Paris (1979 TV series)
| Paris | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Steven Bochco |
| Starring |
James Earl Jones Hank Garrett Cecilia Hart Jake Mitchell Frank Ramírez Michael Warren Lee Chamberlin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 (2 unaired) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Steven Bochco |
| Producer(s) | Edward DeBlasio |
| Running time | 44 minutes |
| Production company(s) | MTM Enterprises |
| Distributor | 20th Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | September 29, 1979 – January 15, 1980 |
Paris is an American television series that appeared on the CBS television network from September 29, 1979 to January 15, 1980.[1] A crime drama, the show is notable as the first-ever appearance of actor James Earl Jones in a lead role on television and was created by Steven Bochco,[1] who also served as executive producer.
The program told the story of Los Angeles Police Captain Woody Paris (Jones), who supervised a team of young detectives. The rookie investigators were led by Sergeant Stacy Erickson (Cecilia Hart) and included officers Charlie Bogart (Jake Mitchell), Ernesto Villas (Frank Ramirez), and Willie Miller (Michael Warren). Hank Garrett portrayed Deputy Chief Jerome Bench, Paris' superior, and, in an unusual turn for police dramas of that era, Paris' home and off-duty life was given considerable attention in the plots, with Lee Chamberlin playing his wife, Barbara. Paris was also shown moonlighting as a professor of criminology at a local university.
Although Paris was critically acclaimed for its portrayal of the tension between the professional Paris character and his often impetuous underlings, CBS scheduled the show in one of the worst possible timeslots on a weekly schedule: Saturdays at 10 p.m./9 Central. All three networks debuted new shows for the 1979–80 season in that slot; only ABC's Hart to Hart survived its first 13 weeks. Toward the end of its run, CBS moved it to Tuesdays at 10/9, but to no avail. Edward DeBlasio produced the show for MTM Enterprises, which would unveil, during the next season, executive producer Bochco's landmark Hill Street Blues on NBC (in fact, Warren would join that show's cast as Officer Bobby Hill).
Some years after Paris was cancelled, Jones and co-star Cecilia Hart married; she died of ovarian cancer in 2016.
Cast
- James Earl Jones as Detective Capt. Woodrow "Woody" Paris
- Hank Garrett as Deputy Chief Jerome Bench
- Cecilia Hart as Sgt. Stacey Erickson
- Jake Mitchell as Det. Charlie Bogart
- Frank Ramírez as Det. Ernie Villas
- Michael Warren as Det. Willie Miller
- Lee Chamberlin as Barbara Paris
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Paris" | Jackie Cooper | Steven Bochco | September 29, 1979 |
| Series pilot: Captain Woodrow Paris is brought in to solve the murder of a prominent councilman's wife. | ||||
| 2 | "Dear John" | Arnold Laven | Steven Bochco | October 6, 1979 |
| After his mother is crippled by muggers, a rookie cop tries to take the law into his own hands. | ||||
| 3 | "Pawn" | Georg Stanford Brown | Edward DeBlasio | October 13, 1979 |
| Paris finds that identifying a killer-rapist is a lot easier than coming up with the evidence to convict him. | ||||
| 4 | "Friends and Enemies" | Alex March | Edward DeBlasio & Michael Kozoll | October 20, 1979 |
| Paris investigates the slaying of an unarmed restaurant owner by a policeman. | ||||
| 5 | "Once More for Free" | Alexander Singer | Burton Armus | October 27, 1979 |
| Differing police philosophies cause conflict between Paris and his old mentor in the case of an elusive drug dealer. | ||||
| 6 | "Dead Men Don't Kill" | Jerry McNeely | Steven Bochco | December 4, 1979 |
| In a desperate effort to save a possibly innocent man on death row, Paris searches for evidence linking a suave robber to a six-year-old cop killing. | ||||
| 7 | "Burnout" | Alf Kjellin | Del Reisman | December 11, 1979 |
| Paris finds himself contending with another cop when their cases intersect. He also suspects that something is up with the man and has to decide if he should take action against him. | ||||
| 8 | "Decisions" | Jack Starrett | Irving Pearlberg | December 18, 1979 |
| Paris' conscience is deeply troubled when an innocent man is killed by hijackers in the course of an undercover investigation. | ||||
| 9 | "The Price Is Right" | Georg Stanford Brown | Jackson Gillis | January 1, 1980 |
| With a juicy political appointment on the line, Paris persists in his investigation of crooks who are driving elderly people from their beachfront homes. | ||||
| 10 | "The Ghost Maker" | Bruce Paltrow | Burton Armus | January 8, 1980 |
| Paris tries to prosecute a killer, who is the star witness in a gangland trial and thus is being protected by the government. This brings him into conflict with several federal agents. | ||||
| 11 | "Fitz's Boys" | Alf Kjellin | Larry Alexander & Burton Armus | January 15, 1980 |
| Paris becomes an honorary Irishman when he and his squad investigate thefts from the docks and the suspicious death of an old stevedore. | ||||
| 12 | "Pay the Two Bucks" | Alan Rachins | David Solomon | Unaired |
| When a good friend is framed for murder due to an extortionist's plot, Paris works to exonerate the innocent man. | ||||
| 13 | "America the Beautiful" | Victor Lobl | Burton Armus | Unaired |
| Paris finds himself in the middle of a violent confrontation between a neighborhood association and American Nazis on the eve of a Fourth of July rally. | ||||
Sources
Total Television: A Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present, Alex McNeil, New York: Penguin, revised ed., 1984.
References
External links
- Paris at the Internet Movie Database
- Paris at TV.com