ASPEN - THE COMPLETE SERIES (NBC 1977) Perry King, Sam Elliott, Gene Barry, Roger Davis, Bo Hopkins, Michelle Phillips, Jessica Harper, John Houseman, Joseph Cotton, Anthony Franciosa, Doug Heyes, Jr., John McIntire

Filmed on location in the winter playground of the rich and famous, Aspen, Colorado plays the background for this sprawling three-part miniseries. Perry King, Sam Elliott and Michelle Phillips play the central characters in the story which begins in Acapulco in the 1950s where Lee Bishop (King), a tennis instructor, vows his eternal love to Gloria Osborne (Phillips). Her millionaire father Carl Osborne (Gene Barry at his nastiest) is vehemently opposed to the relationship and has the persistent swain bashed rather violently by some heavies.

The young man is not deterred by her father’s attitude and follows Gloria to her haven in the Rocky Mountains. Upon arrival, he meets up with an old army friend, Budd Townsend (Bo Hopkins), an encounter which costs him dearly.  After a drunken night, Bishop soon finds himself being arrested, tried and sentenced to die for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl, a crime for which he is not guilty. 

As the years pass and Bishop sits on death row, Tom Keating (Elliott), a dashing, idealistic attorney, turns jurisprudence into his personal profit. He takes the case into his own hands and, through brilliantly manipulative courtroom techniques, manages to prove Bishop’s innocence while promoting his own career and find the true killer.

Meanwhile, greedy big city land grabbers, controlled by millionaire Osborne, are attempting to wipe out the individual landowners – including Keating’s father, Owen (John McIntire), who resists in fine style.

Additional actors include Roger Davis, Jessica Harper, John Houseman, Joseph Cotton, Anthony Franciosa, Doug Heyes, Jr., Lee de Broux, George DiCenzo, Michael Carr.