Kristen Dalton Movies

The third-season opener of The Dead Zone not only clarifies the presence of the mysterious futuristic stranger (Frank Whaley) who had been stalking psychic Johnny Smith (Anthony Michael Hall) throughout the closing episodes of season two, but also helps Johnny fill in the memory gaps resulting from his six-year coma -- the same coma from which he had awakened at the beginning of the series, to discover that he had gained the ability to read people's thoughts and predict their futures simply by touching their hands. In a more disturbing development, Johnny is accused of murdering a pretty young campaign worker for ruthless politician Greg Stillson (Sean Patrick Flanery), whom our hero knows will destroy the world if he, Stillson, is ever elected president. Once Johnny is cleared of the murder charge, he dedicates himself to proving that Stillson was the killer, with the assistance of a new recurring character, Rebecca Caldwell (Sarah Wynter), the sister of the dead woman. Elsewhere, series star Anthony Michael Hall makes his directorial debut in the episode "Cold Hard Truth," in which young J.J. Bannerman (Spencer Achtymichuk) finally discovers that Johnny is his biological father, and not Walt Bannerman (Chris Bruno), the current husband of Johnny's former fiancée, Sarah (Nicole de Boer). The season ends with part one of a two-part cliffhanger, "Tipping Point," in which Johnny courts a nervous breakdown while trying to bring the elusive Greg Stillson to justice; also in the finale, flamboyant televangelist Gene Purdy (David Ogden Stiers), whom Johnny has long suspected to be the murderer of his mother, makes a shocking confession. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Upon the death of his clergyman father, David Lewis (Louis Gossett Jr.), Bruce (John L. Adams) heads to Indianapolis for the funeral, bringing along his friend Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) for emotional support. Brushing past the body of Pastor Lewis, Johnny experiences a strange vision which he inadvertently passes along to Bruce. Suddenly, Bruce is hurtled into a whole new existence -- precipitated by a completely revised past life, with events radically changed, but the principal characters remaining the same. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a non-comic variation of the 1993 film Groundhog Day, Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) meets an attractive insurance adjuster named Natalie Connor (Reiko Aylesworth) at a bar. Touching her hand, Johnny foresees a romantic future for himself and Natalie -- but the visions quickly take a grim turn, and before long he is witnessing Natalie's death and the events leading up to it, over and over and over again. Even worse, in his efforts to warn Natalie of her fate, Johnny succeeds only in heaping additional disaster upon her. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While on a camping trip with the Bannermans, Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) has a vision of a crashed plane with two million dollars on board. Sure enough, that amount has recently been stolen, and Johnny is invited to join a search party headed by mountain ranger Randy Truman (Scott William Winters). Also participating in the search are Mark and Pauline Dionne (Ian Tracey, Krista Rae), the owners of a local boat shop -- who happen to be the thieves who stole the loot, and who do not intend to leave any witnesses to their crime. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Who is the facially scarred "man in black" who has been stalking Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) throughout the past few episodes? It turns out that the mystery man, Christopher Wey (Frank Whaley), has an important message from the future -- one that will profoundly alter the future of humanity. But Wey refuses to reveal the particulars of his prophecy unless Johnny agrees to prevent the seemingly unpreventable murders of Wey's wife (Ione Skye) and daughter. This final episode of The Dead Zone's second-season closes with the traditional cliffhanger, this time incorporating an ominous magazine cover. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) is reunited with two of his high-school friends, Jason Moore (Lochlyn Munro) and Jason's sister Kate (Ally Sheedy, with whom series star Hall appeared in the 1982 theatrical feature The Breakfast Club). Upon making physical contact with both Jason and Kate, Johnny experiences a disturbing psychic vision, indicating that one of the siblings needs a heart transplant -- and the other is fated to be the donor. Thus, if Johnny tries to save one of his friends, the other will die, and vice versa...and the more he tries to avoid making the inevitable choice, the more that choice is cruelly thrust upon him. "Playing God" was originally slated to air as The Dead Zone's second-season finale, but the USA network decided to extend the season for several additional episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Everybody Loves Raymond co-star Brad Garrett brings "The Great One" to life in this made-for-TV biography of video icon Jackie Gleason. The product of a fractious Brooklyn childhood, capped by the abrupt desertion of his ne'er-do-well father, Gleason launches his show business career with the motto "Never depend on anyone." Yet because of his multitude of insecurities, he demands total loyalty and 100-percent devotion from everyone around him. Trouble is, he has no loyalty or devotion to give in return: Dedicated to his career, his drinking, and his womanizing (not always in that order), Jackie neglects his wife Gen (Gretchen Egolf) and his children, tyrannizes his associates in general and his faithful agent George "Bullets" Durgom (Saul Rubinek) in particular, and shamelessly steals other people's ideas and comedy material, claiming it exclusively as his own. For all his bluster and bullying, Gleason remains likable and arguably even lovable -- just like his most famous TV character, Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden (indeed, the script suggests that Gleason was Kramden and Kramden was Gleason -- and that Jackie was envious of Ralph's ability to "make things up" to his long-suffering wife Alice at the end of each Honeymooners sketch). The film is at its best in its re-creations of Gleason's stage and TV triumphs, though one could nitpick about the hazy and often downright inaccurate chronology of events. As the title character, Brad Garrett offers an uncannily on-target portrayal, despite the fact that the 6'8" actor was nearly a foot taller than the real Gleason (this discrepancy was amply compensated for by the clever camera angles of cinematographer Neil Roach, not to mention the elevator shoes worn by practically every other member of the cast). Of the supporting players, Gretchen Egolf and Terry Farrell are superb as Jackie's first and second wives respectively, while Michael Chieffo's portrayal of Art Carney is eerily perfect. Co-written by Michael Preminger and Rick Podell, the same team responsible for Jackie Gleason's final theatrical feature Nothing in Common, Gleason made its CBS network debut on October 13, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ruthless social climber Celeste Cooper (Joanna Kerns) is determined to maneuver her grown daughter Laurel (Christine Elise) into a wealthy and prestigious marriage. But Laurel wants no part of her mom's machinations and weds the likeable but "socially undesirable" Ted Rogers (Grant Show). After doing everything in her power to break up the marriage, the increasingly unhinged Celeste decides to take Ted out of the picture permanently--by hiring a hit man. Purportedly based on an actual event, the made-for-TV Mother Knows Best was first seen over the ABC network on April 13, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jessica (Angela Lansbury) arrives at the headquarters of a prominent ice cream manufacturing firm in order to collect a promised donation for her literacy foundation. It soon develops that the company has created a brand-new flavor--but not for public consumption. How else to explain the mysterious death of one of the company's top executives...a death quickly followed by another one that is equally mysterious? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide