Chicago Story (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Chicago Story was an NBC
drama
that aired in the spring of 1982.
lawyers, police officers, and doctors. The series was similar to Hill Street Blues
in that it was less about action scenes and more about the stresses of working in law enforcement and medicine. The show did not catch on with viewers and lasted only thirteen episodes.
The cast included Maud Adams
and Kristoffer Tabori
as Dr. Judith Bergstrom and Dr. Max Carson, doctors at Cook County Hospital; Craig T. Nelson
; Vincent Baggetta and Molly Cheek as attorneys Ken Dutton; Lou Pellegrino and Megan Powers. Dutton was a prosecutor and Pellegrino was a defense attorney; Powers was a lawyer both men were interested in; and Dennis Franz
, Richard Lawson and Daniel Hugh Kelly
appeared as police officers Joe Gilland, O.Z. Tate and Frank Wajorski, respectively. Gilland was a beat cop, while Tate and Wajorski were detectives.
Intermixed within, especially during the opening title sequence, was plenty of Chicago scenery, including the John Hancock Center
; Merchandise Mart
; Michigan Avenue
; Wrigley Building
; Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower); Aon Center
; (back when it was known as the Standard Oil Building), the Chicago Theater and its famous marquee; Lake Shore Drive
; The former headquarters of The Chicago Sun-Times; the Chicago Water Tower
; Marina City
; the Chicago 'L'
and various other sights. One of the settings was the former Cook County Hospital
.
Chicago Story was notable for attempting to air an hour and a half per episode. The show was pared down to an hour per episode late in its run, including broadcasting edited versions of episodes that had already aired.
Two of the stars found fame in better roles later on, Dennis Franz played Andy Sipowicz
on NYPD Blue
; Craig T. Nelson went on to star in the comedy series Coach
in the title role of Hayden Fox.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
drama
Dramatic programming
Dramatic programming in the UK, or television drama and television drama series in the US, is television program content that is scripted and fictional along the lines of √a traditional drama. This excludes, for example, sports television, television news, reality show and game shows, stand-up...
that aired in the spring of 1982.
Synopsis
The series followed the work and lives of several ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
lawyers, police officers, and doctors. The series was similar to Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...
in that it was less about action scenes and more about the stresses of working in law enforcement and medicine. The show did not catch on with viewers and lasted only thirteen episodes.
The cast included Maud Adams
Maud Adams
Maud Solveig Christina Wikström , known professionally as Maud Adams, is a Swedish actress, known for her roles as two different Bond girls: in The Man with the Golden Gun , and as the title character in Octopussy .-Early life:Adams was born Maud Solveig Christina Wikström in Luleå, Sweden, the...
and Kristoffer Tabori
Kristoffer Tabori
Kristoffer Tabori is an American actor and television director.-Early life:Tabori was born in Malibu, California, the son of director Don Siegel and Swedish-American actress Viveca Lindfors. He appeared in one of his mother's films, Weddings and Babies, as a young boy...
as Dr. Judith Bergstrom and Dr. Max Carson, doctors at Cook County Hospital; Craig T. Nelson
Craig T. Nelson
Craig Theodore Nelson is an American actor. He is probably best known for his Emmy-winning roles as Hayden Fox on the TV series Coach, and as Steve Freeling in the 1982 film Poltergeist. He also starred in The Incredibles in 2004 as Mr...
; Vincent Baggetta and Molly Cheek as attorneys Ken Dutton; Lou Pellegrino and Megan Powers. Dutton was a prosecutor and Pellegrino was a defense attorney; Powers was a lawyer both men were interested in; and Dennis Franz
Dennis Franz
Dennis Franz is an American actor best known for his role as Andy Sipowicz, a hard-boiled police detective in the television series NYPD Blue. He previously appeared as Lt...
, Richard Lawson and Daniel Hugh Kelly
Daniel Hugh Kelly
Daniel Hugh Kelly is an American stage, film and television actor. He may be best known for his role on the 1980s ABC TV series Hardcastle and McCormick from 1983-1986 for which he also wrote and directed...
appeared as police officers Joe Gilland, O.Z. Tate and Frank Wajorski, respectively. Gilland was a beat cop, while Tate and Wajorski were detectives.
Intermixed within, especially during the opening title sequence, was plenty of Chicago scenery, including the John Hancock Center
John Hancock Center
John Hancock Center at 875 North Michigan Avenue in the Streeterville area of Chicago, Illinois, is a 100-story, 1,127-foot tall skyscraper, constructed under the supervision of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, with chief designer Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan...
; Merchandise Mart
Merchandise Mart
When opened in 1930, the Merchandise Mart or the Merch Mart, located in the Near North Side, Chicago, Illinois, was the largest building in the world with of floor space. Previously owned by the Marshall Field family, the Mart centralized Chicago's wholesale goods business by consolidating vendors...
; Michigan Avenue
Michigan Avenue (Chicago)
Michigan Avenue is a major north-south street in Chicago which runs at 100 east south of the Chicago River and at 132 East north of the river from 12628 south to 950 north in the Chicago street address system...
; Wrigley Building
Wrigley Building
The Wrigley Building is a skyscraper located directly across Michigan Avenue from the Tribune Tower on the Magnificent Mile...
; Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower); Aon Center
Aon Center (Chicago)
The Aon Center is a modern skyscraper in the Chicago Loop, Chicago, Illinois, United States, designed by architect firms Edward Durell Stone and The Perkins and Will partnership, and completed in 1973 as the Standard Oil Building...
; (back when it was known as the Standard Oil Building), the Chicago Theater and its famous marquee; Lake Shore Drive
Lake Shore Drive
Lake Shore Drive is a mostly freeway-standard expressway running parallel with and alongside the shoreline of Lake Michigan through Chicago, Illinois, USA. Except for the portion north of Foster Avenue , Lake Shore Drive is designated as part of U.S...
; The former headquarters of The Chicago Sun-Times; the Chicago Water Tower
Chicago Water Tower
The Chicago Water Tower is a contributing property in the Old Chicago Water Tower District landmark district. It is located at 806 North Michigan Avenue along the Magnificent Mile shopping district in the Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois...
; Marina City
Marina City
Marina City is a mixed-use residential/commercial building complex occupying an entire city block on State Street in Chicago, Illinois. It lies on the north bank of the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, directly across from the Loop district...
; the Chicago 'L'
Chicago 'L'
The L is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs. It is operated by the Chicago Transit Authority...
and various other sights. One of the settings was the former Cook County Hospital
John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County
The John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, formerly Cook County Hospital is a public urban teaching hospital in Chicago that provides primary, specialty and tertiary healthcare services to the five million residents of Cook County, Illinois. The hospital has a staff of 300 attending...
.
Chicago Story was notable for attempting to air an hour and a half per episode. The show was pared down to an hour per episode late in its run, including broadcasting edited versions of episodes that had already aired.
Two of the stars found fame in better roles later on, Dennis Franz played Andy Sipowicz
Andy Sipowicz
Andy Sipowicz is a fictional character and protagonist on the popular ABC television series NYPD Blue. Dennis Franz portrayed the character for its entire run....
on NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
; Craig T. Nelson went on to star in the comedy series Coach
Coach (TV series)
Coach is an American television sitcom that aired for nine seasons on ABC from 1989 to 1997. The series starred Craig T. Nelson as Hayden Fox, head coach of the fictional Division I-A college football team, the Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles...
in the title role of Hayden Fox.