Gabriel's Fire

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Gabriel's Fire
Format	Drama/Thriller
Starring	James Earl Jones Brian K. Grant Laila Robins Dylan Walsh Madge Sinclair Richard Crenna
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	22
Production
Executive producer(s)	Robert Lieberman Coleman Luck
Running time	60 min.
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	September 12 1990 – June 6 1991
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Gabriel's Fire was an American television series that ran on ABC in the USA in 1990–1991. Under a new title and a somewhat revised premise, it also aired in 1991–1992 as Pros and Cons^[1]^[2].

1 Overview
- 1.1 Pros and Cons
2 Cast
3 Awards
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Overview

The main character, Gabriel Bird, was played by James Earl Jones. He was a former Chicago police officer, who had been wrongfully sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his partner. In fact, he shot his partner because he saw that the partner was about to murder an innocent family in cold blood during a police raid. This incident in the character's background was inspired by the 1969 death of Fred Hampton at the hands of Chicago police and other law enforcement personnel. On the show, the street on which Bird's shooting occurred was identified as "Hampton Street".

When Bird is released, he starts working as a private detective, hired by the lawyer who had helped free him.

[edit] Pros and Cons

Bird is an (understandably) angry character, and the show as originally conceived was rather dark. In an attempt to lighten the premise somewhat, the next season Bird moved to Los Angeles, where he teamed up with another private eye, Mitch O'Hannon. Bird also married his love interest, Josephine, in October 1991. She had been the proprietress of a café where Bird had begun frequenting shortly after his release, at first for her good, homestyle cooking, but soon, primarily for her companionship.

In the episode "Birds Gotta Fly", directed by Mario Van Peebles which starred Academy Award winner Irene Cara as Bird's estranged daughter Celine was one of the most memorable episodes. It also starred movie and TV personality Michael Beach as Josephine's military-bound son and a very young Meagan Good in a bit part.

Bird's newfound happiness apparently did little for the ratings, and the program was canceled in January 1992.

[edit] Cast

Gabriel Bird - James Earl Jones
Jamil - Brian K. Grant (first season only)
Victoria Heller - Laila Robins (first season only)
Louis Klein - Dylan Walsh (first season only)
Josephine - Madge Sinclair
Mitch O'Hannon - Richard Crenna (second season only)

[edit] Awards

James Earl Jones
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (1991)
- Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie (1993)
Madge Sinclair
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (1991)
David Opatoshu
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (1991); playing Max Goldstein in the episode "A Prayer For The Goldsteins"