Catherine Disher Movies

Produced for the Lifetime channel, the made-for-cable Murder in the Hamptons uses the titular 2001 murder, that of multimillionaire investment banker Ted Ammon (David Sutcliffe), as the starting point for a lengthy flashback beginning in 1995. It was during that year that Ammon met and married Generosa Rand (Poppy Montgomery), a talented and temperamental artist. As Ammon's fortune grew, so did the couple's conspicuous consumption, as manifested in a huge, castle-like estate in Long Island; the family itself also expanded, with Ted and Generosa adopting two children. Unfortunately, with each passing year, this "ideal" marriage became less so, with Generosa exhibiting some mighty peculiar behavior, her neuroses and insecurities causing her to fly off the handle at the least provocation. During the inevitable divorce proceedings, Generosa demands that Ted relinquish both the mansion and their children -- and she also launches into an affair with electrician Danny Pelosi (Shawn Christian), who has a criminal record. When Ted is found murdered, suspicion immediately falls upon Danny, though no tangible evidence is available. Ultimately, Generosa marries Danny -- only to leave him as well when she is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Evidently undergoing numerous epiphanies in her final months, Generosa begins to let go of the many things she held dear during and after her marriage -- but if she knows anything about Ted's death, it is a secret she will carry to the grave. How justice is ultimately served figures into the climax of Murder in the Hamptons, which first aired on July 11, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Olie Polie is a little robot boy who lives on an all-robot world far away from Earth. As Olie, his family and friends prepare for his sister Zowie's birthday party, they don't know that their plans are going to be rudely interrupted by Gloomius Maximus, the evil villain who hates fun and happiness -- and especially hates birthday parties. Gloomius learns of plans for Zowie's party and immediately launches a "gloomerator" ray at planet Polie. Fortunately, Olie and his friends ward off the ray's fun-deadening effects, and together they laugh Gloomius away -- but not before he escapes with the super-silly ray that Olie had made for Zowie. A damper is also put on the party when Pappy, Olie's grandfather, bursts his happy gear and is then captured by Gloomius, and dampened even further when Gloomius steals planet Polie, intending to relocate it forever into the dark, mirthless Galaxy of Gloom. Fortunately, Olie and company foil all of the villain's plans, and an act of kindness on Zowie's part even succeeds in reforming Gloomius from evil genius to all-around good guy. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

After a moderately successful first season in syndication, the H.G. Wells-based science fiction series War of the Worlds returns for a second season with several radical changes in place--and not merely the new title, War of the Worlds: The Second Invasion. As we shall see, the series has abruptly taken on the dimensions of two other entertainment properties: the Mad Max movies, and the briefly popular network sci-fi series V. As before, scientist Harrison Blackwood (Jared Martin) and his astrophysicist colleague Suzanne McCullough (Lynda Mason Green) continue to wage war against an army of extraterrestrial invaders, but not precisely the same invaders as in the previous season. It turns out that the dreaded Mortaxians, who had the ability to assume the bodies and identities of humans in order to carry out their dirty work undetected, were actually soldiers in the employ of an even stronger other-worldly race, the human Morthrai. Summarily exterminating the Mortaxians for failing to complete their mission of conquering the Earth, the Morthrai show up to finish the job--which is distressingly easy, inasmuch as the entire infrastructure of earthly society has apparently collapsed between Seasons One and Two, leaving the planet in a chaotic, dysfunctional state, with the "leadership" in the hands of local despots and scoundrels. (So much for Mad Max) Commandeering the Morthrai is the Hitlerlike Malzor (Denis Forest) and his beautiful-but-deadly consort Mana (Catherine Disher). Dictating the progress of the war against the humans is the "Joseph Mengele"-type scientist Ardix (Julian Richings), bent on "purifying" the earth by purging all undesirables. Malzor, Mana and Ardix are guided in their sinister ambitions by a jellyfish-shaped deity called The Eternal. (So much for V) Though he hadn't received much official support during Season One, Dr. Blackwood is almost completely on his own during Season Two in his Herculean efforts to ward off the invaders and save the world. Worse still, two of his former colleagues, computer whiz Norton Drake and Army colonel Paul Ironhorse, have been killed off. Luckily, Blackwood can still count on the help and support of his trusted aide Suzanne McCullough, as well as a newcomer to his team, ex-soldier John Kincaid (Adrian Paul). With their original headquarters destroyed, the alien fighters were forced literally underground, running their resistance movement from their city's sewer system. Sensing that the "improvements" wrought on Season Two of War of the Worlds were more hindrance than help, the producers decided to wrap things up permanently in the 44th and final episode "Knight Time", in which a clear victor in the Earth-Morthrai conflict is declared (as if we're going to tell you who it is!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This horror film is a variation on the Frankenstein theme involving the experiments of Alex Whyte (Richard Cox), a robotics engineer for NASA. Whyte has designed a cyborg that incorporates a human brain and a mechanical body. The cyborg is fitted out with a computer program that forces it to react with extreme violence to anything (or anyone) perceived as a threat. In order to shut off this reaction, the cyborg is also fitted out with a remote control receptor that cuts its current if things get out of hand. Theory becomes reality when Whyte murders Lauren Lehman (Teri Austin), a scientist who faults him for his improper use of government funding, and then installs Lehman's brain in the cyborg. The cyborg escapes before the remote control device can be installed and now there is no way to stop its murderous rages. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide