The Paper Chase (TV series)

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The Paper Chase
Created by John Jay Osborn, Jr.
Starring John Houseman
James Stephens
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
No. of episodes 60
Production
Running time 45 minutes per episode
Broadcast
External links
IMDb profile

The Paper Chase is a television series based on a 1970 novel by John Jay Osborn, Jr., as well as a 1973 film based on the novel. It follows the lives of law student James T. Hart and his classmates at a New England law school.

Contents

[edit] Production

The CBS television network aired the series in the 1978–1979 season. John Houseman reprised his movie role, and James Stephens played Hart. It was cancelled after one year, PBS subsequently rebroadcast all of the episodes. In 1983, pay-cable network Showtime brought back the show with both Houseman and Stephens. At the end of three seasons on Showtime, Hart finally graduated law school.

[edit] Plot

James T. Hart was a first year law student whose rural Iowa upbringing had not prepared him for the intensity that he found at his highly competitive law school. His nemesis was Professor Charles Kingsfield, the world's leading authority on contract law, who inspired both awe and fear in his students.

To help cope with the heavy workload, James joined a study group consisting of other students who worked together sharing notes and assignments. The group was organized by Franklin Ford - III, a would-be third generation lawyer from a socially prominent family. Others in the group included: Anderson, Bell, Logan and Brooks - who was the only married person in the group - and who left school after he got caught cheating.

Hart also had a part-time job at Ernie's Pizza. There he met Carol, a waitress who admired him but couldn't understand his deep dedication to his studies. Mrs. Nottingham was Professor Kingsfield's secretary.

[edit] Cast

CHARACTER ACTOR
Professor Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr. John Houseman
James T. Hart James Stephens
Franklin Ford III Tom Fitzsimmons
Willis Bell James Keane
Rita Harriman Clare Kirkconnell
Gerald Golden Michael Tucci
Martin Zeiss Wortham Krimmer
William Stotz Steve Levitt
Laura Andra Millian
Mrs. Nottingham Betty Harford

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Season 1

Ep# Title Writer Director Plot
1.1 Pilot James Bridges Joseph Hardy James Hart's first class with Professor Kingsfield.
1.2 Great Expectations Ellison Carroll Harvey S. Laidman Anderson faces explusion from law school.
1.3 The Man Who Would Be King John Jay Osborn, Jr. Gwen Arner Hart works himself into exhaustion trying to impress Kingsfield.
1.4 A Day in the Life of... John Jay Osborn, Jr. Gwen Arner Franklin's father and sister visit him at the college.
1.5 Voices of Silence Stephen Kandel Alex March Logan helps an imprisoned political activist.
1.6 Nancy T.S. Cook William Hale Hart dates the daughter of a mobster.
1.7 Da Da Gordon Hoban Philip Leacock A student is under pressure from his shaky marriage and Kingfield.
1.8 The Seating Chart James Bridges Robert C. Thompson Bell feels that Kingsfield is singling him out in class.
1.9 Moot Court John Jay Osborn, Jr. Seymour Robbie Hart and Logan go up against Bell and Raymond Livingston in the school's annual moot-court contest.
1.10 Kingsfield's Daughter Gordon Hoban Alex March The young woman that Hart has fallen for is highly knowledgeable about contractual law.
1.11 The Sorcerer's Apprentice John Jay Osborn, Jr., Leigh Curran Larry Elikann
1.12 Bell and Love Richard Kramer Peter Levin
1.13 An Act of Desperation James Menzies, Marvin Kupfer Carl Kugel
1.14 Losing Streak Shimon Wincelberg Alex March Anderson develops a gambling problem.
1.15 The Man in the Chair Jerome Ross Robert C. Thompson A wheelchair-bound student joins the study group.
1.16 A Matter Of Honor Albert Aley, Marvin Kupfer Seymour Robbie A black woman is tutored by Hart while she feels the increased pressure to perform.
1.17 The Apprentice William Hopkins Kenneth Gilbert
1.18 Once More with Feeling William Froug Marvin Kupfer Logan spurns a professor who makes improper advances toward her.
1.19 The Clay Footed Idol David P. Harmon Larry Elikann His students find reason to question Kingsfield's ethics while investigating a case he lost.
1.20 The Tables Down at Ernie's Worley Thorne Philip Leacock Ernie's Tavern is scheduled for demolition, unless Hart can stop it.
1.21 A Case Of Detente David P. Harmon,Daniel Benton Robert C. Thompson Hart falls in love with a Russian gymnastic performer, who is visiting the United States.
1.22 Scavenger Hunt John Jay Osborn, Jr. Jack Bender Professor Kingsfield gives the students a "scavenger hunt" assignment.

[1]

[edit] Season 2

Ep# Title Writer Director Plot
2.1 Outline Fever John Jay Osborn, Jr. Jack Bender
2.2 Birthday Party John Jay Osborn, Jr. Jack Bender Hart finds political justice maneuvering behind Kingsfield's appointment as Supreme Court justice.
2.3 Spreading It Thin Lee Kalcheim Corey Allen Hart jeopardizes himself when he suspects a popular law professor of plagiarizing.
2.4 Cinderella David Sontag Joseph Pevney The plight of a single mother touches her fellow students.
2.5 Commitments Joe S. Landon Nick Havinga Hart has an affair with another woman.
2.6 Plague of Locusts John Jay Osborn, Jr. Joseph Pevney Hart is torn when two vastly different law firms each offer him a summer job.
2.7 Snow John Jay Osborn, Jr. Jack Bender Hart is in desperate need of a computer whiz.
2.8 Mrs. Hart John Jay Osborn, Jr. Corey Allen Hart's girlfriend receives a scholarship offer in England.
2.9 Tempest in a Pothole Peter Dixon Mark Cullingham Bell faces a clever prosecutor when he tries to sue the city after a bicycle accident.
2.10 Labor of Love Paul Eric Myers,Judy Merl Jack Bender Hart's new romance is tested when Professor Kingsfield assigns extra work.
2.11 Burden of Proof Paul L. Ehrmann Corey Allen Hart is assigned to defend a robbery suspect who may have mugged Professor Kingsfield.
2.12 War of the Wonks (aka Machine) John Jay Osborn, Jr. Arthur Allan Seidelman A minor incident between Golden and an engineering student about a parking space causes hostilities.
2.13 Limits Robert Lewin Jack Bender Ford tries to stop students' efforts to force the retirement of a professor suspected to be senile.
2.14 Hart Goes Home Joe S. Landon Jack Bender Hart, returning home for his sister's wedding, realizes that he no longer feels part of his home.
2.15 Judgment Day (aka Tenure) Paul L. Ehrmann Nick Havinga Golden tries to help a law professor win his tenure.
2.16 My Dinner with Kingsfield Lee Kalcheim Corey Allen Kingsfield is Hart's unexpected dinner guest after his car gets stuck in a moat.
2.17 The Advocates Jack Bender Jack Bender Rita enrolls in controversial class using video technology to teach computer skills.
2.18 Not Prince Hamlet (aka Rashomon) Lee Kalcheim Lynn Roth The father of a student who committed suicide talks with Hart, Bell, and Fitzsimmons.
2.19 Billy Pierce John Jay Osborn, Jr. Corey Allen Bell tries to clear his name and that of a pro-athlete/student after they're suspected of cheating.

[1]

[edit] Season 3

Ep# Title Writer Director Plot
3.1 Decisions: Part 1 John Jay Osborn, Jr. Ralph Senensky Golden must decide who will succeed him as president of the law review
3.2 Decisions: Part 2 John Jay Osborn, Jr. Ralph Senensky Golden must decide who will succeed him as president of the law review
3.3 Pressure Irving Pearlberg Alf Kjellin Hart tries to reconcile Franklin with his younger brother Ford.
3.4 Laura's Struggle Joe S. Landon Sharron Miller
3.5 Security Marshall Goldberg Ernest A. Losso
3.6 Free Advice Marley Sims, Stephen Schneck Gilbert Moses
3.7 The Day Kingsfield Missed Class Bruce Franklin Singer, Max Eisenberg Ralph Senensky
3.8 The Source Paul L. Ehrmann Georg Stanford Brown
3.9 The Choice Paul Eric Myers, Judy Merl Ralph Senensky
3.10 It's Only a Show Lee Kalcheim Lynn Roth
3.11 The Big D Susan Miller Ralph Senensky Kingsfield helps a once-prominent attorney fight the legal system.
3.12 Lasting Impressions Mann Rubin John Herzfeld Golden defends an anti-Semetic client in a libel suit.

[1]

[edit] Season 4

Ep# Title Writer Director Plot
4.1 A Wounded Hart Eric Cohen Ralph Senensky
4.2 Mistaken Identity Stephen Schneck James Stephens Ford is falsely arrested.
4.3 Suppressed Desires Lynne Kelsey Lynn Roth
4.4 Honor John Jay Osborn, Jr. John Herzfeld
4.5 Graduation (Part I) Joe S. Landon Ralph Senensky Part 1 of the finale, the students must decide their future.
4.6 Graduation (Part II) Joe S. Landon Ralph Senensky Final Episode.

[1]

[edit] Differences between tv series and movie

  • In the film Kingsfield was a remote, almost god-like figure, but he became somewhat more accessible in the TV series.
  • A number of new characters are added in the television series that did not appear in the movie

[edit] Theme song lyrics

Title: "Paper Chase" by Norman Gimbel & Charles Fox

“

First years are hard years.
Much more than you know.
With good friends to love us,
we'll fill every row.

Stay open to all things,
Unknown and new,
Then one day, we'll all say
"Hey look, we've come through
The first years.

 ”

[edit] Opening Narrative

“

The study of law is something new and unfamiliar to most of you, unlike any other schooling you have ever known before. You'll teach yourself law but I'll train your minds. You come in here with a skull full of mush and, if you survive, you'll leave thinking like a lawyer.

 ”

[edit] Awards

The Paper Chase won;

  • CableACE Awards for
    • 1985: Best Dramatic Series
    • 1987: Best Dramatic Series

[edit] Reruns

In the late 1980s, The Family Channel rebroadcast the entire series in a late-night time slot, at midnight Eastern Time, which did not receive wide reception.[2]The series was later seen in the early-2000s on GoodLife Television.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d IMDB Episode List
  2. ^ TV Listings

[edit] External links