The Mississippi
The Mississippi was a television series which ran for 2 seasons from 1982 to 1984. The series consisted of 27 episodes, 1 pilot, 6 first season episodes and 17 episodes in the second season. The series was written by Aubrey Solomon and starred Ralph Waite, Linda Miller and Stan Shaw. Ralph Waite played Ben Walker, a successful criminal attorney who after retiring his law practice, sought a more simple life on the mighty Mississippi river as a simple stern-wheel river boat captain. But at every port he would stop at he'd find someone who needed a good attorney and he would end up defending them. His "crew" consisted of Stella McMullen and Lafe Tate, both of whom was more interested in helping people, fighting crime and becoming attorneys than running the tug. Filming occurred in several cities along the Mississippi River including Natchez, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee.
Ben comes to the aid of an elderly newspaper editor who, traumatized by his wife's death, took on the identity of Mark Twain, and is now accused of murdering the man suspected of killing his wife.
Ben seeks to unravel an incriminating web of circumstantial evidence that links a mystery writer and his lover to murder.
Ben gets involved in the case of a teenager who claims that a doctor performed an unnecessary radical mastectomy on her mother.
Ben is caught in a legal and emotional crossfire of embattled former spouses over who knows what is best for their nine-year-old child.
Former resident Margaret Hammond writes a best-seller, ""River Town"", about the place where she grew up, and lawyer Ben has to dig deep for a defense that will saver her from a libel charge by the town's most affluent family.
Ben returns to his roots as a prosecutor to imprison a man he unsuccessfully attempted to prosecute for murder 25 years ago and who has now committed a similar crime.
Ben takes on the medical profession in defense of a midwife who defies the law to practice the craft of child delivery with a skill rivaled by few obstetricians.
Ben defends a private nurse who is charged with murder when the wealthy man for whom she was caring dies of a drug overdose.
A beautiful woman hires Ben to defend her young, retarded gardener Jerry against murder charges.
The mother of a man who has been murdered hires Ben to defend his wife, the primary suspect in the shooting death.
A peaceful activist emerges from hiding to seek Ben's help in exonerating her of a 15-year-old murder charge.
Ben becomes involved in the defense of a rebellious teenager who maintains his innocence of armed robbery, yet is terrified to reveal the guilty parties.
Ben defends the embittered survivor of a German concentration camp who is suspected of murdering a Nazi war criminal hiding in a small Mississippi river town.
Ben defends a hot-headed ex-convict suspected of murdering both a foreman who recently fired him and a man who claimed to have seen him fleeing from the crime.
Ben is asked by the army to defend a sergeant accused of slugging a fellow officer who he claims was trying to rape his daughter.
An elderly farmer hires Ben to defend a young navy veteran who is accused of killing his father after an explosive argument.
Ben finds himself working with a flamboyant, publicity-seeking attorney when he agrees to represent a professional football player facing trial on drug charges.
When Southern beauty Merilee Worthing is murdered, Ben comes to the defense of free-spirited Cal Woodley, a young activist whom the town would like to see disappear.
Ben learns that justice in the bayou country for a girl from the other side of the tracks who opposes the town boss, is a feather in a windstorm—but it can be caught.
Ben is called upon to defend the accused killer of an old friend's wife and learns that things aren't always what they appear to be.
When Ben comes to the aid of a young cadet at a military academy, he uncovers some disturbing facts which indicate the cadet, an accused murderer, may have been the intended victim.
Ben is in for some surprises when he defends a longtime family retainer on jewelry theft charges and learns things are not what they seem to be.
Ben and his black assistant Lafe face a bigoted deposed sheriff, and soon learn that almost two decades cannot heal the wounds suffered during the civil rights movement in the South.
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Release | 1983-03-25 |
| Producer | Warner Bros. Television |