Shannon Cochran Movies
Workaholic Cristina (Sandra Oh) feels stiffed when the hospital "celebrates" the New Year by imposing a mandatory work limit. Back at Seattle Grace, patient Denny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan in his first series appearance) looks forward to receiving a heart transplant--and to express his ardor for Izzie (Katherine Heigl). Other patients include a disgruntled novelist who literally eats his words, and a 14-year-old hemaphrodite girl frustrated over her inability to reach puberty. Meanwhile, Derek (Patrick Dempsey) pays a visit to Meredith's mother Ellis (Kate Burton)--without telling Meredith (Ellen Pompeo). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vanessa Lengies, Ray Wise, (more)
Their suspicions aroused when a 12-year-old girl named Melanie (Holliston Coleman) lands in the hospital with complications relating to her pregnancy, SVU detectives Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Munch (Richard Belzer) end up confronting a charismatic cult leader named Eugene Hoff (Jeff Kober). At any rate, that's what he's calling himself now: it seems that Hoff is a seasoned scam artist who, under a variety of aliases, has exploited gullible religious fanatics for his own crooked purposes. It turns out that Melanie is not only Hoff's wife, she is one of several of his wives--and this is not the most sinister aspect of the case. Series regular Mariska Hargitay earned an Emmy nomination for her perfomance in this harrowing episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Hoping to save a few bucks while planning a party, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce) are persuaded to buy some "black market" caviar. The stuff goes over so well with the guests that the brothers seek out their "contact" for more caviar, only to find out the supply has dried up and the Feds have clamped down on all illicit fish-egg trade. This is bad news for Roz (Peri Gilpin), who has become a hopeless caviar addict and can't go "cold turkey" -- or even "cold roe." Meanwhile, Martin (John Mahoney) tries to return an overdraw from an ATM and is nearly arrested for his troubles. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Vickery, Oleg Stefan, (more)
A disturbing videotape appears to hold the power of life and death over those who view it in this offbeat thriller. A strange videotape begins making the rounds in a town in the Pacific Northwest; it is full of bizarre and haunting images, and after watching it, many viewers receive a telephone call in which they are warned they will die in seven days. A handful of teenagers who watched the tape while spending a weekend at a cabin in the mountains scoff at the threat, but as predicted, they all die suddenly on the same night. Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts), the aunt of one of the ill-fated teens, is a journalist who has decided to investigate the matter and travels West with her young son, Aidan (David Dorfman), a troubled child who has been drawing pictures of strange and ominous visions. Rachel managed to find the cabin in the woods and watches the video herself; afterward, she receives the same phone call, and realizes she must solve the puzzle of the video and the person or persons behind it within a week. Rachel turns to her ex, Noah (Martin Henderson), an expert in video technology, who at first is convinced the story is a hoax until he digs deeper into the mystery. The Ring was adapted from a 1996 Japanese film by Hideo Nakata, which became a massive box-office success in Asia and spawned two sequels. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, (more)
The tenth film in Paramount's highly lucrative sci-fi franchise is also positioned as the last for the entire original Next Generation crew. En route to the honeymoon of William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) to Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) on her home planet of Betazed, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise receive energy readings identical to those uniquely emitted by the positronic brain of android crew member Data (Brent Spiner). Upon investigation, they discover the disassembled parts of an identical android named B4, an early prototype of Data himself, now scattered on the surface of a remote world. As they reassemble B4, the crew receives word from Starfleet that a coup has resulted in the installation of a new Romulan political leader, Shinzon (Tom Hardy), who claims to seek détente with the human-backed United Federation of Planets. As commander of the closest starship to Romulus, Picard is ordered there to negotiate with Shinzon. Once in enemy territory, the captain and his crew make a startling discovery: Shinzon is human, a slave from the Romulan sister planet of Remus (the residents of which are vampire-like creatures that dwell on the perpetually dark side of their home world), and has a secret, shocking relationship to Picard himself. It soon becomes clear that Shinzon has lured the Enterprise to Romulus using B4 as bait and that his sinister ulterior motives include the destruction of Earth. A vicious battle between the Enterprise and Shinzon's powerful warship ensues, resulting in heartbreaking heroics and a devastating casualty. Star Trek: Nemesis was written by long-time Trek fan and Oscar-nominated screenwriter John Logan. Regular cast members Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, and Whoopi Goldberg co-star with Ron Perlman, Dina Meyer, and Steven Culp. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Stewart, LeVar Burton, (more)
Young Mickey Dempsey (Matt Weinberg) is in complete denial over his mother's death. Worried about Mickey's mental health, his older brother Ryan (Tony Denman) asks the help of actor Guy Garfield (Lee Horsley), who plays a Heavenly dogooder on the popular TV series "The Avenging Angel." Alas, Garfield is far from an angel in real life: In fact, he plans to exploit his "generosity" toward Mickey for publicity purposes, then drop the kid like a hot potato once he's outlived his usefulness. As Garfield's temporary assistant, Monica (Roma Downey) is determined to do right by Mickey even if her boss won't...and along the way, even the odious Mr. Garfield learns some hard lessons about genuine spirituality. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Halloween night has several surprises in store for the ER staff as they treat a young car-crash victim whose gender is a matter of debate, and a schizophrenic woman (Sheila Kelley) who insists that she's about to give birth despite all evidence to the contrary. Meanwhile, Greene (Anthony Edwards) gets stunning news from his daughter, Rachel (Yvonne Zima). Carter (Noah Wyle) gets in hot water when he leaves Lucy (Kellie Martin) to supervise a wild med-school dorm party. And Weaver (Laura Innes) spends several humiliating hours putting up with a rival candidate for the office of ER chief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Having at last scored a victory against the Dominion, Sisko and his crew prepare to celebrate at the long-awaited wedding of Worf and Dax. But before the couple can enjoy connubial bliss, they must endure a few "inconveniences," including Worf's painful, ritualistic Klingon bachelor party, and the efforts by Worf's surrogate mother Sirella (Shannon Cochran) to kill the bride-to-be. Even so, Bashir is able to survey the situation and comment happily "There's nothing more romantic than a DS9 wedding in the springtime." Coming as it does in the middle of one of the series' grimmest story arcs, "You Are Cordially Invited. . ." was a welcome and refreshingly amusing change of pace. First telecast November 10, 1997, the episode was written by Ronald D. Moore. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In the first episode of Full House's two-part series finale, Kimmy (Andrea Barber) searches high and low to find a prom date for DJ (Candace Cameron). Meanwhile, Jesse (John Stamos) and Joey (David Coulier) get a few lumps from some pro wrestlers; and after having been cast as "Juliet" in the school play, Steph (Jodie Sweetin) turns on the charm to thaw out her seemingly nervous "Romeo" (Will Este). Things take a grim turn just before fadeout time when Michelle (the Olsen twins) is seriously injured in a horseback-riding accident. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Next Generation's final one-hour episode originally aired May 21, 1994. Newly promoted to Lieutenant, Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes) returns to the Enterprise, where she is immediately recruited to infiltrate a band of renegade colonists known as the Maquis. Unfortunately, the assignment requires her to defend her mortal enemies, the Cardassians, leading to yet another of the series' many crises of conscience. "Pre-emptive Strike" was scripted by Rene Echevarria from a story by Naren Shankar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A couple gets more than they bargained for when they buy an old seaside mansion, in this made-for-television movie. Ally Sheedy and William R. Moses star as a couple from San Francisco who decide to rekindle their love and life, by moving away to a small town and buying an inn. After a series of inexplicable events, they come to realize that the home is haunted by its past owner. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
Jonathan Frakes recreates his Next Generation role as Commander William Riker...or does he? Paying a visit to DS9, Riker is greeted by Kira, who gives him a guided tour of the Defiant. Suddenly, Riker reveals himself to be his renegade duplicate Thomas Riker, whereupon he steals the Defiant on behalf of the Maquis, an act which threatens to start another war between the Federation and the Cardassians. Originally telecast November 26, 1994, "Defiant" was written by Ronald D. Moore. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) comes to the rescue when a fellow cop dies -- and not in the line of duty -- in the apartment of Andy's prostitute friend Lois (Shannon Cochran). Lesniak (Justine Miceli) is harassed on the job by her former boyfriend -- also a cop. And in the midst of investigating the death of a baby in a drive-by, Kelly (David Caruso) is called on the carpet by the IAB's Cmdr. Haverill (James Handy) for past dereliction of duty. This highly rated episode represents the final NYPD Blue appearance of David Caruso. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Just as they're closing in on the Mob, Kelly (David Caruso) and Fancy (James McDaniel) are ordered to turn off the heat. Though Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) will recover from his shooting, he may not be able to remember who tried to kill him. As Kelly's soon-to-be-ex-wife, Laura (Sherry Stringfield), prepares to go into private law practice, her neighbor Goldstein (David Schwimmer) arms himself against the possibility that he'll be mugged again. And despite orders to kill Kelly, Janice (Amy Brenneman) knocks off the man who ordered the hit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
NYPD Blue was already off and running in its debut episode, in which Detective John Kelly (David Caruso), in the middle of an acrimonious marital breakup, is faced with the loss of his partner, Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz). Kelly's wife, Laura (Sherry Stringfield), is working on her divorce papers with her neighbor Josh "4B" Goldstein (David Schwimmer), who is subsequently the victim of a mugging. Meanwhile, the burned-out Sipowicz gets in dutch with the IAB for putting too much heat on mob boss Giardella (Robert Costanzo), whose partner, Marino (Joe Santos), wants Kelly dead. As the episode draws to a close, Kelly has launched a romance with the woman who may turn out to be his assassin -- and Sipowicz pays a terrible price for his ruthless treatment of Giardella. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Suffering from a toothache, Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) ends up trying to talk a distraught dentist (Raymond Singer) out of committing suicide. LaSalle (Wendy Makkena) is given her first assignment: track down a rapist, whose latest victim is far from cooperative. Prostitute Lois (Shannon Cochran), who was instrumental in nailing Giardella, again touches base with Sipowicz. Janice's (Amy Brenneman) new partner, Roy (John Wesley Shipp), is interested in her, but not in the way one might think. And the unit is faced with the likelihood that a cross-dressing killer is at large. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
John Goodman is cast as the Sultan of Swat, whose excesses -- especially drinking -- and private demons can (in this context) be excused in view of his genuine love of baseball. The facts never get in the way of a good story for screenwriter John Fusco; we're even offered the umpteenth rehash of "Little Johnny", the largely fanciful tale of the invalid boy who promises to get well if Babe hits him a homer (as in Pride of the Yankees, the cured Johnny makes return a appearance as grownup). The most amusing fabrication is the casting of narrow James Cromwell as the Babe's orphanage mentor Brother Mathias, who in real life weighed 300 pounds. Many of the characters are composites, notably Bruce Boxleitner's Jumpin' Joe Dugan. At least Ruth's two wives--Trini Alvarado as Helen, who suffers Babe's many peccadilloes and dies under strange circumstances, and Kelly McGillis as Claire, who keeps Babe on a very short leash-are depicted with a modicum of accuracy. The baseball sequences are well handled (though there could have been less slo-mo) while Elmer Bernstein's charmingly old-fashioned musical score is right in tune with the film's approach to its subject. The Babe is rated PG; had this been the whole truth and nothing but, and R rating would probably have been in order. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Goodman, Kelly McGillis, (more)
Filmed in 16 millimeter as a student project for Memphis State University and the Tennessee Council for the Humanities, The Old Forest is set in 1937 Memphis. Peter White plays Nat Ramsey, son of a prominent cotton planter. Just before his marriage to a woman of his parents' choosing, Ramsey has a fling with a local "white trash" girl. When the girl disappears under mysterious circumstances, Ramsey and his fiancee conduct a search, unearthing a wide variety of offbeat characters. The principal guiding force behind The Old Forest was producer/director/cowriter Steven J. Ross. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter White, Jane Wallace, (more)
















