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

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:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Warrior of the Lost World (#6.1)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

First Years

Excellence in Broadcasting

It has been 20 years since broadcast, and it remains a favorite of mine.

The Paper Chase was then called "too good for television", assumedly due to its highly intellectual, fast moving content. The characters were well chosen right from the start. Running from 1983 to 1986 it was to follow a group of students through law school, from the very first day to graduation.

The show was extremely well written. Social interaction, challenge, struggle, and eventual triumph (in most cases) formed the plots. I recall describing this series as "making more points than a rose bush". It would be great to re-air the series, as every topic is just as valid today. John Houseman will be forever irreplaceable.