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

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Directors:

Georg Stanford Brown
Mark Cullingham

Writers:

Albert Aley (writer)
Jack Bender (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | unknown

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:

Study Group | Studying | Teacher | Teacher Student Relationship | Education

Awards:

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

Cast

John Houseman	...	Professor Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr. (21 episodes, 1979-1986)
James Stephens	...	James T. Hart (20 episodes, 1978-1986)
Tom Fitzsimmons	...	Franklin Ford III (19 episodes, 1979-1986)
James Keane	...	Willis Bell (13 episodes, 1979-1986)
Clare Kirkconnell	...	Rita Harriman (1984-1986) / ... (13 episodes, 1984-1986)
Michael Tucci	...	Gerald Golden (1983-1986) / ... (12 episodes, 1979-1986)
Wortham Krimmer	...	Martin Zeiss (1983-1986) / ... (12 episodes, 1983-1986)
Steve Levitt	...	William Stotz / ... (11 episodes, 1984-1986)
Andra Millian	...	Laura (1984-1986) / ... (11 episodes, 1984-1986)
Betty Harford	...	Mrs. Nottingham (10 episodes, 1984-1986)
Lainie Kazan	...	Rose Samuels (1985-1986) (9 episodes, 1985-1986)
Peter Nelson	...	Tom Ford (1985-1986) (9 episodes, 1985-1986)

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)
Beste professor (South Africa: Afrikaans title) (dubbed version) [af]
Betygsjakten (Sweden) [sv]
Ola gia to ptyhio (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

60 min (57 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

The show lasted only one season on CBS, from 1978 to 1979, and was cancelled 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. However, it was never issued on VHS and, as of 2006, has yet to appear on DVD.

Quotes:

Professor Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr.: [stops on staircase] Oh, and Golden...
Gerald Golden: Yes, Professor?
Professor Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr.: Your left front tyre needs air.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

First Years

You can get DVDs of The Paper Chase.

Actually there are DVDs of the full Paper Chase series. One of them can be obtained at: http://www.dvdavenue.TV/movie/drama/The_Paper_Chase.html I got my own set about five months ago from a source I can't find again. The cost is around $80, but it beats trying to dub twenty year old VCR tapes to DVD. I thoroughly enjoyed the series when it first aired and have viewed most of the episodes two or three times since. The two episodes that rely on the state of the art in computers twenty years ago show their age, but the basic principles: don't risk too much on new technology until you have mastered it and it has become reasonably stable, and machines still can't match human intuition, are true today. Another favorite is the episode where Kingsfield gets mildly sloshed on Ford's wine and starts reminiscing.