Judd, for the Defense
| Judd, for the Defense | |
|---|---|
 Carl Betz as Judd with guest star Katharine Houghton, 1968. | |
| Genre | Legal drama |
| Starring |
Carl Betz Stephen Young |
| Composer(s) | Alexander Courage |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 50 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Paul Monash |
| Running time | 45–48 minutes |
| Production company(s) | 20th Century Fox Television |
| Distributor |
20th Century Fox Television Fox Television Studios (current) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | September 8, 1967 – September 19, 1969 |
Judd, for the Defense is an American legal drama originally broadcast on the ABC network on Friday nights from September 8, 1967, to September 19, 1969.
Synopsis
The show stars Carl Betz, who had previously spent eight years in the role of Dr. Alex Stone, husband of Donna Reed in ABC's The Donna Reed Show. In his new role, reportedly based on high-profile lawyers such as F. Lee Bailey and Percy Foreman,[1] Betz played Clinton Judd, a flamboyant attorney based in Houston, who often took on controversial cases across the country. Playing his top assistant, Ben Caldwell, was Stephen Young.
Even before the show premiered, Foreman threatened a lawsuit by saying that the program was "appropriating for commercial purposes my career as a lawyer." Throughout the course of the two-year run of the show, there were never enough viewers to establish Foreman's claim, although critics gave it positive reviews. Undoubtedly the skittishness of viewers was a result of the program's dealing with then-taboo (though contemporary) subjects such as homosexuality, blacklisting, and draft dodgers, with open-ended conclusions in many episodes.
The show's producer, Harold Gast, sought to break new ground with the program, using a number of new writers for scripts that veered away from previous television conventions. In addition, one personal experience involving credit card problems caused by computers became the basis for an episode entitled, "Epitaph on a Computer Card." In 1968, Gast and writer Leon Tokatyan won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for the episode "Tempest in a Texas Town".
In an attempt to boost the low ratings of the hour-long program, the episode which aired on January 31, 1969, combined the Judd cast with that of another ABC series, Felony Squad, starring Dennis Cole. The idea did not salvage either program, as both were soon cancelled.
Betz's portrayal of a lawyer was enough to provide him paid opportunities to speak before groups of attorneys, and also helped him win both Golden Globe and Emmy Awards after the show's final season. Additionally, screenwriter Robert Lewin won a Writer's Guild award for the episode, "To Kill a Madman."
Other actors appearing on episodes of the show included Ed Asner, Karen Black, Scott Brady, Len Birman, Russ Conway, Tyne Daly, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Duvall, Lee Grant, Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr., Ron Howard, Vivi Janiss, Wright King, Ida Lupino, Jessica Tandy, Lurene Tuttle, and William Windom.[2]
Episode guide
Season 1 (1967–1968)
| Ep. | № | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Tempest in a Texas Town | September 8, 1967 |
| 2 | 2 | The Deep End | September 15, 1967 |
| 3 | 3 | The Other Face of the Law | September 22, 1967 |
| 4 | 4 | A Civil Case of Murder | September 29, 1967 |
| 5 | 5 | Shadow of a Killer | October 6, 1967 |
| 6 | 6 | Conspiracy | October 13, 1967 |
| 7 | 7 | Confessional | October 20, 1967 |
| 8 | 8 | Death from a Flower Girl | November 3, 1967 |
| 9 | 9 | Citizen Ritter | November 10, 1967 |
| 10 | 10 | The Money Farm | November 17, 1967 |
| 11 | 11 | To Kill a Madman | November 24, 1967 |
| 12 | 12 | Commitment | December 1, 1967 |
| 13 | 13 | To Love and Stand Mute | December 8, 1967 |
| 14 | 14 | The Living Victim | December 15, 1967 |
| 15 | 15 | Firebrand | December 22, 1967 |
| 16 | 16 | Everybody Loved Harlan Except His Wife | December 29, 1967 |
| 17 | 17 | Fall of a Skylark: Part 1 - The Trial | January 5, 1968 |
| 18 | 18 | Fall of a Skylark: Part 2 - The Appeal | January 12, 1968 |
| 19 | 19 | No Law Against Murder | January 19, 1968 |
| 20 | 20 | The Grand Old Man | January 26, 1968 |
| 21 | 21 | What You Can Do with Money | February 2, 1968 |
| 22 | 22 | Kingdom of the Blind | February 9, 1968 |
| 23 | 23 | The Devil's Surrogate | February 23, 1968 |
| 24 | 24 | Square House | March 1, 1968 |
| 25 | 25 | The Worst of Both Worlds | March 15, 1968 |
| 26 | 26 | You Remember Joe Maddox | March 22, 1968 |
Season 2 (1968–1969)
| Ep. | № | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | In a Puff of Smoke | September 27, 1968 |
| 2 | 28 | Transplant | October 4, 1968 |
| 3 | 29 | The Ends of Justice | October 11, 1968 |
| 4 | 30 | The Name of This Game Is Acquittal | October 18, 1968 |
| 5 | 31 | The Sound of the Plastic Axe | October 25, 1968 |
| 6 | 32 | The Death Farm | November 1, 1968 |
| 7 | 33 | Weep the Hunter Home | November 8, 1968 |
| 8 | 34 | The Gates of Cerberus | November 15, 1968 |
| 9 | 35 | My Client, the Fool | November 22, 1968 |
| 10 | 36 | Punishment, Cruel and Unusual | December 6, 1968 |
| 11 | 37 | Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch to Live | December 13, 1968 |
| 12 | 38 | A Swim with Sharks | December 20, 1968 |
| 13 | 39 | The Crystal Maze | January 3, 1969 |
| 14 | 40 | Borderline Girl | January 10, 1969 |
| 15 | 41 | Epitaph on a Computer Card | January 17, 1969 |
| 16 | 42 | The Poisoned Tree | January 24, 1969 |
| 17 | 43 | The Law and Order Blues | January 31, 1969 |
| 18 | 44 | Between the Dark and the Daylight | February 7, 1969 |
| 19 | 45 | The Holy Ground: Part 1 - The Killing | February 14, 1969 |
| 20 | 46 | The Holy Ground: Part 2 - The Killers | February 21, 1969 |
| 21 | 47 | An Elephant in a Cigar Box | February 28, 1969 |
| 22 | 48 | The View from the Ivory Tower | March 7, 1969 |
| 23 | 49 | Runaway | March 14, 1969 |
| 24 | 50 | Visitation | March 21, 1969 |
Notes
- ↑ Jamail Center for Legal Research, Tarlton Law Library, University of Texas Law School.
- ↑ Id.