Lisa Coleman Movies

A remake of the popular 1970s fantasy/adventure series of the same name, NBC's Bionic Woman starred Michelle Ryan as Jaime Sommers, the character originally played by Lindsay Wagner. In the earlier series, Jaime was a professional athlete; in the new version, she was a bartender and soon-to-be unwed mother. No matter: In both instances, Jaime was involved in a terrible accident which required emergency surgery--and a complete electronic overhaul. At the behest of her boyfriend Dr. Anthros (Chris Bowers), the first of several characters created for the remake, Jaime was rushed to a secret research lab, where she was outfitted with a pair of bionic legs and a bionic right arm, both of which provided super-strength and the ability to run in slow motion (representing extraordinary speed). She also was endowed with super-hearing skills--and, in an improvement over the original series, a new bionic eye (needless to say, the bill for all this retooling was considerably higher than the six-million-dollar price tag in the earlier show). Whereas the 1970s edition of Bionic Woman was, for all its gimmickry, a fairly straightforward action-adventure offering, the remake bore the heavy influence of 24 and Lost, accommodating a plethora of mysterious conspiracies and sinister secrets which weaved their way through the proceedings, with bits and pieces of vital information revealed on a "need-to-know" basis. There was also a soupcon of the Spiderman movie formula, with a dash of Smallville folded in, as Jamie slowly, awkwardly and sometimes painfully adjusted to her new and awesome powers, and to the responsiblities and consequences attached to them. The cast of characters in the new Bionic Woman included Jonas Bledsoe (Miguel Ferrer), the enigmatic (and slightly satanic) head of the Bionics research program; Ruth Truewell (Molly Price), Bledsoe's slightly more scrupulous assistant; maverick "program advisor" Antonio Pope (Isaiah Washington), the resident "I know more than I'm letting on" guy; and Jaime's computer-hacker sister Becca (Lucy Hale), who was always in trouble with the cops. This Bionic Woman joined NBC's Wednesday-night lineup on September 26, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

One of the many serialized dramas which dominated the 2006-2007 TV season, NBC's Heroes dealt with a disparate group of people from all over the world, ranging from a teenager to thirtysomethings, who suddenly discovered that they possessed superpowers. Drug-addict artist Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera) could paint disturbingly accurate pictures of the future -- but only when he was stoned; cop Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg) was able to hear other people's thoughts; single mother Niki Sanders (Ali Larter) seemed to have a super-strong, violent alter ego; Japanese comic-book fanatic Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) had the capacity to make time stand still or travel through time; 17-year-old cheerleader Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere) was seemingly indestructible; politician Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar) has the power of flight; his brother, male hospice nurse Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) can absorb the powers of others around him, and so it went. Brought together to try to prevent an impending horrific disaster in New York City, these novice (and ofttimes reluctant) superheroes were forced to cope with their new skills and to hopefully channel them for a common purpose of good, all the while being plagued with surrealistic flashbacks and weighted down with traumatic backstories. Created by Tim Kring (Crossing Jordan), Heroes debuted September 25, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This calculatedly bizarre 12-episode cable drama series incorporated elements from Something Wicked This Way Comes, the Tod Browning film Freaks, and the entire David Lynch oeuvre. Set in America's Dust Bowl in 1934, the series chronicled the fortunes of a seedy carnival/burlesque troupe as it moved from one flyspeck town to another. Unfolding in a slow, deliberate and deceptively casual manner, the basic plot line boiled down to an allegorical battle between "a creature of light and a creature of darkness." The former "creature" was Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl), a chain-gang escapee with a mysterious past and an even more mysterious gift for healing, who had latched on to the carnival almost by accident; the latter was sinister evangelist Brother Justin (Clancy Brown), who held the town of Mintern, CA, in thrall with a combination of charisma and mind control. Other characters included Samson (played by Twin Peaks alumnus Michael J. Anderson), the all-wise dwarf who narrated the series and who ran the carnival on behalf of the seldom-seen Management; Samson's right-hand man, Jonesy (Tim DeKay); sexy snake charmer Ruthie (Adrienne Barbeau); surprisingly prescient mentalist Lodz (Patrick Bauchau); tarot card reader Sofie (Clea DuVall) and her comatose mother Apollonia (Diane Salinger); "lizard man" Gecko (John Fleck); strong man Gabriel (Brian Turk); bearded lady Lila (Debra Christofferson); singing Siamese twins Alexandra and Caledonia (Karyne Steben, Sarah Steben); and Brother Justin's slightly unhinged sister, Iris (Amy Madigan). Created by Daniel Knauf, Carnivàle premiered September 14, 2003, on HBO. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An unlucky-in-love bachelor lands his dream date, but finds that getting through the evening will be a difficult challenge indeed in this romantic comedy. The Third Wheel stars Luke Wilson as Stanley, a woefully inept young man who -- with the aid of his roommate Mike (Ben Affleck) -- works up the nerve to ask out his alluring co-worker Diana (Denise Richards). Diana agrees, but before the two can even be seated at a restaurant, they literally run into a homeless con man named Phil (Jay Lacopo). Currying pity from the hapless Stanley, Phil proceeds to disrupt the evening in every way imaginable. One of the first films from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's production company, The Third Wheel languished on the shelf for more than three years; a similar, if less-severe, fate befell Wakin' Up in Reno, another Miramax-distributed comedy also directed by Jordan Brady. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

The title of this NBC detective drama referred not to the Biblical river but to Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh, played by former Law and Order regular Jill Hennessy. A brilliant Boston-based medical examiner, Jordan tended to rub her superiors the wrong way with her feistiness and insubordination, but her expertise and persistence inevitably proved to be indispensable to Beantown's coroner's office. The heroine was the sort of forensic sleuth who popped up at funerals to snap the cuffs on the "grieving" spouse in preparation for a murder charge. Acting as Jordan's unofficial leg man was her father, Max (Ken Howard), an ex-cop plagued by memories of his murdered wife and by the scandal that cost him his job. Rounding out the cast was Miguel Ferrer as Jordan's combative rule-bound boss, Garret Macy. Created by Tim Kring of Providence fame, the weekly, 60-minute Crossing Jordan was to have made its NBC bow on September 17, 2001, but breaking news events pushed up the series' premiere date to September 24. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rap music star and No Limit Records boss Master P, after a series of successful straight-to-video features and one theatrical release, I Got The Hook-Up, made a bid for wider big-screen success with Foolish, which teamed him with comedian Eddie Griffin. "Fifty Dollah" Waise (Master P) is involved in a crime ring that earns him good money but worries his grandmother (Marla Gibbs), who dotes on him and encourages him to follow a more righteous path. Fifty Dollah's brother "Foolish" (Eddie Griffin) is an aspiring comedian, but his inability to get his career going convinces his older sibling he's wasting his talents. While Fifty Dollah tries to get his own life in order and give Foolish the push he needs, he also has to deal with a sudden conflict with criminal leader Eldorado Ron (Andrew Dice Clay) and a painful romantic triangle when he and Foolish fall for the same woman (Amy Petersen). In addition to music from Master P and a host of other No Limit artists, Foolish features an original score by former Prince associates Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. Master P also wrote the film's screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Much of this lively, low-budget British comedy is filmed in real-time as it chronicles the strange wedding day of upper-middle-class girl Samantha whose beautiful garden ceremony is abruptly interrupted by three Cockney jewel thieves on the run after their latest heist fell apart. While hiding out at the wedding the crooks get involved with the family. Things really go nuts when the chauffeur chokes on an hors d'ouvre and keels over. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This collection of skits from the fourth series of French & Saunders lives up to its title. Although the comedic duo takes aim at British culture, BBC TV, pop stars, and the Middle Ages, most of the material focuses on Hollywood parody. Dawn French takes on a pair of box-office villains as she pokes fun at Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs and Kathy Bates in Misery; partner Jennifer Saunders, meanwhile, essays the Jodie Foster and James Caan roles, respectively. French experiences the familiar progression from face-hugger to stomach-exploder in a send-up of Aliens that also features Kathy Burke standing in for Jenette Goldstein as Pvt. Vasquez. Thelma and Louise also gets the patented F&S treatment. Other sketches include faux music videos for the Mamas and the Papas, Guns N' Roses, and Shakespear's Sister; "Lucky Bitches," a parody of celebrity sisters Joan and Jackie Collins; and an elaborate re-creation of the historical soap House of Eliott, in which the show's original stars, Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard, appear. The DVD edition of French & Saunders: At the Movies also includes the duo's 1999 Christmas special French & Saunders: The Phantom Millennium, an elaborate parody of Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

A juvenile delinquent falls in love with a beautiful Catholic girl's school student in this fact-based adolescent melodrama set in an Oregon forest. The two meet by accident when the troubled young man is out on a nature hike and sees the lovely girl floating in a small lake as she works on a photography assignment. The two are immediately drawn to each other, but neither of their schools encourages contact with the opposite sex and when their relationship is discovered there is trouble all around, forcing the young lovers to flee. The question then remains: will they be able to evade the law and other authorities long enough to find happiness? ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi