The Paper Chase

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.

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.

This was a most enjoyable series. It was designed for the more intelligent viewer. With rare exception, the characters were sensitive, intelligent and sometimes foolish enough to be totally believable. I taped most of the episodes and enjoy them even today.

Sadly, with John Houseman's passing, there will never be another Prof. Charles Kingsfield, though George C. Scott may have made an interesting one also. This is one I would like to see re-run.

The movie was good, but the series was better. Most can relate better to the real people of the series over the movie.

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!

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.