Julie Cobb Movies
- 2002
Forced by Romano (Paul McCrane) to work a few shifts in the ER, Elizabeth (Alex Kingston) has a run-in with Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) -- and learns for the first time about Greene's (Anthony Edwards) inoperable tumor. Elsewhere, two girls involved in a campus stabbing incident are brought into the ER. Chen (Ming-Na) handles a victim of severe trauma. And when Weaver (Laura Innes) tries to find out if her girlfriend, Sandy Lopez (Lisa Vidal), has been injured in a fire, she is in for a big surprise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
All of Maggie's hard work as wife and mother seems to have paid off when she is chosen as "Working Mother of the Year." Alas, on the evening of the awards banquet, Maggie (Joanna Kerns) is swamped with extra duties that prevent showing up to make her speech. This is one of those classic "Everything Goes Wrong Big-Time" episodes which fans of Growing Pains have come to know and adore--and as a bonus, there's a guest appearance by Jane Kean, the immortal "Trixie Norton" from the 1960s version of The Honeymooners. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
In the concluding half of Magnum, P.I.'s final episode, Magnum (Tom Selleck) wrestles with the prospect of returning to active Naval service even as he lays a trap for the man who assaulted his former girlfriend Linda (Patrice Martinez). He also receives word that his daughter Lily, presumed murdered in an earlier episode, is still alive. Elsewhere, the impending marriage of Rick (Larry Manetti) and Cleo (Phyllis Davis) hits a few prenuptual snags, while T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) is unexpectedly reunited with his ex-wife Tina (Fay Hauser). And last but not least, the mystery of Robin Masters' true identity is finally solved...maybe. One of the highest-rated "finales" in network TV history, this episode leaves enough dangling plot strands to suggest that the producers had an elaborate "reunion" movie in mind. We're still waiting. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Magnum, P.I. wraps up its eight-year run with a two-part final episode (originally telecast in a single two-hour timeslot). In Part One, Magnum returns to his home town for a family reunion, where his paternal grandfather (Howard Duff) offers to reinstate him as a Naval officer. But before Magnum can say "yes" or "no", he is summoned back to Hawaii by former girlfriend Linda Lee Ellison (Patrice Martinez), who insists that someone is stalking her. Upon his return, Magnum receives some startling information about his daughter Lily, whom he had presumed to be dead. Meanwhile, Rick (Larry Manetti) nervously prepares to marry the estimable Cleo Mitchell (Phyllis Davis). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Sensing that she's been neglecting Ben (Jeremy Miller) of late, Maggie (Joanna Kerns) makes a stand in favor of togetherness by helping to organize a carnival at Ben's school. Unfortunately, she becomes so preoccupied by her new responsibilities that poor Ben is left out in the cold again! Former Gilligan's Island costar Dawn Wells) has an amusing cameo during the auction scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
This heartrending TV movie stars John Lithgow and Mary Beth Hurt as the parents of a severely handicapped premature infant. Weighing a scant 20 ounces at birth, the baby girl has no esophagus and very few signs of being able to stay alive without artificial assistance. The desperate couple sign away the responsibility of their daughter to the doctors, who feel that they can pull the girl through with extensive experimental medical work. Within a week of this agreement, the cost to the couple is $71,000, an amount that will triple before the situation can be legally resolved. Though not based on any factual case, Baby Girl Scott maintains an uncomfortable reality throughout. The film first aired on May 24, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Lithgow, Mary Beth Hurt, (more)
- 1987
Even though she'd been out on a date when she should have been studying, Carol (Tracey Gold) manages to score an "A-plus" on a pop quiz in Coach Lubbock's class. Considering her lack of preparation, Carol begins to wonder if all her hard academic work has been truly worth the effort--and broods over the possibility that her entire school record has been one big mistake. This explains why Carol sheepishly shows up in the Coach's office and asks that her grade be changed...to an "F". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
After thirteen years away from home, Magnum (Tom Selleck) returns to Tidewater, Virginia, to attend the funeral of his beloved grandfather. The occasion serves to reopen several old wounds, culminating with Magnum angrily accusing his stepfather Frank (David Huddleston), whom he has always resented, of stealing a precious family heirloom--namely, a letter from Abraham Lincoln. Musical comedy star Gwen Verdon makes her first series appearance as Magnum's mother Katherine; and watch for Tom Selleck's real father Robert Selleck Sr. as "Grandpa Everett" in a brief home-movie sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Season one of Charles in Charge finds the title character, a 19-year-old college student, securing free room and board by agreeing to work as "male governess" in the New Brunswick home of Jill and Stan Pembroke (Julie Cobb, James Widdoes). With the help of his best friend Buddy (Willie Aames), Charles does his best -- which is very good indeed -- to keep the three Pembroke children on the straight and narrow. Of course, 14-year-old Lila (April Lerman) would rather be chasing every boy in her class, 12-year-old Douglas (Jonathan Ward) prefers to crack wise than to do his household chores, and 10-year-old Jason (Michael Pearlman) just wants to be left alone to do whatever he pleases. In the course of the season, the kids benefit mightily from the wisdom and common sense of Charles, just as he learns a lot about his role in life through his responsibilities as substitute daddy. During his off hours, Charles devotes himself to winning the heart of the toothsome Gwendolyn Pierce (Jennifer Runyon) a nice young lady who sees no reason to tie herself down to just one boy. Some interesting faces pop up among the guest performers this season, among them such stars in the making as Meg Ryan, Kathy Ireland, Christina Applegate, and Matthew Perry. Also, sitcom veteran Rue McClanahan makes a few memorable appearances as Stan Pembroke's mother. Though Charles in Charge enjoyed a sizeable fan following amongst Scott Baio enthusiasts, the series was far from a success, prompting CBS to cancel the property after a mere 22 episodes. Who could have guessed that Charles in Charge would pull a phoenix two and a half years later, re-emerging in off-network syndication and subsequently enjoying a healthy run of 104 additional episodes? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Baio, Julie Cobb, (more)
- 1980
Richard Thomas plays a single man named David Benjamin in the made-for-TV To Find My Son. While tutoring a speech-impaired young man named Tommy (Justin Dana), David becomes determined to adopt the boy. The Child Welfare people, however, have different ideas. But David will not be dissuaded, tilting at the windmills of bureaucracy for nearly two hours' worth of TV time. To Find My Son debuted October 6, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
This 3-hour TV adaptation of the 1932 Aldous Huxley novel is set 600 years in the future. In this "well- ordered" society, the citizens are required to take mind-controlling drugs, sex without love is compulsory, and test-tube babies are commonplace because of a ban on pregnancy. Keir Dullea heads the cast as Thomas Grahmbell, "director of hatcheries". Not everybody is satisfied with society's lack of humanity and feeling; the loudest dissidents are free-thinking poet Heimholtz Watson (Dick Anthony Williams) and brilliant oddball Bernard Marx (Bud Cort). An injection of new "old" ideas are brought in by "primitive" John Savage (Kristoffer Tabori), who lives on an Indian reservation which still honors 20th century values. Meanwhile, Linda Lysenko (Julie Cobb) becomes a natural mother--and in so doing becomes a criminal. In keeping with the style of the original book, the script's newly-minted characters are given names of pop-culture icons (Disney, Maoina, Stalina, and so on). Brave New World was first telecast March 7, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Novelist David Soul returns to his hometown of Salem, finding that things have changed a bit. More than a bit, in fact: the previously warm and friendly community is downright sinister. Soul suspects that the bizarre behavior of his onetime friends and neighbors is the handiwork of oddball antique dealer James Mason. We won't reveal here the secret of Salem; suffice to say that the action goes directly to the jugular, and that makeup artists Jack Young and Ben Lane won an Emmy nomination. Based on the best-selling novel by Stephen King, Salem's Lot was originally telecast in two parts on November 17 and 24, 1979; it was subsequently pared down to a single three-hour installment, which in turn was whittled down to about two hours for cable-TV play. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Soul, James Mason, (more)
- 1978
Steel Cowboy is one of an overabundance of "trucker" films (made for both TV and theaters) inflicted upon the public in the mid- to late-'70s. James Brolin stars as an independent trucker weighed down with financial difficulties. When first we meet him, he is in danger of losing both his rig and his wife (Jennifer Warren). In desperation, Brolin agrees to haul a cargo of hijacked cattle. The inescapable musical score is evocatively rendered by Juice Newton and The Silver Spur. Steel Cowboy pulled into America's TV screens on December 6, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
The farmers of Walnut Grove place their faith -- and their future -- in the hands of Joseph Coulter (Alan Fudge), a college-educated agronomist. Coulter has told the farmers of a new hybrid that would yield rich crops, and he has been sent to Minneapolis, with a large sum of cash, to purchase enough of the hybrid seed to benefit everyone in the community. But several days have passed, and Joseph has not yet returned. Charles (Michael Landon) takes up the challenge of searching for Joe, whom the farmers suspect of having taken off with their money. Meanwhile, Coulter's pregnant wife (Julie Cobb) must bear the brunt of the community's outrage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1973
Olivia's birthday party is interrupted by the forced landing of mail pilot Todd Cooper (Paul Michael Glaser) on Walton's Mountain. Putting their own concerns aside for the moment, the family pitches in to repair Todd's damaged plane--and, indirectly, to patch up his faltering relationship with his wife Sue (Julie Cobb). This done, everyone comes forth with a present for birthday girl Olivia (Michael Learned)...but Todd's present is the most impressive of all, and one that Olivia will never forget! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
The so-called feature film Confessions of the D.A. Man actually consists of two episodes from two different TV series. The plotline concerns a dangerous campus radical (John David Carson), who may go free if the DA's office can't locate any witnesses for the prosecution. The first portion of the story, detailing the arrest of the villain, was first seen on the October 6, 1971 telecast of Adam 12. The second half, in which DA Paul Ryan (Robert Conrad) struggles to build a case against Carson, is derived from the October 8, 1971 installment of The DA. Produced by Jack Webb, both of these "crossover" TV episodes feature Martin Milner and Kent McCord as officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
The crew of the Enterprise is transformed into inanimate objects when aliens from the Andromeda galaxy commandeer the ship for a 300-year voyage to their home planet. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1989
- R
A funny coming-of-age story about a young man who is expected to take over his Father's Ohio law firm but first decides to take the Summer off and "discover himself." To do this, he joins up with an all-girl rock band and the drummer, Brie Howard, shows him the underbelly of the Los Angeles punk scene. Original comedy from writer/director Max Tash. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
Ted Kotcheff continues his First Blood fervor with Uncommon Valor. Gene Hackman stars as Cal Rhodes, a former Marine Colonel who has been getting the run-around for ten years from the government concerning the disappearance of his son and his buddies - all Marines who enlisted years prior and served in Vietnam. Rhodes' son was last seen in Laos, where he was fighting in the war and captured as a POW. When word gets back to Rhodes that the men may still be alive and held in prison camps, but the government still has the men listed as missing in action, Rhodes decides to take matters into his own hands. Contacting an old friend, oil baron MacGregor (Robert Stack), Rhodes is granted financial backing to form his own incursion force. He assembles a crack team of men, puts them through an intensive period of training. and heads back with them into the Laotian jungles to search for the MIAs. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Robert Stack, (more)
Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of a man whose scientific meddling has unexpected results gets a cross-gender update in this comedy. Richard Jacks (Tim Daly) is a research scientist trying to work his way up the ladder at a major perfume company when he inherits the notebooks of his great-grandfather, Dr. Henry Jekyll. Fascinated by Jekyll's ideas about the duality of man, Jacks starts performing experiments to refine his potion that would isolate man's good and evil natures. However, Richard's version has a very different result than the old Jekyll formula, instead of turning him into a snarling beast, the drug transforms him into Helen Hyde (Sean Young), a beautiful and powerfully sexy woman with a slight case of nymphomania. Jacks figures that a good looking woman willing to sleep with nearly anyone should have no trouble rising to a position of power within the company, so his alter-ego Helen may be his ticket to a room at the top. But this plan may require a bit of explaining to Jacks' girlfriend, Sarah (Lysette Anthony). The supporting cast includes Polly Bergen, Jeremy Piven, and Harvey Fierstein, who is so awestruck by Helen Hyde's allure that he's rendered heterosexual by the experience. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Young, Tim Daly, (more)
- 1990
- PG13
Lisa, a well-crafted, sly, thriller, directed by Gary Sherman tells the story of a young girl who makes telephone calls to a man who she later finds out is a serial killer. Lisa (Stacy Keanan) is a 14-year-old girl whose mother Katherine (Cheryl Ladd), having been herself an unwed mother, forbids her to have dates until she is 16 years old. Katherine has raised Lisa alone and has a good business as a florist, but due to her own past trauma, never dates. Lisa retreats into a fantasy world and finds men, follows them, and begins making enticing telephone calls to them. One of the men turns out to be a handsome restaurant owner, who also likes to kill women, tracking them down very much the same way that Lisa does. This leads to a very exciting conclusion when the killer mistakes Katherine for Lisa. Lisa, well-directed and well-acted, is a fine, satisfying thriller. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cheryl Ladd, D.W. Moffett, (more)
Albert Brooks wrote, directed, and stars in this philosophical comedy about a man having a hard time making a case for himself in the afterlife. When advertising executive Daniel Miller (Albert Brooks) finds himself in a fatal car crash minutes after taking delivery on a new BMW, he's whisked away to Judgment City, where the recently dead are put on a sort of trial to decide their fate. If in your time on Earth you were able to face your fears and learn from your mistakes, you get to move on to a life in a better world. However, if you didn't, you have to go back to Earth and try again. As he spends the next several days watching various episodes from his life, Daniel gets the impression he doesn't stand much of a chance of moving on -- and his representative, Bob Diamond (Rip Torn), seems to have little confidence in his case. In the meantime, he frequents Judgment City's many restaurants (where the food is delicious and you can eat all you want without gaining an ounce), pays a visit to the Past Life Pavilion, and meets Julia (Meryl Streep), who seems so kind, sweet, and noble that her advancement is practically assured. Daniel and Julia fall in love, but what's going to happen if they don't end up in the same place? Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep make a witty and engaging romantic team in Defending Your Life, and Shirley MacLaine appears in a highly appropriate cameo. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Brooks, Meryl Streep, (more)
