Carole Cook Movies

After a round of lies between Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Cristina (Sandra Oh) about their love lives (or lack of same), the story proper gets under way with Cristina having second thoughts about moving in with Burke (Isaiah Washington), and George (T.R. Knight) threatening to move out of Meredith's house unless she meets his demands. Back at work, the staff deals with such patients as a competitive hot dog eater (Natalie N. Okamoto) suffering from what may be a terminal case of hiccups; a rock guitarist (Donovan Leitch) who loses several fingers; a woman (Jill Holden) whose drug treatment makes her abnormally cheerful; and an elderly lady (Carole Cook) who stubbornly refuses to leave after being discharged (as usual, George is stuck with this one!) And in another development, Alex (Justin Chambers) gets the results of his board exams. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Face (Dirk Benedict) is given a trial membership at an exclusive country club, an honor that proves to be a mixed blessing when he finds out that Murdock (Dwight Schultz) is already a guest at the club--and that the A-Team's perennial nemesis Fullbright (Jack Ging) is a fully paid-up member. But that's not the worst of it; another member, crooked bank executive McKeever (Kevin McCarthy), is masterminding an elaborate counterfeiting scheme right on the club grounds. Ingredients vital to the action are a deadly golf game, an escape on a private jet, and a most unusual celebrity "roast." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jessica (Angela Lansbury) pays a visit her niece Tracey (Linda Grovenor), an up-and-coming jockey. After winning a race, Tracey has a confrontation with the horse's owner, indicating that she was supposed to have thrown the race. Not long after, the owner turns up murdered--and Tracey is the prime suspect. Naturally, Jessica isn't about to let her niece take the rap for a crime she didn't commit...and besides, she has a pretty good idea "whodunit" (especially since the revelation of the actual culprit follows the most reliable of the Murder She Wrote guidelines!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single, two hour "very special" episode), Quincy (Jack Klugman) and his fiancee Emily (Anita Gillette) are at last prepared to march down the aisle and tie the knot. While Emily is busily discussing details with wedding planner Winslow (Carole Cook), Quincy (Jack Klugman) is sidetracked by the autopsy of an old man (John McIntire) who apparently died of natural causes in a nursing home. Alas, it looks like the wedding will have to be put on hold when the dead man's widow (Jeannette Nolan) comes forward, insisting that she murdered her husband. (Trivia note: guest stars Nolan and McIntire were married in real life). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Something So Right was a November 1982 entry in CBS' series of GE Theatre movie specials. Ricky Schroder plays the trouble-prone son of divorcee Patty Duke Astin. Upset that his idolized football-jock father is gone, Schroder has developed into a petty thief. Unable to handle the boy herself, Duke enrolls Schroder in a Big Brother program--where, much to his dismay, he is paired up with inept, unathletic James Farentino (decked out in a convincing "paunchy" bodysuit and a bald wig). Gradually, Schroder grows close to his new "Big Brother"--only to feel deserted again when Farentino, also divorced, falls in love with Schroder's mom. Something So Right is one of those few and far between TV movies that assumes an audience is intelligent enough to digest a story based on genuine human emotions rather than car chases, serial killings or diseases of the week. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A slick Los Angeles callboy finds love and redemption in Paul Schrader's ultra-stylish drama. High-living prostitute Julian Kay (Richard Gere, stepping in for John Travolta) has it all: the Mercedes, the clothes, access to Beverly Hills' swankiest establishments, and a stable of rich, older female clients. But it all falls apart after he does a favor for his former pimp (Bill Duke) and the trick turns up dead a short while later; Julian's actual client won't give him an alibi, and police detective Sunday (Hector Elizondo) doesn't believe the gigolo's denials. The one person who can help him is frustrated politician's wife (and sole non-paying bedmate) Michelle (Lauren Hutton), if only Julian could let down his defenses and accept her gesture of love. Mixing his admiration for European art cinema with a voyeuristic view of the seamier side of sex and affluence, Schrader renders Julian an inscrutable, emotionally disengaged purveyor of pleasure, decked out in Giorgio Armani clothes coordinated with Ferdinando Scarfiotti's meticulous production design. Amid critical doubts about its artiness and distanced eroticism, American Gigolo surprised everyone by not dying on the box office vine. With some audiences reportedly showing up for repeat viewings of Gere's seductive charms, it became a moderate hit, turning Gere into a star and Armani into the new fashion sensation. Whatever reservations one may have about the movie, it provided two indelible images of 1980s decadence to come: Gere's perusing his "artist's palette" of shirts, ties, and jackets, and Gere's cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway in his convertible to the New Wave strains of Blondie's "Call Me". ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Kojak moved from its traditonal Sunday-night timeslot to a new Saturday evening berth for this concluding episode of a two-part story. Though suspended from the force, Kojak is determined to track down a serial murderer known as The Clothesline Killer. It's a personal crusade for the troubled detective: Back in 1969, he allegedly shot the Clothesline Killer to death--and now there is every possibility that he gunned down the wrong man. Diane Baker appears in flashback as the detective's former love Irene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Even though he holds down two "civilian" jobs, rookie cop Kenny Murray (Michael Durrell) can't afford to be laid off. Not only are his debts are mounting astronomically with every passing day, but he must also pour more money into psychiatric treatment for his mentally disturbed wife Ann (Jenny O'Hara). In desperation, Kenny goes to work for a notorious loan shark--and what follows proves calamitous not only for the beleagured young cop, but also for detective lieutenant Kojak (Telly Savalas). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Injured in a hit-and-run accident, John (Randolph Mantooth) ends up in a Rampart hospital bed, where he proceeds to drive the staff crazy. Meanwhile, Roy is saddled with John's replacement Craig Bice (John R. Richardson in his first series appearance), an unsufferable perfectionist whose strict adherence to rules and regulations does more harm than good. This week's case load includes a possible heart attack victim and a raging fire. Series costar Randolph Mantooth pulled double duty as actor and director in this final episode of Emergency's fifth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

According to police records, paroled female convict Virginia Marriott (Ann Coleman) has committed suicide. Thus, when Virginia's parole officer sees the girl, very much alive, wandering near the harbor, he is amazed. But not for long: The officer is promptly murdered, bringing maverick undercover cop Tony Baretta (Robert Blake) into the case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, a reluctant Mooney (Gale Gordon) has joined Lucy (Lucille Ball) and her songwriter friend Mel Tinker (Mel Torme) in their efforts to save the small town of Bancroft from being demolished to make room for a new freeway. In hopes of bringing Bancroft's plight to the attention of a major network TV reporter (Dan Rowan), Lucy stages a phony shootout at Mooney's bank. Three guesses as to what happens next! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After receiving a sizeable tax refund, Lucy (Lucille Ball) uses the cash to become a stockholder in the Danfield bank. It is her hope that, with her new-found clout, she can "help" Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) run the bank more efficiently--oh, sure, it will! One suspects that Lucille Ballconcocted this episode as a form of sweet revenge against a certain vocal and vociferous gentlemen who showed up without fail at the Desilu studio's annual stockholders' meetings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ann Sothern makes the first of several Lucy Show appearances as the Countess Framboise. Although Mr. Mooney (Gale Gordon) is enchanted by the notion of royalty in humble Danfield, Lucy (Lucille Ball) easily recognizes the widowed countess as her old school pal Rosie Hannigan. Their friendship takes quite a battering when Lucy and the Countess attend a fancy wine-tasting party--then proceed to get thoroughly smashed! This episode's classic drunk scene is a replay of a sequence that Lucille Ball and Ann Sothern had previously enacted in a 1957 "Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" special, as well as an episode of The Ann Sothern Show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide