Neil Brock
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2009
- Messages
- 4,345
Very good article. There are too many great episodes of this show to mention. Out of 132 shows, there are over 100 great ones. As I've said before, the first 20 or so, CBS was on their case to make the show more like Perry Mason but then once the ratings were good, they left the show alone and that's when it really took off. And unlike the heavy-handed, one-sided diatribes that mark all of the David Kelley shows, The Defenders really did try to look at both sides of the issues.While The Defenders was by far the greatest and most successful of the socially relevant dramas of the early sixties, it was not the only good one. East Side West Side, The Nurses, For The People, Mr. Novak and others were fine shows as well, none of which are very viewable these days. Although at least ESWS and Novak did have some cable exposure.Here is an excellent article about the show, and the impact it had upon the viewing public in the early 1960s. Unfortunately, the article contains no updates about the show's release onto DVD:http://www.avclub.com/article/ithe-defendersi-was-ithei-great-drama-of-the-60s-b-83042