The White Shadow

Infobox Television
show_name = The White Shadow


caption =
aka =
genre = Drama
creator =
writer = David Assael
Steven Bochco
Joshua Brand
Tom Chehak
John Falsey
Steve Kline
Gary Kott
John Masius
Bruce Paltrow
Marc Rubin
director = Thomas Carter
Jackie Cooper
Lawrence Levy
Victor Lobl
Marc Norman
Bruce Paltrow
Mark Tinker
Virgil W. Vogel
starring = Ken Howard
voices =
narrated =
theme_music_composer =
opentheme =
endtheme =
composer =
country = USA
language = English
num_seasons = 3
num_episodes = 54
list_episodes =
executive_producer = Bruce Paltrow
producer = Mark Tinker
sup_producer =
asst_producer = Scott Brazil
runtime = 60 mins.
channel = CBS
first_aired = November 27, 1978
last_aired = March 16, 1981

"The White Shadow" is an American drama television series that ran on the CBS network from November 27, 1978 to March 16, 1981.

Overview

It starred Ken Howard as Ken Reeves, a white professional basketball player who chooses to retire from the NBA because of a severe knee injury. He retires to take a job as head basketball coach at Carver High School, a mostly Black and Hispanic urban high school in South Central Los Angeles, by Jim Willis, Carver's principal and Reeves' old college roommate. Joan Pringle played Sybil Buchanan, the vice principal who was against Reeves' hiring and clashed with Reeves in the areas of discipline and education on more than a few occasions.

According to the storyline, Reeves and Willis were roommates at Boston College. Reeves played college basketball and went on to be drafted into the NBA and played mostly with the Chicago Bulls. The show was produced by Bruce Paltrow for MTM Enterprises. On November 8, 2005, this series' first season was released on DVD, with the second season following on March 7, 2006.

"The White Shadow" was the first ensemble drama on prime-time television with a predominantly African-American cast. Having aired 54 episodes, it is the third-longest running drama with a predominantly African-American cast in the history of American prime-time television. Only "Soul Food" and "The Wire" have aired more episodes.

The show's title is derived from a statement by Reeves in the last scene of the pilot episode, where he told the members of the team that he would support them and be right behind them, to quote Thorpe, "like a white shadow".

Main Cast ("Roster")

Other notable cast members

Cast notes

Jason Bernard, who played Jim Willis in the pilot episode, and Ed Bernard, who played Jim Willis for the remainder of Season 1 and all of Season 2, are not related.

John Mengatti and Larry Flash Jenkins had walk-on roles on the show prior to becoming regular cast members.

Inconsistencies/Continuity problems

*In the first season episode "The Offer", Reeves tells Sally Adams, a TV sports reporter, that he was drafted 16th in the NBA Draft out of Boston College by the Chicago Bulls and spent 10 seasons in the starting line-up.
*In another first season episode, "Wanna Bet?", Reeves meets a street-hustling basketball player named Bobby Magnum (played by Michael Warren), who seems to recognize him, having followed his whole NBA career. Bobby recites the facts that Reeves played eight years with Chicago, Denver, and Milwaukee, and averaged "a paltry six points per game." Reeves replies that he also played with Detroit. Bobby replies that 'Rick Barry lived off you, man.'
*Several former Chicago Bulls players are mentioned alluding to being teammates of Reeves, and they would fit in with the time frame before the show debuted. Mentioned are Chet Walker, Bob Love, Tom Boerwinkle, and Artis Gilmore.
*In "That Old Gang of Mine", Reeves meets a police lieutenant named Diaz while trying to stop a gang fight that Gomez is involved in. Lt. Diaz says Reeves played with Chicago and Denver and reminds Reeves he lost money betting on the Bulls when he played.
*In "Little Orphan Abner", Reeves tells Goldstein's grandparents that he spent 12 seasons with the Bulls.
*In the second season episode "Links", Reeves tells Bob Beardsley, the owner of the country club, that he spent the last six years of his career with the Bulls.
*In contrast to telling Bobby in "Wanna Bet?" that he played with Detroit, in Season 3, he and his father met Mickey Mantle in New York. Mantle asks Reeves if he played with Detroit, and Reeves replies no.

Another continuity issue was the exact academic status of most of the players. Examples include:

* In season 1's "Bonus Baby", agent Walter Preston discusses with Coolidge the ramifications of turning professional with one year left of high school (and sacrificing four years of college), which would imply that he was a junior when the show started airing. Yet, Coolidge was a regular character for all three seasons, meaning he somehow had another year.
* Thorpe also seemed to have found another year in season 3 after supposedly being in line for a scholarship (which would imply he was a senior) and being evaluated by a basketball scout in season 2's "Artist."
* In season 2's "The Hitter", Coach Reeves is looking at Gomez' medical records and states Gomez is a junior. But, after season 2, Gomez supposedly graduates.
* In season 1's "Pregnant Pause", Reese is scouted for a possible scholarship (implying that he is a senior), but he returns for season 2.

Other inconsistencies:

* In the episode "Here's Mud In Your Eye", it is stated that Curtis Jackson is an only child. However in "The Death of Me Yet", he is depicted as having a younger brother named Willie.
* Coolidge also has some inconsistencies with his family situation. In the season 2 Christmas episode "A Christmas Present" he mentions wanting to buy a doll for his younger sister and in another season 2 episode, "No Place Like Home", he is shown to have a brother and a sister. However, in the season 1 episode "Bonus Baby", he stated that he and his mother live alone.
* In the Las Vegas-based season 1 episode "We're in the Money", Goldstein asks Reese at the roulette table how old his brother is and Reese replies that he's 5. In the season 2 episode "Cross Town Hustle", Reese is shown having dinner at home and nobody is at the table except for Reese and his parents. Additionally, his parents appear to be somewhat old even to have a 17-year-old son, so it seems very unlikely that they would have another child who was only five years old.

"Singing in the Shower"

One of the recurring themes in "The White Shadow" was the Carver High players harmonizing and singing familiar 50's and 60's R&B tunes in the locker room shower after practices, usually with Milton Reese (Nathan Cook) as lead singer. In the Season 1 episode "LeGrand Finale", the team gets voice and harmonizing lessons from Art Leonard (incidentally, played by Harry Danner, Bruce Paltrow's brother-in-law), the Carver High music and drama teacher. While their vocal ranges seemed to change slightly from episode to episode, this episode firmly established the following::- Falsetto: Reese (although it is almost certain that his actual range made him a tenor):- 1st Tenor: Thorpe:- 2nd Tenor: Hayward, Salami, Goldstein:- Baritone: Jackson:- Bass: Coolidge:Gomez was apparently tone deaf, as he was advised to simply lip-synch or play the tambourine.

Unlike other shows themed around musical groups like "The Partridge Family", the cast of "The White Shadow" did their own singing (as opposed to lip synching) during the shower scenes. According to commentary by former cast members on the Season 2 DVD, the late Nathan Cook (Reese) was clearly the best singer.

Some of the better known hits sung by "The Team" include:

* "My Girl" by The Temptations- "Pregnant Pause", Season 1
* "Duke of Earl" by Gene Chandler- "The Offer", Season 1
* "Charlie Brown" by The Coasters- "LeGrand Finale", Season 1
* "Take You Back" by Frank Stallone- "LeGrand Finale", Season 1
* "Twist and Shout" by The Isley Brothers- "No Place Like Home", Season 2
* "I Do" by The Marvelows- "LeGrand Finale", Season 1
* "Man, Oh Man" by The Impressions- "Cross-town Hustle", Season 2
* "A Teenager in Love" by Dion and the Belmonts- "Vanity Fare", Season 3
* "Under the Boardwalk" by The Drifters- "Vanity Fare", Season 3

Trivia

*Thomas Carter (Hayward), Kevin Hooks (Thorpe), and Timothy Van Patten (Salami) all became successful directors in film and television. Carter directed the pilot episode for "Miami Vice", and has won 3 Emmy awards. His films include "Coach Carter" (about a high school basketball team), and "Save the Last Dance". Hooks, also an Emmy award winner, has an extensive resume, including directorial work on "21 Jump Street", "", "24", "Lost", and the films "Passenger 57" and "Fled"; he is currently a director and producer on the hit FOX series "Prison Break". Van Patten directed multiple episodes of "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City". He is also a co-writer of the acclaimed "Pine Barrens" episode from Season 3 of "The Sopranos".
*Of all the actors portraying Carver High School's basketball players, the late Nathan Cook was the oldest at 28 years of age when the show debuted, only six years younger than Ken Howard. Timothy Van Patten was the youngest at age 19.
* Coolidge returned to television as an orderly on "St. Elsewhere" and once thought he recognized Salami when Timothy Van Patten played a different role as a guest star.

External links

* [http://whiteshadowtvshow.com "The #1 White Shadow TV Show Website For The Fans"]
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* [http://epguides.com/WhiteShadow/ "The White Shadow" episode guide]
* [http://timstvshowcase.com/whiteshadow.html "The White Shadow" at Tim's TV Showcase]
* [http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/1340964-warren-coolidge Big Warren Coolidge places 7th in TV Greats Countdown]