PARIS (1979-1980) FORGOTTEN TELEVISION STARRING JAMES EARL JONES

PARIS (1979-1980) – This 13-episode cop show was created by the one and only Steven Bochco. James Earl Jones took his first starring role in a television series as Woody Paris of the Los Angeles Police.

Paris commanded a unit of detectives, one of whom was played by Michael Warren, future Hill Street Blues star for Bochco. More importantly, Jones met and later married his white Paris costar Cecilia Hart. They remained together until her death in 2016.

Woody Paris also taught a criminology course at a city college. His wife was portrayed by Lee Chamberlain.

If you get the chance to watch James Earl Jones’ performance in this hour-long series, please do so. He masterfully plays a sharp detective, skilled leader and devoted husband helped immensely by his unforgettable voice and his gravitas.

THE EPISODES:

PARIS – Woody Paris risks career suicide as he and his unit investigate the murder of the wife of a Los Angeles City Councilman. The late woman’s lover is the chief suspect but Paris comes to believe that the councilman himself may be the killer when he learns of the man’s covered-up incidents of domestic violence. Directed by Jackie Cooper and cowritten by Steven Bochco, whose future Hill Street Blues collaborators Barbara Babcock and Kiel Martin guest star.

DEAR JOHN – Paris investigates a rookie cop suspected of vigilante justice against the mugger who killed his mother. Another script cowritten by Bochco. Danny Glover, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and yet another future Hill Street Blues star, Taurean Blacque, guest star.

PAWN – Georg Stanford-Brown directed another script cowritten by Steven Bochco. Paris learns the identity of a murderer-rapist but finds it difficult to assemble the evidence necessary to convict the shrewd criminal. Wendy Phillips, Joan Darling and Jake Mitchell guest star.

FRIENDS AND ENEMIES – Paris investigates when two cops shoot an unarmed restaurant owner to death. The cops state that a street snitch told them the owner was involved in criminal activities but that informant has disappeared. Our hero must uncover the truth. Bochco cowrote the episode and guest stars include Mark Slade, Rudy Ramos, Rosanna DeSoto and Fred Beir.

ONCE MORE FOR FREE – Paris and his former mentor clash over strategies for bringing down a ruthless drug dealer. Dan Hedaya and Jerry Lacy guest star along with another future Hill Street Blues cast member, Michael Conrad.

DEAD MEN DON’T KILL – Woody Paris works against time to prevent an innocent man from being executed for killing a cop six years earlier when he uncovers evidence pointing to a career criminal instead. Robert “Freddy Krueger” Englund and Georg Stanford-Brown guest star.

BURNOUT – Hill Street Blues alumni James Sikking and Bruce Weitz guest star in this episode about Paris clashing with a colleague who uses questionable and lazy methods regarding a case in which both of them are following separate leads. Ellen Geer also guest stars.

DECISIONS – Paris is left reeling and conscience-stricken when an innocent bystander gets killed during the fallout of an undercover operation he was running against hijackers. Mary Gregory and John Quade are among the guest cast.

THE PRICE IS RIGHT – Georg Stanford-Brown was back to direct this episode. Paris suspects that a crime ring terrorizing elderly residents to sell their beachside homes cheap is being masterminded by a tycoon who wants the properties. Nailing the man loses our hero the man’s political support in a potential promotion.

THE GHOST MAKER – Paris investigates a killer who winds up being protected by federal investigators because the man is testifying against a gangland boss. Nicolas Coster, Terrence Beasor and Lee Wallace guest star.   

FITZ’S BOYS – Thefts along the waterfront and the murder of a longshoreman are the subjects of the latest investigation by Paris and his subordinates. Joe Penny, Tom Clancy and Roger E. Mosley are among the guest cast.

PAY THE TWO BUCKS – One of Woody Paris’s best friends is framed for murder and our hero does what he can to help prove his innocence. Jonathan Frakes guest stars.

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL – Paris and company get caught in the middle of rising tensions between Neo-Nazis and a Jewish neighborhood along a Fourth of July parade route. Ed Harris, Betsy Slade and Dolph Sweet guest star. 

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