Stephen Collins Movies

One of the most atypical weekly series to emerge from the Aaron Spelling TV factory, 7th Heaven, created by Spelling and Brenda Hampton, has eschewed the sex-and-sin shenanigans of such series as Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place in favor of honest, three-dimensional family values, with generous doses of warmth, heart, humor, and pathos. There can be no doubt that this fundamentally wholesome program has struck a universal chord. The series has not only been lavishly praised by critics, honored by such organizations as the Parents Television Council, the Academy of Religious Broadcasting, and the Anti-Defamation League, and given innumerable industry awards, but it is also one of the most successful offerings of the WB network; indeed, it was the first WB series to run more than seven seasons, and during four of those seasons, it was the network's highest-rated show. Set in the suburban L.A. community of Glen Oak, the series revolves around the Camden family, headed by Eric Camden (Stephen Collins), pastor of the town's Community Church, and Eric's homemaker wife, Annie (Catherine Hicks). In the tradition of The Waltons, loyal 7th Heaven viewers have enjoyed the rare privilege of watching the Camden children grow up before their very eyes. When the series debuted on August 26, 1996, handsome and personable Matt Camden (Barry Watson) was 17 years old; basketball-playing Mary Camden (Jessica Biel) was 13 going on 14; intellectual, inquisitive Lucy Camden (Beverley Mitchell) was 12; happy-go-lucky Simon Camden (David Gallagher) was ten; and precocious Ruthie Camden (Mackenzie Rosman) was five. By the time the series entered its eighth season, the three oldest Camden kids were married and pursuing careers, while the two youngest were seasoned veterans of the school dating scene. (Two more Camden youngsters, twin boys Sam and David, were born halfway through the 1998-1999 season). All of the Camdens, parents included, have had more than their share of setbacks and tragedies (some of them absolutely devastating) as the series has rolled forward, but somehow all of the members of the clan, from patriarch Eric on down, have been able to recover, rally, and persevere with the help and support of their family and friends -- not to mention their inner faith. And unlike so many other TV series which traffic in personal interrelationships, the characters in 7th Heaven are very much a part of the "real" world. During its lengthy WB run, the series has exposed its principals to a wide variety of contemporary issues: teen suicide, racial prejudice, substance abuse, drunken driving, homelessness, negative peer pressure, teen pregnancy, Alzheimer's disease, the Holocaust, the war in Iraq, and the crisis in the Sudan. Eminently suitable for viewers of all ages, but never a mere sop to the "kiddie" trade nor a placebo for the clean-up-TV brigades, 7th Heaven has been and will likely always remain the jewel in the WB crown. ~ All Movie Guide

With most of the problems that faced them in season one behind them, the Camden family welcomes season two of 7th Heaven with a joyous occasion, as Rev. Eric Camden (Stephen Collins) and his wife, Annie (Catherine Hicks), renew their marital vows on their 19th anniversary. Elsewhere, oldest son Matt (Barry Watson) opts to attend nearby Crawford University rather than the more prestigious University of Tennessee; Mary (Jessica Biel) slowly recovers from her accident and draws closer to her platonic boyfriend, Wilson West (Andrew Keegan); Lucy (Beverley Mitchell) has reached the age where she actually can choose amongst her beaux; the Camdens briefly take in a French exchange student (Steven Roy) as a boarder, only to regret it when the visitor introduces the kids to the "pleasures" of smoking; and the original owners of the Camdens' dog, Happy, demand that their pet be returned immediately. Season two ends with the remarkable revelation that the number of children in the Camden household will soon be increased by six...or maybe more. ~ All Movie Guide

Season four of 7th Heaven finds 19-year-old Matt (Barry Watson) moving out of the Camden home and into an apartment shared with another minister's son: John Hamilton (Chaz Lamar Shepherd), Matt's lifelong friend, and presently his co-worker at a local hospital. As for Matt's girlfriend, Shauna (Maureen O'Sullivan), she has moved to New York City in the wake of Matt's "infidelity" with Heather (Andrea Ferrell). Meanwhile, Matt's basketball-happy sister, Mary (Jessica Biel), gets into big-time trouble, culminating with the loss of her athletic scholarship and court-ordered counseling; she also enters into a star-crossed romance with another troubled teen named Robbie Palmer (Adam LaVorgna). All the while, younger brother Simon (David Gallagher) has been embroiled in a romance with Deena Stewart (Nicole Cherie Saletta), who has some unpleasant news for the boy by the end of the season. And no, the scriptwriters have not forgotten the older members of the Camden family during the series' fourth season. Father Eric (Stephen Collins) suffers a mild heart attack; mother Annie becomes a political activist, taking up the cause of the mistreated women of Afghanistan (we are, of course, still three years away from the toppling of the Taliban); Eric, Annie, and the congregation of Glen Oaks Community Church receive a disturbing reminder of the horrors of the Holocaust; and Annie's father, Charles (Graham Jarvis), begins exhibiting signs of Alzheimer's disease. ~ All Movie Guide

Having reached the crucial age of 21, Matt Camden (Barry Watson) has decided to become a gynecologist, as 7th Heaven enters its sixth season on the WB. Still trying to overcome her multitude of personal problems, Matt's sister Mary (Jessica Biel) has moved to Buffalo, where she hopes to wed her erstwhile boyfriend Wilson West (Andrew Keegan); she also intends to become a professional firefighter. Ultimately, however, the still-unmarried Mary returns to Glen Oak, there to attend college with younger sister Lucy (Beverley Mitchell) -- only to rush off to Buffalo again, this time to pursue a career as a flight attendant...not to mention a romance with firefighter trainee Ben Kenkirk (Geoff Stults). In typical 7th Heaven "connect the dots" fashion, Ben happens to be the brother of policeman Kevin Kenkirk (George Stults), who is presently dating Lucy! And back at home with the Camden kids' parents, Eric (Stephen Collins) and Annie (Catherine Hicks), Mary's mercurial former beau Robbie (Adam LaVorgna) has moved into an apartment over the family's garage. Season six comes to an eventful finale as Matt, newly accepted by Columbia University Medical School, prepares to wed his classmate Sarah Glass (Sarah Danielle Madison), a Jewish girl -- a relationship that Matt's minister father, Eric, and Sarah's rabbi father, Richard (Richard Lewis), are compelled to come to terms with after an initial period of discomfort and resistance. ~ All Movie Guide

When season eight began for 7th Heaven, it became the first WB series to remain on the air for so long a time. In this season, the series also expanded beyond its traditional yearly quota of 22 episodes to include a 23rd installment. The previous season climaxed as minister Eric Camden (Stephen Collins) performed the marriage ceremony of his daughter Lucy (Beverley Mitchell) and police officer Kevin Kenkirk (George Stults), and Lucy's older sister Mary (former series regular Jessica Biel, now a "guest star") revealed her own recent marriage to Carlos Rivera (Carlos Ponce). These events spill over into season eight, as does the fallout of a fatal car accident involving Simon Camden (David Gallagher). Also, oldest son Matt Camden (Barry Watson), though no longer a regular character on the series, makes sporadic appearances as he weathers his first year of internship in a big-city emergency room -- not to mention problems in his marriage to fellow med student Sarah (Sarah Danielle Madison). Elsewhere, the relationship between youngest Camden daughter Ruthie (Mackenzie Rosman) and troubled preteen Peter Pietrowski (Scotty Leavenworth) hits a snag when Peter's birth father, Vic (Bryan Callen), comes back into his life -- a plot development that also bodes ill for Peter's mother, Paris (Shannon Kenny), and her current amour, Eric Camden's assistant pastor Chandler Hampton (Jeremy London). The connubial bliss of newlyweds Lucy and Kevin is threatened by the arrival of Kevin's contentious ex-wife, Mindy (Mindy Burbano). And a mysterious stranger named Martin (Tyler Hoechlin) insinuates himself into the Camden household -- and into the heart of Simon's former girlfriend Cecilia (Ashlee Simpson). Even more serious complications are linked with such real-life current events as the war in Iraq and the crisis in Sudan. Season eight ends with a two-parter wherein one couple considers breaking up, another tries to get back together, a third contemplates leaving Glen Oak for good, and yet another member of the Camden household prepares for motherhood. ~ All Movie Guide

Conspiracy film specialist Alan J. Pakula turned journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's best-selling account of their Watergate investigation into one of the hit films of Bicentennial year 1976. While researching a story about a botched 1972 burglary of Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate apartment complex, green Washington Post reporters/rivals Woodward (Robert Redford, who also exec produced) and Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) stumble on a possible connection between the burglars and a White House staffer. With the circumspect approval of executive editor Ben Bradlee (Jason Robards), the pair digs deeper. Aided by a guilt-ridden turncoat bookkeeper (Jane Alexander) and the vital if cryptic guidance of Woodward's mystery source, Deep Throat (Hal Holbrook), Woodward and Bernstein "follow the money" all the way to the top of the Nixon administration. Despite Deep Throat's warnings that their lives are in danger, and the reluctance of older Post editors, Woodward and Bernstein are determined to get out the story of the crime and its presidential cover-up. Once Bradlee is convinced, the final teletype impassively taps out the historically explosive results. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

A USA original movie, this drama centers on a woman faced with a series of life-altering surprises. First her niece and nephew come to live with her, forever. Then she falls in love and her new beau moves in. The makeshift family decides that New York City life is too much for them and so they move into the countryside. Just when it looks like the little group may finally come together, the woman discovers that she is pregnant. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Diane Keaton stars as a unconditionally loving, but meddling, mother whose vain attempt to prevent her insecure youngest daughter from repeating the same mistakes that she made leads to a series of comic misunderstandings in director Michael Lehmann's affectionate family comedy. When it comes to the topic of motherhood, Daphne Wilder (Keaton) has seen it all. Her eldest daughter, Maggie (Lauren Graham), is a highly respected psychologist and her middle daughter, Mae (Piper Perabo), is both sexy and smart, but youngest Milly (Mandy Moore) just can't seem to get things right no matter how hard she tries. Recognizing that the romantic exploits of her charming-but-struggling youngest always seem to end in tears, concerned mother Daphne vows to find Millie the perfect man. Though she always means well, Daphne's misguided attempt to set her daughter up by placing a carefully worded personal ad proves once and for all that even the most well-intending of mothers can sometimes overstep their boundaries. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The seventh cinema adaptation of the venerable stage farce Brewster's Millions stars Richard Pryor as Montgomery Brewster, a third-rate baseball player. Much to his amazement, Brewster discovers that he is related to deceased millionaire Rupert Horn (Hume Cronyn, who appears only in a videotaped "living will"). Even more amazing is the fact that Horn has left Brewster his entire $300 million fortune. The catch? Brewster must spend $30 million within 30 days, or he'll be left with nothing (in the earlier incarnations of Brewster's Millions, the hero was required to spend only a million, but this was, after all, the inflationary '80s). Aiding and abetting Brewster in his efforts to divest himself of his money are his catcher pal (John Candy) and an erstwhile lady friend (Lonette McKee), while his principal antagonist is a snotty attorney (Stephen Collins). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This TV miniseries concerns a Southern village where the murder of a boy has puzzled three different police chiefs since the 1920s. By the time that a black sheriff (Billy Dee Williams) takes over in 1962, he might have just enough evidence to find the culprit. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

This mystery from the Tales of the Gold Monkey series involves a WW II pilot and his one-eyed pooch. The master and his visually-impaired pup go to the South Pacific in search of an ancient golden idol. They are assisted by a shady German. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on the novel, How I Created My Perfect Prom Date, by Todd Strasser, Drive Me Crazy stars Melissa Joan Hart as Nicole, a trend-conscious teenager living next door to Chase (Adrian Grenier), a self-conscious, downbeat type who reads poetry and spouts political platitudes. Needless to say, Nicole and Chase have nothing in common and little to say to each other. But when the boy of Nicole's dreams asks someone else to the prom, she decides to remake Chase into worthy date material as a way to make her old flame jealous. Before long, Nicole and Chase aren't just pretending that they like each other. Drive Me Crazy presented Sabrina, the Teenage Witch star Melissa Joan Hart in her first leading role in a feature film; it was produced under the title Girl Gives Birth to Prom Date and test-screened as Next to You before the producers settled on Drive Me Crazy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In Fedora, Billy Wilder approaches Hollywood stardom in the same fashion as he did in Sunset Boulevard--with cynicism, regret, understanding, and awe. Fedora (Marthe Keller) is film's most intriguing movie queen. Rumored to be well into her sixties, the actress has remained a starlet for over four decades--retaining youth and radiance despite her advancing years. The mystery behind her numinous persona has never ceased to captivate audiences. Even now, as she lives in seclusion on the beautiful Greek island of Corfu, the public buzzes for her to return to the screen. When producer Barry Detweiler (William Holden) travels to Corfu, staking his faltering career on Fedora's return, he discovers the actress's tragic secret. Fedora's eternal loveliness may not be the result of defying her age, but of concealing her youth. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide