Arrest and Trial
Starring: Ben Gazzara, Roger Perry, Chuck Connors, John Larch
First Aired: September 15, 1963
Number of Seasons: 1
Estimated Production Cost: $150,000 per episode*
Ben Gazzara agreed to star as the lead detective in Arrest and Trial, a crime/legal drama that ran for ninety minutes on ABC, as long as the show avoided casting police in stereotypical roles. After he was shown a script that portrayed him as a “thinking man’s cop,” he agreed to sign onto the show. Arrest and Trial ran for one season and thirty episodes, and it also starred Roger Perry, Chuck Connors, and John Larch. The episodes were the early inspiration for the massive Law & Order franchise that would sweep TV. The premise would be adopted by those creators decades in the future.
Arrest And Trial
Combat!
Starring: Vic Morrow, Rick Jason, Pierre Jalbert, Dick Peabody, Jack Hogan
First Aired: October 2, 1962
Number of Seasons: 5
Estimated Production Cost: $183,000 per episode* Several Emmys were nominated and won for this show, including one for Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. From October 2, 1962, through March 14, 1967, Combat! aired for five seasons. It followed the exploits of an American platoon battling its way across Western Europe during WWII. The show depicted battle in a realistic manner. It was adamant about not glorifying the conflict or the soldiers. Its focus was not on transforming the soldiers into sanitized heroes, but on demonstrating how they tried to maintain their humanity in the darkest hours of the war, while being on the right side.
Combat!
