Show Type: Drama
First Telecast: September 9, 1978
Last Telecast: July 17, 1979
Showtime Version: 1983 - 1986
Theme Music: "The First Years," by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel; sung by Seals and Crofts
Cast: 1978-1979
Professor Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr...... John Houseman
James T. Hart..... James Stephens
Franklin Ford - III..... Tom Fitzsimmons
Thomas Craig Anderson (1978-1979)..... Robert Ginty
Willis Bell..... James Keane
Jonathan Brooks (1978)..... Jonathan Segal
Elizabeth Logan (1978-1979)..... Francine Tacker
Asheley Brooks (1978)..... Deka Beaudine
Ernie (1978-1979)..... Charles Hallahan
Carol (1978-1979)..... Carole Goldman
Mrs. Nottingham..... Betty Harford
Dean Rutherford (1978-1979)..... Jack Manning
Mallison (1978-1979)..... Jessica Salem
Gagarian (1978-1979)..... Stanley De Santis
Connie Lehman (1983)
Gerald Golden (1983-1986)..... Michael Tucci
Rita Harriman (1984-1986)..... Clare Kirkconnell
Laura (1984-1986)..... Andra Millian
Vivian (1984-1986)..... Penny Johnson
Rose Samuels (1985-1986)..... Lainie Kazan
Tom Ford (1985-1986)..... Peter Nelson
Professor Tyler (1985-1986)..... Diana Douglas
SYNOPSIS
Although the show was based on the movie of the same name and Harvard was the school, no specific university was ever mentioned on the TV series. John Houseman (who reprised his role on the series) won an Academy Award for best supporting-actor.
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 nemisis 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.
Despite being hailed by critics as the best new series of the 1978-79 season, The Paper Chase never attracted the audience it was looking for. It was cancelled at the end of the year. PBS aired reruns for a few years following its departure from CBS.
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, as well as fellow students Rita, Laura, Vivian and Gerald Golden, who was editor of the Law Review for which Hart was writing.
Then in 1985, a title change appeared again... this time: The Paper Chase: The Third Year - and two new first-year law students were added: Franklin Ford's younger brother Tom and former housewife Rose Samuels.
When James Hart finally graduated in 1986, he hoped to get a teaching position at the law school he had attended. His appointment never happened and he joined a law firm in the last original episode.