The Defenders (1961 TV series)

This article is about the 1961 TV series. For the 2010 TV series, see The Defenders (2010 TV series).

The Defenders
Created by	Reginald Rose
Starring	E. G. Marshall Robert Reed Joan Hackett Polly Rowles
Theme music composer	Leonard Rosenman
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	132
Production
Executive producer	Herbert Brodkin
Producers	Bob Markell George Justin
Production location	New York City
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	45–48 minutes
Production company	Plautus Productions
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 16, 1961 (1961-09-16) – May 13, 1965 (1965-05-13)

The Defenders is an American courtroom drama series that ran on CBS from 1961–1965. It starred E. G. Marshall and Robert Reed as father-and-son defense attorneys who specialized in legally complex cases, with defendants such as neo-Nazis, conscientious objectors, civil rights demonstrators, a schoolteacher fired for being an atheist, an author accused of pornography, and a physician charged in a mercy killing. It was created by television writer Reginald Rose.

The Museum of Broadcast Communications called it "perhaps the most socially-conscious series the medium has ever seen", a show "singularly resonant with New Frontier liberalism."

Cast

• E. G. Marshall as Lawrence Preston
• Robert Reed as Kenneth Preston
• Polly Rowles as Helen Donaldson (1961-1962)
• Joan Hackett as Joan Miller (1961-1962)

Subject matter

According to creator Reginald Rose, "the law is the subject of our programs: not crime, not mystery, not the courtroom for its own sake. We were never interested in producing a 'who-done-it' which simply happened to be resolved each week in a flashy courtroom battle of wits." And unlike Perry Mason, which also ran on CBS, victory was "far from certain on The Defenders—as were morality and justice."

Topics featured in the series included capital punishment, "no-knock" searches, custody rights of adoptive parents, the insanity defense, the "poisoned fruit doctrine", immigration quotas, the Hollywood blacklist, jury nullification, and Cold War visa restrictions.

A 1962 episode entitled "The Benefactor"—in which the father-son legal team defended an abortionist—was the most controversial; all of the series' three regular advertisers refused to sponsor the episode, necessitating a last-minute replacement.

Emmy Awards

The Defenders won 13 Emmy Awards (including three in a row for Outstanding Drama Series) and received an additional seven nominations.

Year	Result	Category	Who	Episode
1962	Awarded	Outstanding Continued Performance by a Lead Actor in a Series	E. G. Marshall
		Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama	Franklin J. Schaffner
		Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Drama
		Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama	Reginald Rose
1963	Awarded	Outstanding Continued Performance by a Lead Actor in a Series	E. G. Marshall
		Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama	Stuart Rosenberg	"The Madman"
		Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Drama
		Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama	Robert Thom Reginald Rose	"The Madman"
	Nominated	Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role	Don Gordon (for playing "Joey Tassili")	"The Madman"
		Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role	Sylvia Sidney (for playing "Adela")	"The Madman"
		Program of the Year		"The Madman"
1964	Awarded	Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Drama
		Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role	Jack Klugman (for playing "Joe Larch")	"Blacklist"
		Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama - Original	Ernest Kinoy	"Blacklist"
	Nominated	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama	Paul Bogart	"Moment of Truth"
		Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama	Stuart Rosenberg	"Blacklist"
		The Program of the Year		"Blacklist"
1965	Awarded	Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment - Directors	Paul Bogart	"The 700 Year Old Gang"
		Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment - Writers	David Karp	"The 700 Year Old Gang"
	Nominated	Outstanding Program Achievements in Entertainment	Bob Markell

Related works

The series was a slight reworking of Rose's 1957 two-part drama, The Defender, from the anthology series Studio One. In the original program, Ralph Bellamy played the father and William Shatner played his son. Shatner guest-starred as a prosecutor in the later series, and the original drama later was incorporated into an episode of his series, Boston Legal. Original music for the series was scored by Frank Lewin and Leonard Rosenman.

A re-envisioned version of the series debuted on the Showtime network in 1997. Still called The Defenders, it focused on Beau Bridges and Martha Plimpton as the grandchildren of E.G. Marshall's character. They worked as lawyers and carried on the family legacy. However, Marshall died after completion of the second episode ("Choice Of Evils"). Production was halted and the remaining episode, "Taking the First", aired as a movie special in 1998.

A second season episode of Mad Men also featured an episode named "The Benefactor" that featured a brief clip from The Defenders episode of the same name. In the Mad Men episode, the Sterling Cooper advertising agency is trying to secure sponsors for The Defenders episode, which contains a plot involving abortion [originally telecast on March 28, 1962], after the regular sponsors pulled out because they claimed the episode (and subject matter) was "too controversial".

External links

• The Defenders at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com
• Fox España TV página oficial de The Defenders (en español)