McClain's Law

McClain's Law
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Eric Bercovici
Written by	Frank Abatemarco Eric Bercovici Walter Dallenbach Stephen Downing Allison Hock Mark Rodgers Frank Telford Gerald Sanford
Directed by	Corey Allen Kerry Feltham Bruce Kessler Vincent McEveety Gary Nelson James Sheldon
Starring	James Arness George DiCenzo Marshall Colt
Composer(s)	James Di Pasquale Michael Melvoin Angela Morley
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	16
Production
Executive producer(s)	Eric Bercovici Richard R. St. Johns
Producer(s)	Robert H. Justman Mark Rodgers
Running time	60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Original run	November 20, 1981 (1981-11-20) – August 24, 1982 (1982-08-24)

McClain's Law is an American crime drama television series that aired on NBC during the 1981-1982 season. New episodes ended on March 20, and rebroadcasts continued until August 24, 1982.

Summary

The series starred former Gunsmoke lead James Arness in a rare non-western role as Jim McClain, a former police detective who was medically retired after being wounded in the leg in a gun battle in the line of duty. He returns to duty thirteen years later to avenge the murder and robbery of a friend, and ends up coming out of retirement in order to share his expertise with a younger generation of police officers.^[1]

At first, his request to be returned to active duty is met with resistance by police department supervisors. McClain is made to undergo physical fitness tests and a requalification and training program at the police academy. He handily passes all tests and is returned to active duty on the department at his former rank of detective. McClain is tough but compassionate. He is regarded by his colleagues as being an "Old School" cop. He carries a Smith and Wesson .44 caliber revolver when most of his fellow officers carry .38 Special caliber sidearms. His new coworkers come to respect McClain as a consumate professional of unyielding courage. McClain's Law, like several other series from this period, was criticized for its level of violence. The co-stars were Marshall Colt and the late George DiCenzo.

Cast

Actor	Role
James Arness	Detective Jim McClain
George DiCenzo	Lieutenant Edward DeNisco
Marshall Colt	Detective Harry Gates
Conchata Ferrell	Vangie Cruise
Carl Franklin	Detective Jerry Cross

Notable Guest stars

• Barbara Babcock
• Bibi Besch
• Scott Brady
• Julie Carmen
• Pat Corley
• Richard Jaeckel
• Arte Johnson
• Henry Jones
• Art Lund
• Richard Lynch

Episodes

Ep #	Title	Airdate
1	Pilot (Part 1)	November 20, 1981
2	Pilot (Part 2)	November 20, 1981
3	"Requiem for a Narc"	November 27, 1981
4	"A Time of Peril"	December 4, 1981
5	"Let the Victims Beware"	December 11, 1981
6	"Portrait of a Playmate"	December 18, 1981
7	"To Save the Queen"	January 8, 1982
8	"A Matter of Honor"	January 15, 1982
9	"The Sign of the Beast" (Part 1)	January 22, 1982
10	"The Sign of the Beast" (Part 2)	January 29, 1982
11	"What Patric Doesn't Know"	February 5, 1982
12	"Green Light"	February 12, 1982
13	"Use of Deadly Force"	February 19, 1982
14	"Takeover"	March 6, 1982
15	"From the Mouths of Babes"	March 13, 1982
16	"The Last Hero"	March 20, 1982

References

1. ^ Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Comprehensive Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946-Present, New York: Ballantine Publishers, 1992, p. 570

External links

• McClain's Law at the Internet Movie Database
• McClain's Law at TV.com