''McClain's Law'' is an American

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

television series that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

during the 1981–82 season. New episodes ended on March 20, and rebroadcasts continued until August 24, 1982.

Summary

The series starred former ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'' lead

James Arness James Arness (born James King Aurness; May 26, 1923 – June 3, 2011) was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon for 20 years in the series ''Gunsmoke''. He has the distinction of having played the role of Dillon in f ...

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 fifteen 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. 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 & Wesson .44 caliber revolver when most of his fellow officers carry .38 Special caliber sidearms. His new coworkers come to respect McClain as a consummate 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 Marshall Colt (born October 26, 1948) is a retired American management consultant and combat-decorated, former captain in the United States Navy in San Diego, who was an actor in film and television from 1976 to 1995. He co-starred in the film ...

and

George DiCenzo George Ralph DiCenzo (April 21, 1940 – August 9, 2010) was an American actor, and one-time associate producer for ''Dark Shadows''. He was in the show business for over 30 years, with extensive film, TV, stage, and commercial credits. DiCenzo ...

. Shaaron Claridge also played a dispatcher. This was Arness' final TV series; hereafter he primarily appeared in a series of made-for-TV movies reprising ''Gunsmoke''.

Cast

as Detective Jim McClain *

as Lieutenant Edward DeNisco *

as Detective Harry Gates *

Conchata Ferrell Conchata Galen Ferrell (March 28, 1943 – October 12, 2020) was an American actress. She played Berta the housekeeper on the sitcom ''Two and a Half Men'' from 2003 to 2015, and she received two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outs ...

as Vangie Cruise *

Carl Franklin Carl Franklin (born April 11, 1949) is an American filmmaker and former actor. Franklin is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley, and continued his education at the AFI Conservatory, where he graduated with an M.F.A. degree in direc ...

as Detective Jerry Cross

Notable guest stars

Barbara Babcock Barbara Babcock (born February 27, 1937) is an American actress. She began her career on television in mid-1950s with guest-starring appearances in more than 60 television series through her career. She made several appearances on '' Star Trek ...

Bibi Besch Bibi Besch (born Bibiana Maria Köchert; February 1, 1942 – September 7, 1996) was an Austrian-American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Dr. Carol Marcus in the science fiction film '' Star Trek II: T ...

Scott Brady Scott Brady (born Gerard Kenneth Tierney; September 13, 1924 – April 16, 1985) was an American film and television actor best known for his roles in Western films and as a ubiquitous television presence. He played the title role in the televi ...

* Julie Carmen *

Pat Corley Pat Corley (June 1, 1930 – September 11, 2006), born "Cleo Pat Corley," was an American actor who portrayed bar owner Phil on the CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown'' from 1988 to 1996. He also had a recurring role as Chief Coroner Wally Nydorf o ...

Richard Jaeckel Richard Jaeckel (born R. Hanley Jaeckel; October 10, 1926 – June 14, 1997) was an American actor of film and television. Jaeckel became a well-known character actor in his career, which spanned six decades. He received an Academy Award nomin ...

Arte Johnson Arthur Stanton Eric Johnson (January 20, 1929 – July 3, 2019) was an American actor and comedian who was best known for his work as a regular on television's ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In''. Biography Early life Johnson was born January 20, 19 ...

* Henry Jones *

Art Lund Arthur Lund (April 1, 1915 – May 31, 1990) was an American baritone singer, initially with bandleaders Benny Goodman and Harry James, and was also a television and theatre, stage actor. Biography Arthur Lund was a graduate of Eastern Kent ...

Richard Lynch Richard Lynch (February 12, 1940 – June 19, 2012) was an American actor best known for portraying villains in films and television. His film credits included '' Scarecrow'', '' The Seven-Ups'' (both 1973), '' God Told Me To'' (1976), '' ...

Episodes

DVD release

On June 21, 2016,

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

released ''McClain's Law - The Complete Series'' on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time.Official 'The Complete Series' on DVD: Date, Cost, Package Art
This is a manufacture-on-demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, title=McClain's Law, id=0081901 1981 American television series debuts 1982 American television series endings 1980s American crime drama television series American English-language television shows 1980s American police procedural television series Television series by MGM Television Television shows set in California NBC crime dramas