The Human Jungle

I don't recall seeing 'The Human Jungle' when it was originally shown on TV but its return on the excellent 'Talking Pictures' channel has provided much pleasure. In every respect, the production is very good, with credible storylines and characters, and crisp dialogue and photography. I have never found Herbert Lom to fail to deliver, whatever his role, and this is certainly no exception as he fits the part of Dr Roger Corder perfectly and acts it with aplomb. And he is invariably well-supported by the other actors, who are a veritable cornucopia of reliable stalwarts from the period - mostly well-recognised if not always easy to name. Fiction it is, but it is convincing as well as entertaining and it is perhaps a pity that Dr Corder is not in reality available for consultation - not that I am (yet) in need of psychiatric help!

Dated but enjoyable. Watched a few episodes and was unmoved, but stuck with it and was eventually drawn in by the interesting stories and generally great performances. It's a somewhat strange 1960s world, both familiar and alien to see. And I'm ready to to watch another episode and go back into that world.

Saw this - accidentally - on the Talking Pictures channel (old films, and TV from yesteryear). I was around in the early 60s, which this show dates from, but I don't remember it.

It seems a solid attempt to show a rather different sort of show, that early TV era had crime shows, and various dramas, but this seems to be an attempt to educate the public about mental health or psychiatric issues, rather ahead of its time?

The issues are put into some sort of drama, and played out, with Lom in the main role and lots of supporting talent.

It's not my subject matter, so I doubt I'll bother any more, but if nothing else it's a good look back at that era.

Oh, reviewer Gibbs says "Also don't talk about diversity - not a black actor in sight." . . .which may be one of the daftest comments on here, some achievement!

Back then, in the early 60s, most of the country had VERY FEW black people, in some country areas, a black face appeared about as often as Halley's Comet.

Herbert Lom plays cool-headed, rational, Harley Street psychologist Dr Corder in 26-episodes over two series, made in 1963 and 1964. Each episode typically sees Dr Corder involved in a situation that requires that he leaves his consulting rooms and plays a more active role in helping to solve a crime and/or see that someone who is mentally ill is not punished unnecessarily and receives adequate treatment.

This series is over fifty years old now and the world has changed somewhat, in both public view of mental health issues as well as treatment approaches. Nonetheless the essential features of the series hold up pretty well and watching episodes from this series isn't just a nostalgia-fest, (although it obviously contains that element if you want it to).

On the whole this series is very well made, with an excellent and atmospheric theme tune and good production values. Dr Corder himself is slightly enigmatic and something of a pillar of strength, not having a wife to share his troubles with, and having a teenage daughter to look after; but then again despite seeming a bit of a flibbertigibbet she gets him out of the soup occasionally too. Whether the psychological diagnoses and treatments portrayed are/were accurate I cannot say, but I do note that the producers did employ a mental health professional as a consultant, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

The idea of the working life of a public health professional (typically going above and beyond the call of duty) being a backdrop for a drama series was hardly a new idea, even then, but I do wonder if the producers of 'Quincy' took a leaf out of this show's book when making theirs; numerous elements seem comparable to me. However, unlike Quincy perhaps, this show's mere 26 episodes mean that it is much less likely that watching one will leave you with the sensation of a dead horse being mercilessly flogged.

This series was well-cast, and has numerous small and cameo roles played by actors who went on to greater things, so nearly every episode is worth watching on this basis alone. At the time of writing, 'The Human Jungle' is being broadcast on 'Talking Pictures' UK TV channel at the antisocial hour of 4a.m. . Having caught a few episodes accidentally, my PVR is now set to record them.

Yes, it is something of a period piece, but it is more than just that, too.

I first saw this excellent series when I was about ten years old back in the 60's, and even though much of the content went over my young head I found it fascinating. At the time, much of British TV was made up of shows like the Avengers, No Hiding Place, The Scales of justice, Gideon's Way etc, and although they were good they tended to be rather 'samey'. The Human Jungle was different, dealing as it did with the human condition, mental illness and relationships. I cannot agree with some of the comments disparaging the show for not falling into the same mould as those productions. Far from boring, I found Herbert Lom perfect in the role of Roger Corder, and the rest of the regular cast, although a little featureless and paper-thin were perfectly good. The film quality is very nice and in common with most other programmes from this period, every word uttered by the actors is as clear as a bell. Great viewing.