The chase is finally over for this shining example of a television series that didn't treat its viewers as if they had skulls full of mush. Based on the acclaimed 1973 film adapted from John Jay Osborn, Jr.'s novel, these 22 episodes from the 1978-79 first season of the series are literally old school, presenting education in general and the study of law in particular as noble pursuits. Professor Charles Kingsfield (John Houseman) belongs in the pantheon of great movie/TV teachers, and viewers are likely to develop a rooting interest for his best and brightest pupils, including series' anchor James Stephens as Hart, an idealistic first year law student. In the Grade-A pilot episode, Hart manages to get on the wrong side of the intimidating Kingsfield on his very first day of class. How Hart tries to land back in Kingsfield's good graces sets the stage for these episodes in which classroom drama proves to be just as compelling as the courtroom variety. Hart's study group classmates include third generation lawyer Ford (Tom Fitzsimmons), genius Anderson (Robert Ginty), activist Logan (Francine Tacker), newly-married Brooks (Jonathan Sagall), and slob Bell (James Keane). James Brooks, who directed the feature film, developed the series for television, while Osborn wrote several of the episodes, and the venerable Houseman recreated his Oscar-winning role as Kingsfield. The Paper Chase was a critics' darling, but was cancelled due to bad ratings after only one year (following reruns on PBS, the Showtime network picked up the series for three more CableACE Award-winning seasons). Although the image quality is disappointing on this extra-less boxed set, the rarely syndicated The Paper Chase remains just as gripping today as when it first aired. Highly recommended. (D. Liebenson)
The Paper Chase: Season One
Shout! Factory, 6 discs, 1,080 min., not rated, DVD: $49.99 Volume 24, Issue 3
The Paper Chase: Season One
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