''Top of the Hill'' is an American political drama television series aired by CBS from September 21 to November 30, 1989 as part of its 1989 fall lineup.

Synopsis

''Top of the Hill'' starred William Katt as

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Thomas Bell, Jr., son of a long-time Congressman who had been forced to resign his seat due to health issues but who remained on "The Hill" to help his son in an advisory role, which sometimes led to conflicts. Bell, Jr., had, despite his father's position, never followed politics closely or ardently prior to being chosen as his father's successor, which was sometimes a liability but also gave him the ability to look at issues, even long-running ones, through a fresh set of eyes. Young Bell also had a hard time fitting into the

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

structure as he desired to do what his conscience told him would be the best thing for the country and the voters in his district. In the less than three months that the program ran, the Congressman became involved in some fairly contentious issues, including

adoptee Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

rights,

labor union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

corruption, pollution, and military procurement. ''Top of the Hill'' failed to find a large enough audience to last more than a season; the show had to compete with the Top 10 hit ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...

'' and the Top 20 hit '' Dear John'', both on NBC in the same time slot.

Cast

* William Katt as Thomas Bell, Jr. * Jordan Baker as Susan Pengilly * Tony Edwards as Link Winslow *

Dick O'Neill Richard Francis O'Neill (August 29, 1928 – November 17, 1998) was an American stage, film and television character actor best known for playing Irish cops, fathers, judges and army generals. He began his acting career as an original company me ...

as Thomas "Pat" Bell, Sr. * Robbie Weaver as Mickey Stewart

Episodes

References

*Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, '' The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows''

External links

* 1989 American television series debuts 1989 American television series endings 1980s American drama television series Television series by Stephen J. Cannell Productions Television series by 20th Century Fox Television CBS original programming American political drama television series Television shows set in Washington, D.C. {{US-drama-tv-prog-stub