Mark Harelik Movies

Returning early from maternity leave, Bailey (Chandra Wilson) is anxious to repay a favor to Addison (Kate Walsh) by treating her for a delicate "feminine" problem. Izzie (Katherine Heigl) grows ever fonder of heart-transplant patient Denny (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), much to the dismay of Alex (Justin Chambers). After spending the night (and morning) together, George (T.R. Knight) and Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) can't stop quarrelling at the workplace; and in a later development, George falls downstairs--and into the hands of attractive orthopedic surgeon Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) in her first series appearance). The arrival of Mark Sloan serves only to remind Derek (Patrick Dempsey) of why he broke up with Addison. And Burke (Isaiah Washington) can't help but notice something wrong in the relationship between an aneuryism patient and his future bride. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not only is Rory (Alexis Bledel) estranged from Lorelai (Lauren Graham), but she is also on the outs with Luke (Scott Patterson) after her father Christopher unexpectedly calls. Meanwhile, Luke is afraid to tell Lorelai that he's the father of a 12-year-old girl named April (Vanessa Marano in her first series appearance) -- a fact that he's just found out himself. Elsewhere, Rory and Lane (Keiko Agena) become roommates; and a gift from Luke's grandmother threatens to crowd Lorelai out of her own house! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ryan O'Neal guest stars as Rodney Scavo, father-in-law of Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman). Rodney has a few surprises in store for Lynette and her husband, Tom -- and they don't come wrapped up in pretty ribbons. (Also, listen for an inside reference to the old TV soaper Peyton Place, which also featured Ryan O'Neal.) Meanwhile, Susan (Teri Hatcher) looks askance at the growing relationship between her daughter, Julie (Andrea Bowen), and the secretive Zach Young (Cody Kasch). Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) is shocked by a favor asked by the parents of her teenage paramour, John (Jesse Metcalfe). And Bree (Marcia Cross) doesn't seem all that eager to get back together with her estranged husband, Rex (Steven Culp). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When Angel (David Boreanaz) decides to take the gang out to see his favorite ballet troupe, everyone gets all gussied up. Angel is shocked, however, when the performance -- and the performers -- are identical to one he remembers from over a century ago. During intermission, he and Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) go to investigate and learn that it's a case of sorcery. The jealous Count Kurskov (Mark Harelik) has encased his unfaithful prima ballerina (Summer Glau) in a temporal loop, dooming her to perform Giselle over and over again for him. Angel and Cordy piece this together between make-out sessions; possessed by the spirit of the ballerina and her long-dead lover, they go at it like hormone-addled teenagers. This causes Angel no small discomfort thanks to his real-life romantic feelings for Cordy. Meanwhile, Wesley (Alexis Denisof) and Gunn (J. August Richards), who are both vying for the affections of Fred (Amy Acker), get caught up in a less idyllic, more violent aspect of the Count's spell. When Fred kisses the injured Gunn, it takes the wind out of Wesley, but eventually the gang reunites and defeats the count. Wesley isn't the only guy to suffer romantic disappointment: Back at the hotel, just as Angel is feeling Cordy out about her feelings for him, her old flame the Groosalugg (Mark Lutz -- see "There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb") shows up to sweep her off her feet. Originally broadcast February 4, 2002, on the WB network, "Waiting in the Wings" marked season three, episode 13 of the supernatural comedy drama. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Like many other made-for-TV biopics inspired by popular television series of yore, Come on Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story offers the spectacle of actors playing other actors playing different characters--and as such, those "characters" come off as more interesting than the "real" actors. Focusing exclusively on the five years (1970-1974) that The Partridge Family was in production, the story is told from the viewpoint of Danny Bonaduce (played by a pre-Desperate Housewives) Shawn Pyfrom), and accordingly is colored by the sentiments so often expressed by the real, irrepressibly outspoken Bonaduce. Upon landing the coveted role of Danny Partridge, young Bonaduce must contend with the jealousy of his abusive father Joseph (William Russ); all the while, Danny is a sidelines observer of the effect that overnight stardom has on his coworker David Cassidy (Keith Partridge), who (it says here) despises all the idolatry and yearns for a normal life. Rather touchingly, the film recounts the surrogate son-surrogate father relationship between Danny and actor Dave Madden (Michael Chieffo), who was genuinely fond of his younger costars despite the kid-hating irascibility of his "Reuben Kincaid" character. The film's highlight, which would be impossible to belief if it wasn't corroborated by witnesses, is the episode wherein Cassidy impulsively "kidnaps" Danny, whereupon both boys head off on a short journey of self-discovery; less easy to swallow is the scene which contrives a feud between the "Partridge" cast and the actors on the rival series The Brady Bunch (who are, interestingly enough, identified only by their character names and not their real names). Come on Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story made its ABC network bow on November 13, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this satirical comedy, a hotly contested high school election becomes a metaphor for the current state of American politics. Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) is a popular and well-respected instructor at George Washington Carver High School in Omaha, Nebraska, but lately he's been unhappy in both his personal and professional life, and his anxieties finally come to a head with the school's student elections. Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) is running for student body president, and she certainly seems like the sort of girl who would win a high school election -- she's pretty, popular and takes part in all the right extra-curricular activities. In fact, she seems so perfect she's running unopposed, which offends McAllister's sense of democracy (not to mention the fact he doesn't like her very much). So Jim intervenes and persuades Paul Metzler (Chris Klein) to run against Tracy. Paul is not terribly bright and is entirely unqualified to be student president, but as a star of the school's football team (before a leg injury sidelined him), he's popular enough to at least give Tracy a run for her money. Just as the race begins to heat up, a spanner is truly thrown into the works when Paul's sister, Tammy (Jessica Campbell) announces she's also running for office. Publicly, Tammy's platform is that the student elections are ultimately pointless and if she's elected, she'll eliminate them altogether. Privately, Tammy is out for revenge against her brother; it seems Tammy is experimenting with her sexuality, and a recent fling with a bisexual classmate named Lisa (Frankie Ingrassia) ended when Lisa dumped her to start going out with Paul. Based on the novel by Tom Perrotta, Election was directed by Alexander Payne, who won enthusiastic reviews for his debut feature, Citizen Ruth; Payne also co-wrote the screenplay with Jim Taylor. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

It's "splitsville" for Cory (Ben Savage) and Topanga (Danielle Fishel), and likewise for Shawn (Rider Strong) and Angela (Trina McGee-Davis). The question: who is going to keep the apartment shared by both couples? The answer: A winner-take-all wrestling match between the boys and the girls. And just to keep the whole thing honest (if not credible), professional wrestler Mankind (playing himself) acts as referee--after breaking down the door of the apartment! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

George (Jason Alexander) spends most of this episode thinking of a perfect comeback line for a comment made by his co-worker Reilly (Joel Polis) -- but it may not be delivered to Reilly, or even in New York. Elsewhere, Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) mulls over the fringe benefits of not exposing a tennis pro as a phony. Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Kramer (Michael Richards) reap different results from their video picks. And can you really recover from a coma? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Swan Princess is an animated, musical adaption of the fairy tale, "Swan Lake." An aging king (Dakin Matthews) and a widowed queen (Sandy Duncan) arrange a marriage between his only daughter and her only son, despite the two children's initial dislike of one another. Eventually they fall in love, but the evil sorcerer Rothbart (Jack Palance), desiring the throne for himself, enchants the princess Odette (Michelle Nicastro). She is a swan by day, and becomes a woman only when the moon rises. Prince Derek (Howard McGillin) refuses to accept another bride and continues to search for his lost love. When he finds her, Derek must fight the sorcerer to free her from the spell. Winner of the Film Advisory Board Award of Excellence and the Parent's Choice Award, this adventure exhibits high quality animation and a blend of romantic and humorous musical numbers. The animal characters are fun without being too cute, including Jean-Bob the frog who thinks he is a prince, given voice by John Cleese. The subtle layering of spiritual symbolism makes this film intelligent enough for adults to enjoy as well as children. ~ Lucinda Ramsey, All Movie Guide

Joe (Tim Daly) cancels a date with his current girlfriend Sandra (Julia Paige) to be with another girl named Joy. At the same time, Helen (Crystal Bernard) goes out with a guy named Jeff (John Putch) when Davis Lynch (Mark Harelik) cancels out on her again. It's not a happy situation for either party, especially considering that Joe is ultimately caught in a lie and Davis happens to see Helen and Jeff together. But, wait, that's not the whole story.... ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally telecast as a two-hour special (including a 25-minute retrospective of series highlights), the famous final episode of Cheers has since been re-edited as three separate half-hour installments for syndication. In the concluding 30 minutes of this fourth-highest-rated series finale in TV history, Sam Malone (Ted Danson) and Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) have rekindled their romance and are on the verge of getting married. But this would require Sam to relocate to California -- and to close up Cheers. And what will become of the rest of the gang? Well, at least we know what happened to Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This TV movie recounts the true-life story of a corporate takeover in the greed-driven 1980s. James Garner is F. Ross Johnson, CEO of RJR-Nabisco. Having just been burned by an expensive failure of a smokeless cigarette product, Johnson doesn't wish to incur the wrath of the stockholders. He begins drawing up plans to buy RJR-Nabisco outright so he'll have no one to answer to but himself. Unfortunately for Johnson, his company is also being coveted by sharkish "buyout king" Henry Kravis (Jonathan Pryce), who turns out to have $25 billion at his beck and call. Barbarians at the Gate was adapted by Larry Gelbart from the book by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. Advertised as a "docucomedy", the film premiered March 20, 1993, over the HBO cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide