THE TRIALS OF O'BRIEN--the television series (and film)--episodes online at the moment:

 

The Trials of O'Brien was, as noted elsewhere in the blog, a 22-episode/single-season CBS television series that had the poor fortune of being slotted in 1965-66 against another new series, NBC's Get Smart, and a remarkably popular older series on ABC, The Lawrence Welk Show. CBS didn't seem inclined toward giving it another chance in a less viewer-deprived slot. Which is a pity, since it was a decent series, even if the humor in the production could be a bit broad at times, rather more deft in other instances. More or less, the regular cast included Peter Falk as gambling-addicted, reluctantly divorcing, somewhat eccentric defense attorney Daniel O'Brien (Falk apparently preferred this role to that of the not dissimilar Columbo);  his much put-upon but deft and devoted secretary Miss G (Elaine Stritch); his soon to be ex-wife and commercial artist Katie (Joanna Barnes); her mother, Margaret (Ilka Chase), his bookie, the Great McGonigle (David Burns), and a police officer of his acquaintance, Garrison (Dolph Sweet).

[And since this entry was first posted, most of the YouTube links have been removed...what I currently see have been relinked...though I wouldn't be surprised if this post is being used as a stalking horse.]

 

Circulating episodes of the series are mostly in not the best shape, after multi-generation dubbing from tape to tape...who knows if any legatee of Filmways or MGM have retained masters. Posted version of the one 2-part episode, filmed in color and released in foreign markets (and probably to US tv syndication) as a feature, looks rather better. (Click on the YouTube logo to watch them in full-screen.)

 

"Over Defence is Done": Pilot episode--guest stars include Murray Hamilton, Vincent Gardenia and Kathleen Cody. A rather hardboiled episode at times.

 

"Bargain Day on the Street of Regret": Ep. 1o2--guest stars include Herschel Bernardi, Rober Blake, Albert Dekker and Judi West.

 

"No Justice for the Judge": Ep. 103--guest stars include Burgess Meredith and Barnard Hughes.

An episode which won scripter David Ellis the Writers Guild of America award for best episodic drama script in 1966.

Not available on YouTube. Archived at the University of Georgia (the Walter J. Brown Media Archives) in two parts: 

Part 1 

Part 2

 

"A Gaggle of Girls": Ep. 107--guest stars include Tammy Grimes, Noëlle Adam, David Doyle, Valerie Allen and Reni Santoni.

"Charlie's Got All the Luck": Ep. 110--guest stars include Martin Sheen, Tony Roberts and Judi West.

"Picture Me a Murder": Ep. 111--guest stars include Alan Alda, Joanna Pettet, Charles Grodin, Jessica Walter, Harold J. Stone and Claude Akins.

And, finally among what's currently posted, the film version of  Ep. 120 and 121, "The Greatest Game" Pts. 1 & 2, slightly recut as Too Many Thieves, with guest stars Britt Eklund, David Carradine, George Coulouris and Nehemiah Persoff.

Posters for the film version:

 

 

FFB: Randy Johnson on THE TRIALS OF O'BRIEN by Robert L. Fish (Rediscovered)

And, unsurprisingly, Randy also put this review up

 on his blog, which for no Good reason, I didn't find

 in a a too-quick search yesterday morning but eventually

 I found it...Here!

Randy Johnson: his blog
and on Amazon

5.0 out of 5 stars 

Pre-Columbo Falk

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2014

Verified Purchase

I was completely unfamiliar with this series. Understandable. 

I was fifteen at the time it aired and mostly watched and read 

science fiction. It only ran for one season and I read elsewhere 

that Peter Falk said he thought more of it than he did his signature 

show Columbo. Daniel J. O'Brien is a lawyer that likes to play the

horses and throw the dice, gamble in general, and is not very 

successful at any of them. He owes everybody, has an ex-wife that 

constantly carps about late alimony in the form of bounced checks, 

and a secretary he's always borrowing money from and is behind 

on her salary. Fortunately for him, he seems to bring out the soft 

spot in women and stays on their good side. Just barely.

O'Brien gets unwittingly involved in a scheme by an old client of his. 

Benny Kalen is a three time loser. That he only got a few years on 

his last conviction instead of a dozen makes no impression. O'Brien 

should have got him off, therefore he didn't deserve to get paid.

O'Brien gets suckered by Benny's wife into being at a bar late one 

night while Benny and a confederate are pulling a stick-up job on 

a finance company that had just opened next door.

Thinks go wrong and there's a dead body. Benny's parole officer had 

warned O'Brien that he heard his name mentioned and believes he's 

in on the job.

Our lawyer is forced to defend his former client, who swears the man 

was already dead and the safe broken into when he entered the office, 

in order to clear his name.

Robert L. Fish wrote this one and is the reason I gave it a try. 

His novel Mute Witness became the Steve McQueen movie Bullitt.

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Randy's farewell blogpost.

My post that apparently put Randy onto the Fish novelization. 

(This Bill Crider meme was in posting back covers of paperbacks.)