"The White Shadow" (1978) TV series 1978-1981

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Creator:

Bruce Paltrow

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | unknown

Release Date:

27 November 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Plot:

A white former NBA professional retires from the pro game and gets a job as a basketball coach in a predominantly black inner-city high school.

Plot Keywords:

School | Basketball | Coach | High School | Baseball

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 7 nominations

Cast

Ken Howard	...	Ken Reeves / ... (54 episodes, 1978-1981)
Kevin Hooks	...	Morris Thorpe / ... (32 episodes, 1978-1981)
Timothy Van Patten	...	Mario 'Salami' Pettrino / ... (32 episodes, 1978-1981)
Byron Stewart	...	Warren Coolidge (32 episodes, 1978-1981)
Joan Pringle	...	Sybil Buchanan (27 episodes, 1978-1981)
Ken Michelman	...	Abner Goldstein (27 episodes, 1978-1981)
Ira Angustain	...	Ricky Gomez / ... (27 episodes, 1978-1981)
Thomas Carter	...	James Hayward (27 episodes, 1978-1981)
Nathan Cook	...	Milton Reese (26 episodes, 1978-1981)
Erik Kilpatrick	...	Curtis Jackson (23 episodes, 1978-1980)
John Mengatti	...	Nick Vitaglia (23 episodes, 1979-1981)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Company Four

Trivia:

Coach Reeves attended Boston College, which is where he met principal Willis, who was on the basketball team with him.

Goofs:

Factual errors: At the end of the following episodes, "Wanna Bet?" and "That Old Gang of Mine". The roman numeral of the year 1979 at the end of the credits, was MCMLXXVIX. There was confusion of that because, the "V" should've been removed. The remaining first season episodes were finalized as MCMLXXIX, which was 1979 when the "V" was deleted.

Quotes:

Morris Thorpe: [a new kid shows up wearing a basketball letter jacket] Relax, that jacket said Montana. There can't be more than three high schools in the whole territory.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bachelor Party 2: The Last Temptation (2008)

Great Tv Series

White Shadow series appeared on Turkish tv in the begining of 80's. There were hard days in Turkey in economics and politics areas so this series made the youth happy and provided them different point of view. During this period Turkish basketball life jumped to upper level.This improving in basketball has still carried on in these days. White Shadow had a big influence on basketball and Turkish teen life. Therefore this series has an important place in Turkish social life.