John Calvin

Courtland Mead stars in this whimsical, live-action children's fantasy, as Johnny McGowan, a young man living on his family spread in Scotland. The somewhat lonely Johnny wishes for a friend, and is startled when that wish materializes before him in the form of a genuine fire-breathing dragon. Fortunately it's a nice dragon, so the two get along fine. But when a filmmaker and an unscrupulous promoter discover the creature and try to exploit it by building a theme park, 'Dragonworld,' around it, but Johnny evinces great resistance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Julia Cole (Diane Salinger) is more than a little upset about turning 40. She's depressed about growing older, distressed at the lack of attention from her workaholic husband Charles (John Calvin), and bored with being a stay-at-home wife and mother. On her birthday, she finds a bottle of enchanted soap bubbles. Blowing them transports her to moments of happiness from earlier times in her life. Soon, she not only regains her youthful vigor, she cannot even remember how old she is. She changes her appearance, her personality is transformed from reclusive to outgoing, and her values change from strict to permissive. Eventually, she realizes that happiness is not age-dependent. George Clooney and Wallace Shawn are the biggest names in this low-budget, independently produced romantic comedy, also known as The Magic Bubble, directed by Deborah Taper Ringel and Alfredo Ringel. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

The third in the tongue-in-cheek horror series liberally cribbed from Gremlins (1984) features an early performance from future heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio and was filmed simultaneously with its follow-up. This time out, it's an urban family who picks up one of the fast-multiplying beasties while on vacation, although they are warned by Charlie (Don Opper), a veteran of the creatures' earlier attacks. Once widower Clifford (John Calvin) and his kids Annie (Annie Brooks) and Johnny (Christian and Joseph Cousins) return home to their apartment building, the critter begins to reproduce, and the tenement becomes overrun with diminutive, hungry killers. The first to go is cruel superintendent Frank (Geoffrey Blake), but others soon follow, including the unscrupulous landlord, whose son Josh (DiCaprio) finds romance with Annie. With the appearance of the resourceful Charlie and the heroics of Clifford, the critters' days are soon numbered. Critters 3 was directed by Kristine Peterson, a veteran of the Roger Corman school of no-budget genre filmmaking. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Jessica (Angela Lansbury) shows up on Wall Street, there to make her very first personal investment in the stock market. As inevitably as night follows day, Jessica's stockbroker promptly turns up murdered. The police figure that the dead man's secretary is the culprit...but as usual, Jessica doesn't take stock (ouch!) in the conventional wisdom, and sets out to find the real murderer on her own. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

To avoid a Federal Grand Jury indictment, unscrupulous Washington journalist Arthur Six (Richard Romanus) blackmails Senator Oxenford (Terence Donovan) into silence. To put an end to Six's perfidy, the IMF assembles a deucedly clever "turnabout" scheme. Also appearing as a key player in the proceedings is John Calvin as Doyle. Set in the Florida Keys, but largely filmed in Australia, "The Fixer" was written by Walter Brough, and was first telecast on February 25, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Carol Burnett makes a return appearance as the redoubtable Susan Johnson, who has given up her career as bank clerk to become a private eye. Much to Magnum's dismay, he learns that he and Susan are working on the same case: to locate the missing will of a man who was killed in a highly suspicious boating accident. As Magnum (Tom Selleck) and Susan wade through a morass of lies and deceptions--most of them perpetrated by the dead man's covetous children--the two P.I.s develop a grudging respect for one another. But Susan is still Susan, and by episode's end she has managed to get herself and Magnum trapped in a deserted warehouse! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dan's chickens come home to roost when the libidinous prosecutor is slapped with a paternity suit. The plot thickens when Dan (John Larroquette) comes face to face with the 10-year-old (Matt Shackman) claiming to be his son. And elsewhere, Bull (Richard Moll) is surprised by the competition in his bid for the post of union representative. With this episode, Night Court moved from its traditional Thursday-night timeslot to a Wednesday-night berth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This inventive low-budget action-fantasy from producer Charles Band was released briefly as Swordkill before undergoing a title change for home video. Basically a samurai variant on Iceman, the story involves the discovery of 400-year-old Japanese warrior Yoshimita (Hiroshi Fujioka) encased in glacial ice in the hills of Motosuka, Japan. Revived at a high-tech cryogenics facility in Los Angeles by scientist Dr. Chris Welles (Janet Julian), Yoshimita is forced to acclimate himself to the modern age, but his samurai code of honor compels him to continue the quest for his long-lost bride that he began in his own time. The standard fish-out-of-water premise is helped along considerably by the appealing Fujioka, who exhibits an appropriately stoic demeanor amid a blur of computerized, MTV-styled culture shock, and some well-handled action sequences. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Mulitmillionaire businessman Ralph Flagg (Robert Rockwell) has been shot and gravely wounded, and the prime suspect is his young, mercenary trophy wife Ginger (Lois Hamilton). Although she beats the rap in court, Ginger ends up committing suicide shortly afterward--or so it seems. By this time, Hunter (Fred Dryer) is certain of the real killer's identity, and he goes undercover as a wealthy jet-setter to confirm his suspicions (assuming he lives long enough!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this funny Japanese adventure, the great 16th-century samurai warrior Yoshimitsa ends up frozen in a glacial crevasse while looking for the villains who abducted his wife. Four hundred years later his remains are discovered by skiers and sent to LA to be studied. Miraculously, the warrior awakens after he thaws out. He soon escapes into the wild strange world of California during the 1980s and resumes his search. He is pursued by an evil, self-serving researcher and assisted by a nice young woman. Mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The fact-based TV movie The Ambush Murders was adapted from a book by Ben Bradlee Jr. Dorian Harewood plays an African-American political activist who is loyal to his ideals and faithful to his friends and family. After two white policemen are killed, Harewood is charge with the crime. 49 months and two mistrials later, Harewood remains in prison. When lawyer James Brolin offers his services, Harewood doesn't trust him any more than any of the other self-serving white attorneys who've "helped" him in the past. But Brolin digs a little deeper than his predecessors, uncovering facts and evidence that may at long last spring his client. Ambush Murders was first telecast January 5, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Arthur Hiller directed this drama exploring the disintegration of an ideal marriage after the husband discovers he is gay. Kate Jackson is Claire, a successful television producer, and Michael Ontkean is her husband Zack, an equally successful doctor. They enjoy eight years of married bliss until homosexual writer Bart McGuire (Harry Hamlin) appears at Zack's office. As Zack gets to know Bart, he discovers he is attracted to him. He asks Bart out to dinner, one thing leads to another, and soon Zack announces to Claire that he wants to explore his new-found sexuality with Bart. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide