Peter DeLuise Movies

The first action-adventure series from the Fox network, 21 Jump Street inaugurates its first season with the series' two-hour pilot episode, in which young police officer Tom Hanson (Jeff Yagher) joins a special undercover unit of the LAPD. Named for its headquarters, an abandoned chapel, the Jump Street unit is comprised of youthful cops who can pose as teenagers, making it easier for them to bust criminals and drug dealers who prey upon high-school kids. After the initial pilot, Jeff Yagher was replaced, and the role of Tom Hanson went to Johnny Depp, an assignment that would make him a star. Hanson's fellow officers during season one include Doug Penhall (Peter DeLuise), who in the earlier episodes projects a more roly-poly, comic image than he would in future years; Vietnamese refugee Harry Truman Ioki (Dustin Nguyen); and African-American Judy Hoffs (Holly Robinson). For the first six episodes, the team takes its orders from Captain Richard Jenko (Frederic Forrest), an ex-hippie who is more or less simpatico with their youthful zeal and tendency to bend the rules. But when Jenko is killed by a drunk driver, he is replaced by a more traditional, by-the-book leader, Captain Adam Fuller (Steven Williams). The series' first batch of 13 hour-long episode features a number of soon-to-be stars in guest roles, among them Josh Brolin, David Paymer, and Jason Priestley. 21 Jump Street managed to hold its own against the formidable competition of CBS' 60 Minutes during the series' maiden season, rapidly establishing Fox as the favorite network of teens and young adults. ~ All Movie Guide

Johnny Depp and the rest of the familiar cast of regulars report for duty as 21 Jump Street enters its third season. As before, Depp plays Officer Tom Hanson, one of a team of youthful LAPD undercover cops who pose as teenagers in order to bust adult wrongdoers. Newcomers to the series include Yvette Nipar as Tom's girlfriend, Jackie Garrett, who works in the DA's office; and Dennis Booker as Tom's new partner, Officer Dennis Booker (not surprisingly, Tom and Dennis don't get along at first, especially since Tom suspects Dennis -- wrongly, as it turns out -- of being a serial rapist). Other recurring characters during season three include Clavo (Tony Dakota), the orphaned nephew of Tom's co-worker Doug Penhall (Peter DeLuise); Doug's live-in girlfriend, Dorothy (Gina Nemo), who dumps him mid-season; and Blowfish (Sal Jenco), Jump Street's clumsy maintenance worker. Guest stars this season include Dom DeLuise, father of series regular Peter DeLuise; Mario Van Peebles, cast as an aspiring dancer; and Bridget Fonda, playing a homeless teen. Season three of 21 Jump Street concludes with the two-parter "Loc'd Out," in which an outraged Tom Hanson seeks personal vengeance against the punks who seriously wounded his fellow officer Ioki (Dustin Nguyen). ~ All Movie Guide

Canceled by the Fox network at the end of its fourth season, 21 Jump Street returns for an additional season's worth of episodes in off-network syndication. While the basic premise of the series remains the same -- a group of youthful-looking LAPD undercover cops posing as teenagers in order to bust grown-up criminals -- there have been some significant changes in the property during its transition from Fox to syndication. Former co-stars Johnny Depp and Dustin Nguyen have left the series, to be replaced by Michael Benedetti as Officer Tony "Mac" McCann and, briefly, David Barry Gray as Officer Dean Garrett. Also joining the Jump Street squad is former recurring character Joey Penhall (Michael DeLuise), estranged brother of Officer Doug Penhall (played, of course, by Peter DeLuise's real-life brother). Doug himself would undergo a near-death experience after being shot by a perp in the episode "Number One With a Bullet," and upon recovery he would leave the department and take over management of a bowling alley, not so much for his own well-being as for the sake of his orphaned nephew, Clavo (Tony Dakota). By the time the fifth and final season has come to an end, the only regular character remaining from the series' earliest episodes is Officer Judy Hoffs (Holly Robinson). Its budget pared down during the series' valedictory season, 21 Jump Street could no longer afford big names (or even moderately big names) as guest stars. However, star-in-the-making Jada Pinkett can be seen in a flashy role in the series' penultimate episode, "Homegirls." ~ All Movie Guide

This stylish chiller tells the grim tale of a sleeping vampire, Czakyr, who is inadvertently awakened when his ancient crypt beneath a church is flooded. At the same time, Cindy and Lucy, two teenage girls, prepare to go to college. Cindy is only visiting the town while Lucy is a local. Just before they go, the girls must go for a late night dip in the flooded crypt as this is a local rite of passage. Unfortunately, Lucy's cross falls from her neck and the blood-thirsty Czakyr attacks her while Lucy escapes. Later Father Frank Aldin informs his pal Mark Garnener, a teacher, that Cindy has become a vampire and has made her mother Karen a bloodsucker too. Frank has captured the two and locked them in a room. He feeds them on blooded leeches. Mark decides to investigate this wild claim and with Lucy returns to her home town and finds that most of the residents have become Czakyr's minions. They capture the two invaders, but the two manage to get away. The town drunk, piloting a religious van, picks up the fleeing couple and takes them to an abandoned lumber mill. That night Cindy visits Lucy and asks her to help destroy Czakyr. Lucy has already killed her mother. The next morning Mark and the drunk find that Lucy has disappeared. They race to town to save her and embark upon their final confrontation with the evil bat man and in the end, good does indeed triumph over evil but not before much blood is spilled. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Ross (David Schwimmer) have a run-in with a pair of bullies at Central Perk -- only to join forces with their tormentors when another bully horns in. Monica's (Courteney Cox) eccentric methods of stock investment (based upon her initials) come a cropper, forcing her to take a humiliating job at a "1950s" diner. And Phoebe's (Lisa Kudrow) efforts to meet her birth father yield unexpected results. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After years of searching through orphanage records, Richie (Stan Kirsch) is convinced that he has found his real father. Duncan (Adrian Paul) doubts this, especially after meeting Richie's self-confessed "daddy", a two-bit gambler named Joe Scanlon (J.E. Freeman). As it happens, Richie is being set up for betrayal to one of Joe's more lethal creditors, a chap named Clinch (Peter DeLuise), forcing Duncan to go to the rescue of his pal yet again. This was the second episode of Highlander to be filmed, but the 11th to be telecast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Showtime cable series Jeremiah was set in a bleak, post-apocalyptic future, 15 years after a mysterious virus had killed off everyone past puberty. The only survivors of the holocaust were teenagers and twentysomethings, with the eponymous Jeremiah (Luke Perry) falling into the latter category. Following fragmentary clues left by his father, Jeremiah navigated the dismal, ravaged countryside in search of the "Valhalla Sector," an idyllic locale which may or may not have held the key to a brighter future. He was joined in his quest by the glib, supremely untrustowrthy Kurdy (Malcolm-Jamal Warner), and, on occasion, by other youthful remnants of the human race, both friendly and antagonistic. Co-executive produced by horror film specialist Joe Dante and Babylon 5 maven J. Michael Straczynski, the weekly, 60-minute Jeremiah was launched with a 100-minute pilot episode on March 30, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A college debate team heads to Washington to argue the abortion issue in front of the Supreme Court. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Rescue Me is an agreeably daffy spoof of adventure films. Nerdy high school camera aficionado (Stephen Dorff) worships teen queen (Ami Dolenz) from afar. He fantasizes about performing some sort of noble act to impress her. But when she's kidnapped before his very eyes, he's too busy taking pictures to do anything. With the help of scuzzy Vietnam veteran (Michael Dudikoff) (who delivers an amiable takeoff of his usual film roles), Dorff goes to the girl's rescue. Engaging supporting appearances by Peter DeLuise and Dee Wallace Stone add to the PG-13 fun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A futuristic dystopia is the setting for this tale about good versus evil and a magical space-sphere out to reestablish a civilized society. An orphanage in a bleak and deserted landscape imprisons a large group of youngsters who have divided into good and bad groups. One day, while competing at roller-skate ball, the teams come across a bowling-ball-sized sphere named Bodhi (a Sanskrit word equivalent to "enlightened compassion"). Bodhi communicates with the good kids, but the bad ones cannot understand the sphere's electronic burbles. The nasty Darstar (Adrian Pasdar) steals Bodhi and heads out into the forbidden world beyond the orphanage. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The SG-1 team investigates a mysterious Abydonian sandstorm, which seems to be whispering the name of team member Jackson (Michael Shanks). Amazingly, the storm metamorphoses into a young boy named Shifu (Lane Gates)--and thus is the team reunited with the Harcesis child of the Goa'uld Apophis and Jackson's Jaffa wife Sha're. Subsequently, Jackson (Michael Shanks) is endowed with the Goa'uld genetic memory--and the changes in his personality are disturbing indeed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Responding to a message that has apparently been issued by his mentor Bra'tac, Teal'c (Christopher Judge) is unexpectedly reunited with his lost love Shan'auc (Musetta Vander). She claims to have found a way to communicate with her Gou'ald symbiote, and hopes to use her enhanced knowledge to destroy the Goa'uld once and for all. Skeptical at first, Teal'c is eventually convinced of Shan'auc's sincerity--but both he and Sha'auc may be victims of a deadly deception. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide