Paris

Paris Information

Paris is an American television series that appeared on the CBS television network from September 29, 1979 to January 15, 1980. 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, 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 Ramrez 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	ShortSummary = Series pilot: Captain Woodrow Paris is brought in to solve the murder of a prominent councilman's wife.	LineColor = 500050 }}	ShortSummary = After his mother is crippled by muggers, a rookie cop tries to take the law into his own hands.	LineColor = 500050 }}	ShortSummary = Paris finds that identifying a killer-rapist is a lot easier than coming up with the evidence to convict him.	LineColor = 500050 }}	ShortSummary = Paris investigates the slaying of an unarmed restaurant owner by a policeman.	LineColor = 500050 }}	ShortSummary = Differing police philosophies cause conflict between Paris and his old mentor in the case of an elusive drug dealer.	LineColor = 500050 }}	ShortSummary = 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.	LineColor = 500050 }}	ShortSummary = 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.	LineColor = 500050 }}	ShortSummary = Paris' conscience is deeply troubled when an innocent man is killed by hijackers in the course of an undercover investigation.	LineColor = 500050 }}	ShortSummary = With a juicy political appointment on the line, Paris persists in his investigation of crooks who are driving elderly people from their beachfront homes.	LineColor = 500050 }}	ShortSummary = 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.	LineColor = 500050 }}	ShortSummary = Paris becomes an honorary Irishman when he and his squad investigate thefts from the docks and the suspicious death of an old stevedore.	LineColor = 500050 }}

Sources

Total Television: A Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present, Alex McNeil, New York: Penguin, revised ed., 1984.

This webpage uses material from the Wikipedia article "Paris_%281979_TV_series%29" and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Reality TV World is not responsible for any errors or omissions the Wikipedia article may contain.

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