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Casey Biggs
Shown on the Fox network, this made-for-TV biopic stars David Ramsey as legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, whose story is told largely in flashbacks. Beginning with Ali's childhood, when he was known as Cassius Clay, Ali: An American Hero traces the boxer's career, love life, and eventual devotion to Islam. Joe Morton appears as Malcolm X, and the cast also features the talents of Vondie Curtis Hall and Clarence Williams III, the latter as Ali's father Marcellus Clay. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Ramsey, Clarence Williams III, (more)
- 1990
Appearances began life as a 2-hour TV pilot film. A Midwestern family tries to carry on after the sudden death of the family's son. Everyone puts up a brave public front, but the artifice results in gradual erosion of family solidarity. Ernest Borgnine fares best as the clan's patriarch. Appearances never developed into a series, though it has been released to home video. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
- R
In this dark thriller set in Las Vegas, a sexy female cop, Rita Cates, begins looking into the brutal murders of two women who had been involved with an ex-police officer, Sam, a wealthy, fast-talker who was also one of her own lovers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Fiorentino, Daniel Baldwin, (more)
Hong Kong director John Woo's second U.S. film (his first was Hard Target) delivers a number of exciting action sequences but is let down by a credibility-straining plot. John Travolta plays Vic Deakins, an Air Force pilot on what is supposed to be a routine night flight mission with his co-pilot, the younger Riley Hale (Christian Slater), whom Deakins constantly kids for lacking the "will to win." Deakins is actually a traitor who crashlands their Stealth Bomber in Death Valley so that he can steal two nuclear warheads onboard and sell them to terrorists who plan to blackmail the government. Deakins meets up with his cohorts, who have been waiting in the park, while Hale survives and teams up with a young, attractive park ranger (Samantha Mathis) to foil Deakins's plans. Plenty of action ensues, with car chases, collapsing mine shafts, fights on burning trains, and even the underground detonation of a nuclear device. Despite the script's implausibilities and inconsistencies, Woo amply displays the expertise with action sequences and man-to-man conflict that has made his Hong Kong films cult favorites. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Christian Slater, (more)
- 2001
The wedding of Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards) and Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) may never come off, thanks to a combination of terrible weather, squabbling in-laws, a misplaced wallet, and a clueless limo service. Back at the ER, with most of the nurses invited to the wedding, Abby (Maura Tierney) must hold down the fort while suffering from a bad cold; and Kovac (Goran Visnjic) and Carter (Noah Wyle) argue over the treatment of the victims of a prison-van accident. And while embarking on a vacation to get over her relationship with Legaspi, Weaver (Laura Innes) makes a new "friend" (Casey Biggs). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A couple's worst nightmare becomes a reality as they find themselves behind bars with their children are taken away from them in this made-for-TV drama, inspired by a true story. Brenda and Scott Kniffen (Viginia Madsen and Jeffrey Nordling) are asked by friends to testify as character witnesses at a child custody hearing. After The Kniffens take the stand, a relation of their friends, who was upset by the testimony, tells authorities that Brenda and Scott are guilty of beating their young sons, molesting them sexually, and taking pornographic photographs of them. While there is no truth to the accusations, a prosecutor determined to prove he's tough on child abuse takes on the case, and his staff badgers Brandon Kniffen (Cory Dorkin) and his brother Brian (Ryan Wilson) into giving damaging statements and testifying against their parents in court. Brenda and Scott spend the next twelve years behind bars, fighting their case as best they can as they try to prove their innocence and become reunited with their children. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virginia Madsen, Jeffrey Nordling, (more)
- 1991
Corbin Bernsen, fresh out of LA Law, plays a real-life attorney in Line of Fire: The Morris Dees Story. As Dees, Bernsen goes head to head with the Ku Klux Klan in the Alabama of the 1980s. Despite having his name included on the "hit list" of every wacko white supremacist in the Nation, Dees manages to break the back of the KKK is his own particular corner of the world. Line of Fire is elaborately produced and hits all the right emotional buttons, but falls short of perfection thanks to stereotypical villains and excessive melodrama. The film was first telecast on Martin Luther King Day in 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Jessica (Angela Lansbury) installs herself in the offices of a San Francisco paper, there to concentrate on serializing one of her novels. At the same time, the paper's advice columnist has become the target of a campaign of harassment. Jessica warns the columnist to take the situation seriously, but it's too late--a mysterious gunman already has the ink-stained wretch in his sights. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
As was the case in seasons past, the fifth season of Deep Space Nine ended with a crisis situation, as the crew prepares for a devastating Dominion/Cardassian attack. Once again, Sisko tries to forestall the attack by closing off the wormhole, but his efforts are futile. Meanwhile, Odo and Kira put aside their blossoming relationship in the face of imminent destruction, Jake accepts a job as a war correspondent, and Worf proposes to Dax. As the episode hurtles to a close, the unthinkable happens, and the crew surrenders DS9 to the Dominion. Those watching "Call to Arms" during its original June 16, 1997 playdate would have to wait until the following season to witness the outcome of this particularly complex story. "Call to Arms" was written by Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
First telecast September 29, 1997, Deep Space Nine's sixth-season opener takes place three months after the crew was forced to surrender DS9 to the Dominion/Cardassian alliance. Now ensconced on the Defiant, Sisko and his crew continues to wage a bloody battle against the enemy, but it seems to be a losing proposition. Federation Admiral Ross (Barry Jenner) removes Sisko from his command, then assigns him to lead a mission to destroy the facility where the drug that keeps the Dominion's Jem'Hadar troops alive is stored. Meanwhile, back on Dominion-controlled DS9, Odo manages to cause a rift between Weyoun (Jeffrey Combs) and Dukat (Marc Alaimo). "A Time to Stand" was written by Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Assigned to take charge of a band of unruly Klingon volunteers, Worf is saddened to discover that one of them is his own son Alexander (now played by Marc Worden). Despite the well-meaning intervention of General Martok (J.G. Hertzler), Worf and Alexander are unable to mend the rift between them. In desperation, Worf once again endeavors to turn his bitterly resentful son into a proper Klingon warrior and himself into a worthy father. First broadcast October 13, 1997, "Sons and Daughters" was written by Bradley Thompson and David Weddle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Still on board the Dominion-controlled DS9 (now renamed Terok Nor), Kira, Jake, Rom, and Odo continue their campaign to turn the Cardassians against the Dominion and vice versa. When Odo rejects Kira's latest strategy, she begins to doubt his loyalty. It turns out that she has good reason to do so: Odo is now under the control of the female shapeshifter (Salome Jens) who'd stripped him of his changeling powers in a previous episode. Written by Rene Echevarria, "Behind the Lines" originally aired October 20, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
As the Federation continues suffering heavy losses, Sisko embarks upon a bold plan to recapture Deep Space Nine from the Dominion. Meanwhile, back on the imprisoned space station, Rom is sentenced to death for sabotaging a Dominion mission. Through it all, the tenuous relationship between Dominion leaders Weyoun and Dukat continues to disintegrate, as virtually all of the other characters in this continuing "space opera" weave significantly in and out of the proceedings. Originally broadcast October 27, 1997, "Favor the Bold" was written by Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Heading directly into what seems to be a suicide mission, Sisko and the Defiant crew grimly press onward, still determined to wrest Deep Space Nine away from the Dominion. Despite the assembled forces of 1,000 Dominion vessels, the Defiant manages to break into the wormhole, enabling Sisko to come within firing range of DS9. Fully expecting a battle to the death, he is surprised to learn that he has several allies amongst the Dominion hierarchy. This pivotal episode was written by Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler and originally aired November 3, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
In the previous season's "Doctor Bashir, I Presume," the truth about Bashir's past was made public. Now that the cat is out of the bag, he is asked to work with four other savants, who, like himself, have been genetically engineered. It is Bashir's mission to help the foursome enter normal society, but as is often the case on Deep Space Nine, things don't proceed precisely as planned. Written by Rene Echevarria from a story by Pam Pietroforte, and directed by onetime Happy Days co-star Anson Williams, "Statistical Probabilites" was originally telecast November 24, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
