The Slap Maxwell Story(1987)

The Slap Maxwell Story is a sitcom that aired on ABC during the 1987–88 season, starring Dabney Coleman as "Slap" Maxwell, an abrasive sportswriter for a struggling Southwest newspaper. Slap composes his column "Slap Shots" on a typewriter and fills it with rumor and innuendo, triggering constant lawsuits and job terminations followed by groveling rehires. His volatile personality sabotages his on-and-off relationship with Judy, a paper secretary, while his ex-wife Annie watches from the sidelines with lingering affection. A running gag anchors each episode: someone inevitably hits Slap, whether a coworker or even a nun. Created by Jay Tarses, who previously collaborated with Coleman on the 1983 NBC sitcom Buffalo Bill, the show mines comedy from an aging newspaperman's refusal to adapt to a litigious modern world.