7.9/1043 votes7.9/10(43)#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
- 8.2/1048 votes8.2/10(48)
#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
- 8.4/1035 votes8.4/10(35)
#3 - Death Across the Counter
Season 1 Episode 3
Aired 9/30/1961
- 7.9/1028 votes7.9/10(28)
#4 - The Riot
Season 1 Episode 4
Aired 10/7/1961
- 7.3/1027 votes7.3/10(27)
#5 - The Young Lovers
Season 1 Episode 5
Aired 10/14/1961
- 7.5/1025 votes7.5/10(25)
#6 - The Boy Between
Season 1 Episode 6
Aired 10/21/1961
If you like The Defenders, check out...
- 8.1/1029 votes8.1/10(29)
#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
- 7.3/1022 votes7.3/10(22)
#8 - The Accident
Season 1 Episode 8
Aired 11/4/1961
- 8.0/1025 votes8.0/10(25)
#9 - The Trial of Jenny Scott
Season 1 Episode 9
Aired 11/11/1961
- 7.8/1018 votes7.8/10(18)
#10 - The Man with the Concrete Thumb
Season 1 Episode 10
Aired 11/18/1961
- 7.5/1020 votes7.5/10(20)
#11 - The Treadmill
Season 1 Episode 11
Aired 11/25/1961
- 8.4/1025 votes8.4/10(25)
#12 - Perjury
Season 1 Episode 12
Aired 12/2/1961
- 8.3/1031 votes8.3/10(31)
#13 - The Attack
Season 1 Episode 13
Aired 12/9/1961
- 7.7/1024 votes7.7/10(24)
#14 - The Prowler
Season 1 Episode 14
Aired 12/16/1961
- 6.5/1026 votes6.5/10(26)
#15 - Gideon's Follies
Season 1 Episode 15
Aired 12/23/1961
- 7.9/1021 votes7.9/10(21)
#16 - The Best Defense
Season 1 Episode 16
Aired 12/30/1961
- 8.2/1023 votes8.2/10(23)
#17 - The Bedside Murder
Season 1 Episode 17
Aired 1/6/1962
- 8.2/1024 votes8.2/10(24)
#18 - The Search
Season 1 Episode 18
Aired 1/20/1962
- 7.8/1018 votes7.8/10(18)
#19 - Storm at Birch Glen
Season 1 Episode 19
Aired 1/27/1962
- 7.9/1015 votes7.9/10(15)
#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
- 8.1/1019 votes8.1/10(19)
#21 - The Locked Room
Season 1 Episode 21
Aired 2/10/1962
- 7.7/1017 votes7.7/10(17)
#22 - The Empty Chute
Season 1 Episode 22
Aired 2/17/1962
- 7.6/1012 votes7.6/10(12)
#23 - The Crusader
Season 1 Episode 23
Aired 2/24/1962
- 7.5/1016 votes7.5/10(16)
#24 - The Hickory Indian
Season 1 Episode 24
Aired 3/3/1962
- 7.9/1014 votes7.9/10(14)
#25 - The Iron Man
Season 1 Episode 25
Aired 3/10/1962
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
Episodes
32
Avg. Rating
7.9
S1
S2
S3
S4
E1
E2
E3
7.9
8.2
8.4
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"Quality of Mercy" is the best rated episode of "The Defenders" season 1. It scored 7.9/10 based on 43 votes. Directed by Buzz Kulik and written by Reginald Rose, it aired on 9/16/1961. This episode is rated 0.3 points higher than the second-best, "Killer Instinct".
