Nelson McCormick Movies

Sydney (Jennifer Garner) is forced to work side by side with former enemy Sark (David Anders) on their latest SD-6 mission: to steal a vital component of the Echelon Satellite System, which keeps the nation alerted to security threats. Syd's countermission on behalf of the CIA is to destroy the component's hard-drive so that it cannot be used by SD-6; even so, the information must be retained somehow -- and thus, the photographic memory of computer wonk Marshall Flinkman (Kevin Weisman) come into play. Alas, the mild-mannered Marshall is hardly the most competent of spies, and his first mission goes disastrously awry. Faye Dunaway makes her first series appearance as Ariana Kane, head of Alliance counterintelligence, who will stop at nothing to find out who is blackmailing Sloane (Ron Rifkin). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Grissom (William L. Petersen), Sara (Jorja Fox), and Warrick (Gary Dourdan) arrive at a construction site where a 15-year-old boy has been bludgeoned to death. The key to solving the case would seem to be a hammer -- but no hammer is found. Likewise missing is the weapon used to kill a young bride outside her new home, a case that keeps Nick (George Eads) and Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) occupied throughout most of the episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rachel (Hallee Hirsh) accidentally causes Elizabeth's (Alex Kingston) infant daughter, Ella, to OD on Ecstasy. Abby (Maura Tierney) gives shelter to the battered Joyce (Christina Hendricks), incurring the terrible wrath of Joyce's husband, Brian (Matthew Settle). Carter's mother (Mary McDonnell) tries to make belated amends for the death of her other son, Bobby, by lavishing care on young leukemia patient Mickey (Colton James). Victims of a letter bomb are brought into the ER. Gallant (Sharif Atkins) treats a blind man, despite being allergic to the man's dog. And Romano (Paul McCrane) angers Weaver (Laura Innes) by apparently giving preferential treatment to Lewis (Sherry Stringfield). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The directorial debut of producer Irwin Winkler, Guilty by Suspicion is a sobering account of one movie executive's woes in dealing with the political fallout from the McCarthy Era Hollywood blacklist. Robert De Niro stars as David Merrill, a film director in the 1950s whose obsession with his burgeoning career has estranged him from his wife Ruth (Annette Bening) and their son. When he returns from a trip to Paris, Merrill is surprised when told by his boss, Darryl F. Zanuck (Ben Piazza) that he's been summoned to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee, which is investigating Communist ties to Hollywood. Although Merrill once attended a meeting years before, he's not a Communist, and he refuses to help the committee wreck the career of his friend Bunny Baxter (George Wendt). Merrill becomes blacklisted, unable to find work even in menial positions or under assumed names as the editor of a B-movie or the director of a low-budget Western. Reconciled with his family, Merrill caves in and agrees to testify, but as he prepares to "name names," his conscience plagues him. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Preoccupied by the upcoming wedding of his daughter -- and the fact that he has not been invited -- Greg Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) may well be to blame when an unstable homicide suspect sneaks a weapon into the 15th and holds Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) hostage in the interview room. As Lt. Rodriguez (Esai Morales) tries to defuse the situation, a nervous Andy comes up with a fascinating psychological strategy of his own. And in the wake of the "grudge match" in her honor, Rita Ortiz (Jacqueline Obradors) finds herself attracted to John Clark Jr. (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) -- so much so that they spend the night together. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Christian sinks to a new low when he concocts a scheme to trade Kimber for a Lamborghini. All hell breaks loose when Kimber finds out -- incensed, she sets off for Sean's house and ties him to the bed by insinuating that it's merely part of a role-playing game. Back at McNamara-Troy, Sophia Lopez(Jonathan Del Arco), a former patient approaches the doctors about having a sex-change operation. Liz(Roma Maffia), a lesbian herself, agrees to a "girls night out" with Sophia on the eve of the surgery, and they confuse themselves by sharing an emotional kiss. When Matt approaches his father with news of Cara Fitzgerald's (Alyson Reed) potential progress, he nearly catches Sean and Megan in the act. Later, mistakenly assuming that Matt knows about the affair, Sean inadvertently lets Matt in on the discretion. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Executive produced by Steven Bochco and Chris Gerolmo (who also wrote the theme music), the weekly, 60-minute Over There was the first TV war series to air while the war it was dramatizing was still being waged. Set in Iraq (with California and Mexico serving as location-filming substitutes), the series followed a platoon of the Third Infantry Division, most of whose personnel were serving their first tour of duty as part of "Operation Iraqi Freedom." The platoon was led by veteran soldier Sgt. Chris "Scream" Silas (Erik Palladino), who despite his profane gruffness cared deeply about his charges. Among the boots on the ground were Private Bo Ryder (Josh Henderson), a college football star who early in the campaign lost a leg in a roadside bombing; Pvt. Frank "Dim" Dumphy (Luke MacFarlane), a college boy born into privilege who had a lot of trouble adjusting to the horror and bloodshed all around him; Pvt. Maurice "Smoke" Williams (Kirk Jones, aka Sticky Fingaz), an abrasive, street-smart tough guy who held any form of idealism in the highest disdain; Pvt. Avery "Angel" King (Keith Robinson), a devout Christian who enlisted on an impulse and lived to regret it; PFC Tariq Nassiri (Omid Abtahi), a Detroit-born Arab-American, in many ways the most fervently patriotic member of the platoon; and two female soldiers, PFC Esmerelda "Doublewide" Del Rio (Lizette Carrion), a rambunctious Puerto Rican wife and mother, and Pvt. Brenda Mitchell (Nicki Lynn Aycox), who'd signed up just for the military benefits and whose constant whining and complaining earned her the nickname "Mrs. B" (and it didn't stand for "Beautiful").

The graphic depiction of the carnage in Iraq alternated with scenes back at home, where we met Bo's wife, Terry (Sprague Grayden), who bravely dedicated herself to helping her amputee husband adjust to the new restrictions in his life; Dim's spouse, Vanessa (Brigid Brannagh), an alcoholic and serial philanderer; Frank's troubled stepson, Eddy (Jimmy "Jax" Pinchak); and Sergio Del Rio (Lombardo Boyar), Esmerelda's long-suffering husband. Although the producers insisted that the tone of Over There was apolitical, a certain amount of criticism aimed toward the Bush administration inevitably crept in. But what sustained interest were the various moral crises encountered by the platoon members, as they picked and scraped their way through a war like none other in recent American history. Prepared for the UPN network but ultimately picked up by the FX cable service (mainly because of the series' excess of violence and bad language), Over There launched its 13-week run on July 27, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When a plane full of tourists crash-lands on an island off the coast of Mexico, the survivors soon discovers that they have an even greater danger awaiting them once they free themselves from the wreckage -- the island is overrun with bloodthirsty mutated baboons, the result of a scientific experiment gone wrong. An eccentric guide (Ron Perlman) who understands the strange apes is brought in to save the stranded travelers before it's too late. Primal Force also stars Roxana Zal and Mark Kiely. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Jessica Lange plays an attorney whose affable Hungarian-immigrant father Armin Mueller-Stahl is arrested. He is threatened with deportation for lying about his activities during World War II; part of the charge is that Mueller-Stahl was a Nazi collaborationist, guilty of wartime atrocities. Absolutely convinced that her father is being railroaded by a revenge-seeking Hungarian communist government, Lange handles Mueller-Stahl's defense, expertly blowing huge holes in prosecuting attorney Frederic Forrest's case. But in doing her own research, Lange discovers that her father has spent a lifetime paying off a blackmailer. Why? In contrast to the fervency of his earlier Z, Costa-Gavras refuses to make things easy by proselytizing in The Music Box (nor does screenwriter Joe Esterhas indulge in his usual right-between-the-eyes fervency). Everything in the film is offered on the same calm, collected level, making the ultimate horror of the story all the more effective. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A controversial Memphis senatorial candidate is murdered, and the prime suspect is the victim's deaf campaign manager, Dana Sue Lacey (Marlee Martin). Despite Dana Sue's popularity with the decedent's constituents, the D.A. insists upon pressing for a Murder One conviction -- and as quickly as possible. The defendant's case is taken by celebrated attorney Ronnie Williams (Regina King), who has never lost in court. Unfortunately, Ronnie's strategy is compromised by Dana's refusal to reveal the whole story about her relationship with the dead man's politically ambitious son. Made for cable, Where the Truth Lies was first seen on Lifetime on September 13, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide