For Gerry Miller there's only one way to play.


The title of the made-for-TV The Deadliest Season obscures the fact that this is a film about hockey. Michael Moriarty stars as a popular defenseman whose take-no-prisoners approach to the game results in the serious--and ultimately fatal--injury of another player. Moriarty is outwardly blase about the whole affair, chalking it off to the fortunes of hockey. But an equally ruthless DA charges Moriarty with aggravated assault with a "deadly weapon". Of historical interest is the appearance of Meryl Streep as Moriarty's wife--billed fifth in her first-ever film appearance.

he Deadliest Season is a 1977 made-for-TV film that was originally shown in the United States on CBS. The film was directed by Robert Markowitz, written by Ernest Kilroy, and produced by Titus Productions. The main character was played by Michael Moriarty, an American-Canadian stage and screen actor. His wife was played by Meryl Streep in her first-ever film appearance.

The movie was intended to be a serious examination of sport violence and how sport can serve to dehumanize this violence.[2][13][14] The film also served as a commentary on television and society in general.[21] It is similar to North Dallas Forty, a movie made by Nick Nolte during the same period.[13] That same year, Slap Shot, another ice hockey film, debuted.