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Could The Defenders Be Released on DVD? (1 Viewer)

Flashgear

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Neil Brock, I would value your reviews of season 2 - 4 Defenders episodes if you would care to share them with us...it would also be a good way to keep this thread going...have you viewed them full run at UCLA or elsewhere? I myself have some derived from multi-gen video dupes originating from those long ago, limited, Armed Forces TV airings...almost too painful to watch because of terrible video and audio drop outs...and I was far too young during the original network run to have any comprehensive memories of any particular episode...

J. D. Cannon had several effective and memorable scenes in season 1...in an episode like "The last six months" , an episode I otherwise thought ordinairy, he is the best thing about it...staging a brilliant scene with Robert Reed during a plea deal argument...one of my favorite ADA's of season 1, along with Kermit Murdock...Cannon is also brilliant in "The Attack"...

Ruth Roman could certainly portray an understated and ambiguous sense of menace...that same 1962 - 63 season, she's great in the Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode "What really happened?", directed by Jack Smight, who along with Stuart Rosenberg directed some of my favorite season 1 Defenders episodes...the young Dustin Hoffman was certainly getting more NYC based TV credits that season...he's a hood memorably shot on the street early on by Steven Hill in the very last Naked City episode aired "Barefoot on a bed of coals"...I would guess that Naked City gave him his first credit on 1961's "Sweet prince of Delancy street"...

Neil Brock, as I remember you saying that you might have preferred a select "best of" release of The Defenders rather than only the complete first season release we thankfully have, with the rest in question... and the fact that the show only got stronger as it emerged from it's premiere season... I hope you continue to venture your thoughts on the show...

Let's keep this thread going...and keep hope alive for seasons 2, 3, and 4 of The Defenders...
 
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Richard V

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Season 2, Episode 1: Voices of Death



An interesting side note. The prosecutor is played by JD Cannon, most famous for playing the coward Lloyd Chandler, who witnessed Helen Kimble's murder in The Fugitive and one of the jurors was Louise Latham, who played his wife Betsy in The Judgment Part 2.

I always enjoyed him most in McCloud as "The Chief"
 

Darby67

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Season 2, Episode 1: Voices of Death

An interesting episode, although one which definitely is not even-handed in its negative view towards the death penalty. Ruth Roman plays a woman who shoots her alcoholic and abusive husband to death. The opening scene doesn't show the killing but you just hear the fight leading up to it while seeing the many people who are within earshot of the argument. One of them is Dustin Hoffman in only his second credited on-screen role. The majority of the episode takes place in the courtroom where Roman is charged with first degree murder carrying a death sentence. The D.A. offers murder two if she will plead guilty but she refuses. What is unique in the episode is that by way of voiceovers, you get inside the heads of both Prestons, the D.A., played by J.D. Cannon and the presiding judge. There really isn't a two-sided argument as even the judge and prosecutor are portrayed as being opposed to what penalty the sentence brings. Roman's character is shown to be unlikable which no doubt plays a part in her ultimate conviction.

Starting towards the end of season one, almost every episode through the end of the run, takes on a controversial subject matter. Second season is when the show really takes off and becomes the classic that it was.

An interesting side note. The prosecutor is played by JD Cannon, most famous for playing the coward Lloyd Chandler, who witnessed Helen Kimble's murder in The Fugitive and one of the jurors was Louise Latham, who played his wife Betsy in The Judgment Part 2.

Neil:

Thank you for the review of Voices of Death; I hope one day to actually see that episode :).

Your knowledge of classic television is as impressive as your advocacy for shows like The Defenders, East Side/West Side, Coronet Blue, and many others is admirable.
 

Hollywoodaholic

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Season 2, Episode 1: Voices of Death

Starting towards the end of season one, almost every episode through the end of the run, takes on a controversial subject matter. Second season is when the show really takes off and becomes the classic that it was.

Just makes us pine for Season Two on DVD even more. This isn't on MeTV or Cozi is it?
 
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Darby67

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Sorry I haven't been able to check in here in a while. Life.

Tim Lucas, editor-publisher of Video Watchdog Magazine, has THE DEFENDERS as THE TOP RELEASE OF 2016:

http://videowatchdog.blogspot.com/2016/12/2016-best-of-overlooked.html

Also I heard from Todd VanDerWerff who put it on Vox's year-end gift guide. He said he hopes it helps:

http://www.vox.com/2016/11/21/13527098/gift-ideas-pop-culture-nerds

Who knows? Maybe slow-and-steady will win the 3-more-seasons race.

Glad to have you back, Larry! We missed you on this forum.

Thanks for the links; we are definitely in this campaign for the long haul.
 

Neil Brock

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Season 2, Episode 2: Blood County

An out of town visitor on a hunting trip in upstate New York, is in the woods trying to shoot a deer. He and his partner hear another shot ring out and when they investigate they find a woman has been killed with a shot. The man, played by James Broderick who starred in Herbert Brodkin's previous series, Brenner, is immediately arrested and charged with first degree murder. The local attorney who he hires, played by James Olson in a rare role where he isn't a villain, summons the Prestons for help. What transpires shows a town which is all in cahoots to railroad the outsider and everyone including the judge and the sheriff conspire to convict him. Lawrence Preston tries to get help from outside the district but without evidence he is denied. After he is convicted, George Schreiber (Broderick) is convinced that they won't let him live long enough for an appeal. His jail cell is left open, encouraging him to try to escape. Ken Preston goes down to the jail while Lawrence begins working on the appeal. Four men then go to Lawrence's hotel room, beat him and then take him in a car, tossing him out on the road just outside of the county limits. The episode ends after Preston reaches the state authorities and with the evidence of his beating, a representative comes in and takes custody of Schreiber and moves him out of the county.

Very interesting episode and one of the few in the series that takes place outside of New York City. While Blood County doesn't really exist, it serves as an allegory for any small corrupt town in any state. Also interesting in the episode is that the Prestons aren't fighting against an unjust law or moral principle but rather against a corrupt town and system and unlike many episodes, there is a satisfying conclusion with justice triumphing at the end.
 

Neil Brock

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Season 2 Episode 3: The Indelible Silence

A young neo-Nazi, played by Dennis Hopper, who is always good in these types of roles, vandalizes a synagogue with a swastika. While in the act, he is set upon by a man who witnesses it. They wrestle around and Carter (Hopper) flees, leaving behind his duffel bag. When the caretaker of the synagogue comes out to investigate the commotion, he trips on the bag, falling down the stairs and suffering a fatal heart attack. Carter is quickly found and arrested and charged with the caretakers murder. His father hires the Prestons to defend his son against the murder charge and after some thought, they decide to take the case, as much as they detest Carter and his father's prejudicial views. Kenneth is able to track down the man who grappled with Carter and can testify that he wasn't involved in the death of the caretaker. But it turns out that the man was a concentration camp survivor and refuses to testify. He is subpoenaed to court and still will not help. His wife died in labor when the Jewish doctor he summoned for help was beaten and he was sent to a concentration camp. Two of Carter's neo-Nazi friends break into his apartment and beat him bloody. Finally, at the end of the episode, Preston is able to convince him that as much as he despises Carter and what he stands for, he shouldn't stoop to his level and he testifies that Carter was not there when the man died.

Powerful episode with many layers. Doing the right thing in this story helps a defendant who is despicable but not guilty of the charge against him.
 

Darby67

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Neil, sure would like to view these episodes, especially after reading these synopses. Thanks for the overview. Really whetting my appetite for more of this show on dvd.

I wholeheartedly second Doug's sentiment, Neil. I am really enjoying reading your reviews of the season 2 episodes. Thank you for making the effort and I do hope you continue with them.
 

FanCollector

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Blood County sounds very intriguing, as I always enjoy the various TV series takes on Bad Day at Black Rock. Most every crime drama gets to it sooner or later; Mannix did it just about annually. It sounds as though the Defenders version did it in their own special way, as they did most everything.
 

Neil Brock

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Everyone knew from the get go that The Defenders was going to be a tough sell. Other than the people on forums such as this one, no one really remembers the series. It went off the air in 1965 and it wasn't something that kids would have been likely to watch. So if one would have had to have been 15 for instance, that's 51 years ago, meaning the minimum age for a person to recall watching the show would be 65. Lets give it leeway on the few years it was syndicated afterwards and say 60. For a show to mostly appeal to people 60 and over, as well as classic TV fans, that's a hard sell.
 

jim_falconer

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Thanks for the link to the article. As discouraging as it seems to appear for future releases of The Defenders, we all have to commend Shout for at least trying to release the show. As Neil and the article tell us, there has been basically no exposure of the show on TV in at least 40 years. My introduction came from seeing graining 16mm 3rd party prints. From that point on, I knew the show was something very special. My hope is somehow the remaining episodes eventually get released. But if not, I still have the first season to treasure.
 

Darby67

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This new article on Shout! mentions both 'Lou Grant' and 'The Defenders.' It's not encouraging:
http://www.vox.com/culture/2016/12/28/14066518/tv-on-dvd-lou-grant-defenders

David:

Thank you for posting the article. While it is, indeed, not encouraging about releases of the remaining three seasons, I commend Todd VanDerWerff for writing the article and giving The Defenders at least a little bit more exposure. And I second Jim on thanking Shout for taking the risk and trying to release the show on DVD. If word of mouth spreads and season one sales gradually increase to the point where Shout releases the remaining seasons, of course I'll be overjoyed. However, if the economics are such that we only get the one season from Shout, of course I'll be disappointed but still very thankful to have at least season one in my collection. Sure the sobering reality of high transfer and music clearing costs and sluggish sales is bleak at this point, but never say never.
 

Ian K McLachlan

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It sounds a bit disappointing. I am 63 and remember the series being screened in the UK and it being an important series. My parents watched it. Unfortunately The Defenders haven't been released here in the UK yet. I wonder if the episodes were released in other countries as well as America it could help. I still think that the price that the set went for was very good. I know I would have paid the asking price for only the first half of the series. It amazes me that a series that gets such good reviews is stalled whereas some less noteworthy shows gets all its episodes released.
 

Flashgear

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Thanks for posting that article link, Sean! It's well written and thoughtful, and welcome as another Defenders promo...I see he referenced Lloyd Bochner as Hamlet in that live CBC broadcast of 1955...he was one of a number of Canadian actors trained at the Stratford, Ontario, Shakespeare Festival, along with William Shatner, Leslie Nielsen, James Doohan, Christopher Plummer, Don Harron, and John Vernon...that's before my time, but I remember growing up with the CBC...some great programming, but some awful and pretenscious too...most of my CBC memories concern Wayne and Schuster comedy shows (they were regulars on Ed Sullivan, as they were among his favorites...Bochner was in Wayne and Schuster's Julius Caesar parody "Rinse the Blood off my Toga"),... Littlest Hobo (1963), Forest Rangers and, of course, Hockey Night in Canada...Lloyd Bochner went on to a lengthy career in American TV and Movies...I think he might have done at least one Defenders episode, but can't cite it by title...a lot of fans remember him from the great Boris Karloff's Thriller episode "Prisoner in the Mirror"...Twilight Zone's "To Serve Man" too...and he was a regular on Hong Kong (1960-61) with Rod Taylor...Lloyd Bochner is in some of the best episodes of Twelve O' Clock High, Combat and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea ("The Fear Makers")...he turns up in episodes of Eleventh Hour and Sam Benedict just released by Warner Archive...he's in Naked Gun parodying his standard conceited or just evil stuffed shirt, ha, ha...and memorably killed off by a brutal Lee Marvin in Point Blank...while based in NYC, he also did good work on McCloud...once again, pretty sure he was in a Defenders episode of the later seasons...

Staying kinda on topic, ha, ha...keep the thread alive till we hear about seasons 2, 3 and 4 of The Defenders !
 
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