Momo Yashima Movies
- 1981
Not much time is actually spent in Weasel Creek in this made-for-TV movie, despite its title. Essentially, this is a semiserious "road" picture concerning the misadventures of a rambunctious young girl (Mare Winningham). Linking up with a runaway farm boy (John Hammond), the girl heads to California with only the clothes on her back and the few possessions from her house trailer. En route, the boy stops over in the aptly named Weasel Creek to visit his aunt (Colleen Dewhurst). The film is populated with such familiar rustic types as Barry Corbin, Richard Farnsworth and Trey Wilson. A Few Days in Weasel Creek first aired October 21, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1994
Londo neglects an important series of legislations with the Narn when he falls in love with nightclub dancer Adira Tyree (Fabiana Udenio). Things get dicey when it develops that the dancer is a reluctant spy, assigned to get top-secret information which could topple the Centauri government. Meanwhile, Garibaldi discovers that someone is using the Gold Channels without permission. Mary Woronov receives onscreen credit as Narn envoy Ko D'Ath, even though Woronov was replaced just before filming by Caitlin Brown as envoy Na'Toth. First telecast February 9, 1994, "Born to the Purple" was written by Lawrence G. DiTillio. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael O'Hare, Claudia Christian, (more)
When speaking of Laurel and Hardy's first feature film Pardon Us, Stan Laurel described it as "a three-story building on a one-story base"-in other words, a 2-reeler stretched and bloated into 6 reels. Much the same could be said of Blake Edwards's Blind Date, though one wonders if Stan Laurel could have even gotten two reels out of its wafer-thin premise. At the outset, yuppie Bruce Willis is warned not to let his blind date, southern belle Kim Basinger, drink anything stronger than lemonade. So what does Willis do the first chance he gets? That's right, kids; he plies poor Basinger with champagne. And then he wonders why his life rapidly goes to hell in a handbasket. In his first starring movie role, Bruce Willis manages to find all sorts of nuances in his one-note role, while Kim Basinger is very funny when she's blotto-at least, for the first five minutes or so. John Laroquette costars as a character straight out of a 1920s bedroom farce; he's also pretty good, even though his dialogue is numbingly unamusing. Blake Edwards is famous for his ability to make a lot out of a little...but there has to be a limit somewhere. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kim Basinger, Bruce Willis, (more)
- 1980
- R
- Add Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen to Queue Add Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen to top of Queue
Peter Ustinov plays the talented detective in San Francisco who attempts, with help/hindrance from his clumsy grandson (Richard Hatch), to solve a murder case in this mystery/comedy. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Peter Ustinov, Lee Grant, (more)
- 1976
Farewell to Manzanar recounts a dark chapter in American history from the point of view of those most closely affected by it. This made-for-TV movie concentrates on the Wakatsukis, a Japanese-American family living in Santa Monica, California in the early 1940s. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the family's father (Yuki Shimoda) is accused of selling fuel to Japanese submarines and is thrown in jail. His wife and children are shipped off to the internment camp of Manzanar in California, along with thousands of other American citizens of Japanese descent. Based on the autobiographical book co-written by Jeanne Wakatusi (played in the film by Dori Takeshita as a child and Nobu McCarthy as an adult) and her husband James D. Houston, Farewell to Manzanar explores not only the humiliations suffered by the Wakatusis behind barbed wire, but also their fears as to how they'll be treated by the white populace upon their release. Understandably one-sided, the film works best when celebrating the indomitability of the human spirit. Farewell to Manzanar was originally telecast March 11, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1974
The two-hour final episode of Ironside's seventh season serves as the pilot film for the spinoff cop series Amy Prentiss. Jessica Walter plays the title character, a hardworking San Francisco police woman who aspires to the position of Chief of Police. Though up against a lot of resistance from the all-male establishment, Amy has a staunch supporter in the form of former chief Robert Ironside (Raymond Burr. Originally telecast as a single extended episode, "Amy Prentiss: AKA The Chief has been divided into a brace of one-hour installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1974
In the conclusion of Ironside's two-part Season Seven finale (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode), new San Francisco police chief Amy Prentiss (Jessica Walter) runs up against a wall of hostility and resistance from the town's all-male establishment. Fortunately, Amy can count former chief Ironside (Raymond Burr) and his team among her supporters. But even Ironside may not be able to help Chief Prentiss as she is assigned a "make-or-break" murder case. This episode served as the pilot for the spinoff series Amy Prentiss, with supporting player Art Metrano retained in the series proper as Amy's aide Tom Pena. Johnny Seven, here seen in his standard Ironside role as Lt. Carl Reese, would join the Amy Prentiss cast as Detective Contreras, while the role of Joan, here played by Joan Pringle, would be taken over by Gwen Mitchell (Pringle would be compensated with a recurring Ironside role as the new wife of Chief Ironside's former bodyguard Mark Sanger [Don Mitchell]). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1979
Apparently weary of playing victim-of-the-week, Elizabeth Montgomery goes the Joan Crawford route playing a fabulously wealthy and stupendously bored matron who is about to be divorced by her wealthy husband. Hubby conveniently expires while dallying with his mistress. The upshot is that Ms. Montgomery is made executive vice president of the boat-building business that she'd helped her husband establish. Moral: Marry well, ladies, and you too can become a CEO. Basically a very slight TV movie, Jennifer: A Woman's Story is bloated way beyond its worth into a Ross Hunter-type sudser; the British TV series upon which it was based, The Foundation, was more austere, and frankly more enjoyable. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1977
Stumped by a crossword puzzle, Hawkeye tries to elicit help from his old Navy buddy Tippi Brooks (Oliver Clark). Unfortunately, the radioed message sent to Brooks is somewhat misunderstood. As a result, Tippi shows up at the 4077th with his commanding officer in tow, under the impression that the camp in the midst of a medical emergency. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1979
Will Father Mulcahy (William Christopher) finally get the promotion that has so long been denied him? Though sympathetic to Mulcahy's plight, the doctors of the 4077th have got problems of their own. A big brawl at Rosie's bar has sent the proprietor to a hospital bed and placed the doctors in charge of dispensing liquor to the customers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1979
Quincy (Jack Klugman) finds evidence of food poisoning while performing an autopsy on a construction worker who died in a fall just outside the town of Rosewood. Investigating further, Quincy determines that the victim was laid low by contaminated tomatoes, the byproduct of lethal pesticides which a local company has buried in steel drums--which are now apparently leaking. Once the crusading medical examiner sets his sights on forcing the company to assume responsibility for what threatens to be a wide-ranging health disaster, it is obvious that this episode was inspired by the Love Canal/Three Mile Island debacle. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
When plans to launch a second Star Trek television series in the late 1970s were scrapped by Paramount Pictures, the show's creator, Gene Roddenberry, instead transformed the aborted program's 2-hour pilot into this big budget theatrical feature. Five years after the legendary voyages of the starship Enterprise, James T. Kirk (William Shatner) is an unhappy, desk-bound admiral at Starfleet headquarters. Kirk goes aboard his old vessel to observe its re-launch under new captain Will Decker (Stephen Collins). Soon, however, an escalating crisis causes Kirk to take command of his old ship. A mysterious, planet-sized energy force of enormous power is headed for Earth. Reunited with Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley), and the rest of his former colleagues, Kirk takes the Enterprise inside the massive energy cloud and discovers that it is the long-lost NASA space probe Voyager. Now a sentient being after accumulating centuries of knowledge in its deep space travels, the alien, which calls itself V'ger, has come home seeking its creator. Although not a critical home run, box office receipts for Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) were strong enough to inspire a revamped television series and a long-running line of theatrical sequels. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, (more)
- 1971
The Clampetts are still encamped at Malibu Beach, preparing to fend off the annual grunion invasion -- unaware that their "enemy" consists of fish rather than humans. Meanwhile, the bank secretaries, upset that Mr. Drysdale has forced them to aid the Clampetts' "line of defense" without extra pay, go on strike against the covetous Mr. Drysdale. Things reach the crisis stage when even loyal Jane Hathaway joins the secretaries' picket line. Comedian Foster Brooks is appropriately cast as a drunk. "The Grun Incident" first aired on January 19, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1971
While Elly May and Granny continue to campaign on behalf of the women's liberation movement, Jed and Jethro, who'd been complaining about the lack of womenfolk in the Clampett mansion, fall strangely silent. The reason? Unbeknownst to Granny, Jed has hired a trio of geisha girls to handle the housework. And as expected, both Jed and Jethro rather enjoy being waited on hand and foot. A true chauvinist's dream, "The Palace of Clampett-San" originally aired on February 9, 1971, long before "political correctness" had grabbed American television by the throat. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1971
In the continuation of a lengthy story arc, budding women's libbers Elly May and Granny have gone on strike against the Clampett males. While the two ladies confer with their sister protestors, Jed and Jethro have an awful time keeping up with the cooking and the cleaning. The boys finally hit upon a solution when Jed secretary hires a trio of subservient geisha girls. Former Petticoat Junction regular Charles Lane appears as Foster Phinney (which happened to be the name of The Beverly Hillbillies' assistant director). "The Teahouse of Jed Clampett" first aired on February 2, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1971
Inspired by the secretarial strike at Mr. Drysdale's bank, Elly May and Granny are swept up in the women's liberation movement. Casting off the shackles of domesticity, the Clampett women stage a protest of their own in the Clampett mansion. As a result, poor Jed and Jethro end up doing all the housework. Suffice to say that this episode was written from a male point of view, with all the chauvinist implications therein. "Women's Lib" originally aired on January 26, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1992
- R
This taut suspenser juggles perspectives of patriotism, media roles and the relationship between government officials and their economic interests. After a journalist covers a story about a secret military transaction between an American aerospace engineer and a Japanese agent, she continues her investigation with the help of a private eye. Before long, she figures out that she is merely a pawn and nothing around her is as it seems to be--including the people she has trusted. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
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