The Paper Chase
The Paper Chase
TV ShowEnded

The Paper Chase

7.6 / 10
1978
4 seasons
58 episodes
Drama

Critically lauded drama about the life and pressures of a group of students at a prestigious Eastern law school, with a strict and domineering contract-law professor named Charles Kingsfield, who alternately inspires and terrifies the students.

Sign in to add to your list

What critics are saying

Verdicts use the same scale as your list: highly recommended through avoid — plus optional scores and blurbs.

Highly recommended Recommend Give it a go Neutral Avoid

Nobody on Critic, Sir! has logged a verdict for this title yet. The silence is either respectful or suspicious.

Sign in and use Add to My List below to share your own verdict.

Cast

Seasons

  • Ep 1

    1.The Paper Chase

    09-09-1978

    James Hart (James Stephens), a farmboy from Minnesota, starts his first year of law school. Being unprepared for his first day of ""Contracts"" he is 'shrouded' by Professor Charle...

  • Ep 2

    2.The Man Who Would Be King

    19-09-1978

    Anderson pushes Hart to run for the first-year slot on the Law School Council. Elsewhere, Ford's father and sister come for a visit. Ford's father is an alumnus of the school, and...

  • Ep 3

    3.A Day in the Life of . . .

    26-09-1978

    Hart asks Kingsfield to answer a question before he thoroughly researched the case himself. As a penalty, Kingsfield gives Hart additional research that is due the following mornin...

  • Ep 4

    4.Great Expectations

    03-10-1978

    The study group plans a weekend getaway picnic to blow off steam, but Professor Kingsfield assigns a lot of work at the last minute, causing the group to drop the getaway and just...

  • Ep 5

    5.Voices of Silence

    10-10-1978

    As part of Prof. Rolf's prison internship program for first year students, Logan is assigned to help in a hearing of a political activist, Eric Ryerson, who was put in solitary con...

  • Ep 6

    6.Nancy

    17-10-1978

    Hart has a girlfriend with whom he is very close and share's his deep love of the law. Together they uncover a ""secret"" repository of all of the collected books, articles, and ev...

  • Ep 7

    7.Da Da

    31-10-1978

    This episode focuses on Tom Clayton, the guy with the ""photographic memory"" in the study group. Early in the episode Kingsfield intimidates Tom to the point he is incapable of s...

  • Ep 8

    8.The Seating Chart

    14-11-1978

    The ""Paper Chase"" meets ""I love Lucy:"" as the weekend approaches, Hart gets a special, paying assignment to index Kingsfield's new book of essays, due Monday – an impossibly...

  • Ep 9

    9.Moot Court

    21-11-1978

    This is one of the standout episodes written by the John Jay Osborn, Jr., the author of the original book and screenplay for the 1974 movie. Moot court is the chance for first yea...

  • Ep 10

    10.Kingsfield's Daughter

    28-11-1978

    Hart falls for a woman who turns out to be Kingsfield's daughter - Susan Fields.

  • Ep 11

    11.The Sorcerer's Apprentice

    05-12-1978

    This episode features Elizabeth Logan. Supreme Court Justice Reynolds pays a visit to campus to commemorate a milestone anniversary of women being admitted to the law school. Durin...

  • Ep 12

    12.Bell and Love

    12-12-1978

    A female friend from Hart's hometown comes to visit Hart while trying to sort out her struggling marriage. As usual, Hart is swamped, so he asks Bell to keep her company for a few...

  • Ep 13

    13.An Act of Desperation

    19-12-1978

    A struggling Jonathan is so desperate to pass Kingsfield's midterm, he hires someone to steal a copy of the test. He tricks the rest of his study group into believing that it is an...

  • Ep 14

    14.Losing Streak

    19-01-1979

    Anderson, who has been making a small killing at poker amonst his friends, sees a lovely 3L (3rd year law student), Chris Carlyle (Christine Belford), and wants to get to know her...

  • Ep 15

    15.The Man in the Chair

    06-02-1979

    A new student, Paul Chandler, joins the class mid semester. He is wheelchair bound yet athletic and handsome. The study group welcomes him in and in their interactions we gradual...

  • Ep 16

    16.A Matter of Anger

    13-02-1979

    A black woman has an inferiority complex because she was accepted to law school through the Affirmative Action program. At Kingsfield's request, Hart reluctantly becomes the angry...

  • Ep 17

    17.The Apprentice

    20-02-1979

    Kingsfield hires Hart to help his assistant on an important appellate case, an unprecedented distinction for a first year student. The assistant, much sought after and soon to grad...

  • Ep 18

    18.Once More with Feeling

    27-02-1979

    When Logan spurns a respected law professor who makes improper advances toward her, she is surprised to see the result is a low grade. However, Kingsfield, head of the disciplinary...

  • Ep 19

    19.The Clay Footed Idol

    20-03-1979

    Kingsfield has his students form groups to argue both sides of a case of their choice. When Hart's study group selects a case that the professor lost early in his career, they star...

  • Ep 20

    20.The Tables Down at Ernie's

    27-03-1979

    This episode further develops Kingsfield's character and fleshes-out his past. It begins with the news that Ernie's bar, a favorite campus hangout for generations, will be closed...

  • Ep 21

    21.A Case of Detente

    17-04-1979

    Although this was not the last episode shown, as the production numbers tell, it was the last one produced. I remember that the last episode was about Hart falling in love with a...

  • Ep 22

    22.Scavenger Hunt

    24-04-1979

    The main story concerns a ""scavenger hunt"" assignment that Prof. Kingsfield gives the students. They must get at least 70 questions correct out of 100 concerning various aspects...

Watching Lists

Sign in to create and edit public lists.

Loading lists…

Purchase & Discovery

Find this title on Amazon

Digital

Prime Video & digital

Amazon mixes rent, buy, and Prime in one place — one search covers the usual options.

As an Amazon Associate, Critic, Sir! earns from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure