Dann Florek Movies

Changes greet the SVU gang at the outset of the ninth season: Munch (Richard Belzer) is put in charge of the department after Capt. Cragen (Dann Florek) is temporarily removed from duty, and Det. Lake (Adam Beach) is now a full-time member of the squad. In Alternate, the season's first episode, Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler (Christopher Meloni) investigate a case involving a woman (guest star Cynthia Nixon) with multiple personalities. Before long Cragen is back in command, but the themes of people taking on new roles and different personalities continue in Avatar, which focuses on the case of a missing woman who portrayed an underage prostitute in an online video game. In Undercover, Fin (Ice-T) poses as a corrections officer while Benson poses as a prison inmate and has an eye-opening new experience. Benson then finds herself in another precarious situation when she is kidnapped in the series' 200th episode, Authority. This milestone episode features guest star Robin Williams as a man with an antiauthority agenda who attempts to trick people into committing criminal acts. When Williams' character abducts Benson, he uses mind games to try to get Stabler to inflict pain on her. Stabler is also no stranger to pain this season: In Blinded, he temporarily loses his sight after suffering a head injury courtesy of a suspect. That same episode finds ADA Novak (Diane Neal) confronting a dark part of her personal history as she attempts to convict a schizophrenic artist. While Novak faces her past, Stabler worries about his family's future in Paternity, which finds his wife, Kathy (Isabel Gillies), and their unborn child in jeopardy after being hurt in a car accident. An unconventional family of homeless children are at the center of Streetwise, which features guest star Mae Whitman as the clan's pseudo-mother. Other notable Season 9 guest stars include Aidan Quinn, Erika Christensen, and Melissa Joan Hart. ~ Jennifer Sankowski, Rovi

The SVU unit is confronted with a murder case yielding too many suspects and too many confessions in "Tragedy," the opening episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit's fifth season. Things take a truly disturbing turn a few episodes later in "Loss," wherein Assistant DA Alexandra Cabot's (Stephanie March) relentless prosecution of a murder tied in with a Colombian drug cartel results in her death -- or so it appears to the world. The next episode, "Serendipity," introduces Diane Neal as Cabot's replacement, ADA Casey Novak, who immediately develops an adversarial relationship with detectives Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stabler (Christopher Meloni). Novak's professional zeal is admirable, but she proves to have as many human flaws as anyone else in the series -- notably in the season finale, "Head," in which she lives to regret allowing a child molester to cop a plea and win a lighter sentence. Season five marks the series' 100th episode, "Control," about a mutilation victim who turns out to be a sexual predator and kidnapper -- leading to Benson being raked over the coals in court because she'd refused to heed the warnings of one of the predator's potential captives. Benson is also the focus of attention in "Escape"; trying to defuse a hostage situation involving an escaped convicted pedophile, the detective ends up concluding that the man was the innocent victim of widespread political and departmental corruption. In a similar vein, the SVU unit's skipper, Captain Cragen (Dann Florek), faces the grim possibility that he may have unwittingly railroaded a guiltless criminology professor on a rape-murder charge in the episode "Criminal." And like Cragen, Det. Munch (Richard Belzer) is forced to confront the demons of his own past while handling an assisted-suicide case in "Painless." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The so-called "repressed memory syndrome" figures heavily into "Repression," the opening episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit's third season. Subsequent episodes worth noting include "Wrath," in which Detective Benson's (Mariska Hargitay) relentless pursuit of rapists (motivated, in part, by the fact that she herself was conceived in rape) may bring about her death at the hands of one whom she'd sent to prison. Similarly character-driven are such episodes as "Stolen," in which Captain Cragen (Dann Florek), skipper of the SVU unit, takes it upon himself to reopen a illegal-adoption case he'd worked on a dozen years earlier; "Redemption," wherein Det. Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) is partnered with a detective whose professional zeal sends him spiralling into depression and public humiliation; "Execution," a story built around the recurring character of forensic psychiatrist Dr. George Huang (B.D. Wong), who races against the clock to determine if a condemned murderer is responsible for an unsolved crime; "Guilt," wherein Assistant DA Alex Cabot (Stephanie March) puts her career on the line by covertly enlisting the aid of the SVU team to trap a child molester; and "Denial," in which Det. Fin Tutuola takes a special interest in a heroin addicted rape victim. The season concludes with "Silence," a timely story about a pedophilic priest. Having ended its second season as the 25th highest-rated network program in the U.S., Law & Order: Special Victims Unit enjoyed a healthy influx of new viewers during season three, skyrocketing to 12th place in the ratings. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The first season of the popular Law & Order spin-off Law & Order: Special Victims Unit begins with the episode "Payback," with the SVU investigating the murder and sexual mutilation of a former Serbian soldier -- who also happened to be a rapist. Quickly establishing their characters, Det. Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) conducts the investigation in a cool, detached manner, while Det. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), a child of rape, cannot help but sympathize with the murderer rather than the victim. Later episodes introduce new characters or further develop the personalities of the familiar regulars. In "Closure," Benson and first-year Detective Brian Cassidy (Dean Winters) spend the night together; in "Limitations," Michelle Hurd joins the cast as streetwise Detective Monique Jeffries; and in the season finale, circumstances dictate that a forensic psychologist recommends that Stabler, outwardly the most "normal" member of the team, be removed from the SVU for emotional instability. The season's most intriguing episode is the aforementioned "Closure," a two-part story which would not be resolved until season two. And finally, "Entitled" finds Law & Order: Special Victims Unit involved in a crossover plot with its parent series, Law & Order, allowing the casts of both series to work in concert. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A natural disaster breeds man-made treachery in this suspense thriller. Severe flooding threatens an Indiana town after a massive rainstorm taxes dams to the breaking point. As part of an emergency evacuation effort, armored car driver Tom (Christian Slater) and his uncle Charlie (Edward Asner) are recruited to collect cash from the town's banks and drive it to safety. However, a gang of thieves led by Jim (Morgan Freeman) plan to lay siege to the truck and steal the $3 million on board. After Jim attempts to ambush the truck, Tom hides the cash and reports the attempted theft to the local sheriff (Randy Quaid). However, the sheriff's lack of honesty soon becomes apparent; he puts Tom in a lockup and sets out to take the money for himself. As the flood waters rise, Tom has to escape from jail if he is to save both the townspeople's savings and his own life. Meanwhile, Jim and the sheriff are locked in a race to see who can find the $3 million first. Minnie Driver, Richard A. Dysart, and Betty White highlight Hard Rain's supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Originally aired on HBO and directed by Apollo 13 star and space enthusiast Tom Hanks, among others, From the Earth to the Moon explores the ups and downs of space travel, beginning with President Kennedy's famous speech before Congress on May 25, 1961, and chronicling the journey to putting the first man on the moon. This highly acclaimed, Emmy-nominated, 12-episode series is available in a six-tape VHS set and a four-disc DVD set. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Haunted by the painful memories of the past, a married woman attempting to lead a normal life finds her quest for peace violently shattered by the appearance of an obsessive stalker. Catherine Begley (Mare Winningham) is a woman looking to lay her troubled history to rest. Though things begin to look up when Catherine weds a gentle and loving man (Bruce Davidson), she soon finds the past and present on a tragic collision course when a dangerously disturbed man begins tracking her every movement. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Dan comes home to make things up with Roseanne right when Jackie calls with the news that Darlene is going into labor. They spend the night at the hospital and decide to try to put their marriage back together. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Two roommates, both strippers, are murdered, sending Simone (Jimmy Smits) and Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) off on another trail of contrary clues. Tipped to a possible assassination by ex-cop Sheedy (Jason Andrews), Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) wants to pose as a hitman to catch the perp, but it is determined that Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) would be better casting. Jill (Andrea Thompson) and Diane (Kim Delaney) deal with a possible diamond necklace robbery. And Diane is more convinced than ever that a baby is on the way. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The good (if not fully evolved) citizens of Bedrock make their way to the big screen in this live-action adaptation of the popular animated series of the 1960s. Fred Flintstone (John Goodman) and his best friend Barney Rubble (Rick Moranis) work together at the Slate and Company Rock Quarry. When Fred loans Barney some money that allows him and his wife Betty (Rosie O'Donnell) to adopt a child, Barney is looking for a way to show his gratitude. Barney thinks he's found one when the executives at Slate and Company announce that they're giving all their employees intelligence tests to help determine future promotions. When Barney switches his high-scoring test with Fred's, his plan works -- but not quite the way he had hoped: Fred is deemed executive material and given a big promotion, complete with a sexy secretary (Halle Berry) who makes his wife Wilma (Elizabeth Perkins) jealous, while Barney is soon out of a job and can't pay his bills. Bill Hanna and Joseph Barbara, who created the original television series, make cameo appearances here; Elizabeth Taylor gives a fine comic performance as Wilma's nagging mother, and Harvey Korman provides the voice of the Dictabird. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

All signs point to a bleak Christmas when Antonio (Tony Shalhoub) purchases Helen's (Crystal Bernard) last jelly doughnut -- which the terminal's new air-traffic controller Bob (Dann Florek) had assumed was reserved for him. Demonstrating that he is perhaps not psychologically suited for his job, Bob pulls a gun on Antonio and holds him prisoner! The situation is helped not at all by the subsequent revelation that Bob's ex-wife Phoebe (played by former Happy Days regular Catherine Silvers) is Antonio's current amour. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi