Jack Coleman Movies

Four women, all high school best friends, are reunited in Minnesota at the wedding of a fifth friend. On the eve of the nuptials, the foursome discuss their lives, their loves and their innermost secrets. Adultery and a surprise pregnancy are choice ingredients added to this TV-movie brew. For the record, the four female chums are played by Shelley Hack, Sela Ward, Stephanie Faracy and Brooke Adams. Bridesmaids was originally telecast February 21, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When dad decides to leave the family dairy in the hands of his two spoiled teenage daughters in order to take a much-needed vacation, the self-absorbed girls find that saving the struggling business may take even more effort than maintaining their high-ranking status among the popular set in a hilarious Disney Channel Original Movie starring singing sensations Aly and AJ. Taylor and Courtney Callum have always had it easy, thanks to the hard work of their father in getting the family dairy up and running. Lately business isn't what it used to be, though, and after years of working day and night to provide for his family, Taylor and Courtney's dad needs a little time off. When dad insists that Taylor and Courtney look after the day-to-day business of the dairy while he's out of town, the prospect of saving the family business may finally provide the incentive needed for these two girls to stop thinking about themselves for once and pitch in for the good of the whole family. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The ratings for Dynasty continued to soar as the nighttime soap opera pursued its fourth season on ABC. The big news this year is the return of Denver oil millionaire Blake Carrington's (John Forsythe) bisexual "black sheep" son Steven, formerly played by Al Corley but now portrayed by Jack Coleman. Reported killed in a horrible accident in Indonesia, Steven was saved by the Herculean efforts of a team of physicians -- including a plastic surgeon, hence his astonishing "new look." Steven spends most of the season enmeshed in a bitter custody battle with father Blake over little Danny, his son by wife Claudia (Pamela Bellwood). Meanwhile, Blake has plenty of non-custodial headaches thanks to his vengeful ex-wife, Alexis (Joan Collins), who succeeds in toppling his financial empire. Also showing up for the first time at the tail end of season four is African-American pop singer Dominique Deveraux (Diahann Carroll). And how does Dominique fit into the series' hitherto all-white shenanigans? Well, it seems that thanks to a long-ago indiscretion by Blake Carrington's father, Dominique is actually Blake's half-sister -- and like everyone else in the Carrington orbit, she has shown up to demand her share of the estate. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season five of Dynasty had famously concluded with the notorious "Moldavian Massacre," in which the entire cast was mowed down by machine-gun bullets at the wedding of Alexis' (Joan Collins) daughter Amanda (Catherine Oxenberg) to Prince Michael of Moldavia (Michael Praed). After keeping viewers in suspense as to who survived the carnage, the series launched its sixth season with the happy news that none of the major characters was killed. Though this proved to be a relief to the series' legion of fans, it also marked the beginning of a precipitous drop-off in ratings, from an all-time high throughout the fifth season. This loss of viewers also had a negative effect on the new Dynasty spin-off series, The Colbys. Be that as it may, there was plenty to hold the interest during Dynasty's sixth year on the air, starting with a wild kidnapping plot engineered by Krystle Carrington's scheming niece Sammy Jo (Heather Locklear) and slimy movie producer Joel Abrigore (George Hamilton). As originally conceived, the delightfully despicable Alexis was to have been the kidnap victim, but when Joan Collins briefly ankled the series over a contract dispute, the action was rewritten so that it is Krystle (Linda Evans) who is snatched -- while a lookalike actress named Rita (also Linda Evans) impersonates Krystle, doing her job so well that she even fools Krystle's hubby, Blake (John Forsythe), in the boudoir! New characters this season include Alexis' authoress sister Caress Morell (Kate O'Mara), whose novel "Sister Dearest" is a tell-all tome about...guess who; Christopher Cazenove as Ben Carrington, Blake's long-estranged younger brother; and the Fallmont family: Senator Buck Fallmont (Richard Anderson), his wife, Emily (Pat Crowley), and their son, Clay (Ted McGinley), who falls in love with the redoubtable Sammy Jo. Season six comes to rousing climax as Blake tries to strangle Alexis, and Steven Carrington's (Jack Coleman) seriously disturbed wife, Claudia (Pamela Bellwood), coming to grief (and leaving the series!) by vengefully setting fire to her father-in-law Blake's resort hotel La Mirage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season eight of Dynasty finds two of the series' former regulars, Emma Samms as the predatory Fallon Carrington and John James as Fallon's ex-husband Jeff, returning to the series full-time after a brief stint on the Dynasty spin-off The Colbys. The two prodigal actors have no trouble jumping right into the series' many intrigues, most of which involve the efforts of scheming Alexis (Joan Collins) to ruin the lives of her former husband Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) and his present spouse, Krystle (Joan Collins). This year, however, Alexis has plenty of competition in the revenge department courtesy of series newcomer James Healey as Sean Rowan, Jeff's brother-in-law and the son of the Carringtons' former butler, who holds Alexis responsible for his father's recent suicide. Also added to the cast this season is Stephanie Dunnam as Karen Atkinson -- the birth mother of the adopted child of Adam Carrington (Gordon Thomson) and his wife, Dana (Leann Hunley) -- who goes to court in hopes of getting her baby back. Season highlights include a heated and very dirty gubernatorial campaign, pitting Blake against Alexis. And the season closes with the latest in a long line of classic catfights between mortal enemies Alexis and Krystle, who should know by now never to start duking it out anywhere near a mud puddle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The NBC series' first season begins with the origin stories of several lonely, disconnected people who learn they're destined to become superheroes. At the center of the unfolding tale is Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia), a nurse haunted by cryptic dreams who believes he's meant to do great things with his life. Peter tries to convince his politico brother Nathan (Adrian Pasdar), who is running for the U.S. Senate, that something strange is happening to both of them, but Nathan is adamant about maintaining a low profile and keeping his personal life out of the press. Meanwhile, a Texas cheerleader (Hayden Panettiere) discovers she's completely indestructible, but she's in for an even bigger shock when she realizes her family is hiding a dark secret. Over in Los Angeles, a beat cop (Greg Grunberg) develops the ability to read minds, and an Internet stripper (Ali Larter) begins to manifest a murderous alternate personality. And in Tokyo, bored cubicle drone Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) is desperate for the kind of adventures found in comic books and Star Trek. (In a sly in-joke, Hiro's father shows up later in the season and is portrayed by Star Trek alum George Takei.) Hiro's wish is miraculously granted when he develops the ability to travel through time and space, teleporting himself instantly from a Tokyo subway to Times Square. But Hiro's elation quickly turns to fear when he witnesses a nuclear explosion lay waste to New York City. Upon teleporting home, he realizes he's just seen a glimpse of a catastrophe that will happen in a few weeks unless he can stop it. Heroes from across the globe gradually meet up and form alliances as they try to prevent the nuclear attack and fight back against a shadowy, superpowered serial killer known as Sylar (Zachary Quinto), who is able to murder the would-be superheroes and steal their abilities in the process. ~ Jack Rodgers, All Movie Guide

Based upon the critically acclaimed Lars von Trier miniseries Riget (The Kingdom), this American remake from fright master Stephen King unfolds over 15 hours and centers on the creepy goings-on at a hospital known as The Kingdom. Andrew McCarthy leads the cast as Dr. Hook, one of the physicians at the hospital which was built atop the scene of a fire that killed several children more than a century ago. As the inhabitants of the hospital are confronted with disturbing and unexplained phenomena that suggest the hospital is haunted, the doctors find themselves increasingly unable to come up with logical scientific explanations. Bruce Davison and Diane Ladd also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

The double trauma of seeing his wife Vivian (Gail O'Grady) walk out on him and having his government funding eliminated causes nuclear scientist Rogers Henry (John Glover) to go off the deep end. But Vivian doesn't know about her husband's insanity when she agrees to deliver what she thinks is his model of a thermonuclear device called Medusa to the Pentagon. Nor do charter pilot Scott Nash (Vincent Spano) and researched Linda McCoy (Lori Laughlin) suspect anything amiss when Vivian boards Scott's plane en route to Washington. Only when the plane is aloft is it discovered that the "model" is a genuine bomb that has armed itself and will explode should it be taken any more than fifteen feet away from Vivian, whose pacemaker is the bomb's "control." Even worse: There's a hurricane threatening Washington, and the plane is unable to land--and someone on board requires emergency heart surgery! Based on the best selling novel by John J. Nance (who appears in a cameo role), the two-part TV movie Medusa's Child first aired November 16 and 20, 1997, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Linda Marsh (Mary McDonnell) may have been hoping for a surprise on her 16th wedding anniversary, but she certainly doesn't welcome the news that her school-principal husband George (William Russ) has been carrying on an affair with the teacher of the Marshes' daughter! The breakup of Linda and George's marriage is quite a shock for the small town in which they live--almost as shocking as Linda's subsequent actions as she grimly embarks on "a search for a new life." As part of that search, Linda has enlisted her kids in her campaign to land a "replacement" head of the household. Wavering erratically between broad comedy and sentimental slush, the made-for-TV Replacing Dad was based on a novel by Shelley Frasier Mickle, and first aired March 14, 1999 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An Australian family is galvanized into political activism by their daughter in this anti-nuclear political drama. Ann (Laura Black) and her husband John (Peter Hardy) are the parents of Mandy (Anna Gare), a 15 year old who sings in a rock band and opposes American nuclear submarines being harbored in Australian waters. Ann investigates to find out what her daughter is doing and becomes a die-hard anti-nuclear activist. When she is fired from her newspaper job, Ann takes Laura and her grandfather Stan (Jack Coleman) to a protest at Fremantle. Noted Australian politicos Mayor John Catalini and Senator Jo Vallentine appear as themselves. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Adapted from a story by esteemed author Arthur C. Clarke, this claustrophobic sci-fi thriller begins happily enough as crew members aboard the Venus-bound freighter Venture happily cavort with one another. Sex seems to be their primary form of entertainment. But their voyage becomes deadly serious when a meteorite damages the ship and diminishes its supply of oxygen to the point that there is not enough to sustain an entire crew. While in sea-lore, it's usually the rats who first desert a sinking vessel, in this case it's the captain, who, after radioing monitoring officials that the Venture's entire crew is dead, jumps into an emergency shuttle and takes off to safety. Still very much alive, the remaining crew members are faced with a situation in which some will have to die so that others may live. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide