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The Best Episodes of The Defenders Season 1

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

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...

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  1. 8.4/10(35 votes)

    #1 - Death Across the Counter

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    S1:E3

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    Director:Buzz Kulik
    Writer:Reginald Rose
  2. 8.4/10(25 votes)

    #2 - Perjury

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    S1:E12

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    Director:Boris Sagal
    Writer:Adrian Spies
  3. 8.4/10(25 votes)

    #3 - Reunion with Death

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    S1:E29

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    Director:Franklin J. Schaffner
    Writer:David Shaw
  4. 8.3/10(31 votes)

    #4 - The Attack

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    S1:E13

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    Director:Franklin J. Schaffner
    Writer:John W. Bloch
  5. 8.3/10(24 votes)

    #5 - The Bedside Murder

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    S1:E17

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    Director:Fielder Cook
    Writer:Max Ehrlich
  6. 8.2/10(48 votes)

    #6 - Killer Instinct

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    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.

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    Director:Franklin J. Schaffner
    Writer:John Vlahos
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  7. 8.2/10(24 votes)

    #7 - The Search

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    S1:E18

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    Director:John Brahm
    Writer:Reginald Rose
  8. 8.2/10(39 votes)

    #8 - The Benefactor

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    S1:E30

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    Director:Daniel Petrie
    Writer:Peter Stone
  9. 8.2/10(14 votes)

    #9 - Along Came a Spider

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    S1:E31

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    Director:Elliot Silverstein
    Writer:Peter Stone
  10. 8.2/10(17 votes)

    #10 - The Broken Barrelhead

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    S1:E32

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    Director:David Greene
    Writer:David Karp
  11. 8.1/10(29 votes)

    #11 - The Hundred Lives of Harry Simms

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    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.

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    Director:John Brahm
    Writer:Alvin Boretz
  12. 8.1/10(19 votes)

    #12 - The Locked Room

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    S1:E21

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    Director:David Greene
    Writer:Ernest Kinoy
  13. 8.0/10(25 votes)

    #13 - The Trial of Jenny Scott

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    S1:E9

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    Director:Buzz Kulik
    Writer:Reginald Rose
  14. 7.9/10(43 votes)

    #14 - Quality of Mercy

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    S1:E1

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

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    Director:Buzz Kulik
    Writer:Reginald Rose
  15. 7.9/10(21 votes)

    #15 - The Best Defense

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    S1:E16

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    Director:Paul Stanley
    Writer:Ernest Kinoy
  16. 7.9/10(15 votes)

    #16 - The Point Shaver

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    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.

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    Director:Buzz Kulik
    Writer:Mann Rubin
  17. 7.9/10(14 votes)

    #17 - The Iron Man

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    S1:E25

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    Director:Buzz Kulik
    Writer:David Davidson
  18. 7.9/10(18 votes)

    #18 - The Tarnished Cross

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    S1:E26

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    Director:Franklin J. Schaffner
    Writer:Reginald Rose
  19. 7.9/10(16 votes)

    #19 - The Last Six Months

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    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.

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    Director:David Greene
    Writer:Max Ehrlich
  20. 7.8/10(29 votes)

    #20 - The Riot

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    S1:E4

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    Director:Buzz Kulik
    Writer:Max Ehrlich
  21. 7.8/10(18 votes)

    #21 - The Man with the Concrete Thumb

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    S1:E10

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    Director:Ralph Nelson
    Writer:Ernest Kinoy
  22. 7.8/10(18 votes)

    #22 - Storm at Birch Glen

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    S1:E19

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    Director:John Brahm
    Writer:Jerome Ross
  23. 7.7/10(24 votes)

    #23 - The Prowler

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    S1:E14

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    Director:Paul Bogart
    Writer:David Shaw
  24. 7.7/10(17 votes)

    #24 - The Empty Chute

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    S1:E22

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    Director:Jack Smight
    Writer:Max Ehrlich
  25. 7.6/10(12 votes)

    #25 - The Crusader

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    S1:E23

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    Director:Daniel Petrie
    Writer:Jerome Ross

Season 1 Ratings Summary

"Death Across the Counter" is the best rated episode of "The Defenders" season 1. It scored 8.4/10 based on 35 votes. Directed by Buzz Kulik and written by Reginald Rose, it aired on 9/30/1961. This episode is rated 0.0 points higher than the second-best, "Perjury".