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    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Television»Shows by Decade»1970s Television
    1970s Television 1980s Television Drama Shows P 3 Mins Read

    Paper Chase, The

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    1 9 7 8 (USA)
    1 9 8 3 – 1 9 8 6 
    (USA)

    James T. Hart (James Stephens) 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 (John Houseman), the world’s leading authority on contract law, who inspired both awe and fear in his students.

    To help cope with his heavy workload, James joined a study group of students who worked together sharing notes and assignments. The group was organised by Franklin Ford III (Tom Fitzsimmons), a would-be third-generation lawyer from a socially prominent family.

    Others in the group included Tom Anderson (Robert Ginty), Willis Bell (James Keane), Elizabeth Logan (Francie Tacker) and Jonathan Brooks (Jonathan Segal) – the only married person in the group. Brooks eventually left school after he was caught cheating.

    Hart also had a part-time job at Ernie’s Pizza, where he met Carol (Carole Goldman), a waitress who admired him but couldn’t understand his deep dedication to his studies.

    Despite being hailed by critics as the best new series of the 1978-79 season – with adult scripts and above-average acting – The Paper Chase was cancelled at the end of the year (although PBS aired reruns for a few years).

    Some said it was doomed from the start, scheduled against ABC’s blockbuster tandem of Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley, two of the three highest-rated series on television (alongside Three’s Company).

    In the first case of its kind, cable network Showtime brought it back in the Spring of 1983 under the new title The Paper Chase: The Second year.

    These new episodes introduced James’ new love, Connie Lehman (played by Jane Kaczmarek who found fame many years later on Malcolm In The Middle), as well as fellow students Rita (Clare Kirkconnell), Laura (Andra Millian), Vivian (Penny Johnson) and Gerald Golden (Michael Tucci), who was editor of the Law Review for which Hart was writing.

    Then in 1985, a title change appeared again. This time to The Paper Chase: The Third Year and two new first-year law students were added. Franklin Ford’s younger brother Tom (Peter Nelson) and former housewife Rose Samuels (Lainie Kazan).

    When James Hart finally graduated in 1986, (in The Paper Chase: The Graduation Year) he was hoping for a teaching position at the law school he had attended. His appointment never happened and he joined a law firm in the last episode.

    Although the TV series was based on the movie of the same name (where Harvard was the school) no specific university was ever mentioned in the TV series. Episodes were filmed at the University of Southern California.

    The title song, The First Years, was performed by Seals and Crofts.

    Charles W Kingsfield Jr 
    John Houseman
    James T. Hart 

    James Stephens
    Franklin Ford III 

    Tom Fitzsimmons
    Thomas Craig Anderson 

    Robert Ginty
    Willis Bell 

    James Keane
    Jonathan Brooks 

    Jonathan Segal
    Elizabeth Logan 

    Francie Tacker
    Ashley Brooks 

    Deka Beaudine
    Ernie 

    Charles Hallahan
    Carol 

    Carole Goldman
    Mrs Nottingham 

    Betty Harford
    Dean Rutherford 

    Jack Manning
    Mallison 

    Jessica Salem
    Gagarian 

    Stanley De Santis
    Connie Lehman 

    Jane Kaczmarek
    Gerald Golden 

    Michael Tucci
    Rita Harriman 

    Clare Kirkconnell
    Laura 

    Andra Millian
    Vivian 

    Penny Johnson
    Rose Samuels 

    Lainie Kazan
    Tom Ford 

    Peter Nelson
    Professor Tyler 

    Diana Douglas

    Video

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