Chiefs (TV miniseries)
Encyclopedia
Chiefs is a miniseries
based upon the novel of the same name
by Stuart Woods
. It was broadcast on CBS
over three nights in November 1983. It was directed by Jerry London, and stars Charlton Heston
, Keith Carradine
, Stephen Collins, Danny Glover
, Wayne Rogers
and Billy Dee Williams
. It received three Emmy Award
nominations and one Eddie Award nomination.
, situated at the base of Pine Mountain
. The story begins in 1924 as town patriarch Hugh Holmes (Charlton Heston
) decides that the town has grown large enough to require a full time police officer. Shortly after the town appoints failed farmer Will Henry Lee (Wayne Rogers
), as its first police chief, the citizens of the town become alarmed by a series of disappearances of young men and boys. The story follows three generations of Deleno police chiefs - Will Henry Lee (Rogers), Sonny Butts (Brad Davis), and Tyler Watts (Billy Dee Williams
) - as they investigate the crimes. Upright lawman Will Henry Lee is the first to discover that Foxy Funderburke (Keith Carradine
) is responsible for the crimes but is killed in a freak incident before he can arrest him. Now free from suspicion, Funderburke continues a decades long spree of sexually motivated murders
. Shortly after World War II
, crooked and violent police chief Sonny Butts also discovers Funderburke's guilt but Funderburke murders him and hides his body on his farm before he can make his discovery public. The townspeople, assuming Butts fled town because of his shady activities, does not make the connection between Funderburke and Butts' disappearance. In 1962, during the civil rights era, Tyler Watts becomes chief. Watts, a former protégé of Will Henry Lee, must fight the town's inherent racism but is finally able to catch Funderburke.
Warm Springs is the site of the vacation home of the late Franklin Delano Roosevelt and a state park bearing his name is located on Pine Mountain. In this story, Foxy Funderburke resided on Pine Mountain and it is presumed that the name of the town of Delano refers to the proximity of President Roosevelt's summer home.
as a six hour miniseries. The first two hours aired 8pm November 13, 1983. The second part aired November 15 at 9pm, and the final part aired November 16 at 9pm.
An edited version has been released on DVD.
The miniseries was nominated for three Emmy Award
s:
It was nominated for an Eddie Award in the "Best Edited Episode from a Television Mini-Series" for Eric Albertson, John J. Dumas, and Armond Lebowitz.
Its success resulted in the paperback version of the novel, Chiefs
, entering the New York Times Best Seller list
.
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
based upon the novel of the same name
Chiefs (Novel)
Chiefs is the first novel in the Will Lee series by Stuart Woods. It was first published in 1981 by W. W. Norton Co., Inc. The novel takes place in the fictional town of Delano, Georgia, over three generations, as three different police chiefs attempt to identify a serial killer operating in the...
by Stuart Woods
Stuart Woods
-Early life:Stuart Woods was born in Manchester, Georgia and graduated in 1959 from the University of Georgia, with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. After graduation he enrolled in the Air National Guard, spending two months in basic training before moving to New York, where he began a career in...
. It was broadcast on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
over three nights in November 1983. It was directed by Jerry London, and stars Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
, Keith Carradine
Keith Carradine
Keith Ian Carradine is an American actor who has had success on stage, film and television. In addition, he is a Golden Globe and Oscar winning songwriter. As a member of the Carradine family, he is part of an acting "dynasty" that began with his father, John Carradine.-Early life:Keith...
, Stephen Collins, Danny Glover
Danny Glover
Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
, Wayne Rogers
Wayne Rogers
William Wayne McMillan Rogers III is an American film and television actor, best known for playing the role of 'Trapper John' McIntyre in the U.S...
and Billy Dee Williams
Billy Dee Williams
William December "Billy Dee" Williams, Jr. is an American actor, artist, singer, and writer.-Early life:Williams was born in New York City, New York, the son of Loretta...
. It received three Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nominations and one Eddie Award nomination.
Plot
The miniseries is set in the fictional town of Delano, Georgia, which appears to be loosely based on Manchester, GeorgiaManchester, Georgia
Manchester is a city located in Meriwether and Talbot Counties in the U.S. state of Georgia, although primarily in Meriwether. The population was 3,769 at the 2010 census.-Demographics:...
, situated at the base of Pine Mountain
Pine Mountain
Pine Mountain may refer to:Place names*Pine Mountain, Georgia , the name of a number of locations in the U.S. state of Georgia*Pine Mountain Club, California, a populated area in Kern County...
. The story begins in 1924 as town patriarch Hugh Holmes (Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
) decides that the town has grown large enough to require a full time police officer. Shortly after the town appoints failed farmer Will Henry Lee (Wayne Rogers
Wayne Rogers
William Wayne McMillan Rogers III is an American film and television actor, best known for playing the role of 'Trapper John' McIntyre in the U.S...
), as its first police chief, the citizens of the town become alarmed by a series of disappearances of young men and boys. The story follows three generations of Deleno police chiefs - Will Henry Lee (Rogers), Sonny Butts (Brad Davis), and Tyler Watts (Billy Dee Williams
Billy Dee Williams
William December "Billy Dee" Williams, Jr. is an American actor, artist, singer, and writer.-Early life:Williams was born in New York City, New York, the son of Loretta...
) - as they investigate the crimes. Upright lawman Will Henry Lee is the first to discover that Foxy Funderburke (Keith Carradine
Keith Carradine
Keith Ian Carradine is an American actor who has had success on stage, film and television. In addition, he is a Golden Globe and Oscar winning songwriter. As a member of the Carradine family, he is part of an acting "dynasty" that began with his father, John Carradine.-Early life:Keith...
) is responsible for the crimes but is killed in a freak incident before he can arrest him. Now free from suspicion, Funderburke continues a decades long spree of sexually motivated murders
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
. Shortly after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, crooked and violent police chief Sonny Butts also discovers Funderburke's guilt but Funderburke murders him and hides his body on his farm before he can make his discovery public. The townspeople, assuming Butts fled town because of his shady activities, does not make the connection between Funderburke and Butts' disappearance. In 1962, during the civil rights era, Tyler Watts becomes chief. Watts, a former protégé of Will Henry Lee, must fight the town's inherent racism but is finally able to catch Funderburke.
Warm Springs is the site of the vacation home of the late Franklin Delano Roosevelt and a state park bearing his name is located on Pine Mountain. In this story, Foxy Funderburke resided on Pine Mountain and it is presumed that the name of the town of Delano refers to the proximity of President Roosevelt's summer home.
Distribution
Chiefs aired on CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
as a six hour miniseries. The first two hours aired 8pm November 13, 1983. The second part aired November 15 at 9pm, and the final part aired November 16 at 9pm.
An edited version has been released on DVD.
Reception
John J. O'Connor of the New York Times said Chiefs was "an ambitious yet flawed project that overall, it works powerfully well." Director London has "a keen sense of what the sweeping saga entails, though there are weaknesses." He criticised the ending of the miniseries for not following the novel's ending, but noted that the performances of Davis (Sonny Butts), Sorvino (Skeeter), Carradine (Foxy Funderburke) and Glover (Marshall Peters) were outstanding. Among the flaws is a whipping scene in which a young white man is flogged, supposedly for having sexual intercourse with a black woman. The scriptwriters have that backwards. In the Old South, a young white man was free to gain experience with a willing black girl. What terrified the Old South was a black man having sex with a white woman. This historical inaccuracy may have been included because the white man is the implied victim of homosexual rape at the hands of Foxy Funderburke (Carradine), and the thought of a white man and a black man engaging in homosexual sex would have been equally as repellant to the sensibilities of the Old South.The miniseries was nominated for three Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s:
- "Outstanding Art Direction for a Limited Series or a Special" – Production designer Charles C. Bennett and Set designer Victor Kempster (for Part 2)
- "Outstanding Limited Series" – Executive producer Martin ManulisMartin ManulisMartin Manulis was an American film, television and theater producer. Manulis was best known for creating the television program, Playhouse 90 on CBS.-Career:...
, supervising producer Jerry London, and producer John E. Quill - "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special" – Keith Carradine
It was nominated for an Eddie Award in the "Best Edited Episode from a Television Mini-Series" for Eric Albertson, John J. Dumas, and Armond Lebowitz.
Its success resulted in the paperback version of the novel, Chiefs
Chiefs (Novel)
Chiefs is the first novel in the Will Lee series by Stuart Woods. It was first published in 1981 by W. W. Norton Co., Inc. The novel takes place in the fictional town of Delano, Georgia, over three generations, as three different police chiefs attempt to identify a serial killer operating in the...
, entering the New York Times Best Seller list
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
.
Cast
Actor/character- Charlton HestonCharlton HestonCharlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
- Hugh Holmes - Keith CarradineKeith CarradineKeith Ian Carradine is an American actor who has had success on stage, film and television. In addition, he is a Golden Globe and Oscar winning songwriter. As a member of the Carradine family, he is part of an acting "dynasty" that began with his father, John Carradine.-Early life:Keith...
- Foxy Funderburke - Wayne RogersWayne RogersWilliam Wayne McMillan Rogers III is an American film and television actor, best known for playing the role of 'Trapper John' McIntyre in the U.S...
- Will Henry Lee - Stephen Collins - Billy Lee
- Brad DavisBrad Davis (actor)Robert Creel "Brad" Davis was an American actor, known for starring in the 1978 film Midnight Express.-Early life:...
- Sonny Butts - Billy Dee WilliamsBilly Dee WilliamsWilliam December "Billy Dee" Williams, Jr. is an American actor, artist, singer, and writer.-Early life:Williams was born in New York City, New York, the son of Loretta...
- Tyler Watts (a.k.a.PseudonymA pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Joshua Cole) - Paul SorvinoPaul SorvinoPaul Anthony Sorvino is an American actor. He often portrays authority figures on both sides of the law, and is possibly best known for his roles as Paulie Cicero, a portrayal of Paul Vario in the film Goodfellas and Sgt. Phil Cerreta on the police procedural and legal drama television series Law...
- Sheriff Skeeter Willis - Danny GloverDanny GloverDanny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
- Marshall Peters - Tess HarperTess HarperTess Harper is an American actress.-Early life:Born Tessie Jean Washam on August 15, 1950 in Mammoth Spring, Arkansas. Her parents' names are Ed and Rosemary Washam. She grew up around lots of quilts and quilt makers. On her own time, she liked to sit on the porch-swing and read...
- Carrie Lee - Victoria TennantVictoria TennantVictoria Tennant is an English film and television actress.-Early life:Tennant was born in London, England. Her mother, Irina Baronova, was a Russian prima ballerina who appeared with the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo, and her father, Cecil Tennant, was an English producer and talent agent who ran...
- Trish Lee