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The Best Episodes of The Paper Chase

Every episode of The Paper Chase ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Paper Chase!

Binge this in Unknown•Peaking at 9.7/10

Critically lauded drama about the life and pressures of a group of students at a prestigious Eastern law school, with a strict and domineering contract-law professor named Charles Kingsfield, who alternately inspires and terrifies the

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    The Paper Chase Season 2 Episode 16 - My Dinner With Kingsfield
    9.7/10(28 votes)

    #1 - My Dinner With Kingsfield

    S2:E16

    A snowstorm strands Kingsfield, forcing him to spend the evening with Hart while Ford and Bell get to know Nottingham in a local bar.

    Director:Arthur Allan Seidelman
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. The Paper Chase Season 4 Episode 5 - Graduation
    9.6/10(21 votes)

    #2 - Graduation

    S4:E5

    The episode which brings it together. We learn of the future plans of the characters. Enjoyed Ford's talk with Hart before leaving for the ceremony. Remember the ending of Hart's speech? Addressing Kingsfield, ""How you've changed my life . . .It has never been easy for me with you, and this moment I find most difficult of all, thank you, and goodbye"".

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. The Paper Chase Season 1 Episode 1 - The Paper Chase
    9.3/10(43 votes)

    #3 - The Paper Chase

    S1:E1

    James Hart (James Stephens), a farmboy from Minnesota, starts his first year of law school. Being unprepared for his first day of ""Contracts"" he is 'shrouded' by Professor Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr. (John Houseman), pronouncing the hapless Hart as ""dead"" in his class. This means that he will never call on Hart and his part of the class's ""Socratic dialogue will be at an end. Hart finds out that Kingsfield shrouds one student each year and that student remains deceased all year long. Kingsfield is the reason Hart has chosen to come to this school; we are shown a couple of his nightmares now that he is the ""former Mr. Hart"". Another student, Franklin Ford III (Tom FitzSimmons), is organizing a study group and invites Hart to join. The members of the study group decide to have each member do an outline of one of the classes that they can then copy for each member of the group. Hart wants to do the Contracts outline but the others worry that Hart cannot be effective if he is shrouded. In

    Director:Joseph Hardy
    Writer:James Bridges

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  4. The Paper Chase Season 2 Episode 13 - Limits
    8.9/10(21 votes)

    #4 - Limits

    S2:E13

    Ford reaches out to Kingsfield for help when his fellow students seek to force a teacher they suspect is senile in retirement.

    Director:Jack Bender
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. The Paper Chase Season 3 Episode 7 - The Day Kingsfield Missed Class
    8.9/10(21 votes)

    #5 - The Day Kingsfield Missed Class

    S3:E7

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. The Paper Chase Season 2 Episode 2 - Birthday Party
    8.8/10(22 votes)

    #6 - Birthday Party

    S2:E2

    Kingsfield's friend and former student, now the Attorney General of the United States, asks him if he would accept a nomination to the Supreme Court. Hart decides to celebrate Kingsfield's eightieth birthday, even though it is known that the professor disapproves of such festivities.

    Director:Jack Bender
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Paper Chase

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  7. The Paper Chase Season 1 Episode 22 - Scavenger Hunt
    8.7/10(24 votes)

    #7 - Scavenger Hunt

    S1:E22

    The main story concerns a ""scavenger hunt"" assignment that Prof. Kingsfield gives the students. They must get at least 70 questions correct out of 100 concerning various aspects of contract law whose answers may be found anywhere in the University. There are no rules and anyone who does not get the required numbers of questions will flunk the assignment. A secondary story line involves the visit of Bell's younger sister, Lisa (Wendy Rastatter), onto the scavenger hunt crazed campus. She is a free spirit who ends up ""distracting"" Ford from his scavenger hunt obligations to his study group. Bell shines as the ""bulldog"" of the scavenger hunt, outdoing even the illustrious Hart at finding answers to the questions. THINKING LIKE A LAWYER: The purpose of contracts is not simply words on a page. Contracts evolved as a vehicle and context for people to cooperate and work together to achieve that which they cannot do individually and in a way that is fair to everyone.

    Director:Jack Bender
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. The Paper Chase Season 3 Episode 1 - Decisions (1)
    8.7/10(17 votes)

    #8 - Decisions (1)

    S3:E1

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. The Paper Chase Season 1 Episode 9 - Moot Court
    8.6/10(31 votes)

    #9 - Moot Court

    S1:E9

    This is one of the standout episodes written by the John Jay Osborn, Jr., the author of the original book and screenplay for the 1974 movie. Moot court is the chance for first year law students to compete against each other (in teams of two) in a courtroom setting in front of a distinguished panel of judges, including Kingsfield. To win is a high prestige – Kingsfield himself won this competition when he was in law school there. Teams are drawn at random and the pairings are: Hart and Logan (a pseudo romantic relationship ensues), Bell and Raymond Livingston (a new character introduced for this episode), Anderson and Gagarian (minor emphasis on this pair), and other minor pairings. Raymond Livingston is being put through law school by the military, he is black, and from an economically challenged background. He is highly motivated to achieve in all endeavors of his life and unhappily finds himself in a team with the lazy, slovenly Bell who doesn't care to win (his main focus has al

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. The Paper Chase Season 1 Episode 17 - The Apprentice
    8.6/10(22 votes)

    #10 - The Apprentice

    S1:E17

    Kingsfield hires Hart to help his assistant on an important appellate case, an unprecedented distinction for a first year student. The assistant, much sought after and soon to graduate, dumps most of the work on Hart so he can go to job interviews. When Kingsfield finds out, he fires the assistant, leaving Hart to carry the burden alone.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. The Paper Chase Season 1 Episode 20 - The Tables Down at Ernie's
    8.6/10(26 votes)

    #11 - The Tables Down at Ernie's

    S1:E20

    This episode further develops Kingsfield's character and fleshes-out his past. It begins with the news that Ernie's bar, a favorite campus hangout for generations, will be closed along with the other small businesses on the block. All the buildings will then be razed for parking for a new gym the college is building. Kingsfield has been retained by the school to represent the school's interest in the project. Meanwhile, Hart has taken on the cause to save Ernie's (where he works) and he confronts Kingsfield in his office. After some difficulty finding a lawyer who will take the case, Hart appeals to Kingsfield's nostalgic side by telling him he knows that he frequented that establishment back in his law school days in the 1930's because there is a table with his initials carved in it. This sparks some distant memory in Kingsfield's mind and he pays a visit to Ernie's. It so happens that the original Ernie, Sr. is there at the same time and they recognize each other and reminisce

    Director:Philip Leacock
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. The Paper Chase Season 2 Episode 6 - Plague of Locusts
    8.5/10(23 votes)

    #12 - Plague of Locusts

    S2:E6

    Hart has a tough choice when multiple firms offer him internships, while Bell is anxious because all his interviews go badly. Ford considers turning his father in for violating school policy by taking students' grades into consideration when selecting interns.

    Director:Joseph Pevney
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. The Paper Chase Season 2 Episode 14 - Hart Goes Home
    8.5/10(17 votes)

    #13 - Hart Goes Home

    S2:E14

    Working in the public defender's office, Hart has to defend the perpetrator who assaulted and robbed Kingsfield. The violence on campus puts student on edge.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. The Paper Chase Season 2 Episode 17 - The Advocates
    8.5/10(16 votes)

    #14 - The Advocates

    S2:E17

    Hart and Harriman compete to represent the school in the national moot court competition. First-year student Vivian struggles with speaking up in class.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. The Paper Chase Season 1 Episode 19 - The Clay Footed Idol
    8.4/10(24 votes)

    #15 - The Clay Footed Idol

    S1:E19

    Kingsfield has his students form groups to argue both sides of a case of their choice. When Hart's study group selects a case that the professor lost early in his career, they start to question his ethics after they learn that he did not file what appears to them to be a routine appeal. Even Hart has his doubts after a now-prominent attorney who assisted Kingsfield on the case refuses to shed light on the matter.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. The Paper Chase Season 3 Episode 3 - Free Advice
    8.4/10(15 votes)

    #16 - Free Advice

    S3:E3

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. The Paper Chase Season 1 Episode 18 - Once More with Feeling
    8.3/10(25 votes)

    #17 - Once More with Feeling

    S1:E18

    When Logan spurns a respected law professor who makes improper advances toward her, she is surprised to see the result is a low grade. However, Kingsfield, head of the disciplinary committee, dismisses her complaint because she has no proof.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. The Paper Chase Season 2 Episode 9 - Tempest in a Pothole
    8.3/10(18 votes)

    #18 - Tempest in a Pothole

    S2:E9

    Hart's girlfriend receives a scholarship offer in England. Hart tries to presuade her to stay with him, she suggests he come to England, which he refuses. Awaiting her decision on whether to accept the scholarship or stay there with Hart, she asks him to go with her to Kingsfield's empty classroom which she describes as a ""temple of reason"" (you knew then which she had chosen). Hart leaves angrily, but Golden talks him into seeing her before she leaves. As she leaves, Bell is there to comfort his friend Hart. True to form, Hart announces that he needs to check on what assignments Golden has for him and then he will study for Kingsfield's seminar.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. The Paper Chase Season 3 Episode 10 - It's Only a Show
    8.3/10(17 votes)

    #19 - It's Only a Show

    S3:E10

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. The Paper Chase Season 1 Episode 2 - The Man Who Would Be King
    8.2/10(30 votes)

    #20 - The Man Who Would Be King

    S1:E2

    Anderson pushes Hart to run for the first-year slot on the Law School Council. Elsewhere, Ford's father and sister come for a visit. Ford's father is an alumnus of the school, and his very presence (at the school and in the classroom) puts extra pressure on Ford to excel. To impress his father, Ford decides to run for the Law Council post (against Hart) which forces the study group members to choose sides. Hart's part-time job is at Ernie's Tavern.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. The Paper Chase Season 1 Episode 3 - A Day in the Life of . . .
    8.2/10(33 votes)

    #21 - A Day in the Life of . . .

    S1:E3

    Hart asks Kingsfield to answer a question before he thoroughly researched the case himself. As a penalty, Kingsfield gives Hart additional research that is due the following morning. Hart is lost in thought while bicycling across campus, and is struck by a car driven by Leanne Laski, the president of the Law Review. Meanwhile, Bell misplaces his Property outline (actually stolen by Ford, as a prank). Elsewhere, Logan is arrested when her off-hand legal advice to some high school girls results in a riot at the girls' private school.

    Director:Philip Leacock
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. The Paper Chase Season 1 Episode 4 - Great Expectations
    8.1/10(34 votes)

    #22 - Great Expectations

    S1:E4

    The study group plans a weekend getaway picnic to blow off steam, but Professor Kingsfield assigns a lot of work at the last minute, causing the group to drop the getaway and just have an on-campus party. Self-styled ladies' man Anderson makes the rounds, and inadvertently gets stuck at the scene of a campus burglary, and is hauled in by the police. Hart and the others come to his legal aid.

    Director:Gwen Arner
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. The Paper Chase Season 2 Episode 11 - Burden of Proof
    8.1/10(16 votes)

    #23 - Burden of Proof

    S2:E11

    Bell sues the city for damages and lost wages when he rides over a pothole and breaks his arm. Kingsfield has difficulty coping when Nottingham, his secretary, transfers to another office.

    Director:Mark Cullingham
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. The Paper Chase Season 3 Episode 2 - Decisions (2)
    8.1/10(17 votes)

    #24 - Decisions (2)

    S3:E2

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. The Paper Chase Season 3 Episode 4 - Laura's Struggle
    8.1/10(20 votes)

    #25 - Laura's Struggle

    S3:E4

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"My Dinner With Kingsfield" is the best rated episode of "The Paper Chase". It scored 9.7/10 based on 28 votes. Directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman and written by Unknown, it aired on 7/24/1984. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Graduation".