SWC75
Bored Historian
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I decided to create a thread for what were the best episodes of famous TV series, in my judgment. I invite others to submit their own choices for these series or for other series. The idea is to get the essence of that made the shows famous. My tastes tend toward shows I grew up with but others can fill in the gaps in my perception. I’ll link you to the IMDB page for each episode and an on-line video of it if I can find one, as well as a Wikipedia page on the series.
THE DEFENDERS 9/23/61 “Killer Insitnct”
William Shatner appeared in the pilot for this series, which was shown on “Studio One” back in 1957, (that’s the episode that had clips of it used for Boston Legal a half century later – the original is way better and is also on You-Tube). Shatner played young defense lawyer Kenneth Preston, assisting his father Lawrence Preston, played by Ralph Bellamy. The show itself didn’t premiere until four years later, in 1961. EG Marshall played Lawrence and Robert Reed, (later the dad on the insipid “The Brady Bunch”) was cast at Kenneth. Shatner, free-lancing at the time, appeared in four different episodes of the show, which lasted until 1965. It was the most highly praised show of it’s time. FCC chairman Newton Minnow had made a speech calling TV “a vast wasteland” and the networks responded by putting on prestige shows with very serious, relevant dramas and this was CBS’s offering. The show, like the 1957 pilot, was written by Reginald Rose, author of “12 Angry Men”.
This is the first of Shatner’s five guest appearances and the best. It’s second regular episode of the series. He plays a war veteran, (presumably Korea), who has learned some martial arts moves designed to dispatch assailants quickly. He’s now a businessman and family man in Manhattan, a decade after his military service. He’s on his way to work and it jostled and confronted by a crude bully and, without thinking, uses his now ingrained self-defense skills and the man is killed. The Prestons have to defend him. They want to blame his military training for the death. But Shatner’s character isn’t so sure, especially when he looks into the eyes of his young son. It makes for a powerful ending.
The Defenders (1961 TV series) - Wikipedia
"The Defenders" Killer Instinct (TV Episode 1961) - IMDb
THE DEFENDERS 9/23/61 “Killer Insitnct”
William Shatner appeared in the pilot for this series, which was shown on “Studio One” back in 1957, (that’s the episode that had clips of it used for Boston Legal a half century later – the original is way better and is also on You-Tube). Shatner played young defense lawyer Kenneth Preston, assisting his father Lawrence Preston, played by Ralph Bellamy. The show itself didn’t premiere until four years later, in 1961. EG Marshall played Lawrence and Robert Reed, (later the dad on the insipid “The Brady Bunch”) was cast at Kenneth. Shatner, free-lancing at the time, appeared in four different episodes of the show, which lasted until 1965. It was the most highly praised show of it’s time. FCC chairman Newton Minnow had made a speech calling TV “a vast wasteland” and the networks responded by putting on prestige shows with very serious, relevant dramas and this was CBS’s offering. The show, like the 1957 pilot, was written by Reginald Rose, author of “12 Angry Men”.
This is the first of Shatner’s five guest appearances and the best. It’s second regular episode of the series. He plays a war veteran, (presumably Korea), who has learned some martial arts moves designed to dispatch assailants quickly. He’s now a businessman and family man in Manhattan, a decade after his military service. He’s on his way to work and it jostled and confronted by a crude bully and, without thinking, uses his now ingrained self-defense skills and the man is killed. The Prestons have to defend him. They want to blame his military training for the death. But Shatner’s character isn’t so sure, especially when he looks into the eyes of his young son. It makes for a powerful ending.
The Defenders (1961 TV series) - Wikipedia
"The Defenders" Killer Instinct (TV Episode 1961) - IMDb