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The Best Episodes of The Defenders Season 1

Every episode of The Defenders Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Defenders Season 1!

Binge this in 1d 0h•Peaking at 8.7/10

The Defenders is an American courtroom drama series . 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

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    The Defenders Season 1 Episode 31 - Along Came a Spider
    8.7/10(15 votes)

    S1:E31

    No description available

    Director:Elliot Silverstein
    Writer:Peter Stone

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  2. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 29 - Reunion with Death
    8.6/10(27 votes)

    S1:E29

    No description available

    Director:Franklin J. Schaffner
    Writer:David Shaw

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  3. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 32 - The Broken Barrelhead
    8.6/10(17 votes)

    S1:E32

    No description available

    Director:David Greene
    Writer:David Karp

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  4. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 3 - Death Across the Counter
    8.5/10(37 votes)

    S1:E3

    No description available

    Director:Buzz Kulik
    Writer:Reginald Rose

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  5. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 12 - Perjury
    8.5/10(25 votes)

    S1:E12

    No description available

    Director:Boris Sagal
    Writer:Adrian Spies

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  6. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 17 - The Bedside Murder
    8.5/10(25 votes)

    S1:E17

    No description available

    Director:Fielder Cook
    Writer:Max Ehrlich

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  7. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 2 - Killer Instinct
    8.4/10(53 votes)

    S1:E2

    When mild-mannered Jim McLeery kills an abusive stranger, it seems a clear-cut case of self-defense. But the prosecution reveals that, in his army days, McCleery was trained to kill.

    Director:Franklin J. Schaffner
    Writer:John Vlahos

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  8. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 13 - The Attack
    8.4/10(31 votes)

    S1:E13

    No description available

    Director:Franklin J. Schaffner
    Writer:John W. Bloch

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  9. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 18 - The Search
    8.4/10(24 votes)

    S1:E18

    No description available

    Director:John Brahm
    Writer:Reginald Rose

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  10. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 23 - The Crusader
    8.4/10(14 votes)

    S1:E23

    No description available

    Director:Daniel Petrie
    Writer:Jerome Ross

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  11. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 7 - The Hundred Lives of Harry Simms
    8.2/10(31 votes)

    S1:E7

    Frank Gorshin stars as an impressionist accused of murder who claims he's innocent because ""Jimmy Cagney did it""—and breaks into his multiple personality of Cagney on the witness stand as the Prestons are questioning him.

    Director:John Brahm
    Writer:Alvin Boretz

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  12. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 20 - The Point Shaver
    8.2/10(16 votes)

    S1:E20

    Stacy Phillips, star college basketball player, is accused of taking money from gambler Vince Fargo to fix a game. The Presons, alumni of the college, are hired to defend Phillips before the State's Senate Rackets Committee.

    Director:Buzz Kulik
    Writer:Mann Rubin

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  13. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 21 - The Locked Room
    8.2/10(21 votes)

    S1:E21

    No description available

    Director:David Greene
    Writer:Ernest Kinoy

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  14. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 26 - The Tarnished Cross
    8.2/10(19 votes)

    S1:E26

    No description available

    Director:Franklin J. Schaffner
    Writer:Reginald Rose

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  15. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 27 - The Last Six Months
    8.2/10(17 votes)

    S1:E27

    Arthur Hill plays a man with six months to live--he kills his business partner in a fit of rage when the man refuses to help support his family after he has died.

    Director:David Greene
    Writer:Max Ehrlich

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  16. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 30 - The Benefactor
    8.2/10(42 votes)

    S1:E30

    No description available

    Director:Daniel Petrie
    Writer:Peter Stone

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  17. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 9 - The Trial of Jenny Scott
    8.1/10(27 votes)

    S1:E9

    No description available

    Director:Buzz Kulik
    Writer:Reginald Rose

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  18. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 25 - The Iron Man
    8.1/10(15 votes)

    S1:E25

    No description available

    Director:Buzz Kulik
    Writer:David Davidson

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  19. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 22 - The Empty Chute
    8.0/10(18 votes)

    S1:E22

    No description available

    Director:Jack Smight
    Writer:Max Ehrlich

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  20. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 1 - Quality of Mercy
    7.8/10(47 votes)

    S1:E1

    Dr. Bill Conrad's patient, Leona Warner, delivers a baby with Down Syndrome.

    Director:Buzz Kulik
    Writer:Reginald Rose

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  21. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 10 - The Man with the Concrete Thumb
    7.8/10(21 votes)

    S1:E10

    No description available

    Director:Ralph Nelson
    Writer:Ernest Kinoy

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  22. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 11 - The Treadmill
    7.8/10(21 votes)

    S1:E11

    No description available

    Director:Don Richardson
    Writer:Peter Stone

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  23. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 14 - The Prowler
    7.8/10(25 votes)

    S1:E14

    No description available

    Director:Paul Bogart
    Writer:David Shaw

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  24. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 16 - The Best Defense
    7.8/10(22 votes)

    S1:E16

    No description available

    Director:Paul Stanley
    Writer:Ernest Kinoy

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  25. The Defenders Season 1 Episode 4 - The Riot
    7.7/10(30 votes)

    S1:E4

    No description available

    Director:Buzz Kulik
    Writer:Max Ehrlich

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"Along Came a Spider" is the best rated episode of "The Defenders" season 1. It scored 8.7/10 based on 15 votes. Directed by Elliot Silverstein and written by Peter Stone, it aired on 5/5/1962. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Reunion with Death".