Rescue 8

I guess this show was a major factor in my becoming a vol. firefighter & EMT-CC.

It was the only show that I would get upset about if I missed it.

I even remember part of the introduction: "Rescue 8, one of the 27 such teams attached to the LA County Fire Department".

Many people familiar with Emergency! don't believe this actually was it's predecessor. I still contend Rescue 8 was much more realistic than any Rescue 8 or Squad 51 shows.

I sure do miss it. :(

I've been searching the internet, albeit in vain, for actual videos from the show. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I'd sure appreciate it.

I can't really remember the details of the show, since I was just a little girl (sirens wailing; people being lowered down mountain cliffs on stretchers), but I do remember watching it faithfully. I believe that shows like Rescue 8 and Emergency! were instrumental in building public interest for the emergency rescue systems we now take for granted, but which were new at the time these programs aired.

My fondest memory of the show is the wonderful Jim Davis. I well recall his dry, drawling, understated, but pleasant speaking voice, and his authoritative and easy way of moving around as he rescued those in trouble. He was the kind of actor who made you feel safe as you watched him. He was, and remains, my idea of a man.

I loved watching "Rescue 8" on TV as a child in the early 1960s on Australian Television in Sydney. I use to enjoy watching it on week day afternoons after school. I recall seeing actors such as Robert Redford in guest starring roles. Jim Davis and Lang Jeffreys were my heros.

Does anybody know if VHS tapes or DVDs of the episodes of Rescue 8 are available? I've looked and looked, but no luck so far! There is one site that claims to have it, but it appears to be a scam. I tried contacting them via email several times, but received no answer. And there's no phone number. I'd like to get all 73 episodes. I can remember watching the show as a child, and I looked forward to it every week. It probably influenced me to be a volunteer fireman in my community most of my adult life. Any help on locating copies of the show would be appreciated.

Tom

31. 4/21/1959: Tower of Hate.. The rescue team must save a wounded man who is clinging to a girder 400 feet above water. Wes: Jim Davis. Bill: Ross Elliott. Heinrich: Jack Kruschen.

32. 4/28/1959: Danger in Paradise.. A night watchman at a movie studio chases a pair of intruders onto a shaky catwalk high above the stage. Wes: Jim Davis. Marge: Suzanne Lloyd. Pete: William Swan.

33. 5/5/1959: Hour of Rage.. A man swears revenge when Wes and Skip fail to revive his dead wife. Johnny: Harry Landers. Wes: Jim Davis. Skip: Lang Jeffries.

34. 5/12/1959: If the Bough Breaks..A huge branch crushes a man against the trunk of a tree he's sawing. Dora: Hope Summers. Wes: Jim Davis. Dot: Sally Fraser. Charles: Emerson Treacy. Skip: Lang Jeffries.

35. 5/19/1959: High Pressure.. Two men trapped in a chasm are menaced by oncoming flood waters. Wes: Jim Davis. John: Paul Langton. Foley: Morris Ankrum.

36. 5/26/1959: One More Step.. An actress falls from a catwalk into a network of hoist ropes. Wes: Jim Davis. Melinda: Kaye Elhardt. Skip: Lang Jeffries.

37. 6/2/1959: Left Hook to Hades.. A boxer refuses to throw a fight and is attacked by gangsters. Lou: Walter Duke. Wes: Jim Davis. Skip: Lang Jeffries. Thompson: Walter Burke. Terry: Lester Maxwell.

38. 6/9/1959: The Trap.. A man is trapped in a fire with enough nitroglycerin to level the entire area. Wes: Jim Davis. Skip: Lang Jeffries. Fred: Terry Becker.

39. 6/16/1959: Death for Hire.. A fisherman gets pinned under the boat he was launching. Wes: Jim Davis. Skip: Lang Jeffries. Rocha: Joe Vitale.

40. 9/23/1959: Suitcase Fireman.. Chased by a gunman, a man falls onto a steel girder next to a roaring furnace. Wes: Jim Davis. Skip: Lang Jeffries. Jackson: Brett King. Gander: Richard Benedict.

41. 9/30/1959: The Rock Prison.. While exploring a cave, a boy falls into a shaft too narrow for rescuers to enter. Rusty: William Bakewell. Will: Robert Crosson. Wes: Jim Davis. Skip: Lang Jeffries

42.10/7/1959: Fool's Gold.. Robbers drop an unconscious watchman into a maze of pipes leading to a grain elevator. Wes: Jim Davis. Manuel: Peter Brocco. Skip: Lang Jeffries. Freddy: Marc Cavell.

43.10/14/1959: Paid in Full..Barney Carter pushes blackmailers off a cliff onto a narrow ledge. Barney: Tom Brown. Wes: Jim Davis. Guzik: Joseph Ruskin.

44.10/21/1959: Dangerous Salvage..A seaman battles to save his son's life after a shipboard explosion. Wes: Jim Davis. Skip: Lang Jeffries. Jake: Rusty Lane.

45.10/28/1959: 3 Mile Bomb.. Wes and Skip work to free a driver from his overturned truck which is leaking deadly gas. Wes: Jim Davis. Skip: Lang Jeffries. Joe: Walter Sande.

46.11/4/1959: Not for Glory.. Wes is injured in a fall when a rope holding him slips from Skip's hands. Wes: Jim Davis. Skip: Lang Jeffries. Captain: Bruce Bennett.

47.11/11/1959: Forced Landing.. A tyrannical father is bitten by a rattler and the only one who can help is his son. Wes: Jim Davis. Skip: Lang Jeffries. Jerry: Ralph Dumke. Steve: Ralph Votrian

48.11/18/1959: Smashout.. A convict escapes from prison with Wes and Skip as hostages. Wes: Jim Davis. Landers: Dean Stanton. Skip: Lang Jeffries.

49.11/25/1959: Runaway.. A runaway boy retreats to the woods where he meets an escaped lion. Grandpa: Ralph Moody. Wes: Jim Davis. Billy: Lee Aaker.

50.12/2/1959: The Third Strike.. Hit by a baseball, a player suffers amnesia and frightening personality changes. Wes: Jim Davis. Skip: Lang Jeffries.

51.12/9/1959: Pitfall.. A teenager gets his leg caught in a gas tank's giant rollers. Wes: Jim Davis. Skip: Lang Jeffries. Mary: Linda Rand. Wayne: Joel Crothers. Patty: Nancy Rennick.

52.12/16/1959: Heat Wave.. Two men are trapped above a vat of acid that's about to explode. Wes: Jim Davis. Skip: Lang Jeffries. Carbo: Barry Cahill.

53.12/23/1959: The Birdman.. Suffering from a broken jaw, an air-crash victim can't tell Wes about a second victim left dangling on a cliff. Wes: Jim Davis. Professor: Robert Cornthwaite.

54.12/30/1959: The Collision.. After a collision, a young woman is left crushed behind the steering wheel. Wes: Jim Davis. Ron: Jack Hilton. Ann: Nancy Marshall.

55. 1/6/1960: Leap for Life.. Wes and Skip help Indian fire fighters battle a forest blaze. Charlie: Jay Silverheels. Wes: Jim Davis. Skip: Lang Jeffries.

56. 1/13/1960: The Squatters.. Rescuers search for a madman setting traps in the woods for human beings. Wes: Jim Davis. Skip: Lang Jefferies.

57. 1/20/1960: Backfire.. A publicity man's risky scheme leaves him trapped in a car teetering above a deep precipice. Wes: Jim Davis. Skip: Lang Jeffries. Larry: Dan Tobin. Marty: Roy Engel.

58. 1/27/1960: High Explosive.. Wes rescues a spoiled rich boy (Richard Chamberlain) whose escape from police ended in a crack-up. Wes: Jim Davis. Randolph: John Hubbard. Skip: Lang Jeffries.

59. 2/3/1960: Add a Pinch of Death.. Although a second blast is expected,Wes goes in after two men trapped in a lab explosion. Wes: Jim Davis. Skip: Lang Jeffries. Max: Robert Boon.

60. 2/10/1960: Ten Minutes to Doomsday.. A construction site is rocked by a series of mysterious explosions. Wes: Jim Davis. Skip: Lang Jeffries. Gomez: Ken Mayer.