Dean Parisot

Season One of Monk begins with this first episode of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single two-hour "TV" movie). On psychiatric leave from the San Francisco PD since the unsolved 1997 murder of his wife Trudy, former police detective Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) returns as a private eye to help the department solve two seemingly unconnected murders. The first victim is a woman named Nicole Vasquez; the second is a professional bodyguard killed during an assassination attempt on mayoral candidate Warren St. Claire (Michael Hogan). Monk determines that the link between the two murders may well by St. Claire's wife Miranda (Gail O'Grady), but his efforts to solve the crimes are impeded every inch of the way by the emotional "tics" he has developed since his wife's death: Namely, an obsessive-compulsive streak to end all obsessive-compulsive streaks, and a veritable laundry list of phobias including fear of the dark, of heights, of crowds, and especially of milk! Although most of the Monk trademarks are established in this opening episode (the lead character's obsessive-compulsiveness, his photographic memory, et.al.), there are a few significant departures from the weekly series proper: For one, the character played by Jason Gray-Stanford is named Lt. Deacon rather than Lt. Disher; and for another, the role of Sharona's son Benjy is played by Kane Ritchotte instead of Max Morrow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A team of intrepid adventurers travels through the outer reaches of the galaxy, each week finding excitement and adventure on Galaxy Quest! Or at least that's the way it was in the mid-1970s, when brave if reckless Captain Peter Quincy Taggart, lovely Lieutenant Tawny Madison, and inscrutable alien Dr. Lazarus were the leaders of an interstellar law enforcement team on the TV series of that name. Twenty years later, the show is still in reruns, and Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen), Gwen DeMarco (Sigourney Weaver), and Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman) prop up their sagging careers by making appearances at sci-fi conventions, where they grudgingly shake hands and give autographs for the show's socially inept following. However, it turns out that nerdy sci-fi fans aren't the only ones watching: somewhere in another solar system, a group of alien rebels living under a regime of violence and repression have picked up broadcasts of Galaxy Quest, and they aren't aware that it's fiction. They travel to Earth and encounter the Galaxy Quest cast, who figure that they're just another bunch of guys who like to dress funny. However, they soon realize that they're being hired not for another autograph-signing session but for a real-life outer space rescue mission. Galaxy Quest was directed by Dean Parisot, who had a background in TV directing before his theatrical debut with the dark comedy Home Fries. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

When Benton (Eriq La Salle) breaks his hand in a parking-lot fracas, Carter (Noah Wyle) must replace him in surgery. Greene (Anthony Edwards) is forced to mediate in the ongoing battle of wills between Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) and Weaver (Laura Innes), and also tends to the needs of an elderly, abandoned woman (Celia Kushner). And outside the walls of the ER, paramedic Shep (Ron Eldard) again puts his life on the line. This ER episode originally aired on the same evening that the heavily promoted ABC series Murder One debuted, leading observers to wonder which series would pull the biggest audience (guess who won). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Northern Exposure was an unusually intelligent and witty hour-long comedy-drama set in a fictional Alaskan town that is filled with a quirky ensemble of residents. In this memorable episode, independent-minded but neurotic pilot Maggie O'Connell, who seems to be romantically cursed to have all of her lovers each die in a bizarre way, is freaked out about her upcoming 30th birthday. Her dead lovers weigh heavily upon her mind and she decides that the best way to deal with it is to head out into the wilderness and celebrate with a ritual. Meanwhile, back in town, laid-back, taciturn Marilyn, the Native American receptionist of Dr. Fleischman, wants to learn to drive. Loquacious, pseudo-intellectual deejay Chris decides to teach her, while pompous town autocrat and former astronaut Maurice drives everyone crazy trying to write his memoirs. Displaced New Yorker Doctor Fleischman gets involved when he figures out that part of the reason that Maggie has been so upset has to do with an appendicitis. Sure enough, out in the wilderness, she succumbs, and in her delirium has a strange picnic with all her dead amores, including Rick who died when a satellite fell upon his head. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Made for cable TV, Framed top-bills Jeff Goldblum as Wiley, a talented but somewhat naïve art forger. Wiley's big chance to score a con is cleverly foiled by another scam artist, Kate (Kristin Scott Thomas). Eager for revenge, Wiley seeks out Kate for a showdown; instead, the two become partners in crime. The likability of the leading performers keeps Framed alive from start to finish. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide