The Defenders on DVD

[BD Sullivan]

Finally--the first season at least:

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Defenders-Season-1/22158

 

[landtuna]

Thanks for the heads-up. Pre-ordered mine through Amazon. This show was perhaps the finest drama of its day and it touched on many previously taboo subjects.

 

[LKellerIII]

Thanks for the heads-up. Pre-ordered mine through Amazon. This show was perhaps the finest drama of its day and it touched on many previously taboo subjects.

As great as it was in its time, The Defenders is likely to come off today as melodramatic and dated. I was a pre-teen at the time, and I remember people being surprised that the father/son team would actually lose jury decisions in court sometimes. We were all indoctrinated by Perry Mason , who not only never lost a case, but never had to worry about a jury because the guilty party would always crack up and confess. But that was more of a mystery story gimmick , of course - the court equivalent to the later Murder She Wrote, rather than a real court-room drama.

 

[landtuna]

As great as it was in its time, The Defenders is likely to come off today as melodramatic and dated. I was a pre-teen at the time, and I remember people being surprised that the father/son team would actually lose jury decisions in court sometimes. We were all indoctrinated by Perry Mason , who not only never lost a case, but never had to worry about a jury because the guilty party would always crack up and confess. But that was more of a mystery story gimmick , of course - the court equivalent to the later Murder She Wrote, rather than a real court-room drama.

I too watched Perry Mason but it came across as entertainment. The Defenders was much more realistic and mirrored an actual trial. I am assuming it will seem dated but the original screening left such a deep impression on me I simply had to see it again. Season 1 is all that is available and that should suffice to see if it really lives up to its legacy.

Now if only they would put "My World And Welcome To It" on DVD I would die a happy camper.

 

[BD Sullivan]

As great as it was in its time, The Defenders is likely to come off today as melodramatic and dated. I was a pre-teen at the time, and I remember people being surprised that the father/son team would actually lose jury decisions in court sometimes. We were all indoctrinated by Perry Mason , who not only never lost a case, but never had to worry about a jury because the guilty party would always crack up and confess. But that was more of a mystery story gimmick , of course - the court equivalent to the later Murder She Wrote, rather than a real court-room drama.

One of the later episodes during the first season was the controversial abortion episode, "The Benefactor." Some stations refused to show the episode while others put it on after the late news since it involved the Prestons defending an abortion doctor. Ironically, tomorrow is the 54th anniversary of the showing of that episode.

 

[LKellerIII]

One of the later episodes during the first season was the controversial abortion episode, "The Benefactor." Some stations refused to show the episode while others put it on after the late news since it involved the Prestons defending an abortion doctor. Ironically, tomorrow is the 54th anniversary of the showing of that episode.

Wow. That I would like to see. A full decade or more before Roe v Wade.

 

[BD Sullivan]

Wow. That I would like to see. A full decade or more before Roe v Wade.

That episode was actually part of a Mad Men plot where Don Draper's agency was trying to find advertisers, since a number of major companies had bailed out.

This episode was briefly posted on You Tube last year and I got a chance to see it. From a 2016 perspective, there's nothing terribly shocking about it, but given 1962 sensibilities, that's hardly surprising.

 

[Oscar Madison]

The pilot for "The Defenders" aired as a live drama on "Studio One" (shown on "Decades") and starred Ralph Bellamy as the senior Preston and William Shatner as the son. Clips from that episode were used as "flashbacks" in an episode of "Boston Legal" a few years ago.