There have been a ton of underrated shows over the past few years, but I was lucky enough to have seen most of them as I was growing up. When I mention “The White Shadow” to my wife or my friends, they generally give me a puzzled look and shrug their shoulders. Seems somehow most of the people I hang with haven’t heard of this little gem of a show from the 70’s. “The White Shadow” starred Ken Howard as Ken Reeves, an ex-professional basketball player forced to retire due to a serious knee injury. Like most athletes, playing the game was all he knew so he wasn’t sure where to turn. But when a friend offers him a job coaching a basketball team at an L.A. inner city school, he reluctantly says yes. The name of the series comes from a comment made by one of the players, who refers to Reeves as ‘The White Shadow’ as he is now faced with a predominantly African American team.

The series was created by some of the same people responsible for other great series like ”St. Elsewhere”, “Northern Exposure” and “NYPD Blue” and it shows. “The White Shadow” ran for four years, earning itself an Emmy in 1979 for “Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series” and was nominated in 1980 and 1981 for “Outstanding Drama Series.” I can attest to the fact that the series earned every single nomination and win. I was a fan for the entire run of the show.

Fox Home Entertainment released the 1st season a few months ago, and watching it again I could still the see the quality in the writing as the characters had to come to terms with all the issues inherent to an inner city school, especially in the world of sports. There were episodes dealing with teen pregnancy, alcoholism, homosexuality, gambling (a big issue), and defending yourself against a violent student. That last issue can be an especially hot one, considering teachers are not allowed to hit a student back if they are attacked. If the student is a small child it is one thing, but if they are older and dangerous, there is no reason a teacher shouldn’t act in self-defense. What makes the series even more interesting is that most of the issues are just as prevalent in today's schools, and in many cases… worse.

The series was very well-written and acted, especially by actor Ken Howard. At the time, he was still a fairly big TV star, coming off of “Man Hunter” (another series that deserves to be released) and he was extremely believable in “The White Shadow.” You could tell that he could really play basketball, and standing 6’ 6”, that really wasn't a surprise. But he also brought a brilliant combination of toughness and compassion to the role of Ken Reeves.

The 2nd season is hitting store shelves this month and I was especially glad to see it, having had the chance to revisit the 1st. It's also giving me the opportunity to introduce it to some of my friends who somehow missed it the first time around. And in the case of my wife, she was only 3 years old when it aired so she has an excuse… barely.

Where the 1st season release only had 15 episodes (I believe it was a mid-season replacement series), the 2nd season has four double-sided discs offering up a full 24 episodes. And now that Reeves has had the chance to 'fit in', he and his players face a whole new set of problems ranging from prescription painkillers, the selling of Angel Dust, child abuse, prostitution, and illiteracy. There's even an episode where one of the players find out his girlfriend is working nights as a stripper. (Tell me that doesn't happen today…) On the lighter side, this season also offers up a visit from the Harlem Globetrotters.

This new set also includes commentaries on the episodes, "Globetrotters" (by Kevin Hooks, Byron Stewart, Erik Kilpatrick and Ira Augustain), "Needle" (by Victor Lobl) and "The Death of Me Yet" (by Marc Rubin). You’ll also find featurettes that focuses on Bruce Paltrow and Thomas Carter 9who went from being just an actor on the series to being a director. There is also a preview of a documentary about the series that will be available on the 3rd season DVD release. We get short glimpses of many of the producers and actors, most notably Timothy Van Patten (who has changed immensely from the way he looked in the late 70’s).

“The White Shadow” is one of the great shows of the 1970’s and I’m thankful it’s getting a new lease on life thanks to Fox Home Entertainment.

Episodes:
On The Line
Albert Hodges
Cross-Town Hustle
Sudden Death
A Silent Cheer
No Place Like Home
Globetrotters
Me?
Needle
Sliding By
Delores, Of Course
A Christmas Present
Feeling No Pain
Artist
Salami's Affair
Links
The Stripper
Gonna Fly Now
Out At Home
The Russians Are Coming
The Hitter
The Death of Me Yet
Coolidge Goes Hollywood
A Few Good Men

Starring: Ken Howard
Extras: Selected Episode Commentaries, “The Shadow of Bruce Paltrow” Featurette, "Director's Debut" Featurette, "A Series of Memories" Preview
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Digital 2.0
Studio: Fox
Release Date: 3/28/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give The White Shadow: Season 2 an A.