John Bear Curtis Movies

The first episode of the TV series Stargate SG-1 takes place one year after the events in the 1994 Stargate theatrical feature. After quickly establishing that the Stargate portal was developed by an ancient Earth civilization in order to contact other solar systems, the focus of the story shifts to Col. Jack O'Neil (Richard Dean Anderson), who has been in retirement ever since defeating the megalomaniac Ra on the planet Abydos. Restored to active duty by General Hammond (Don Davis), who is now in charge of Earth's Stargate Project, O'Neil is instructed to rescue scientist Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), who may have survived the destruction of Abydos' Stargate. Assembling an exploratory team including his old comrades Kawalsky (Jay Acovone) and Ferretti (Brent Stait), as well as astrophysicist Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping), O'Neill manages to locate Jackson, who has found a huge cartouche in hieroglyphics, indicating that there are thousands of Stargates throughout the galaxy. The trick now is to hide this valuable information from the evil Apophis (Peter Williams), a revived mythological Egyptian god who intends to use the Stargate technology to take over the universe. Originally telecast as a two-hour episode, "Children of the Gods" has since been divided into two hour-long installments for syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Young Bastian again seeks refuge from the problems of the real world in the mystical land of Fantasia in this second, inferior sequel to the sleeper 1984 hit The Neverending Story. The set-up is familiar, as Bastian Bux (here played by Jason James Richter), who has moved to a new town, again rediscovers the magical book that serves as the portal to Fantasia and finds solace in the power of imagination. Unfortunately, Bastian is having problems with a group of bullies known as the Nasties, who discover the boy's secret and steal the book. Their meddling wreaks havoc, ultimately releasing Fantasia's bizarre creatures into Earth's dimension. Naturally, it's up to Bastian to retrieve the book and return the Luck Dragon, Rock Eater, talking tree, gnomes, and other assorted creatures to their rightful home. Visually less impressive than its predecessors, and extremely distant from the Michael Ende book that was the series' original inspiration, The Neverending Story 3 made little impression on audiences or critics, who generally agreed that the film was the weakest of the series. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

A plane crash lands an amateur Los Angeles marshal and a dangerous prisoner in the Alaskan wilderness. Their desperate situation forces them to rely on each other. However, the city-boy cop knows nothing about survival in the wilds while his captive is an expert. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

John Ritter and Pam Dawber star as Roy and Helen Knable, a suburban American couple having marital problems. Roy has become a couch potato, and a resentful Helen wants him to ditch the remote. When the demonic Spike (Jeffrey Jones) offers Roy a deal on the ultimate satellite TV system, Roy doesn't realize that he's just signed away his soul. Roy and Helen are sucked into their own television, where they endure a gauntlet of Hellish television shows such as "Northern Overexposure" and "I Love Lucifer." When their kids Darryl (David Tom) and Diane (Heather McComb) realize that their parents are on the twisted television, they set out to rescue them. Among other elements, Stay Tuned contains an original cartoon short by Looney Tunes legend Chuck Jones. The film was the debut of writing team Tom S. Parker and Jim Jennewein, who would stay in the wacky comedy genre with a whopping four major releases in 1994. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Hands of a Stranger was adapted by playwright Arthur Kopit from the best-selling novel by Robert Daley. Armand Assante plays a New York City narcotics officer who aids DA Blair Brown in her investigation of a rape case in which drugs were involved. In the subsequent days, Assante becomes something of an expert in rape evidence. Thus, when his wife Beverly D'Angelo is sexually assaulted while en route to a rendezvous with her lover, Assante suspects something even though D'Angelo remains mum about the incident. Conducting his own investigation, Assante determines the rapist's identity while wiretapping a phoned-in attempt to blackmail his wife. Will Assante forget everything he's learned about police procedure and attempt to take the law into his own hands? Co-starring in Hands of a Stranger is Arliss Howard as the scummy rapist. Preceded by a warning that the film contained scenes of a violent and graphic nature, Hands of a Stranger was originally broadcast in two parts, on May 10 and 11, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi