John deLancie Movies
- 1975
This modestly budgeted feminist feature was written by actress Joan Hotchkis, who also stars. She plays a wealthy young wife who is sick to death of her well-ordered existence. She begins experimenting with any number of aberrations, ranging from bizarre mind games to what used to be called "self abuse." Both her husband and her lover are convinced that Hotchkiss is quite mad, and at the end she proves them both right. Adapted from Ms. Hotchkiss's stage play of the same name, Legacy was an early feature-length effort by director Karen Arthur. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Hotchkis, George McDaniel, (more)
- 1976
One of four dramatic miniseries carried by NBC under the blanket title Best Sellers, Captains and the Kings was adapted from a novel by Taylor Caldwell. Covering a time span from 1857 to 1912, this was the saga of the Irish-immigrant Armagh clan, with emphasis on the rags-to-riches career of Joseph Armagh (Richard Jordan). Achieving fame and prominence (if not full-fledged social acceptance) through a Byzantine series of investments in the oil industry, the elder Armagh was obsessed with the notion of having one of his sons become the first Irish-Catholic President of the United States (does this story sound vaguely familiar?). Along the way, Joseph and his offspring indulged in innumerable romantic liaisons, extramarital and otherwise. Featured in the all-star cast is Patty Duke Astin, who won an Emmy award for her portrayal of Bernadette Hennessey Armagh. Captains and the Kings was broadcast from September 30 to November 18, 1976 in seven installments, two of which ran 120 minutes, and the other six lasting 60 minutes -- a total of nine hours' air time in all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Death Flight was originally known as SST: Death Flight when it was first telecast February 25, 1977. Though fairly expensive so far as TV movies go, the film is brought down to earth by its standard B-flick plot. On its maiden flight, America's first supersonic transport runs into deadly danger high in the sky-and may never get to land. In true Airport fashion, the plane is populated with celebrities (at least by TV standards): Barbara Anderson, Bert Convy, Peter Graves, Lorne Greene, Tina Louise, George Maharis, Burgess Meredith, Doug McClure, Martin Milner, Robert Reed, Susan Strasberg, Billy Crystal, and even Regis Philbin. The film's working title was Death of the Maiden, but this was too close to Death and the Maiden, the 90-minute pilot episode of the 1973 Jimmy Stewart TV series Hawkins. Death Flight was later syndicated as SST: Disaster in the Sky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
The inaugural presentation of the syndicated "Operation Prime Time" anthology, the three-part, six-hour miniseries Testimony of Two Men was based on the 1968 best-seller by Taylor Caldwell; it originally aired in three separate two-hour installments. Sprawled over the course of several generations following the Civil War, this epic begins in 1865. It covers the saga of idealistic, straight-arrow Pennsylvania surgeon Jonathan Ferrier (David Birney) and his irresponsible, hot-headed and slightly effeminate younger brother Harald (David Huffman). The Ferrier boys battle over professional ethics (Jonathan campaigns for medical reforms, Harald is interested only a quick financial turnover) and personal peccadilloes. The drama heats up when the philandering wife of one of the Ferriers is charged with murder, precipating a scandal that threatens to rock the medical profession to its foundations. In the climax, a group of envious physicians try to destroy Jonathan when he lobbies for antiseptic operating conditions--and the truth comes out about Harald's dalliance with Jonathan's late wife. Made available for syndication in May of 1977, Testimony of Two Men was seen in most markets on May 9, 16 and 23. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The third filming of Louisa May Alcott's novel is this made-for-TV effort, which follows the hardships faced by the March family during the Civil War. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meredith Baxter-Birney, Susan Dey, (more)
Joseph Wambaugh's The Onion Field is based on an actual 1963 case. L.A. plainclothesmen Karl Hattinger (John Savage) and Ian Campbell (Ted Danson) routinely investigate a pair of suspicious types, Greg Powell (James Woods) and Jimmy Smith (Franklin Seales). Unexpectedly, Powell pulls a gun on the cops, then forces them into a deserted onion field, where he kills Campbell in cold blood. Hattinger manages to escape, and through his eyewitness account, Powell and Smith are arrested. But that is not that. Thanks to their knowledge and manipulation of the quicksilver legal system, Powell and Smith manage to evade prosecution for years. Meanwhile, Hattinger goes through hell on earth, tortured with guilt over the fact that he lived while Campbell died so ignominiously. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Savage, James Woods, (more)
- 1979
Experiment in Terra is a 60-minute episode of the TV sci-fi series Battlestar Gallactica. Joining regulars Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict is guest villain John Calicos as the outer space "quisling" Baltar. In plotting his escape from Battlestar Galactica, Baltar also plans to free the imprisoned rebels of the planet Terra. You might get some fun guessing what planet Terra is really supposed to be and spotting how many plot elements are "borrowed" from Star Wars. Experiment in Terra was first shown March 11, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict, (more)
- 1980
Adapted from the Judith Krantz novel of the same name, the CBS miniseries Scruples zeroes in on a trendy, upscale Beverly Hills boutique. The guiding force behind the Scruples shop is beautiful Billy Ikelhorn (Lindsay Wagner), who, though born into grinding poverty, had risen to the uppermost rungs of L.A. society by virtue of her marriage to millionaire Ellis Ikelhorn (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.). When her husband dies after a long illness, Billy compensates for her grief by becoming a Boadicea of the fashion industry. Her personal and professional life is entangled with those of her closest associates, fashion photographer Spider Elliott (Barry Bostwick) and designer Valentine O'Neill (Marie-France Pisier). Originally telecast in six two-hour episodes on February 25, 26, and 28, 1980, Scruples proved popular enough to warrant a 1981 TV-movie sequel, starring Shelley Smith as Billy, Dirk Benedict as Spider and Olga Karlatos as Valentine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lindsay Wagner, Barry Bostwick, (more)
- 1980
Action star Doug McClure plays for light humor in Nightside. This turned out to be a wise move on McClure's part, because it's next to impossible to take this made-for-TV cop drama seriously. McClure and Michael Cornelison portray two graveyard-shift L.A. patrolmen who must deal with various crises of varying importance on the eve of the USC/UCLA football game. The bane of the cops' existence are the college students who insist upon pulling pregame pranks on their beat. Intended as the pilot for a series, Nightside was first shown on June 8, 1980, where it lost most of its audience to the competing Tony Awards telecast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
- PG
Susan Sarandon gives a sprightly performance in this sex farce involving couples swapping mates. Shirley MacLaine is Evelyn, a doctor, who is spending some quality time horseback riding when she is spotted by Greg (Stephen Collins), who is driving his sports car. Greg looks at her a bit too long and crashes the car, and since Evelyn is a doctor, she feels free to ride up to the prone Greg and rip off his pants. Soon the two are having an affair behind the backs of Greg's TV weather-girl lover Stephanie (Susan Sarandon) and Evelyn's workaholic husband, Walter (James Coburn). When Walter finds out about the affair from Stephanie, the two decide to reciprocate and engage in an affair of their own. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley MacLaine, James Coburn, (more)
- 1981
Helen Hunt is outstanding as the real-life Kathy Miller, a 13-year-old Arizona athlete and honor student whose world came screeching to halt in 1977. Struck by a car on a lonely highway, Kathy spends the next ten weeks in a coma. Upon awakening, she is unable to walk, talk, read or write: she has sustained massive brain damage and her leg has been mutilated. The experts say "No hope", but neither Kathy nor her parents (Sharon Gless, Frank Converse) will settle for that diagnosis. After eight torturous months of physical and mental therapy, Kathy Miller is entered in a 6-mile race -- the first of many stepping stones to her ultimate status as a world champion. Made for television, The Miracle of Kathy Miller was written with an emphasis on optimism and a minimum of sentimental gush by Mel and Ethel Brez. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Hunt, Sharon Gless, (more)
Sam Elliot stars as Sam Houston, the visionary who nearly single-handedly forged the state of Texas into a powerful entity in its own right. Refusing to forget the Alamo (as if anyone could), Houston led the military in Texas' rebellion against Mexico. G.D. Spradlin co-stars as President Andrew Jackson, with Michael Beck appearing as Jim Bowie, James Stephens as Stephen Austin, and Richard Yniguez as Mexican General Santa Anna. Lensed on location in the Lone Star state, this sweeping made-for-TV film originally occupied three hours' screen time on November 22, 1986. Its title at that time was Houston: The Legend of Texas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Elliott, Michael Beck, (more)
- 1986
Jessica (Angela Lansbury) enters the rarefied world of art collecting when Julia Marcus Granger (Anne Scheeden), the heiress daughter of one of Jessica's oldest friends, is murdered. The most likely culprit turns out to be Julia's husband Donald (Christopher Allport), a known art thief. But Julia's sister Sabrina (Andra Millian) is convinced that Donald is innocent, and she prevails upon Jessica to prove it, leading our heroine down a twisted trail involving two entirely different sets of clues. This is the final episode of Murder She Wrote's second season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
The troublesome "Q" (John de Lancie) returns, this time with an unexpectedly generous offer. Approaching Cmdr. Riker, Q invites him to join the Q Continuum, promising to bestow upon Riker all the special powers that this lofty position provides. The catch: Q bets Riker that he will abuse his new powers, and to make certain that he wins the bet, the enigmatic alien arranges for Riker to participate in a deadly game, pitting him against fanged monstrosities. Gene Roddenberry himself collaborated with C.J. Holland on the script of "Hide and Q," which first aired November 28, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
The first two episodes of the syndicated Star Trek: The Next Generation were originally telecast in tandem as a two-hour "TV movie" on September 30, 1987. After the obligatory introductions of the new crew of the Enterprise, the starship sets sail for the planet Daneb IV, for the purpose of investigating the new Farpoint starbase. Halfway to their destination, the crew is captured by obstreperous alien life form "Q" (John de Lancie) and placed on trial for all the crimes previously committed by the Human Race. One of the stars of the original Star Trek makes a surprise appearance in octogenarian makeup (Hint: He doesn't get to say, "He's dead, Jim"). "Encounter at Farpoint" was cowritten by Gene Roddenberry and D.C. Fontana. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
On Fire stars John Forsythe as the chief arson inspector of a major metropolis. After 22 years' service as a firefighter, Forsythe is summarily ordered to retire. He tries to fight this in court, but learns that, although mandatory retirement is illegal on a federal basis, it can be enforced on a local level in cases of life-threatening jobs. While this TV movie starts well with Forsythe's anger and confusion over being cast adrift at age 60, the script descends into by-the-numbers melodrama after a harrowing experience leaves Forsythe more scared and distracted than ever. Carroll Baker, the "Baby Doll" of the 1950s, is cast against type in On Fire as John Forsythe's patient and supportive wife. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Siblings Eric Roberts and Julia Roberts appear in this old-fashioned saga about oppressed Sicilian wine-growers in 19th-century California. Giancarlo Giannini stars as Sebastian Collogero, the robust Italian patriarch who is battling with railroad mogul William Bradford Berrigan (Dennis Hopper) to prevent his land from being taken over by the rail company. Sebastian's spirited son, Marco (Eric Roberts), is in love with Angelica (Lara Harris), the daughter of a rival wine-grower's clan. Marco is not very concerned about the warfare about to erupt between the wine-growers and the railroad until Berrigan's thugs torture and kill Sebastian in front of his daughter Maria (Julia Roberts). Marco then gets his friends together and organizes a revolt against Berrigan and his railroad empire. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Roberts, Giancarlo Giannini, (more)
- 1988
Premiering October 23, 1988, the revival of the classic suspense series Mission:Impossible was hobbled during its first few weeks on the air by a Hollywood writer's strike. Thus, several episodes of the new series were remakes of scripts from the "old" version. Case in point was the series' pilot, "The Killer", in which returning IMF head Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) endeavors to avenge the death of his protegee Tom Copperfield (Vince Martin). The unknown assassin's next target is equally unknown, as is the identity of the killer's employer; it is up to the new IMF team to learn the truth and prevent another murder. If this sounds familiar, it is because Arthur Weiss' script for "The Killer" was originally filmed as Mission:Impossible's fifth season opener in 1970. Guest-starring in the new version were John DeLancie ("Q" on Star Trek: The Next Generation) as Matthew Drake, and Paul Smith (The Midnight Express, Popeye) as Tim. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Thaao Penghlis, (more)
- 1989
In this episode, defense attorney Cromwell investigates the case of a woman accused of killing her rich husband. She discovers an underlayer of greed and adultery. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
That exasperatingly dangerous alien life form "Q" (John de Lancie) is back for more deviltry. Hoping to join the crew of the Enterprise, Q is turned down flat by Captain Picard. In retaliation, Q thrusts the Starship into a deadly battle with the mind-controlling Borg (making their first major series appearance). This episode earned two Emmy nominations, both for Best Sound. First telecast May 13, 1989, "Q-Who" was written by Maurice Hurley, the series' co-executive producer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The second feature-length revival of the Get Smart television series (1965-1970) of blessed memory, Get Smart Again reunited Don Adams as bumbling secret agent Maxwell Smart and Barbara Feldon as his wife, sultry "fellow" agent 99. Smart coerces 99 to drop her public-sector job and join him in thwarting the evil machinations of their old nemesis Siegfried (Bernie Kopell). Other alumni from the original TV series include Dick Gautier as Hymie the Robot, Robert Karvelas (Don Adams' cousin) as Larrabee, King Moody as Starker and Dave Ketchum as the ubiquitous Agent 13. A few concessions have been made to the passage of time (Smart's fabled shoe-phone now has "call waiting"), but the film scores highest on its nostalgic appeal, encapsulated by such catch-phrases as "Sorry about that", "Would you believe?" and "Missed it by that much." Get Smart, Again was first telecast February 26 (would you believe February 27?), 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Adams, Barbara Feldon, (more)
- 1990
Gregory Harrison is the Angel of Death in this made-for-TV suspenser. In love with artist Jane Seymour, escaped convict Harrison vows to protect Seymour and her six-year-old son Brian Bonsall from any and all antagonists. Trouble is, Harrison is apt to love Seymour and her boy to death. If you don't care for the melodramatic angle, you'll love the scene wherein Harrison gains Seymour's confidence by agreeing to pose nude for her! Angel of Death premiered on October 2, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
A visit from the mercurial alien life form Q (John de Lancie) invariably means trouble for the Enterprise, and this time is no exception. As a result of his past misdeeds, Q is stripped of his powers and condemned to spend the rest of his life as a mortal. Regarding Captain Picard as his very best friend, the "reformed" Q decides to make the Enterprise his new home, with potentially disastrous results for the hapless android Data. Corbin Bernsen makes a brief appearance as another member of the Q collective. First telecast February 10, 1990, the Emmy-nominated "Deja Q" was written by Richard Danis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Successful LA marketing analyst Michael Boll (James Spader) seemingly has it all-except a sense of self-confidence. Enigmatic drifter Alex (Rob Lowe) enters Michael's life and immediately begins to exert a negative influence. As Michael's self-esteem zooms (aided by generous dollops of sex and drugs) he allows himself to be dragooned into a life of crime by the demonic Alex. The "doppelganger" aspects of Bad Influence, and the film's many unexpected twists and turns, echo films of Alfred Hitchcock, especially Strangers on a Train. The film's boldest stroke is to cast the likeable Lowe as the bad guy (albeit a charming one) and the often villainous Spader as the malleable milquetoast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rob Lowe, James Spader, (more)
