Robert Picardo Movies
Yale alumnus Robert Picardo made his off-Broadway debut in David Mamet's one-act play Sexual Perversity in Chicago. That was in 1975; two years later, Picardo was first seen on Broadway in Gemini. He launched his TV career in the 1980 miniseries The Dream Merchants, and in 1981 made his first film, The Howling--one of several assignments for director Joe Dante. During his early TV years, he was all too often cast in "first husband" or "wrong boyfriend" supporting roles. Things improved in 1986, when he was hired to play the much-feared high school gym teacher Coach Cutlip in the weekly dramedy The Wonder Years. He went on to co-star as Dr. Dick Richard in the highly acclaimed Vietnam-era series China Beach (1989-91). A busy voiceover artist, Picardo has supplied a variety of vocal characterizations for such series as Dinosaurs and Batman. Undoubtedly you'll be reading even more about Robert Picardo in the future, by virtue of his being cast as the holographic Doc Zimmerman on TV's Star Trek: Voyager(1995- ). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideSeason three of Star Trek: Voyager begins with the titular space vessel still in the hands of the enemy Kazon, and Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and most of her crew still stranded on Hanon IV, a desolate planet that closely resembles a prehistoric Earth. Eventually extricating themselves from this situation, the crew survives to embark on innumerable other adventures in their efforts to escape the distant Gamma Quadrant and return to their Starfleet Command home base. Highlight episodes this season include the two-part "Future's End," in which the crew must alter events of the 20th century to avert catastrophe in their own time; "The Q and the Gray," in which familiar Star Trek: The Next Generation nemesis Q (John DeLancie) demands that Janeway bear him a child; "Coda," wherein Janeway comes face to face with her deceased father; "The Darkling," which finds the holographic Doctor (Robert Picardo) generating a hostile version of himself; and "Before & After," in which Ocampan crew member Kes (Jennifer Lien) is given a most disturbing glimpse into the future. The traditional cliffhanger ending of Star Trek: Voyager's third season finds Janeway forced to forge an alliance with our old "friends," the Borg, in order to vanquish an even more powerful enemy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, (more)
Dr. Bashir is selected as the model for Starfleet's holographic doctor program. As part of the process, program head Dr. Zimmerman (Robert Picardo) must learn everything about Bashir, warts and all. In the course of his investigation, Zimmerman uncovers a dark family secret that threatens to ruin Bashir's future career. First telecast February 24, 1997, "Doctor Bashir, I Presume" was scripted by Ronald D. Moore, from a story by Jimmy Diggs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this episode of the popular sci-fi series Star Trek: Voyager, Ensign Kim (Garrett Wang) makes a surprising confession to Tuvok (Tim Russ) -- he's fallen in love with someone on board the U.S.S. Voyager. However, the apple of Kim's eye isn't the sort of person cut out for a long-term relationship; Marayna (Sandra Nelson) is actually one of the electronically generated figures on the holodeck. Tuvok discovers while communicating with Marayna that Kim's infatuation isn't as odd as it may seem, as the character seems attractive, charming, and intelligent. Kim, however, feels Tuvok is becoming too close to Marayna, and Tuvok attempts to delete the character from the hologram's computer system to avoid a confrontation. Tuvok, however, realizes this isn't a typical hologram he's dealing with when after she's been deleted from the computer's files, Marayna managed to appear in his cabin. Star Trek: Voyager 55: Alter Ego was first aired on January 15, 1997. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roxann Dawson
Season two of Star Trek: Voyager opens on a hopeful note, as Voyager captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) comes upon evidence that she is close to escaping the void of the Gamma Quadrant and returning herself and her crew to Starfleet Command in the Alpha Quadrant. But alas! This hope is soon dashed, with Janeway no closer to her home base than before. In the episodes that follow, Voyager's holographic Doctor (Robert Picardo) is given reason to believe that he is real and everything else is a hologram; Janeway's first officer, Chakotay (Robert Beltran), has a dangerous reunion with former lover Seska (Martha Hackett), who has aligned herself with the dreaded Kazon; the human Lt. Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) and the Talaxian Neelix (Ethan Phillips) vie for the affections of the Ocampan Kes (Jennifer Lien); a curious phenomenon causes the entire crew to be duplicated, with Neelix and the Vulcan Tuvok (Tim Russ) merging into a single being; Chakotay and Janeway become mortally ill; apparently mild-mannered crew person Jonas (Raphael Sbarge) reveals himself to be a turncoat; and the crew must contend with the mercurial Q (John DeLancie), a familiar nemesis from the earlier series Star Trek: The Next Generation. In the season's cliffhanger finale, Seska lures the crew into a Kazon trap, the Voyager is captured, and most of the principal characters a marooned on a desolate planet resembling a prehistoric Earth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, (more)
The first "Trek" film to feature the cast of the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series without any of the members of the original series, this action-packed hit was well received at the box office. The Federation comes under attack by its ongoing enemy, the Borg, a cybernetics-enhanced race that once kidnapped Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), "assimilating" him into a drone. As a former prisoner of the Borg, Picard is ordered to stay out of the new battle, but he cannot resist and orders the brand-new starship Enterprise into the fray. The Enterprise follows the only surviving Borg ship through a time tunnel, where they intend to conquer Earth in an earlier era. The Borg have targeted the work of Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell), inventor of warp drive, the device that makes interplanetary travel possible. As the Enterprise crew attempts to stop the Borg from interrupting the work of Cochrane and his assistant, Lily (Alfre Woodard), Borg drones invade the Enterprise and take it over piece by piece, while Data (Brent Spiner) is captured and seduced by the Borg Queen (Alice Krige). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, (more)
In this sci-fi thriller a computer expert's mind is enhanced by that of a slain revolutionary. The trouble comes when the rebel's mind sets him off on a vendetta against a prominent, corrupt politician. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Campbell, Corbin Bernsen, (more)
Two crises threaten the safety of the Starship Enterprise in this episode from the sci-fi series Star Trek: Voyager. While Paris (Robert Duncan) and Torres (Roxann Biggs-Dawson) are on a routine mission the shuttle, they're ambushed by a group of mysterious aliens who travel in large swarms, and Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) has to find a way to dodge their attack. Meanwhile, the Doctor (Robert Picardo) is suffering from a failure of his memory system, and no one is sure how to repair it without losing his skills or personality in the process. Star Trek: Voyager -- The Swarm first aired on September 25, 1996. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Greene's (Anthony Edwards) miserable personal life continues to spill over into his professional one. Ultimately, he risks dismissal by admitting a patient (Michael Galeota) for observation against the orders of Pediatrics chief Dr. Neil Bernstein (David Spielberg). Meanwhile, Ross (George Clooney) faces a violation-of-ethics charge for spending the night with med student Harper (Christine Elise), and Jeanie Boulet (Gloria Reuben, now joining the series' regular cast) is surprised by the aloofness of her former lover Benton (Eriq La Salle) during her first day as the ER's new physician's assistant. And Carol (Julianna Margulies) encounters innumerable distractions while filling out the necessary papers to purchase her own house. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
While tracking down a group of Maquis terrorists, the crew of the starship Voyager is caught in a freak plasma storm and hurtled some 75,000 light years from Starfleet Command -- and thus begins the first episode, and the seven-season saga, of Star Trek: Voyager. Upon realizing her plight, Voyager captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) also discovers that a being called the Caretaker has brought both her ship and the Maquis vessel to an uncharted patch of galaxy known as the Gamma Quadrant, in hopes of finding someone who can help him keep his promise to protect a race known as the Ocampa. Before long, Janeway's crew and the Maquis must do battle with a common enemy, the Kazon, and in the ensuing battle the Caretaker dies. It is now up to Janeway and Maquis leader, Chakotay (Robert Beltran), to work together in harmony, with Chakotay becoming Voyager's first officer, and another Maquis warrior, the half-Klingon, half-human B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Biggs-Dawson), taking over as Janeway's chief engineer. Also added to the "Voyager" roster are a brace of Gamma Quadrant aliens, the Ocampan Kex (Jennifer Lien) and the Talaxian Neelix (Ethan Phillips), not to mention the ship's new Doctor (Robert Picardo), actually a holographic human manifestation of the vessel's emergency medical computer program. Rounding out the main cast is Janeway's veteran comrade-in-arms Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill); Kim (Garrett Wang), a green rookie fresh from Starfleet Academy; and the Vulcan Tuvok (Tim Russ),who had signed on the Maquis ship as a Federation spy. Season one of Star Trek: Voyager finds Janeway simultaneously trying to fulfill the Caretaker's promise and to safely guide her crew back to Starfleet Command in the Alpha Quadrant. The season's slam-bang finale is dictated by the treachery of Voyager crew person Seska (Martha Hackett), who turns out to be loyal only to the Kazon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, (more)
A young boy overcomes his obsessive fears by discovering a love for books in this animated fantasy adventure. In a live action wraparound, Macaulay Culkin stars as Richard Tyler, an easily bullied, nervous wreck of a kid who's an expert on safety statistics. His mother and father (Mel Harris and Ed Begley, Jr.) don't know how to inspire their son to embrace life boldly. Barely able to leave the house, Richard ventures out one day, but he gets lost in a storm and ends up at a mysterious library. Inside, he slips, knocks himself unconscious and finds himself in a cartoon realm where books come to life. Guided by Adventure (Patrick Stewart), Fantasy (Whoopi Goldberg) and Horror (Frank Welker), Tyler experiences the adventures of classic novels such as Moby Dick and Treasure Island, and he even meets some famed fictional characters, such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Leonard Nimoy). Through his experiences in the pages of the legendary books, Richard confronts his phobias and learns to face life more courageously. The Pagemaster was directed by Joe Johnston, a former special effects supervisor and production designer who later directed Jumanji (1995) and October Sky (1999). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Macaulay Culkin, Christopher Lloyd, (more)
Comedian John Candy, who died during the making of this poorly received comic western, plays James Harlow, a 19th century wagon master who is heading back east with a wagon train full of oddball characters who have had their fill of Western life. They include ex-doctor Phil Taylor (Richard Lewis), kind-hearted prostitute Belle (Ellen Greene), and a bookseller, Julian (John C. McGinley). Harlow is a drunken, washed-up leader who frequently gets lost. The travelers eventually discover that he was a member of the famous Donner party, which resorted to cannibalism when stranded in the mountains. Railroad magnates try to turn back the party, figuring it's bad publicity for people out East to learn that the West is not really a paradise. The tycoons hire gunfighters and villains to stop the expedition, but local Indians protect the wagons, because they are glad to see disgruntled white settlers leaving their lands. This "backwards" western was based on a story by Jerry Abrahamson. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Candy, Richard Lewis, (more)
When a company-sponsored white-water rafting expedition turns into a nightmare, an advertising executive finds himself faced with a moral dilemma and an extremely guilty conscience. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Peter Gallagher, (more)
Some teen girls take to the road in this made-for-cable remake of the 1956 original. Set in 1957, three guy-crazy friends take to the road in a stolen car, trying to track down one of their ex-lovers before he goes off into the Navy. The film is part of Showtime's "Rebel Highways" series of remakes. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Rudd, Julie Bowen, (more)
The silly spirit of Revenge of the Nerds lives on in this made-for-television sequel. Curtis Armstrong returns as Booger, and this time around the nerds are gathering for his wedding to a wealthy upper-class girl. As the nerds plan a wild bachelor party, the girl's father is busy hiring an investigator to look into Booger's past and hopefully stop the wedding. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
In this drama, the wife of alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald offers her viewpoint on the day of the deadly shooting of President John F. Kennedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helena Bonham Carter, Frank Whaley, (more)
John Goodman's full-throttle performance as a William Castle-inspired schlockmeister propels Joe Dante's delightful and charming comedy Matinee. The film takes place during the fall 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, a time when America's innocence began to crumble. Goodman plays film producer Lawrence Woolsey, who is in Key West to premiere his latest horror epic, "Mant," the story of a man who turns into a giant insect ("Half Man! ... Half Ant! ... All Terror!"). He's busy rigging the local movie theater with all manner of gimmicks, such as Atomo-Vision and Rumble-Rama, and stationing a buxom nurse -- played by Woolsey's girlfriend and leading lady Ruth (Cathy Moriarty) -- in the lobby to assist potential heart attack victims. Amidst all the hubbub, a quartet of local teenagers gear up for the big premiere: Gene (Simon Fenton), a Navy brat whose father is on alert for the duration of the crisis; Stan (Omri Katz), Gene's friend who has a furious crush on Sherry (Kellie Martin); and Sandra (Lisa Jakub), the daughter of two beatnik free-thinkers. As the premiere of "Mant" gets closer and Soviet-U.S. tensions increase, the four teenagers' problems and desires also mount to the boiling point. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty, (more)
Based on a true story, this is the case of Carolyn Warmus, a teacher from Westchester County who was convicted of the murder of her lover's wife. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
When an adopted 21-year-old finds that she was adopted, she forsakes her adopted parents and goes on a crazed hunt to discover her real parents. When at last she finds them, she is disappointed to discover that they are very empty and shallow people; her adoptive parents earn a new respect in her eyes. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martha Plimpton, Dermot Mulroney, (more)
Brian Dennehy makes one of his many TV-movie appearances as Chicago homicide cop John Reed in the two-part Deadly Matrimony. Reed's quarry this time is mob lawyer Treat Williams, who murders his wife and then effectively covers his tracks. The closer Reed comes to the truth, the more he's in jeopardy of losing his job (and possibly his life) thanks to Williams' friends in high places. Based on a true story, part one of Deadly Matrimony was first telecast on November 22, 1992. In part two, which debuted November 23, Reed is victimized by the crooked cops under Williams' thumb, but refuses to knuckle under to mob pressure. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Dennehy, Lisa Eilbacher, (more)
She Says She's Innocent stars off as a standard "legal issue of the week" TV movie. Katey Sagal refuses to believe that her daughter Charlotte Ross is guilty as charged of murder. Usually this is a cue for a feature-length fight against the legal system: Not so here. Instead, Sagal spends the last 20 minutes of the film playing amateur sleuth to track down the real killer--and in so doing leaves herself open to a near-fatal confrontation. If the name of the director She Says She's Innocent seems familiar, it should; Charles Correll was the grandson of the radio actor of the same name--the man who, with Freeman Gosden, created Amos N Andy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katey Sagal, David Lascher, (more)
A young mens' hazing turns to murder in this crime drama set in a small town run by a powerful businessman. The victim was beaten to death with a monogrammed baseball bat, and later the head-killer tried to make it seem as if the young man was run down by the car of Frank Govers, a traveling salesman. Sheriff Ralph Baker begins investigating and finds his hands figuratively tied at every turn by the town fathers, particularly the powerful Will Curran. Baker does believe that Govers was framed, but the salesman, who has his own dubious past to protect takes off and ends up hiding out in the cabin of a teen-age wife whose husband has left her. Meanwhile Sheriff Baker arrests Will Curran's son Don, the guilty party in the murder. Back at the cabin, two fugitives from prison burst into the cabin and take the hapless salesman hostage. Things look pretty bleak at this point until Curran breaks his son out of jail and heads for the hills to cut a deal with the escaped convicts. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This black comedy offers a rather twisted version of the classic road movie, as it tells the story of a ten-year-old boy who is determined to win the "Motorama" road game, a promotional effort by a major gas station that promises winners 500 million dollars. In order to win, one simply has to collect enough game cards from Chimera gas stations all over the country to spell out the word "Motorama." Since his parents are not interested in the contest, the lad feels he has no other choice than to steal a bright red classic Mustang and set off across several fictional states to do it by himself. Along the way, he has assorted adventures, and many of them are not at all pleasant, but most of them are very strange. The film features cameos from several notable cult favorites, including Jack Nance, Drew Barrymore, Dick Miller, and even the pop singer Meat Loaf. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jordan Christopher Michael, John Diehl, (more)
In Paul Verhoeven's wild sci-fi action movie Total Recall, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a 21st-century construction worker who discovers that his entire memory of the past derives from a memory chip implanted in his brain. Schwarzenegger learns that he's actually a secret agent who had become a threat to the government, so those in power planted the chip and invented a domestic lifestyle for him. Once he has realized his true identity, he travels to Mars to piece together the rest of his identity, as well as to find the man responsible for his implanted memory. Verhoeven has created a fast, furious action film with Total Recall, filled with impressive stunts and (literally) eye-popping visuals. Though the film bears only a passing resemblance to the Philip K. Dick short story it was based on ("We Can Remember It For You Wholesale"), the movie is an entertaining, if very violent, ride. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, (more)
Where the original Gremlins was a horror film spiked with comedy, Gremlins 2: The New Batch is essentially a black comedy, with a couple of horrifying touches. As the film starts, the fantastical trinket shop in Chinatown, which sold the Mogwai in the first film, is demolished by a crazed multi-media businessman called Daniel Clamp (John Glover). The heroes from the first movie, Billy (Zach Galligan) and Kate (Phoebe Cates), happen to work for Clamp in his huge high-rise. They find the Mogwai within Clamp's building, but not before he has accidentally spawned legions of mischievous, lizard-like Gremlins. Soon, the Gremlins are wreaking havoc throughout the building. In the original film, their misdeeds were violent, but here they're also goofy and satirical. Director Joe Dante has filled the film with quick verbal and visual jokes, which, for many, makes Gremlins 2: The New Batch a satire and inversion of the typical horror film. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, (more)
Julia Duffy is the cover girl and Dinah Manoff the cop in this made-for-TV contrivance. When dim-witted model Duffy witnesses a murder, short-fused officer Manhoff is assigned to protect her. Would you be shocked if we informed you that the ladies drive each other crazy? But never fear: they forget their differences long enough to jointly nab the killer at the end. Filmed on location in Washington DC, Cover Girl and the Cop trounced in the ratings by the vastly superior The Ryan White Story when it first aired on January 16, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide





























