Rescue 8

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

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 was a rabid fan of Rescue 8 when I was, oh, 4 or so. I can only imagine, today, what the show must actually have been like. But to a small kid, it was just thrilling, and the two stars were my heroes. These guys worked in a fire department, but they weren't firemen; they were rescue experts, specialists who were constantly plucking hapless souls off 1,000-foot cliffs after whipping up impossibly-complex safety and climbing harnesses out of spit and rope.

Insofar as I can tell, this was almost the very first of what eventually became a staple feature of American TV: the rescue drama centered around police, fire, or medical personnel. Now, in 2004, we see such shows as ER (a show that jumped the shark a long time ago, yet still plugs on) and Third Watch containing elements first seen in 30-minute bites on Rescue 8 back in 1958.

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.

When I was a kid in the 1950's Lang Jeffries' parents lived in my neighborhood in Port Huron, Michigan. His real name was Bill Lappin before his Hollywood days. I watched Rescue 8 all the time. It was a great realistic emergency program.

Then I remember he made a lot of Itallian westerns (Spagetti Westerns).It was a big deal in my neighborhood when we heard he married Rhonda Fleming.

I have never been able to find any biographical information on his youth days. If anyone knows any more before his Hollywood days, please post.