Sam Waterston Movies

This PBS documentary traces the role of music in the history of the White House, from the first appearance of the U.S. Marine Band at the New Year's Day 1801 celebration honoring President John Adams to the present day. Among the artists represented, either through rare recordings, film and video clips, or contemporary interviews, are Marian Anderson, Pablo Casals, Van Cliburn, Isaac Stern, Geoffrey Holder, and Willie Nelson. In addition, the special occasionally pauses to recall those presidents who possessed musical skills of their own, including violinist Thomas Jefferson, pianists Harry Truman and Richard Nixon, and saxophonist Bill Clinton. Garnished with historical commentary by the likes of Doris Kearns Goodwin and William Seale, White House: In Tune With History is an entertaining excursion down melody lane, D.C. style. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As it entered its 13th season on the air, Law & Order also entered the history books as the longest-running TV program of its genre. This, however, did not satisfy series producer Dick Wolf, who had every intention of keeping the series in production for at least another eight years, long enough to smash Gunsmoke's status as the longest-running dramatic series of all time. Wolf also refused to rest on his laurels by concentrating on his "baby" alone: In addition to the original Law & Order, he was also churning out spin-offs Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as the documentary/reality series Crime & Punishment, with an updated revival of the classic Dragnet still in the wings. The basic Law & Order cast from season 12 was still in place, with one very significant change. After two years of service, interim District Attorney Nora Lewin (Dianne Weist), who'd replaced the venerable Adam Schiff (Steven Hill) in 2000, was herself replaced by DA Arthur Branch, played by Fred Dalton Thompson, an erstwhile actor better known to the public as a former Republican senator from Tennessee. The avuncular, home-fried conservatism of Branch -- who, unlike his strictly-business predecessors, was inclined toward long-winded anecdotes and rustic homilies whenever making an important point of law -- was frequently at odds with the intense liberalism of ADA Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) and the studied seriousness of McCoy's assistant Serena Southerlyn. So much for the "Order" portion of the program. Back on the "Law" end of the spectrum, producer Wolf had promised viewers that there would be more friction between detectives Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Eddie Green (Jesse L. Martin); as it turned out, however, Briscoe and Green developed into something of a comedy team, with Green playing off of the witty comments and abysmal puns invariably dropped by Briscoe at each murder scene. Similarly, the detectives' sober-sided superior, Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson), became a bit more wry and light-hearted than she'd been in previous seasons. As always, Law & Order kept abreast of the times with stories based on actual events and persons. The aftermath of 9/11, the saga of "American Jihad" John Walker Lindh, the shoplifting trial of actress Winona Ryder, the Lacy Peterson murder case, the Martha Stewart inside-trading imbroglio, pop star Michael Jackson's display of parental recklessness from a balcony, the criminal charges against the NBA's Jayson Williams, and the "D.C. Snipers" case were all grist for the writers' mill. The 13th-season finale of Law & Order was lavishly publicized as the series' 300th episode. Technically, however, it was the 301st, but NBC seldom acknowledged the series' pilot episode because it had been financed by CBS. Ironically, that selfsame pilot show was rebroadcast by NBC May 21, 2003, the same night as the "300th" installment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This historical drama, based on a true story, is set in Georgia in the mid-1800s. David Dickson (Sam Waterston) owns a large plantation, as well as a number of slaves who do the labor required to run it. Dickson finds himself attracted to one of his new slaves, a bright and willful teenager named Julia (Lisa Gay Hamilton); Dickson rapes Julia, and nine months later she gives birth to a daughter, Amanda. Amanda is fair-skinned and can pass for white, so Dickson raises her as his daughter without acknowledging Julia as the mother, fabricating a story that Amanda's mother died in childbirth. After Amanda (now played by Jennifer Beals) has grown to adulthood, Dickson dies, leaving his entire estate to her. However, Henry (Ron White), Dickson's younger brother, knows the truth about Amanda's heritage and questions the will in court; a high-minded lawyer named Charles Dubose (Tim Daly) agrees to represent Amanda in court as the sordid secrets of the Dickson family air in a public courtroom. Sam Waterston served as co-producer as well as male lead for A House Divided, which was produced for (and first aired by) the Showtime premium cable network. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Season ten of Law & Order had ended on a cliffhanger of sorts, with an international trial involving the son of a prominent diplomat casting serious doubt upon the reelection of DA Adam Schiff (Steven Hill). In the first episode of the series' 11th season, it was learned that Schiff had, indeed, left office -- not due to a lack of voter turnout, but because he had been appointed by the U.S. government to supervise an upcoming Holocaust memorial in Holland. Until Schiff's replacement could be elected, it was necessary to appoint an interim DA, former law school ethics professor Nora Lewin -- played by Oscar-winning actress Dianne Wiest, whose character's predetermined "temporary" status reflected Wiest's reluctance to tie herself down to a long-running weekly series. Seemingly softer and less curmudgeonly than Schiff, Lewin nonetheless possessed what Executive Producer Dick Wolf described as a "steely reserve," which surfaced whenever it was necessary to the story. Otherwise, the cast members from season ten were carried over into season 11, though it was fairly common knowledge that actress Angie Harmon, cast as ADA Abbie Carmichael, would be departing the series to seek out different projects once her contract was up. Harmon's predecessor, Carey Lowell, made another return appearance as former ADA Jamie Ross, again acting as a defense attorney in opposition to her former colleagues. In addition, acerbic writer Fran Lebowitz made the first of several cameo appearances as Arraignment Judge Goldberg. Among the hot-button issues touched upon during the series' 11th season were the potential dangers of prison budget cutbacks, TV "reality" shows, the loopholes inherent in Israel's "Law of Return" for Jewish citizens, the gay adoption controversy, and, perhaps inevitably, the hotly contested 2000 presidential election. One episode, "Sunday in the Park With Jorge," was attacked by a number of ethnic special-interest groups because it depicted a Central Park "wilding" incident during an Hispanic Pride Festival. Although producer Wolf would not categorically apologize for the story's content, citing the real-life incident on which it was based, he agreed to remove the offending episode from Law & Order's syndicated rerun package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode of Homicide: Life on the Street is the conclusion of a two-part story introduced on its "sister" series Law & Order. Newly appointed to a district court bench, ADA Danvers (Zeljko Ivanek) brings the Baltimore homicide unit into the investigation of the death of governmental official Janine McBride, who, despite being found murdered in New York City, was actually killed in Baltimore. Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) is mad that his son Mike (Giancarlo Esposito) turned over confidential information about the McBride case to his FBI bosses, who, in turn, handed it over to Independent Counsel William Dell (George Hearn) -- resulting in immunity for the accused murderer. As it turns out, the ruthless Dell (who bears a startling resemblance to Kenneth Starr) is using both the Baltimore cops and Law & Order regulars Rey Curtis (Benjamin Bratt), Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach), and Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) as unwitting stepping stones for his own political ambitions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Essentially a feature-length episode of NBC's long-running series Law & Order, this crime and courtroom drama marks the return of Chris Noth (Detective Mike Logan) to Manhattan's 27th precinct. For the past three years, Logan has been stuck on Staten Island, the result of an incident in which he lost his temper. Regretting his outburst, Logan yearns to return to his home station. A murdered hooker's body found floating in the harbor may provide the key to his return. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This episode of Homicide: Life on the Street is the conclusion of a two-part story begun on its "sister" series Law & Order. The man accused of stalking Brittany Janaway (Rachel Jane Sacrey), a teenaged model who'd been raped in Baltimore before dying of toxic shock syndrome in New York City, insists that he witnessed her attack. This brings Law & Order detectives Rey Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) and Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) to Baltimore, where they team with the Homicide sleuths to determine if Brittany's father (Tom Tammi) -- the same man who posted a 250,000-dollar reward for the capture of her rapist -- is actually the guilty party. In the ensuing jurisdictional battles both in and out of the courtroom, the facts of the case are all but sacrificed in the interests of a speedy conclusion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Presidential advisor Bobby Bishop (Charlie Sheen) is hunted by an unknown assailant in this political thriller. With the help of Chief-of-Staff Jake Conrad (Donald Sutherland) and the newspaper journalist Amanda (Linda Hamilton), he uncovers an assassination plot to kill the President and his most trusted advisors. Bobby battles forces in the government he has sworn to uphold, as his every move is monitored by high-tech surveillance cameras. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Law & Order entered its seventh season on a note of uncertainty: Had Assistant DA Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy) been killed by that drunk driver at the end of season six? The answer would remain vague until it was determined by the producers that actress Hennessy had no intention of returning to the series; it was at this point that the unfortunate Kincaid was sadly and reverently referred to in the past tense. Her replacement was ADA Jamie Ross (played by Carey Lowell). The idealistic Ross, who struggled to balance her career with her home life as a single mom, proved to be an excellent opposite number for the jaded, unattached Executive ADA Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston). In addition to claiming Kincaid, death took its toll on another of the series' characters. Throughout season seven, the never-seen wife of DA Adam Schiff (Steven Hill) lay virtually comatose in a hospital bed, tenaciously hanging on to life. The final episode of the season concluded with a grieving Schiff sitting at bedside as the monitor attached to his wife flat-lined. Nor was the brief sojourn to Hollywood taken by detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) fraught with merriment. They had gone to Tinseltown to investigate the brutal murder of a female studio executive, a plot line which necessitated the series' first (and, to this point, only) three-part story. This expanded time frame afforded ample opportunity to probe the private lives of two of the series' principals: Curtis, devoted to his ailing wife (who had earlier been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis), nonetheless briefly drifted from his marital vows with a sexy Hollywoodite, and new ADA Jamie Ross was bedeviled by her ex-husband, scheming defense attorney Neal Gordon (Keith Szarabajka), both in and out of court. After several years worth of Emmy nominations but no wins, Law & Order closed out season seven with two new statuettes, for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Cinematography. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ken Burns, America's most popular and successful documentarian of history, has called Thomas Jefferson "the most important human being born in the last 500 years." It is with this passionate admiration, tempered as always by a blunt acknowledgement of Jefferson's flaws, that Burns approaches his subject. Following the brilliant, fiery young revolutionary from his writing of the Declaration of Independence to his love affair with France and his extraordinary political career, this compelling film delves into the classic Burns-ian themes: unquenchable hope, agonizing loss, and how men and women throughout history have negotiated the two in creating the quintessential American experience. ~ Sarah Welsh, All Movie Guide

Actor Sam Waterston hosts this ten-part series that revisits ancient cultures on four continents. Dramatic re-enactments recall key historic events, and attractive location footage provides viewers with interesting information about the featured cultures. This episode looks at many of the most important democratic principles and institutions introduced to modern society by the citizens of ancient Greece. ~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide