Emmy Awards Movies

The Simpsons, Season Six showcases all 25 episodes from the acclaimed sixth season, including Part One of the season cliffhanger "Who Shot Mr. Burns?,"

The madcap antics of Springfield's first family continue when the Emmy award-winning series created by Matt Groening returns to DVD. Arriving on August 15th from Fox Home Entertainment, "The Simpsons" The Complete Eighth Season showcases all 25 episodes from the critically-acclaimed eighth season, as well as a host of bonus materials including audio commentaries from Groening and "The Simpsons" Executive Producers, Writers and Directors, as well as animatics and storyboards with optional audio commentary, a special featurette, deleted scenes, a sketch gallery and much more. As a special bonus for fans and collectors, Fox Home Entertainment will release the "The Simpsons" The Complete Eighth Season in two unique packaging options - a special Limited Edition Maggie Simpson box, as well as a collectible, illustrated gatefold digipak.

When Homer Simpson (voice of Dan Castellaneta) makes the sobering discovery that his current age put him at the halfway point of a normal human life expectancy, he becomes deeply depressed and is convinced he's wasted his life. Hoping to lift Homer's spirits, his family puts together a reel of home movies documenting some of his more remarkable exploits; unimpressed, he asks who invented movies in the first place, and when he discovers Thomas Edison dreamed up moving pictures as well as the light bulb, the phonograph, and dozens of other useful items, Homer is inspired to become an inventor. Quitting his job, he sets up a workshop in the basement in hopes of creating useful new items. However, Homer's first batch of new products -- including a make-up gun, an electric hammer, and a combination toilet and easy chair -- fails to impress, and he thinks he's washed out again until he comes up with a chair that has extra hinged back legs which keep it from tipping over backwards. The family is convinced Homer's finally come up with a winner until someone spots a photo of Edison with just such a chair; determined to avoid being branded a failure again, Homer and Bart (voice of Nancy Cartwright) head to the Edison Museum in Michigan in order to destroy the great inventor's original chair so Homer can claim it as his own. Featuring a voice cameo from William Daniels (reprising his role as K.I.T.T., the car from Knight Rider), The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace first aired on September 20, 1998. Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Season two of South Park offers 18 raunchy misadventures with Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and (he should live so long!) Kenny. This year's crop includes "Terrance & Phillip in Not Without My Anus" (saving Canada from Saddam Hussein); "Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut" (not really -- but she is a hermaphrodite); "Ike's Wee Wee" (Stan doesn't want his brother to "lose it" at his bris); "Chickenlover" (book reports are a cinch if you don't read books); "Conjoined Fetus Lady" (the title character is Kyle's nurse -- and there's even Chinese dodgeball!); "The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka" (Jesus imitates Jerry Springer as the boys learn about Vietnam); "City on the Edge of Forever" (a missing bus and remembrances of things past); "Summer Sucks" (no fireworks, no Mr. Hat, but plenty of snakes); "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls" (an independent film festival collides with "The Call of Mr. Hankey"); "Chickenpox" (exposing "the parental conspiracy" and a herpes revenge as a bonus); "Roger Ebert Should Lay Off the Fatty Foods" (an evil planetarium and exploding heads); "Clubhouses" ("Truth or Dare," Colorado style); "Cow Days" (never let cows see a statue); "Chef Aid" (Johnnie Cochran vs. Chef in a copyright suit, and Ozzy Osbourne gives up bats); "Spookyfish" (the one with the goateed Cartman and "hella cool"); "Merry Christmas Charlie Manson" (Charlie escapes, just as the boys visit Mr. Hankey in the Mall of Nebraska); "Gnomes" (a Harbucks coffee shop fights for the hearts and minds of the kids, while the gnomes demand underpants); and "Prehistoric Ice Man" (or "The Thing from 1996!"). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

South Park strikes again for a fourth season, as Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and (temporarily) Kenny assault the ears and eyes with 17 new, even more outrageous episodes. This year's harvest includes "The Tooth Fairy TATS 2000" (Hello, Timmy!); "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000" (Cartman finally gets thrown in the slammer, while his cellmate is going to Disneyworld); "Timmy 2000" (we all see only what we want to see -- even Phil Collins); "Quintuplets 2000" (Grandpa Marsh has a circus in his bedroom -- and his pants); "Cartman Joins NAMBLA" (keep your back to the wall, boy); "Cherokee Hair Tampons" (the herbal remedy racket exposed!); "Chef Goes Nanners" (the KKK won't save the day); "Something You Can Do With Your Finger" (it's called Fingerbang); "Do the Handicapped Go to Hell?" (Cartman sees the light; Satan can't live without Saddam) and its "sequel" "Probably" (Is This Hell? No, It's Mexico); "Fourth Grade" (Timmy enters a strange new dimension); "Trapper Keeper" (the Terminator meets "Bill Cosby"); "Helen Keller! The Musical" (Have you seen it? Neither has she!); "Pip" (Miss Havisham builds the Genesis device -- and don't forget her robotic monkeys); "Fat Camp" (Cartman and Cartman -- twice the fun); "The Wacky Molestation Adventure" (a chilling stopover at Smiley Town and Treasure Cove); and "A Very Crappy Christmas" (Hey gang, let's put on our own cartoon special!). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The freshman season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation had ended with a dramatic rescue, as the head of the Las Vegas crime-lab unit, Gil Grissom (William L. Petersen), was saved from becoming the latest victim of a serial killer by the quick thinking of Gil's second-in-command, Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger). Clearly, the relationship between Gil and Catherine was destined to go beyond the "just friends and co-workers" stage during season two. With the series' ratings riding high -- so high that it was now network television's number one cop drama -- the producers saw no reason to make any radical changes in the format or cast. The list of regulars remained intact, with Eric Szmanda (as Greg Sanders) and Robert David Hall (as coroner David Robbins) graduating from recurring characters to weekly co-stars. The success of CSI encouraged the producers to develop a spin-off series, this one set in Miami and starring David Caruso and (briefly) Kim Delaney, two alumni from NYPD Blue. The pilot for CSI: Miami was telecast as the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode titled "Cross-Jurisdictions" on May 9, 2002. Nominated for several Emmy awards during the 2001-2002 season, CSI copped one Emmy, shared jointly by makeup artists Nicholas Pagliaro, John Goodwin, and Melanie Levitt. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The first season of the prestigious NBC medical drama ER is seen largely through the eyes of new third-year medical student John Carter (Noah Wyle) as he tries to survive his shakedown cruise in the Emergency Room of Chicago's County General Hospital. Carter is swiftly introduced to his ill-tempered, ultra-demanding supervisor Dr. Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle), ER head Dr. Morganstern (William H. Macy), and his new co-workers, womanizing Dr. Doug Ross (George Clooney), workaholic Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards), and troubled Dr. Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield). Likewise appearing for the first time -- and almost the last -- is Ross' current amour, Head Nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies), a character who was supposed to have appeared only once before committing suicide, but who proved so popular that she recovered and returned to work. The many first-season plot strands include Greene's ever-growing domestic problems with his restless wife, Jennifer (Christine Harnos), the normally ice-cold Benton's anguish over the failing health of his mother (Beah Richards), and Lewis' tribulations with her irresponsible, drug-addicted sister, Chloe (Kathleen Wilhoite), who presumptively deposits her baby at Lewis' home and disappears. Showing up in mid-season during a major medical crisis is Dr. Angela Hicks (CCH Pounder), one of the few people who can match Benton in anger and imperiousness. Another character conflict develops between Lewis and rule-bound Dr. Kayson (Sam Anderson), who first brings charges of incompetence against her -- and then tries to date her! On a more salutary note, Greene is promoted to attending physician. The Emmy award-winning episode "Love's Labor Lost" dramatized a career turning point for Greene when a misdiagnosis causes the death of an expectant mother. Shortly afterward, new ER chief William Swift (Michael Ironside) makes trouble for the staff with his eccentric approach to medicine. Also introduced is another third-year med student, Jing-Mei "Deb" Chen (Ming-Na), who enters into intense competition with Carter -- with disastrous results. Another first-season recurring character, Lewis' erstwhile boyfriend Dr. Div Cvetic (John Terry), breaks under the pressure of the ER and runs naked into the streets, never to be seen again. Worth special notice is the episode "Motherhood," directed by no less than Quentin Tarantino; and the season finale, in which the marriage between Carol Hathaway and Dr. John Taglieri (Rick Rossovich) is scuttled at the last moment, leaving poor Carol with another emotional cross to bear. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season three of ER marks the (temporary) exit of Chicago County emergency-room doctor Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield), whose ever-increasing emotional problems are exacerbated when her romance with Dr. Greene (Anthony Edwards) fails to take off. It also marks the begining of John Carter's (Noah Wyle) medical career, as he starts off the season now a doctor, but still low on the food chain as a first-year intern. New to the series this season are head of surgery Dr. Donald Anspaugh (John Aylward), pediatrician Dr. Abby Keaton (Glenne Headley), and oversensitive intern Dr. Dennis Gant (Omar Epps), who, unable to withstand the incessant hectoring of hard-driving supervisor Dr. Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle), commits suicide. Benton has problems on other fronts as well: Dr. Keaton dismisses him from the prestigious pediatrics team; his current girlfriend, Jeanie Boulet (Gloria Reuben), is diagnosed as HIV-positive; and his former sweetheart Carla Reese (Lisa Nicole Carson) prematurely delivers Benton's baby son, who is born deaf. Elsewhere, womanizing Dr. Ross (George Clooney) has another scandal on his hands when his latest one-night stand (whose name he doesn't even know) drops dead; unfortunately, his attempt to redeem himself by rescuing a 14-year-old prostitute from a life on the streets ends disastrously as well. Long-suffering Head Nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) is torn between staying in her current job and entering med school. And newly divorced Dr. Greene nervously re-enters the dating scene, even while his ongoing war of nerves with the abrasive Dr. Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes) intensifies. As the season rushes to a climax, Greene is accused of allowing a black patient to die while caring for a white patient -- and shortly afterward, he is severely beaten by an unknown assailant. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

It's another year of triumph and tragedy in the emergency room of Chicago's County General Hospital as ER enters its fifth season. New to the cast this year is Kellie Martin as inexperienced and somewhat klutzy medical student Lucy Knight, who soon proves to be a major thorn in the side of her supervisor, Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle). Even so, Carter and Lucy grow quite fond of one another, with the possibility of a serious relationship waiting in the wings. The season's major plot developments include the decision by British doctor Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) to remain in the U.S. as intern for the prickly Dr. Robert Romano (Paul McCrane), a career move she soon has cause to regret; Romano's later brush with sexual-harassment charges; the efforts by Dr. Benton (Eriq La Salle) to find proper treatment for his hearing-impaired son and the tempestuous relationship between Benton's HIV-positive former girlfriend Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) and police officer Reggie Moore (Cress Williams); Benton's later, epiphany-sparking odyssey at a backwater clinic in Mississippi; another career-threatening crisis for Dr. Ross (George Clooney), who must shoulder much of the responsibly of the death of an ALD patient; a mini-tragedy involving Greene and his profoundly disturbed patient, a Nigerian-born janitor (Djimon Hounsou) who cannot overcome memories of torture at the hands of his countrymen; and the ascension of abrasive Dr. Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes) to ER chief, after the first candidate turns out to be a phony physician. ER makes media history this season, first by reaching its 100th episode (which, appropriately enough, deals with a woman who was born 100 years earlier at Chicago County), then by emerging as the most expensive weekly TV drama series in history, budgeted at 13 million dollars per episode. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Eighteen months after Day 1's foiled assassination plot, Day 2 finds Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) officially stepping into the role of America's protector as he attempts to stop terrorists from setting off a bomb in Los Angeles. During his hunt for the nuclear device, Jack becomes romantically involved with Kate Warner (Sarah Wynter), who suspects her sister's fiancé is working with Middle Eastern terrorists. Behind-the-scenes political intrigue centers on David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert), now president of the United States after surviving Day 1's assassination attempts. While Palmer supports Jack and CTU's efforts to track down the nuclear device, Vice President Jim Prescott (Alan Dale) and Palmer's own Cabinet question the president's decision-making ability and seek to undermine his authority at every turn. Meanwhile, Jack's daughter, Kim (Elisha Cuthbert), who was rescued from kidnappers in the first season, turns the tables during Day 2. This time, it's Kim who does the kidnapping---or, as she sees it, rescuing---of a child she's been babysitting in order to protect the girl from an abusive father. Later in the day, guest star Kevin Dillon appears as survivalist Lonnie McRae, who takes Kim hostage after convincing her that the nuclear bomb has already been detonated in L.A. Familiar faces returning to action include CTU agents Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard) and Michelle Dessler (Reiko Aylesworth), whose relationship begins to develop romantically under the day's stress; CTU director George Mason (Xander Berkeley), who is exposed to radiation during a fierce gun battle; and First Lady Sherry Palmer (Penny Johnson Jerald), who reveals a dark side in her manipulations of the president for political gain. ~ Todd Thatcher, Rovi

"What was life like for Superman before he grew up to be Superman?" That was the questioned posed, and brilliantly, answered, on the weekly sci-fi/adventure series Smallville, the WB network's most successful new program of the 2001-2002 TV season. Without wreaking undue damage on the sacred Superman legend, as set down by 65 years' worth of comic books, radio series, TV shows, and movies, Smallville artfully wove its own mythos concerning the early years of Clark Kent -- not yet "the man of steel" Superman, but born Kal-El, "strange visitor from another planet" (namely, the doomed planet Krypton). The first episode, telecast October 16, 2001, rapidly established the fact that the child Kal-El's arrival on Earth in the year 1989 profoundly affected virtually the entire population of Smallville, a tiny Kansas farming community. The spacecraft bearing the alien toddler arrived at the same time as a cataclysmic meteor shower, which all but devastated Smallville. Among other things, the meteor bombardment brought about the deaths of the parents of little Lana Lang, and rendered completely hairless nine-year-old Lex Luthor, son of ruthless billionaire businessman Lionel Luthor. Though Lana was able to put the tragedy behind her thanks to the loving care of her aunt Nell (Sarah-Jane Redmond), Lex's sudden and spectacular hair loss left him cynical and suspicious of humankind in general, and his grasping father in particular. On a happier note, childless farming couple Jonathan and Martha Kent (John Schneider, Annette O'Toole) rescued Kal-El, renamed him Clark, and raised him as their own son.

As the years passed, it was painfully obvious that Clark (played in his teen years by Tom Welling), possessed Herculean strength and other powers "far beyond those of mortal men." To protect their adopted son from being exposed as an alien, and to prevent others from being accidentally injured by the boy's superstrength, Martha and Jonathan kept Clark from indulging in youthful horseplay, and refused to allow him to participate in contact sports. As a result, Clark earned a reputation as something of a namby-pamby nerd -- and his own growing realization that he was different from his peers kept him perpetually on the outside looking in, a natural-born loner. Which is not to say that Clark didn't have his own circle of friends at Smallville High School. Lana Lang (played as a teen by Kristin Kreuk), who had matured into the campus queen, regarded Clark as a loyal and faithful friend -- but, much to Clark's dismay, she reserved her romantic feelings for high school jock Whitney Fordman (Eric Johnson), who, thanks to a series of neat coincidences, tended to get the credit for the heroics performed by Clark (which of course, young Mr. Kent was bound not to claim as his own lest his secret be revealed). Conversely, fellow student Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack), a budding paranormal investigator who wrote for the Smallville High newspaper, the Torch, harbored a hidden crush on Clark. Our hero's best bud was the shy and self-effacing Pete Ross (Sam Jones III), who like everyone else in Smallville could not help but notice that strange things happened whenever Clark was around, but who seldom questioned these happenings for fear of damaging their friendship. As for Lex Luthor (played as an adult by Michael Rosenbaum), several years Clark's senior, he lived the life of a swinging bachelor in his family mansion, while dad Lionel (John Glover) wheeled and dealed from his headquarters in the city of Metropolis. A firm friend of the young Kent since Clark saved his life, Lex had his share of good and noble impulses, but they were often mitigated by his inbred avariciousness and lust for power -- and his overpowering desire to wrest the family business from the grasp of his father.

During season one, Lex had a fling with sexy Victoria Hardwick (Kelly Brook), but their romance fell victim to his self-absorption. And though Clark generally got along with Lex, the same could not be said for Jonathan Kent, who (not without reason) felt that the Luthor family's business ambitions posed a threat to Kent and his fellow farmers. Also muddying up the Luthor legacy was the cache of kryptonite -- the green, glowing element indigenous to Clark Kent's home planet -- which was kept on the premises of Smallville's LutherCorp plant. As everybody familiar with the Superman canon knows, kryptonite has an adverse and possibly deadly effect on Clark; in this series, the mineral also brought out the worst in everyone else who came in contact with it. The first season of Smallville studiously avoided any mention of Clark's future alter ego, Superman, though the viewers would see the young misfit painfully adjusting to his awesome powers, some of which (such as his x-ray vision) were brand-new to him. Also, several episodes placed those closest to him in dire jeopardy, forcing him to utilize his powers without giving himself away -- and in at least a couple of cases, Clark's friends would themselves develop temporary superpowers that they too had to learn to properly deploy. Along the way, Clark's campus rival, Whitney Fordham, would leave Smallville after a series of daunting personal setbacks, joining the Marines to see the rest of the world. Like many another network series of its ilk, Smallville closed out its initial season by setting up a cliffhanger, to be resolved at the beginning of season two. In this case, the "to be continued" elements involved the first kiss between Clark and Chloe, a potential unholy alliance between Lex and Lionel Luthor, a startling discovery made by an unscrupulous big-city news reporter named Roger Nixon (Tom O'Brien), and a devastating tornado that threatened to bump off the helpless Lana Lang. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After thwarting last season's attempted nuclear attack on Los Angeles, Day 3 finds Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) again fighting to protect the city, this time from a weaponized virus. But Jack is also battling a personal demon -- a heroin addiction he picked up while working undercover in a drug-smuggling ring run by terrorist Ramon Salazar (Joaquim de Almeida). At Jack's side throughout Day 3 is his daughter, Kim (Elisha Cuthbert), who took a desk job at CTU in the time between Seasons 2 and 3. Complicating matters is Kim's relationship with Jack's new partner, Chase Edmunds (James Badge Dale), whom she has been secretly dating. Further CTU romance is found between agents Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard) and Michelle Dessler (Reiko Aylesworth), whose working relationship has blossomed into marriage. But it's a rocky union that's tested throughout Day 3, by everything from charges of terrorism to exposure to a deadly virus. Following the dissolution of his marriage to the first lady, President David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) is deep into his reelection campaign. But privately he is still grappling with the lingering effects of the viral attack carried out by assassin Mandy (Mia Kirshner) during Day 2's final moments. New to the series is Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub), a CTU senior analyst whose computer skills prove helpful during Jack's mission this season and beyond. Day 3 also features the first appearance of Wayne Palmer (DB Woodside), who serves as the new chief of staff for his older brother. While lacking in major guest stars, Day 3 does feature Zachary Quinto (Heroes) as rookie computer analyst Adam Kaufman, and Daniel Dae Kim (Lost), who returns for a second go-round as CTU agent Tom Baker. ~ Todd Thatcher, Rovi