Results tagged “The White Shadow” from Hollywood Babble On

MTM Enterprises was a giant in television production in the 1970s and 80's and one of the first drama series that they produced was The White Shadow starring Ken Howard.

The show was about a white NBA player - Howard - who had to retire due to injuries and was asked to coach a (fictional) high school in Los Angeles called Carver. The team was terrible and all of the students were problem kids - from the almost expelled pyromaniacs, to the criminals to the anti-establishment. But Howard's character of Ken Reeves, pulled these kids together and got them going in the right direction. Most of them.

The series was monumental in several ways. One is the it depicted high school life in Los Angeles with a raw intensity not seen up to this point. The real-life issues kids then (and still now) faced, including one of the players on the team being an innocent bystander at a robbery and getting shot.
Another reason why it was monumental is because of how it propelled MTM Enterprises to new heights. It started the production company on a path of greatness with the producers, directors and writers (as well as some of the actors) moving on to many other great shows. Other series the company producerd included St. Elsewhere and Hill Street Blues and those shows' producers spawned other shows Homincide: Life on the Street, Miami Vice, The Sopranos, LA Law, NYPD Blue Not the mention the comedy series they were also doing The Mary Tyler Moore Show, WKRP in Cincinnati, The Bob Newhart Show (and later, Newhart), with those produces moving on after that to do The Simpsons, Taxi and Cheers, among others. One of the main producers of the series was Bruce Paltrow, Gwyneth's dad.

The third big contribution from The White Shadow was that three of the actors who played high school basketball players became accomplished television writers and directors after the series was over. Timothy Van Patten went on the direct Sex and the City, The Sopranos, The Wire, Ed, Homicide: Life on the Street, and a Deadwood episode and was nominated for six Emmys for writing and directing. Kevin Hooks also became a director, working on St. Elsewhere, Doogie Howser, Homicide: Life on the Street, ER, Lost, 24 and a score of other television series. Thomas Carter is yet another director spawned from The White Shadow, with directing credits that include Hill Street Blues, Equal Justice and Damages and a large list of other credits like the films Coach Carter and the now Untitled Jackie Robinson Movie, due out in 2010 that Robert Redford is attached to.

The White Shadow was not just a basketball show, but it was a series about kids growing up and learning how to be responsible adults - with basketball at the foreground.

The series is available to watch on Hulu.com as well as on DVD. It originally aired from 1978-1981 and is fun to watch - albeit a little dated - but it would be a good companion piece to view while watching the last part of the NBA season.