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

[Darby67]

Interesting tidbit: The Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (http://wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has a collection of all 132 episodes of The Defenders on 16mm film on 260 reels; here is the library catalog listing: http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cg...ves;view=text;rgn=main;didno=uw-whs-defenders

 

[Carabimero]

Interesting tidbit: The Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (http://wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has a collection of all 132 episodes of The Defenders on 16mm film on 260 reels; here is the library catalog listing: http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cg...ves;view=text;rgn=main;didno=uw-whs-defenders

I have now watched the first three episodes of THE DEFENDERS. I have enjoyed them all, with the second episode probably my favorite so far (Shatner was terrific). The guest stars are great, and I love that the issues are complex. I have admired each episode for different reasons. I was pleased in the third episode when Reed's character called out his father. Really glad they are developing Reed's character. Looking forward to watching the rest of season one as time allows. Hope season two is forthcoming. Any news?

Darby, I had been on the fence about buying this set for months. It was your recommendation that finally swayed me. I respect your sensibilities and I'm not in the least disappointed with my purchase. Many thanks.

 

[Darby67]

I have now watched the first three episodes of THE DEFENDERS. I have enjoyed them all, with the second episode probably my favorite so far (Shatner was terrific). The guest stars are great, and I love that the issues are complex. I have admired each episode for different reasons. I was pleased in the third episode when Reed's character called out his father. Really glad they are developing Reed's character. Looking forward to watching the rest of season one as time allows. Hope season two is forthcoming. Any news?

Darby, I had been on the fence about buying this set for months. It was your recommendation that finally swayed me. I respect your sensibilities and I'm not in the least disappointed with my purchase. Many thanks.

Alan:

I am thrilled that you have enjoyed the first 3 episodes; there are definitely more great ones in store. Thank you for your kind words; coming from a professional like yourself, they are deeply appreciated.

No news yet on season 2 and beyond; hopefully the sales for season one are building steadily and Shout will finally hit its sales target in order to continue with releases.

 

[Pathfiner]

Good to be back on here !

I'm still working my way through season one and really enjoying it so far !

I do recall the show got even more gripping later when the Prestons began LOSING some cases !!

I have asked Shout Factory and CBS on their 'contact us' pages re seasons 2 to 4 and will keep plugging away from 'this side of the pond' over in the UK - and also with Shout and NBC Universal re 'The Name of The Game' too !

 

[Darby67]

Good to be back on here !

I'm still working my way through season one and really enjoying it so far !

I do recall the show got even more gripping later when the Prestons began LOSING some cases !!

I have asked Shout Factory and CBS on their 'contact us' pages re seasons 2 to 4 and will keep plugging away from 'this side of the pond' over in the UK - and also with Shout and NBC Universal re 'The Name of The Game' too !

Jeff:

Glad to have you back and thank your for your continued advocacy for getting the rest of The Defenders released; your efforts are greatly appreciated.

 

[Carabimero]

It was great seeing Frank Sutton in "The Riot." Yet another fine episode. This show has writing on par with THE FUGITIVE and some of the better DR. KILDARE episodes. And the guest stars are terrific.

Starting disc two now and having a fine time.

 

[Doug Wallen]

It was great seeing Frank Sutton in "The Riot." Yet another fine episode. This show has writing on par with THE FUGITIVE and some of the better DR. KILDARE episodes. And the guest stars are terrific.

Starting disc two now and having a fine time.

Great to see that you are enjoying these. I was impressed when I viewed them last summer. I was only 5 or 6 when the show aired, so I was always curious about CBS's "other" law show. So glad to have at least this season. Hoping we can get the rest.

 

[Carabimero]

Is it best to watch them in order? I am hungry to watch more and can do so twice a day instead of once, but only if I separate my set, which means watching them slightly out of order. Any reason I might regret doing that?

 

[Doug Wallen]

Is it best to watch them in order? I am hungry to watch more and can do so twice a day instead of once, but only if I separate my set, which means watching them slightly out of order. Any reason I might regret doing that?

Not really. These were fairly episodic in nature. My only problem was trying to parcel them out as I wanted to binge watch them.

 

[Carabimero]

Not really. These were fairly episodic in nature. My only problem was trying to parcel them out as I wanted to binge watch them.

Thanks.

I have more years behind me than ahead of me, and so many DVDs I have yet to watch, that as of 2017 I am beyond parceling. That doesn't mean I won't cherish the exceptional ones. I won't rush any of them, but when I have a free hour, I do believe I am going to take THE DEFENDERS with me so I can make good use of that hour, even if it means watching out of sequence.

What a terrific show. So glad I didn't miss it.

P.S. Doug, did you ever watch that VOYAGER episode you were hoarding?

 

[Doug Wallen]

P.S. Doug, did you ever watch that VOYAGER episode you were hoarding?

You may have the wrong Doug. I don't remember hoarding an episode of VOYAGER.

 

[Carabimero]

You may have the wrong Doug. I don't remember hoarding an episode of VOYAGER.

Sorry about that, my apologies. I had you confused with someone who used to go by Appache on another board.

Glad we got that cleared up!

 

[Doug Wallen]

I am a huge Trek fan, loved the original when it first aired. Withdrawal until the animated series, then films, then TNG and finally Deep Space Nine (personal favorite), Voyager (perked up when 7of9 boarded) and caught Enterprise when I could.

 

[Carabimero]

The Frank Gorshin episode was fantastic! And a bonus appearance by Roger C. Carmel....

Thumbs up!

 

[Doug Wallen]

The Frank Gorshin episode was fantastic! And a bonus appearance by Roger C. Carmel....

Thumbs up!

One of my favorites.

 

[Carabimero]

I just watched "The Accident," the final episode on disc two.

As a writer, I have always believed the best stories are those that deal with complex systems. A pocket watch is not, for the purposes of my example, a complex system because if there is something wrong with the watch, it is a relatively simple matter to diagnose and fix it. It's simple because no matter how sophisticated its inner workings might be, the watch is a conjunctive, closed system. No outside variables affect its proper operation.

But a complex system, like the stock market, for example, has many external variables that create its given state at any one time. No one can accurately predict its future state because it is not a closed system, but a complex one, with many disjunctive outside forces affecting it.

I felt that way about "The Accident." It was truly an advanced piece of writing. I loved it. It represented life as a complex system with all its dynamism.

It was beautiful. And superior.

Don't get me wrong. I love PERRY MASON. I own all the sets and think it's one of the greatest TV shows ever made. But I love it precisely because Mason and Della and Paul are the stars. I primarily watch it for them. The comfortable courtroom drama is often sophisticated, and it hints at complex systems, but the writing usually remains a closed system with its morality in the subtext, if there at all. It's not a knock on PERRY MASON. I wouldn't change it.

Yet the conceit of THE DEFENDERS, from what I have seen, aspires to represent a complex system. The stars of the show, IMHO, take a backseat to the moral complexity dramatized in the forefront of the series when it's at its best.

Granted I've only seen eight episodes. But this show is a treasure.

 

[Flashgear]

Alan, your perspective as a professional writer is welcome and appreciated, as to your critical insight of the complex script quality of The Defenders...in the construct of drama, ages old as it is, the chaos theory in practice by a humanity subject to it's complex impulse and desire...and driven by fear, avarice and sometimes heroic and self sacrificing virtue...the best of the writing on a show like The Defenders really belongs among the greatest teleplays in the medium's history...incisive, witty and riveting dialogue are hallmarks here, without grand eloquent excess...believable and powerful...although we only have season 1 thus far on home video, there are several episodes I would number among the greatest TV drama I have ever seen...

I love the specific era that this represents, for me the 1955 - 1965 television era is my most treasured...and it's fascinating to witness the social and political evolution underway in those times...for instance, the socially prevailing attitudes to driving under the influence and the modest penalties under the law at the time...even in the scenario as presented in "The Accident", with a fatality of a child...unless intent to injure or kill could be proven in court, the more severe penalties under the Vehicular Homicide Statutes of the time could not be brought to bear, regardless of how criminally negligent the conduct of the driver had proved to be...the attitudes of the day enabled this behavior, present day sanctions and stigma were yet to evolve...I remember these attitudes personally, I was nearly 6 years old when this episode first aired...and I had a first cousin killed, my Aunt, Uncle and other cousins critically injured by a drunk driver... "The Accident" also chooses to examine parental rights, religious freedom and court ordered public trusteeship and custody...a heck of a lot of complexity all thrown into one hour of television...I liked the procedural depiction of Ken and Lawrence Preston's attempt to gain a judge's consent in the middle of a weekend night...and the conflicted advocacy of the Prestons in regard to defending the immature and (apparently) cavalier young and indulged driver...

In a previous post in this thread, Stephen Bowie said he believed that "The Accident" was the second episode filmed, right after "Death Across the Counter"...both episodes (and "The Riot" and "The Crusader") feature the same heavy NYC snowfall that offered up almost a foot of snow in time for President Kennedy's Inauguration of January 20, 1961...anyone who remembers that day or has seen film or photos recalls the heavy snowfall on the capital building and White House from that blizzard...it appears that after filming those 4 early episodes, the Plautus production team had a brief but unusual hiatus till May, when most shows began production for fall premieres... possibly allowing for script rewrites (Reginald Rose heavily involved in rewriting commissioned scripts, Stephen Bowie has posted here and on his blog about the many writer conflicts on The Defenders)... that hiatus also allowing script development from a writer's roster beyond just the reliably excellent Ernest Kinoy...among those new writers, Larry Cohen in season 2...William Woolfolk, Robert Thom and David Karp all had Emmy and Guild noms and wins for writing, along with Reginald Rose and Ernest Kinoy...

That unusual production schedule being a priviledge not often allowed by the networks to independent producers...after the pilot sold, the longer lead time was probably an indication of CBS's growing confidence that they had another prestige show? I think so...in further trivia, I'm not completely sure, but I believe the Hospital as seen in "The Accident" is Lennox Hill...

 

[Carabimero]

I know little about the production of the show and appreciate your post. I noticed the snow, not just in establishing shots (which could be used in any episode) but also with principals walking around in it at locations specific for those shows.

I looked into it and there is no movement on season two. That doesn't mean it isn't coming someday, but I am not holding my breath. As Darby said, I'm just going to savor the episodes we have and be pleasantly surprised if there is an announcement.

 

[Flashgear]

I am so ready for season 2, as you all are...but patient and grateful to Shout for what we have...the knowledgeable scholars on this show only insist that it went from strength to strength in the much honored following seasons...season 2 features the 2 part "Madman" episode with William Shatner...honored with multiple Emmy's in 1963...

In those days, CBS was known as the "Tiffany" network...loaded with prestige and marquee shows...that same early winter of 1961, they had another potential hit in development and filming it's pilot at the same time...the Dick Van Dyke Show also filmed it's pilot on January 20, 1961...

With the success of the first season of The Defenders, CBS also green lighted another Brodkin/Rose Plautus NYC based series...The Nurses, another much honored drama that mined much the same themes of early '60s America in the crucible of a Hospital...and by all accounts, The Nurses was pretty much the equal of The Defenders...I have a grand total of one episode in my collection, a lesser video dupe derived from 16mm..."Quality of Mercy" from 1963 with Guest Star Shatner (Shat was in everything!)...my later season Defenders are multi gen video dupes from the long ago and very limited Armed Forces Network airings...these great shows received little or no syndication after original network runs, no wonder they're nearly forgotten today...

It's a damn dirty shame that CBS doesn't apply some of it's old "Tiffany" polish to their TV archive and commit to remastering and transferring their entire holdings...making Shout's economic calculus work for the rest of The Defenders run on dvd... and for other potential licensees too... and CBS itself could make them available for cable TV buys and streaming...

 

[Neil Brock]

Interesting tidbit: The Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (http://wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has a collection of all 132 episodes of The Defenders on 16mm film on 260 reels; here is the library catalog listing: http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cg...ves;view=text;rgn=main;didno=uw-whs-defenders

Yes, I did know!