Tim Haldeman Movies

Former co-stars of the TV sitcom Head of the Class teamed up to write the story and script for this teen comedy. When junior high-school student Jason Shepherd (Frankie Muniz) realizes that his class paper has been ripped off and turned into a hit motion picture called "Big Fat Liar," he takes matters into his own hands. Along with his best friend, Kaylee (Amanda Bynes), Jason travels to Los Angeles, where he intends to confront Hollywood big shot Marty Wolf (Paul Giamatti), the sleazy producer responsible for ripping him off. When he's unable to get Wolf to do the right thing, Jason subjects the showbiz power broker to a series of humiliating pranks and stunts designed to make an honest man out of him. Big Fat Liar co-stars Lee Majors and Amanda Detmer. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Drew (Drew Carey) doesn't like the fact that his old friends Kate (Christa Miller) and Oswald (Diedrich Bader) are now living together. Oswald n turn accuses Drew of carrying a torch for Kate--and as much as Drew denies this, he finds it impossible to hide his true feelings. The upshot of all this is a Valentine's-Day "compatability competition", with Kate and Oswald on one side, Drew and Nicki (Kate Walsh) on the other, and a startling outcome at episode's end. Meanwhile, Mimi (Kathy Kinney) is coached by a psychologist (Eugene Levy) in order to pass a lie-detector test as part of her trumped-up lawsuit against the store; and DrugCo's pet guinea pig Pinky (Ashley Gardner) has gone "catty" in more ways than one! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Entering a contest held by a fast-food restaurant, Drew (Drew Carey) wins a replica of the famous Batmobile, only to become extremely paranoid thanks to his friends' admonition that he should have accept an alternate prize of $250,000. Then he goes into full "obsession" mode after Lewis (Ryan Stiles) and Oswald (Diedrich Bader) borrow the Batmobile for a joyride--and to make matters worse, jealous Nicki (Kate Walsh) concludes that Drew is more in love with the car than with her. In the end, however, it is Nicki who is sexually aroused by the Batmobile, with dire consequences for our hero! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Now that the dust has settled and she has brought her baby home, Murphy (Candice Bergen) returns to work at the "FYI" studio. Unfortunately, her job performance suffers for a number of reasons, not least Murphy's obsessive guilt over leaving her newborn with newly-hired "Nanny Number Four" (played by British actress Millicent Martin, best known for her work as Daphne's mother on Frasier). Clearly, a showdown is in the offing--but will Murphy have to choose between her journalistic duties and her parental obligations? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Zsa Zsa Gabor essentially plays herself in the role of Sonya Lamor, glamorous neighbor of the Banks family. During a dinner party, some of the Bankses' silverware disappears--and Will (Will Smith) and Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) suspect the flamboyant Sonya of being a kleptomaniac. Even so, when the cops arrive, it is poor Will who is innocently caught with the goods! Not surprisingly, this 1991 episode does not pass up the opportunity of referencing Zsa Zsa's recent run-in with a traffic cop. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jay Underwood plays Jeff Sherman, a teenage movie fan who idolizes the classic films of Humphrey Bogart. Jeff's Uncle Ben (Vince Edwards) owns a small detective agency, and Jeff asks if he could have a job working there to earn some extra money. Ben warily agrees, assigning Jeff the most rudimentary of tasks. But when a gangster client comes to the agency, needing someone to spy on his fiancee, Rita Benson (Tracy Scoggins), whom he suspects is cheating on him, Jeff is given the assignment. Hiding out in a closet in a hotel room, Jeff documents an assignation between Rita and her lover Glenn (Charles Lucia). But then strong-arm men push their way into the room, pump Glenn with tranquilizers, and carry him off. Jeff proceeds to fall out of the closet, and Rita asks Jeff for help. They immediately go to the police to report the crime. Unfortunately for the luckless duo, the police and the kidnappers are in cahoots, and soon Jeff and Rita are on the run from both the gangsters and the cops. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Since he owes his life to petty thief Terry Smolki (David Wohl), Hunter (Fred Dryer) feels obliged to lend a helping hand when the man is accused of murder. Though Smolki admits that he was trying to tunnel into a bank vault, he swears he knows nothing about the dead body that he found in the tunnel. Sure enough, the two-bit crook has been set up by the bank's mob-connected owner (Michael Constantine)--and it turns out that a huge cache of counterfeit currency is at the bottom of all the intrigue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Little Mary (Robin Ignico) is haunted by the guilty memory of her sister Jennifer, who died in an auto accident not long ago. Jennifer had always been more adored by their parents, and Mary can't help thinking that her jealousy was behind Jennifer's death. Soon, Mary begins to imagine that there's something, or someone, hiding under her bed, and it becomes apparent that the nocturnal visitor is her dead sister. The apparition, who is only seen by Mary, is not satisfied being the only member of her family to have crossed over; she wants the rest of her family dead. Soon, to Mary's horror, her dead sister is orchestrating the deaths of the other members of the family, one by one. Ned Wynn wrote the screenplay for this TV-movie thriller, which first saw the light of day on December 10, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Devastated when her brand-new husband Albert Brooks) drops dead on their wedding night, Jewish American princess Judy Benjamin (Goldie Hawn) is receptive to the pitch delivered by a duplicitous recruiter for the Women's Army Corps. Quickly adivsed by topkick Captain Lewis (Eileen Brennan) that she should not look forward to the private room, fancy clothes and sauna bath that she'd been promised, Judy is forced to go through basic training like any other "grunt". This turns out to be a real growth experience for the pampered Private Benjamin, who for the first time in her life has to work for her privileges. A brief misadventure with a lascivious paratroop officer (Robert Webber) nearly sours Judy on army life, but she turns out to be a darned good soldier-and a woman with a highly developed sense of self-esteem, which enables her to weather a further disappointing romantic fling with French phsycian Henri Tremont (Armand Assante). Private Benjamin turned out to be one of Goldie Hawn's most profitable vehicles. The 1981-82 TV sitcom spinoff starred Lorna Patterson in Goldie's role, with Eileen Brennan repeating her film characterization of the long-suffering Captain Lewis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having trouble with his college physics class, John-Boy (Richard Thomas) begins studying with a brilliant tutor--a 16-year-old prodigy named Lyle (Dennis Kort). Invited to stay for a while with the Waltons, Lyle quickly demonstrates that though he may a genius, he is a complete social misfit, unable to communicate with "normal" people. After inadvertently insulting the Waltons intellectually , Lyle finally crosses the line when he dismisses Olivia's belief in God as immature and unrealistic. Needless to say, Lyle is due for a few hard lessons in getting along with his fellow humans--and a local fund-raising bazaar is as good a place as any for those lessons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While tutoring fellow student Tom Povich (Richard Masur), who is attending Boatwright on a football scholarship, John-Boy (Richard Thomas) catches Tom cheating on a history exam. Though he'd sooner keep quiet, John-Boy is bound by the students' "honor code", which dictates that he himself will be given a failing grade unless he informs on Tom. This leads to an emotional denoument during a student council meeting, in which John-Boy tries to rationalize Tom's actions and prevent the boy from being expelled. And in a similar development, Jason (Jon Walmsley) wonders if he should "rat out" his brother Ben (Eric Scott), whom he has caught smoking a cigarette! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This distaff variation of the Goodbye Mr. Chips theme is based on a novel by Frances Gray Patton. While confined to a sickbed, ageing New England schoolteacher Miss Dove (Jennifer Jones) recalls the many students who passed through her classroom. Among her now-grown-up prize pupils are surgeon Tom Baker (Robert Stack), policeman Bill Holloway (Chuck Connors) and playright Maurice (Jerry Paris), all of whom were able to overcome difficult childhoods and strive for success with the help of Miss Dove. As it turns out, it is Dr. Tom Baker who is to perform the operation that may save the life of his ailing former teacher. A 60-minute TV adaptation of Good Morning Miss Dove, with Phyllis Kirk in the Jennifer Jones role, was seen in 1956 as part of the weekly anthology The 20th Century-Fox Hour. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide