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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!

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...
Genre:Drama
Network:CBS

Season 1 Ratings Summary

"Quality of Mercy" is the best rated episode of "The Defenders" season 1. It scored 7.9/10 based on 42 votes. Directed by Buzz Kulik and written by Reginald Rose, it aired on 9/16/1961. This episode is rated 0.4 points higher than the second-best, "Killer Instinct".

  • Quality of Mercy
    7.9/1042 votes

    #1 - Quality of Mercy

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/16/1961

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

    Director: Buzz Kulik

    Writer: Reginald Rose

  • Killer Instinct
    8.3/1048 votes

    #2 - Killer Instinct

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/23/1961

    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

  • Death Across the Counter
    8.4/1035 votes

    #3 - Death Across the Counter

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 9/30/1961

    No description available

    Director: Buzz Kulik

    Writer: Reginald Rose

  • The Riot
    7.9/1028 votes

    #4 - The Riot

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/7/1961

    No description available

    Director: Buzz Kulik

    Writer: Max Ehrlich

  • The Young Lovers
    7.3/1027 votes

    #5 - The Young Lovers

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/14/1961

    No description available

    Director: Buzz Kulik

    Writer: John Vlahos

  • The Boy Between
    7.5/1025 votes

    #6 - The Boy Between

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 10/21/1961

    No description available

    Director: Franklin J. Schaffner

    Writer: Robert Thom

  • The Hundred Lives of Harry Simms
    8.1/1029 votes

    #7 - The Hundred Lives of Harry Simms

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 10/28/1961

    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

  • The Accident
    7.3/1022 votes

    #8 - The Accident

    Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/4/1961

    No description available

    Director: Buzz Kulik

    Writer: Reginald Rose

  • The Trial of Jenny Scott
    8.0/1025 votes

    #9 - The Trial of Jenny Scott

    Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/11/1961

    No description available

    Director: Buzz Kulik

    Writer: Reginald Rose

  • The Man with the Concrete Thumb
    7.8/1018 votes

    #10 - The Man with the Concrete Thumb

    Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 11/18/1961

    No description available

    Director: Ralph Nelson

    Writer: Ernest Kinoy

  • The Treadmill
    7.5/1020 votes

    #11 - The Treadmill

    Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 11/25/1961

    No description available

    Director: Don Richardson

    Writer: Peter Stone

  • Perjury
    8.4/1025 votes

    #12 - Perjury

    Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 12/2/1961

    No description available

    Director: Boris Sagal

    Writer: Adrian Spies

  • The Attack
    8.6/1030 votes

    #13 - The Attack

    Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 12/9/1961

    No description available

    Director: Franklin J. Schaffner

    Writer: John W. Bloch

  • The Prowler
    7.7/1024 votes

    #14 - The Prowler

    Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 12/16/1961

    No description available

    Director: Paul Bogart

    Writer: David Shaw

  • Gideon's Follies
    6.5/1026 votes

    #15 - Gideon's Follies

    Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 12/23/1961

    No description available

    Director: Franklin J. Schaffner

    Writer: Robert J. Crean

  • The Best Defense
    7.9/1021 votes

    #16 - The Best Defense

    Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 12/30/1961

    No description available

    Director: Paul Stanley

    Writer: Ernest Kinoy

  • The Bedside Murder
    8.2/1023 votes

    #17 - The Bedside Murder

    Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 1/6/1962

    No description available

    Director: Fielder Cook

    Writer: Max Ehrlich

  • The Search
    8.2/1024 votes

    #18 - The Search

    Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 1/20/1962

    No description available

    Director: John Brahm

    Writer: Reginald Rose

  • Storm at Birch Glen
    7.8/1018 votes

    #19 - Storm at Birch Glen

    Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 1/27/1962

    No description available

    Director: John Brahm

    Writer: Jerome Ross

  • The Point Shaver
    7.9/1015 votes

    #20 - The Point Shaver

    Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 2/3/1962

    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

  • The Locked Room
    8.1/1019 votes

    #21 - The Locked Room

    Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 2/10/1962

    No description available

    Director: David Greene

    Writer: Ernest Kinoy

  • The Empty Chute
    7.7/1017 votes

    #22 - The Empty Chute

    Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 2/17/1962

    No description available

    Director: Jack Smight

    Writer: Max Ehrlich

  • The Crusader
    7.6/1012 votes

    #23 - The Crusader

    Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 2/24/1962

    No description available

    Director: Daniel Petrie

    Writer: Jerome Ross

  • The Hickory Indian
    7.5/1016 votes

    #24 - The Hickory Indian

    Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 3/3/1962

    No description available

    Director: Stuart Rosenberg

    Writer: David Karp

  • The Iron Man
    7.9/1014 votes

    #25 - The Iron Man

    Season 1 Episode 25 - Aired 3/10/1962

    No description available

    Director: Buzz Kulik

    Writer: David Davidson