Tyne Daly

When Undercover Christmas first aired over CBS on December 7, 2003, a number of critics lauded the film for its "fresh" and "unique" storyline--blissfully unaware that the film bore a marked resemblance to the 1940 Fred MacMurray-Barbara Stanwyck vehicle Remember the Night. Jamie Gertz tops the cast as Brandi O'Neill, a sassy cocktail waitress who is the "great and good friend" of billionaire Scott Shift (Cameron Bancroft). Determned to nail Shift on a tax fraud charge, FBI agent Jake Cunningham (Shawn Christian) figures that Brandi will make an excellent federal witness, and takes her into protective custody. Unfortunately, not long afterward Jake receives word from his mother Anne (Tyne Daly) that his father Joe (Winston Rekert), a very wealthy and very conservative jurist, has suffered a heart attack--and that it would behoove Jack to come home for Christmas to see his dad just one more time. Naturally, Jake is forced to take Brandi along to meet his folks, who are shocked beyond measure when, to avoid compromising his case against Shift, Jake passes Brandi off as his new girlfriend! Things get dicier still when it turns out that Joe Cunningham's heart attack was just a sham to force Jake to come home and get his annual dressing-down for not living up to his parents' hopes--and all the while, Brandi begins to really enjoy her new luxurious surroundings, and seriously considers latching onto Jake for keeps. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Linda Yellen spins this study of four couples as they struggle to maintain their relationships. Middle-aged divorcée and landlord Katharine (Lynn Redgrave) is completely smitten with her live-in lover Rick (Harry Connick, Jr.). She loves throwing parties, and on one Halloween she hosts a dinner for some wildly dissimilar guests: her tenets Sandra (Cindy Crawford) and Paul (Jamey Sheridan) are conservative professionals, while fellow building dwellers Marta (Monica Keena) and Billy (Dylan Bruno) are rock musicians. Also at the party is wacky psychic Arnita (Tyne Daly). During dinner, Arnita sees the spirits of another couple: Mae (Samantha Mathis), a flapper from the 1920s, and Katharine's great-grandfather Edward (William Hurt). Unnerved, Arnita predicts that one couple will split up by year's end. Though initially shaken, the guests brush her off as a nut. Yet toward the year's end, Katharine grows increasingly jealousy of Rick's flirtation with Sandra. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Jaclyn Smith, Tyne Daly, and Nicole Forester star in a made-for-TV tear-jerker about three women who are forced to confront the mistakes of their past when they learn an eight-year-old boy has been declared the only survivor of a tragic plane crash -- and each is certain the boy is the child she gave up for adoption years before. The supporting cast includes Jason Brooks and Scott Plank. Three Secrets is a remake of a 1950 melodrama, in which Patricia Neal, Eleanor Parker, and Ruth Roman played the three women. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Set in Salt Lake City, this thriller stars Stephen Baldwin as a police detective who is still learning to deal with his loss after the death of his son. He is forced to put his grief on hold when he's assigned to a new case -- a psychotic murderer is terrorizing the city, bludgeoning each victim to death and then meticulously cleaning the crime scene so that few, if any, clues remain. The supporting cast includes Rob Knepper and Shawn Huff. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Steven Maler's first feature film made it's premiere at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. Autumn Heart is a heavy melodrama set in 1970 about three daughters who go looking for their long lost brother. What they find is an opened Pandora's box about themselves. Sixteen years have passed since Ann (Tyne Daly) gave up her son and her husband. In that time, she raised only her three older daughters. Now Ann has had a heart attack and asked these three hard-living women (played by Ally Sheedy, Marceline Hugot and Marla Sucharetza) to find their long-lost brother somewhere in Boston. What they discover is a brother studying at Harvard and their estranged, upper class father. Now these hard-talking women must wrestle with their emotions about their own feelings of abandonment, as part of coming to terms with the realities of their lives. Can they also convince their brother to come back and visit? Can they forgive their mother for the secrets she withheld? Can a family heal the wounds of time? ~ Chris Gore, All Movie Guide

A pair of not-so-happily married academics confront their various emotional problems as temptations appear on all sides in this comedy. Mary Jane Dankworth (Sally Kellerman) teaches film at the same university where her husband Harvey (Ed Begley, Jr.) teaches Russian literature. Their relationship has been in rough waters for some time now; Harvey is no longer sexually attracted to M.J., and she feels as though she threw away her career as a documentary filmmaker in exchange for a marriage that doesn't make her happy. Mary Jane begins seeing a therapist, Dr. Guttmacher (Tyne Daly), and she discusses with her the Walter Mitty-esque daydreams that have lately been pervading her thoughts. Harvey, on the other hand, is also seeing an analyst, Dr. Brown (Rance Howard), and as he tries to regain his lost youth after turning 50, he attracts the attentions of Muriel Johansen (Sandra Taylor), an attractive graduate student who is working with Harvey on her masters thesis concerning erotic literature. Suspecting that something is up with her husband, M.J. hires a private detective, Carmine Ficcone (Stuart Margolin), but she soon discovers that he's more interested in chasing her than in following Harvey. Mel Shapiro wrote the screenplay based on his own play, while leading lady Sally Kellerman also served as co-producer, in tandem with her husband Jonathan D. Krane. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Seinfeld's Jason Alexander stars in this made-for-television remake of the 1963 classic musical. Alexander stars as Albert J. Peterson, a man hoping to make his fortune and get the girl by promoting the big send-off for a newly drafted pop star named Conrad Birdie (Marc Kudish). A song-and-dance movie, actress-dancer Ann Reinking served as choreographer of this film. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

This powerful fact-based made-for-TV drama follows a poor, illiterate woman as she bravely takes on the government child protective services in hopes that they will return her three children. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Overcoming limitations, whether real or perceived, is the topic of Reading Rainbow: Amazing Grace, as Tyne Daly reads the story of a young girl who manages to land the title role in a school play despite an assumption that she cannot due to her race and gender. Several guests appear on the program, including Whoopi Goldberg, Lauren Turner, and Sheila Haines, who discuss their experiences with obstacles in their careers. In the book review segment, kids analyze Great Women in the Struggle, Mirette on the High Wire, and Roses Sing on New Snow. ~ Alice Day, All Movie Guide

Tyne Daly, the sister of series star Tim Daly, guests in this episode as a millionairess with the whimsical moniker of Mimsy Borogroves. The arrival of Mimsy on the isle of Nantucket has Helen (Crystal Bernard), Roy (David Schramm), and Fay (Rebecca Schull) falling over themselves trying to curry favor with the woman in hopes that she will bankroll their individual pet projects. But as things develop, it is Joe (Tim Daly) and Brian (Steven Weber) who are most profoundly affected by Mimsy's presence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide