The Paper Chase

The television show "The Paper Chase" is one of the greatest television shows of all time. That seems like an incredible statement to say about a show that lasted about 2 seconds on commercial television but it was that good. It unfortunately never had a chance to continue because it was placed at the same time spot as one of the hottest shows on television at the time.

Amazingly enough, it got a second chance on the cable network Showtime years after it was cancelled! Because cable allowed the show greater freedom, I actually found the show to be superior to the commercial network version! The show centers around the great actor, John Houseman and James Stephens as the law professor Charles W. Kingsfield and his student James T. Hart but the ensemble cast was also excellent. Tom Fitzsimmons and James Keane were the main supporting characters but it also had major contributions in later years from excellent actors like Jane Kaszmarek, (Malcolm in the Middle) Penny Johnson (24 and The Larry Sanders Show)and Michael Tucci.

The show eventually ran its course on cable and ended with the graduation of the students, 8 years after the show started on commercial television! A show that should be rated with the greatest shows of all time but is largely forgotten today. Just superbly acted with great writing.

I can say this, I am so glad that I never had John Houseman for a professor when I was in college. Whew! the old guy was really intimidating. It was still an enjoyable "thinking mans" show. Houseman was the one who really made it work. He always stood out like a lion in a roomful of kittens. What is so shocking is that before he won his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for the movie, he had never really acted before. For those of you who are trivia buffs, Houseman was very instrumental in the writing of Citizen Kane. Orson Welles liked to steal all of the credit though. The fact there were different series with different Mister Harts makes it confusing, but still a good show.

This show was a spin-off from the earlier movie starring Timothy Bottoms and John Houseman. This time, instead of Bottoms, the series stars James Stephens and Houseman returns in his role as the incredibly brilliant but scary Professor Kingsfield. The show concerns the growth and experiences of a Mr. Hart in law school and his fellow students.

Originally, the show aired on CBS but was very short-lived. Then, a few years later, Showtime began making more episodes. In both cases, the quality was very high and the show was never dull, but somehow the show has been forgotten and is not available on DVD or video. Should this ever occur, pop my an message so I can buy it ASAP. This show was a real gem and deserves to be remembered and enjoyed.

UPDATE--Season 1 and 2 have been released! Hallelujah!

I am Stephen Seretan, and I wrote all the music for the series from CBS to Showtime. John Houseman was a joy to work with and a good friend. I miss him.

He was an original. The series was great fun and a dream job for me.

Thanks for all the nice comments.

I would love to see it aired again.

The shows had very little music for each episode, so my job was easy. Does anyone remember the scores to any shows? I would like to know. Film music is supposed to be "not heard" by the audience, but in our show it was prominent. I had several themes going to bind the drama together.

Recipe for success. Put a bunch of graduate students from all levels of experience and schooling together in one place under one tough teacher, mix well, and cook thoroughly for 4 years. This concept worked better as a TV series than it did as a movie. Though the movie focused more on Hart and Susan, Kingsfields daughter, I found myself wondering more about the other students. Thanks to this well written and acted program, I found out more about o'Connor, and Ford, Bell, and the rest.

This television show first aired opposite the "Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley" hour, a death knell for any television show of that era. It moved to Friday nights in the grave yard and there it sat until Showtime picked it up and ran with it. Easily my favorite television show of all time. The writing was consistently excellent as was the ensemble acting. My only complaint was that in some ways it was predictable. We all knew that Hart was going to be at the top of his class. The guest players (Connie Lehman, among others) moved in and out with credibility. The message to this show is that no one makes it through school alone. I am in Seminary now and have made use of the "study group" as used in this show.

The comic relief (from Stots, and Zeiss, and Willis Bell) offset the drama quite nicely. This show just goes to show what a bunch of relative unknowns can do with quality material. (remember cheers, and taxi?.and particularly M*A*S*H?..yes those are comedies, but the rule holds.... ). I hope this show comes out on DVD sometime soon. I recorded most of the first season and some of the outstanding subsequent episodes on Showtime.