About this season
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 renowned actor James Earl Jones in a lead role on television and was created by Steven Bochco, who later achieved fame for Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue, also served as executive producer. The program told the story of Los Angeles Police Captain Woody Paris, who supervised a team of young detectives. The rookie investigators were led by Sergeant Stacy Erickson and included officers Charlie Bogart, Ernesto Villas, and Willie Miller. 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.
Episodes (13)
1. Pilot
Aired 29 September 1979
Captain Woodrow Paris is brought in to solve the murder of a prominent councilman's wife.
2. Dear John
Aired 6 October 1979
After his mother is crippled by muggers, a rookie cop under the command of Captain Paris tries to take the law into his own hands.
3. Pawn
Aired 13 October 1979
Paris finds that identifying a killer-rapist is a lot easier than coming up with evidence to convict him.
4. Friends and Enemies
Aired 20 October 1979
Paris investigates the slaying of an unarmed restaurant owner by a policeman.
5. Once More for Free
Aired 27 October 1979
Two quite different police philosophies cause conflict between Paris and his old mentor in a case of an elusive drug dealer.
6. Dead Men Don't Kill
Aired 4 December 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
Aired 11 December 1979
Paris' delicate investigation of a gun-running gang is jeopardized by the insatiable ambition of a fellow officer.
8. Decisions
Aired 18 December 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
Aired 1 January 1980
With a juicy political appointment on the line, Paris persists in his investigation of crooks who are driving elderly people from their beach-front homes.
10. The Ghost Maker
Aired 8 January 1980
Paris locks horns with federal agents when he tries to prosecute a killer who, as star witness in a gangland trial, is being protected by the government.
11. Fitz's Boys
Aired 15 January 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. America the Beautiful
Aired 22 January 1980
When a good friend is framed for murder due to an extortionist's plot, Paris works to exonerate the innocent man.
13. Pay the Two Bucks
Aired 29 January 1980
Paris finds himself caught in the middle when violence erupts between a neighbourhood association and American Nazis on the eve of a 4th of July rally.