''Gabriel's Fire'' is an American

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

television series created by Donald R. Boyle, Coleman Luck and Jacqueline Zambrano that ran on

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from September 12, 1990, to June 6, 1991, in the United States during the 1990–91 television season. The series starred

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor. A pioneer for black actors in the entertainment industry, Jones is known for his extensive and acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few perfor ...

, who won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for his performance. A revamped version of the series, entitled '' Pros and Cons'', aired briefly the following season.

Overview

The main character, Gabriel Bird, was played by

. He was a former Chicago police officer who, over twenty years prior, had been wrongfully sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a fellow police officer. In fact, he shot the officer to protect a defenseless mother and child whom the officer was about to murder

in cold blood ''In Cold Blood'' is a non-fiction novel by the American author Truman Capote, first published in 1966. It details the 1959 Clutter family murders in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote learned of the quadruple murder bef ...

during a 1969 police raid. Unbeknownst to Bird, the raid had been merely a pretext for the police to attack the members of a militant

black nationalist Black nationalism is a nationalist movement which seeks representation for Black people as a distinct national identity, especially in racialized, colonial and postcolonial societies. Its earliest proponents saw it as a way to advocate for ...

organization. This incident in the character's background was inspired by the 1969 death of

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newto ...

leader

Fred Hampton Fredrick Allen Hampton Sr. (August 30, 1948 – December 4, 1969) was an American activist and revolutionary socialist. He came to prominence in his late teens and early 20s in Chicago as deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party and c ...

, who was shot and killed during a raid upon his residence conducted by Chicago police and other law enforcement personnel. On the show, the street on which the raid involving Bird had occurred was identified as "Hampton Street". After serving about twenty years in prison, a human rights lawyer decides to work for his release as his testimony is needed in another case. At first, Bird opposes any attempts to release him, as he became accustomed to life in prison, but after his release takes place against his will, he begins to get used to life as a free person and uses his time away from prison to help other people who are wronged by society or the authorities. When Bird is released, he starts working as a

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigat ...

, hired by the lawyer who had helped free him.

''Pros and Cons''

''Pros and Cons'' ran on ABC from September 26, 1991, to January 2, 1992, in the United States during the 1991–92 television season. It is a revamped, more lighthearted version of ''Gabriel's Fire''. Jones and Sinclair reprised their roles as Gabriel and Josephine.

Characters

as Gabriel Bird *

Laila Robins Laila Robins (born March 14, 1959) is an American stage, film and television actress. She has appeared in films including '' Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' (1987), '' An Innocent Man'' (1989), '' Live Nude Girls'' (1995), ''True Crime'' (1999), ...

as Victoria Heller *Brian K. Grant as Jamil Duke *

Dylan Walsh Dylan Walsh (born Charles Hunter Walsh; November 17, 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Dr. Sean McNamara on the FX television series '' Nip/Tuck'', Al Burns on '' Unforgettable'', and Sam Lane on '' Superman & Lois' ...

as Louis Klein *

Madge Sinclair Madge Dorita Sinclair CD (née Walters; April 28, 1938 – December 20, 1995) was a Jamaican actress best known for her roles in '' Cornbread, Earl and Me'' (1975), ''Convoy'' (1978), ''Coming to America'' (1988), '' Trapper John, M.D.'' (1980� ...

as "Empress" Josephine Austin

Episodes

Awards

for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (1991) **

Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie (1993) *

**Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (1991) *

David Opatoshu David Opatoshu (born David Opatovsky; January 30, 1918 – April 30, 1996) was an American actor. He is best known for his role in the film '' Exodus'' (1960). Biography Opatoshu began his acting career in the Yiddish theater. Following his te ...

**Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (1991); playing Max Goldstein in the episode "A Prayer for the Goldsteins"

References

*Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle. ''

The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

External links

* Television series by Lorimar Television 1990s American crime drama television series 1990 American television series debuts 1991 American television series endings American detective television series Primetime Emmy Award–winning television series Television shows set in Chicago American Broadcasting Company crime dramas {{US-drama-tv-prog-stub