the first year often focused on Dr. Theodore Bassett and court cases, the second season was more concerned with private practice. The series shared a two-part crossover episode with Dr. Kildare' (1961) in 1963 and clearly used the same basic theme of wise teacher and young intern. Some of the most notable writers, actors, and actresses in Hollywood participated on this show. Scripts were thoughtful and intense. Given the focus on guest characters, it felt more like an anthology series than episodic drama.
Season 1 Episode Guide
32 Episodes 1962 - 1963
Episode 1
Ann Costigan: A Duel on a Field of White
Wed, Oct 3, 1962 60 mins
Ann Costigan, accused of murdering her husband, is remanded to Dr. Bassett for evaluating the legitimacy of her insanity plea.
Episode 2
There Are Dragons in This Forest
Wed, Oct 10, 1962 60 mins
Mark Tyner has been brought back to America seventeen years after deserting in the closing days of the war in Germany. Bassett and Graham try to determine if he was sane at the time he deserted. To do this, they have Tyner and his German wife re-enact just what happened at the time, though this may bring out unpleasant truths.
Episode 3
Make Me a Place
Wed, Oct 17, 1962 60 mins
A man seeks psychiatric treatment for his ex-wife, who has custody of their daughter and is engaged to another man. He fears she is showing signs of being suicidal.
Episode 4
I Don't Belong in a White-Painted House
Wed, Oct 24, 1962 60 mins
An FBI agent calls on Dr. Bassett to uncover the reason why a former Communist agent, living in sanctuary in the US, seeks to return to the Soviet Union to live.
Episode 5
The Seventh Day of Creation
Wed, Oct 31, 1962 60 mins
A mentally retarded teenager is evaluated by Bassett and Graham to determine if he needs to be placed in an institution. They and a judge conclude he does not, but the boy's neighbors feel differently due to his unusual habits.
Episode 6
Of Roses and Nightingales and Other Lovely Things
Wed, Nov 7, 1962 60 mins
Laura Hunter, a 15-year-old girl, is pregnant. The school refers her to Dr. Bassett to evaluate if she is psychologically capable of carrying the child, and if not, she could have the child aborted. Bassett's opinion is that the parents are excessively permissive. Laura's mother is determined to see that Laura gets an abortion, despite Bassett's opinion that Laura is emotionally mature enough to have the child, and Laura wants to have the baby.
Episode 7
Angie, You Made My Heart Stop
Wed, Nov 14, 1962 60 mins
A woman claims to have killed her husband, then is discovered to have been covering for the real killer. Graham tries to determine if she is legally sane.
Episode 8
Hooray, Hooray the Circus Is Coming to Town
Wed, Nov 21, 1962 60 mins
A millionaire railroad magnate leaves most of his entire fortune to his eldest son, a man who long ago turned away from the business world in favor of an eccentric bohemian lifestyle. Dr. Bassett is called in by the man's younger brother in the hope of proving him mentally incompetent.
Episode 9
Cry a Little for Mary Too
Wed, Nov 28, 1962 60 mins
A young man is found at the scene of a teenage girl's murder, but protests his innocence. Graham is called by the defense to conduct a psychiatric evaluation of the youth. In response, the prosecution calls in another psychiatrist for a second opinion, Bassett. Graham feels that the young man is incapable of violence, but Bassett notices disturbing signs.
Episode 10
Eat Little Fishie Eat
Wed, Dec 5, 1962 60 mins
An up-and-coming playwright asks Graham to help his sister, an actress whom he believes is suffering emotional problems. It doesn't take long for Graham to see that the problem lies in the highly symbiotic relationship the two have developed.
Episode 11
The Blues My Babe Gave to Me
Wed, Dec 12, 1962 60 mins
A young mother's postpartum depression progresses to a total psychotic breakdown, and Bassett and Graham try to discover the roots of it.
Episode 12
Along About Late in the Afternoon
Wed, Dec 26, 1962 60 mins
Two men wind up in the same psychiatric ward: an apparently paranoid murderer and former organizer whose sanity Bassett is to evaluate; and a veteran city editor whose newspaper just went under before he attempted suicide. The murderer blames the editor for crusading to have him convicted and executed.
Episode 13
Which Man Will Die?
Wed, Jan 2, 1963 60 mins
The governor asks Bassett to determine if a convicted murderer scheduled to be executed soon has exhibited any signs of rehabilitation, but Bassett finds it hard to get the man to cooperate.
Episode 14
Where Have You Been, Lord Randall, My Son?
Wed, Jan 9, 1963 60 mins
Bassett is asked by a judge to sit on a panel to determine whether a young man, institutionalized since a vicious assault several years ago, is now competent enough to be released. Complicating matters is the man's overprotective and possessive mother, whose behavior toward her son borders on seductiveness.
Episode 15
My Name Is Judith, I'm Lost, You See
Wed, Jan 16, 1963 60 mins
A little girl shows up at Graham's office, claiming to have been abandoned, and exhibiting obvious signs of delusion and schizophrenia. Bassett has her placed in a child psychiatric ward while he searches for her parents. But will finding them improve her situation or only make it worse?
Episode 16
Where Ignorant Armies Clash
Wed, Jan 23, 1963 60 mins
A woman runs out on her appointment with Bassett, and is later found dazed in the night on a park bench. Despite the fact that she shows signs of severe psychological disturbance, her husband demands that Bassett stop treating her, because of his hatred of psychiatrists. The woman claims that she is responsible for a man's death, and Bassett tries to find out if there is any truth to her claim.
Episode 17
Advice to the Lovelorn and Shopworn
Wed, Jan 23, 1963 60 mins
Dr. Bassett may be in a conflict of interest, as he is unaware that the married man one of his young patients is seeing is a longtime friend of his, who he has been trying to encourage to start counseling as his life's pressures mount.
Episode 18
Why Am I Grown So Cold?
Wed, Feb 6, 1963 60 mins
Bassett is ordered by the court to examine a woman who has been arrested several times for violent behavior. He learns that she has been seeing a therapist who has never been licensed to practice, and believes his treatment may be a major part of her problem.
Episode 19
Like a Diamond in the Sky
Wed, Feb 13, 1963 60 mins
A popular singer/actress is found dead in her home from an overdose, and Dr. Graham is asked to perform a psychological post-mortem on her to help determine if her death was a suicide or accident, or perhaps even murder.
Episode 20
Beauty Playing a Mandolin Underneath a Willow Tree
Wed, Feb 20, 1963 60 mins
The father of an actress Bassett was once in love with invites him and Graham to visit them at his house, ostensibly to see his new hospital but also to test whether the romance can be rekindled with his daughter. Bassett does feel attracted to her once again, but he learns things he wishes he hadn't.
Episode 21
A Tumble from a High White House
Wed, Feb 27, 1963 60 mins
A man cold-bloodedly kills the pusher who was supplying his teenage son with drugs, but insists on going to trial for first degree murder totally defending his action and refusing to accept a lesser plea. His lawyer asks Graham to examine him, but he appears to be totally sane.
Episode 22
Five Moments Out of Time
Wed, Mar 6, 1963 60 mins
Dr. Graham conducts a group therapy experiment with five different people of diverse lifestyles and personal problems. The first step, he believes, is getting them to make contact and freely discuss their troubles with each other, but that's not as easy as it may seem.
Episode 23
The Wings of the Morning
Wed, Mar 20, 1963 60 mins
Two teenagers elope and get married without telling their parents, and the parents of the girl ask Bassett and Graham to examine her. The teens are determined to go ahead, even by leaving town and starting from scratch, but they soon find out it will not be as easy as they think.
Episode 24
Hang by One Hand
Wed, Mar 27, 1963 60 mins
Graham treats a young architect who is plagued by bouts of nerves and recurring dreams of hanging on to woman while holding on to the high ledge of a building with one hand. His wife is also in need of psychiatric help, as she constantly berates and humiliates her husband in public only to apologize afterward and beg forgiveness, which he always gives.
Episode 25
Something Crazy's Going on in the Back Room
Wed, Apr 3, 1963 60 mins
To root out the causes of a deeply troubled teenager's frustrations, Graham has the boy's entire family---mother, father, brother, and sister---join him in family therapy. He soon sees that the entire family is highly dysfunctional and needs help.
Episode 26
Everybody Knows You Left Me
Wed, Apr 10, 1963 60 mins
Rita Hall has been totally dependent on her husband ever since their marriage. When he asks her for a divorce, she has no sense of how to adjust and finds that the easiest way of handling it is through denial, insisting that her husband will return to her. Bassett tries to help her take steps to start her life anew.
Episode 27
Try to Keep Alive Until Next Tuesday
Wed, Apr 17, 1963 60 mins
A college sophomore attempts suicide due to his feeling that he is not living up to his parents' expectations. Bassett works with the student while Graham works with the parents in order to resolve the escalating crisis.
Episode 28
I Feel Like a Rutabaga
Wed, Apr 24, 1963 60 mins
After an accident from his machine injures a coworker, a skilled machinist with a flawless record for 23 years seeks out Graham's help as he experiences sudden headaches and losses of balance. Is it physical or psychological?
Episode 29
A Medicine Man in This Day and Age?
Wed, May 1, 1963 60 mins
An Indian regarded as a healer by his tribe is arrested while trying to heal a young boy according to tribal customs. Released on condition that he enroll in college, he finds himself torn between his traditions and his effort to succeed in the white man's world. But his community still wants him as a healer.
Episode 30
The Man Who Came Home Late
Wed, May 8, 1963 60 mins
An old friend of Graham's hopes that he can somehow help her husband overcome his compulsive gambling and job hopping.
Episode 31
Pressure Breakdown
Wed, May 15, 1963 60 mins
Bassett's nephew, a hospital intern, is showing signs of a mental breakdown and has himself committed to an institution. While there, he meets another patient, a girl who is regressing to a childlike state.
Episode 32
The Middle Child Gets All the Aches
Wed, May 22, 1963 60 mins
Esther and Ken Miller's marriage is coming apart due to Esther's inability to have children, though her doctor can find no physiological reason for it. Esther decides to see Dr. Bassett to find out if he can discover a psychological reason.