"The Paper Chase" (1978) TV series 1978-1986

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Directors:

Georg Stanford Brown
Mark Cullingham

Writers:

Albert Aley (writer)
Daniel Benton (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

9 September 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A TV Series about a bunch of Law students, their everyday lives and their effort to make it through Law School...

Plot Keywords:

Law School | Student | Professor | Law Student | Boston Massachusetts

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

John Houseman	...	Professor Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr. / ... (41 episodes, 1978-1986)
James Stephens	...	James T. Hart (40 episodes, 1978-1986)
Tom Fitzsimmons	...	Franklin Ford III (39 episodes, 1978-1986)
James Keane	...	Willis Bell (33 episodes, 1978-1986)
Betty Harford	...	Mrs. Nottingham / ... (26 episodes, 1978-1986)
Robert Ginty	...	Thomas Craig Anderson (22 episodes, 1978-1979)
Francine Tacker	...	Elizabeth Logan (21 episodes, 1978-1979)

Also Known As:

The Paper Chase: The Fourth Year (USA) (new title)
The Paper Chase: The Graduation Year (USA) (new title)
The Paper Chase: The Second Year (USA) (new title)
The Paper Chase: The Third Year (USA) (new title)

Runtime:

60 min (57 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

The show lasted only one season on CBS, from 1978 to 1979, and was canceled because of low ratings. The cable channel Showtime revived the series in 1983, where it ran for three years without commercials and was a great success. John Houseman passed away a year after the series went off the air. The first season was released on DVD in April 2009, with Season 2 scheduled to follow in December.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Who Is Norman Lloyd? (2007)

Soundtrack:

First Years

One of the greatest and most underrated television shows of all time.

The television show "The Paper Chase" is one of the greatest television shows of all time. That seems like an incredible statement to say about a show that lasted about 2 seconds on commercial television but it was that good. It unfortunately never had a chance to continue because it was placed at the same time spot as one of the hottest shows on television at the time.

Amazingly enough, it got a second chance on the cable network Showtime years after it was cancelled! Because cable allowed the show greater freedom, I actually found the show to be superior to the commercial network version! The show centers around the great actor, John Houseman and James Stephens as the law professor Charles W. Kingsfield and his student James T. Hart but the ensemble cast was also excellent. Tom Fitzsimmons and James Keane were the main supporting characters but it also had major contributions in later years from excellent actors like Jane Kaszmarek, (Malcolm in the Middle) Penny Johnson (24 and The Larry Sanders Show)and Michael Tucci.

The show eventually ran its course on cable and ended with the graduation of the students, 8 years after the show started on commercial television! A show that should be rated with the greatest shows of all time but is largely forgotten today. Just superbly acted with great writing.