The Defenders was very advanced for its time, and took on social issues of the era. The only show of that era with a similar social conscience was the short-lived East Side West Side, in which George C. Scott played a New York social worker. It was still the 60s though...and the various District Attorneys were always somewhat stereotypical, leering,and pompous - notably played by JD Cannon, Simon Oakland, and Lonnie Chapman - all character actors who played villains or unsympathetic characters. Hamilton Burger was more sympathetic, because he meant well after all, even if he was misguided.
I don't remember The Defenders ever playing in off-network reruns, even in the late 60s following its original run. I wonder if it would seem dated by current standards.
An interesting bit of trivia - according to Wikipedia, the series (created by critically acclaimed TV script writer Reginald Rose) was based on the same characters from a script Rose wrote for the anthology series Studio One. In that episode, Ralph Bellamy played the father, and William Shatner played the son.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Defenders_(TV_series)
