Brent Stait Movies

Colleen Dewhurst plays Molly Dushane, the widowed matriarch of a small-town family. A tragedy occurred years earlier when her late husband committed suicide after threatening their daughter with a gun, and the family has fumbled with their difficult lives since. Though she often escapes reality by drinking, it doesn't seem escape enough as she finds out her ex-lover has died. In addition to being an alcoholic, she is also suffering from a terminal illness and longs to go to Italy once before she dies. Daughter Micheline (Megan Follows), finally confronting her own life, decides to take her mother to Italy where they find the different perspective they have needed. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

In this made-for-TV apocalyptic horror saga, the deceptively adorable daughter of late devil-boy Damian is adopted by a kindly couple who have no idea who she is. The husband is a politician and the daughter decides that the best way for her to spread evil around is to boost his career at every opportunity. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, Showdown at Williams Creek is about a British soldier named John Brown (Tom Burlinson), who moves to America's Wild West, settling in the Montana territory with the hopes of making a fortune. However, things don't go entirely as planned in America, as he has to survive not only nature, but a vast array of thieves, cheats, and schemers. The culmination of his misadventures is when Brown is put on trial for killing an old man. Boasting several terrific performances, Showdown At Williams Creek is one of the darkest examinations of the Old West and the gold rush to be told on film. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Produced for television, George Schaefer's comedy-drama casts Katharine Hepburn as Victoria Brown, a sharp-tongued spinster who discovers petty thief Moony Polaski (Ryan O'Neal) hiding out in her attic. Instead of calling the police, Victoria befriends her guest, even as the manhunt for him gathers steam. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Hilarity ensues in this Canadian comedy when a young Japanese man goes deep into the Canadian west in search of adventure, and finds instead a cultural clash. No Ogawa, a fast-food worker in Tokyo dreams of seeing real cowboys. His pen-pal Kate lives in rural western Canada. She is an artist and a lesbian only half-way out of the closet. She struggles against the narrow views of her community and is filled with self-doubt. No Ogawa could not have picked a worse time to suddenly appear at her door clutching a pair of spurs. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this family adventure story, John and Catherine McCormick (Bruce Davison and Mimi Rogers) relocate from Vancouver to the coast of British Columbia, where sailing enthusiast John teaches his sons Angus (Jesse Bradford) and Silas (Joel Palmer) basic seamanship and outdoor survival skills. Angus has rescued a stray Golden Labrador he calls Yellow and considers his best friend, though his folks aren't so sure he's responsible enough to care for the dog. One day, John takes Angus and Yellow sailing; a sudden gale bursts out, and the boy and his dog are thrown overboard. They wash up on a rugged coastal area, where Angus' abilities to survive in the wild are put to the test. As Angus and Yellow fend off wild animals, build a shelter, and signal for help, John and Catherine work with the Coast Guard in a desperate search for their missing son. Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog was the final film by Canadian director Phillip Borsos, who died of leukemia within a month of its U.S. release. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of Stargate SG-1's opening episode, Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and his SG-1 team have located scientist Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), discoverer of the ancient Stargate technology enabling Earth to contact other solar systems. Jackson, who has proof that other Stargates exist throughout the galaxy, has for the last year been living on the planet Abydos with his alien wife, Sha're (Vaitare Bandera), and her brother, Skaara (Alexis Cruz). Sha're is kidnapped by the evil Egyptian god Apophis (Peter Williams), who hopes to use the Stargates to take over the universe with the help of the Goa'ulds, parasitic snake creatures who need humans as host bodies. Newly relocated to the planet Chulak, Apophis rules the populace with Sha're (her body taken over by Goa'ulds) as his queen. Though they cannot rescue Sha're, the SG-1 team hope to save themselves and Skaara, so that they can continue thwarting Apophis throughout the universe. In this pursuit, they find an unexpected ally in the form of Teal'c (Christopher Judge), a Jaffa soldier in Apophis' army who carries a larval Goa'uld in his own belly. Originally telecast as a two-hour episode, "Children of the Gods" has since been divided into two hour-long installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first episode of the TV series Stargate SG-1 takes place one year after the events in the 1994 Stargate theatrical feature. After quickly establishing that the Stargate portal was developed by an ancient Earth civilization in order to contact other solar systems, the focus of the story shifts to Col. Jack O'Neil (Richard Dean Anderson), who has been in retirement ever since defeating the megalomaniac Ra on the planet Abydos. Restored to active duty by General Hammond (Don Davis), who is now in charge of Earth's Stargate Project, O'Neil is instructed to rescue scientist Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), who may have survived the destruction of Abydos' Stargate. Assembling an exploratory team including his old comrades Kawalsky (Jay Acovone) and Ferretti (Brent Stait), as well as astrophysicist Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping), O'Neill manages to locate Jackson, who has found a huge cartouche in hieroglyphics, indicating that there are thousands of Stargates throughout the galaxy. The trick now is to hide this valuable information from the evil Apophis (Peter Williams), a revived mythological Egyptian god who intends to use the Stargate technology to take over the universe. Originally telecast as a two-hour episode, "Children of the Gods" has since been divided into two hour-long installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two aliens land near Roswell, New Mexico and begin to implement their plan to destroy the Earth using stolen nuclear secrets. ~ All Movie Guide

Season one of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda begins as Captain Dylan Hunt (Kevin Sorbo) of the Systems Commonwealth high guard, is betrayed by his Nietzchean first officer Generis Rhade, whereupon Hunt and his starship, Andromeda Ascendant, are trapped in a black hole and left in frozen stasis for 300 years. During Hunt's long sleep, the Commonwealth collapses when the Nietzcheans declare war on their former allies in general and their hated enemies the Magog in particular. Awakening from suspended animation, Hunt finds that he and the Andromeda are under siege from the "Eureka Maru," a mercenary vessel captained by the beauteous Beka Valentine (Lisa Ryder), who has been hired to capture the Andromeda on behalf of the Nietzcheans. When she realizes that her "allies" plan to stab her in the back, Beka accepts Hunt's invitation to join him on the Andromeda and embark upon a mission to rally support for the restoration of the Commonwealth. Also going along for the ride are crew members Seamus Harper (Gordon Michael Woolvett), Trance Gemini (Laura Bertram), and Rev Bem (Brent Stait), the latter a Magog suffering the pangs of conscience over the bestial side of his nature. In addition, Hunt is backed up by Rommie (Lexa Doig), the sexy human manifestation of the Andromeda's artificial intelligence -- and, surprisingly, by maverick Nietzchean Tyr Anasazi (Keith Hamilton Cobb), whose loyalties fluctuate wildly throughout the season. In the season one finale, the Andromeda is attacked by the Magog, who capture Tyr and Harper and inject them with parasitical Magog larvae -- while Rommie, her memory accidentally wiped out, all but sells out everyone on the ship. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally titled American Meltdown, this speculative made-for-cable melodrama begins as a group of six terrorists, bearing names like Khalid, Shafig, and Ziad, take over a nuclear power plant in San Juan. It turns out that the terrorists' actions are merely symbolic, and that no real harm is intended -- but things get tragically out of control, and soon the military and the government are in full spin mode to gloss over and wash their hands of a deadly nuclear meltdown that threatens to destroy everything within driving distance of the plant. In a virtual reprise of his characterization in the TV series 24, Arnold Vosloo portrays the head of the terrorists, who are more "home grown" than anyone is willing to admit. The film is shot in a punchy, fast-cut, hand-held "breaking news" style, alternating dizzily between color and black-and-white to give it a documentary feel. Meltdown was presented by the FX cable channel on June 6, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide