William Devane Movies

Originally aired as an epic mini-series, Doomsday Rock was the first revival of "what-if-an-enormous-(insert appropriate astral body)-hit-the-Earth" movies. Essentially a sub-genre of the disaster movie, the story centers on the struggle of one main character to save the planet while simultaneously presenting on-going vignettes following the predicaments of secondary characters. Famed astronomer Dr. Paul Sorenson has been studying the ancient paths of comets for most of his career; he knows that comets and large meteorites have hit our planet before and believes such impacts caused the mass extinctions of the past. According to his latest calculations, a large comet is due to collide with our planet very soon. Unfortunately, nobody but his daughter, also a respected researcher and astronomer, believes him. Desperate to save humanity from mass extinction, Sorenson and his few followers commandeer an nuclear silo. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

While vacationing at the beach, Monica (Roma Downey) and Rafael (Alexis Cruz) are swept up in a search for a boy named Scooter Fisher, who has left an ominous and rather desperate message in a bottle. Complicating matters is the fact that no one seems to have ever heard of Scooter Fisher, and that several others in the vicinity are in more immediate need of the angels' help. The plot takes an unexpected twist when, after Rafael reveals himself as an angel, a media circus ensues and prominent TV anchorman Benjamin Parker (William Devane) shows up to cover the "angel invasion" of Pacific Falls! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The perils and pitfalls of the so-called "repressed memory syndrome" are brought home in a chilling fashion in this fact-based TV movie. After attending a Christian retreat, young Rebecca Bradshaw (Lisa Dean Ryan) returns home to accuse her deputy sheriff father Matthew (John Shea) of sexually abusing her as a child. Matthew protests that he is innocent, but as Rebecca's claims become more vivid and outrageous--involving satanic rituals and the like--even he begins to wonder if there is any truth to the story. Making matters worse, Rebecca spreads her accusations to Matthew's old poker-playing buddies, insisting that they are all involved in a diabolical coven which requires the molestation of children! With nowhere else to turn, Matthew goes to the local pastor for advice--only to be bluntly informed that the only way he can find peace is to confess to horrendous crimes that may never have happened. Adapted from a series of articles by Lawrence Wright, Forgotten Sins originally aired March 7, 1996 on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV Falling From the Sky: Flight 174 was based on a true story that occurred high over Canada in July of 1983. While en route from Montreal to Edmonton, a brand-new Boeing 767 runs out of fuel in mid-flight. With only a cursory knowledge of the jet's inner works, the crew is forced to desperately improvise a means of rescuing the passengers by gliding the aircraft to a runway in Winnipeg--35 miles away. Although the actual story has enough inherent drama for five TV movies, the producers felt the necessity to add a few overly melodramatic touches to heighten the suspense; also, aviation enthusiasts weren't too happy with the script's inaccuracies, nor were movie purists impressed by the surprisingly shoddy computer enhanced special effects. Nonetheless, the film boasts excellent performances, especially from William Devine as Captain Bob Pearson. First broadcast by ABC on February 20, 1995, Falling From the Sky was adapted from William and Marilyn Hoffer's book Freefall, and has since been retitled Freefall: Flight 174 for cable-TV play. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A divorced Los Angeles detective is tracking down a psycho serial killer who strangles prostitutes. He becomes a suspect himself when the rich lawyer who represented all the murdered hookers is killed -- and the lawyer just happens to be his ex-wife's husband. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide

"They're the toughest anti-terrorist strike force in the world. But they've never faced an enemy like this." The "they" mentioned in the ad copy for Death Train are headed by Pierce Brosnan. The enemy is rogue Russian general Christopher Lee, who has stolen two nuclear bombs, intending to hold the world for ransom. The bombs are placed on two trains, which are then engaged in a breakneck race by the general via remote control. Things really get dangerous when one of the trains is hijacked! Alexandra Paul and Patrick Stewart also star in this middling actioner, which manages to stir up suspense only during the climactic detonation sequence. Originally titled Alastair MacLean's Death Train when it premiered over the USA Cable Network on April 14, 1993, the film was retitled Detonator for its theatrical release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jack Coleman plays a down-on-his-luck baseball player who becomes a Beverly Hills masseur. One of his male clients hires Coleman to make love to the man's wife (Michelle Phillips) to provide grounds for a divorce. Needless to say, the client ends up dead, and Coleman is the prime suspect. American Gigolo, anyone? Made for cable, Rubdown does little to enhance the careers of supporting players Alan Thicke, William Devane or Catherine Oxenberg. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a reporter attempts to protect her small son (the result of her brief tryst with a presidential candidate) from the prying eyes of a shady political advisor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The 14th and final season of Knots Landing is distinguished by the conspicuous absence of longtime regular Joan Van Ark, whose character, Val Ewing, mysteriously disappeared while researching a book on mob-connected politician and businessman Greg Sumner (William Devane). In his frantic efforts to find out if his wife is still alive, Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford) somehow finds time for a brief fling with Kate Whittaker (Stacy Galina), Sumner's niece. Meanwhile, Greg, having astonished everyone by giving up his business interests in Knots Landing and retiring to a cabin in Montana, leaves his affairs in the hands of three people: His scheming sister Claudia (Kathleen Noone); Meg (Rhianna Janette), Greg's daughter, adopted by Sumner's longtime nemesis Mack (Kevin Dobson) and his wife Karen (Michele Lee); and Paige (Nicollette Sheridan), illegitimate daughter of Mack and Anne Matheson (Michelle Phillips). Eventually, Greg changes his mind about retiring and returns to regain control of the Sumner Group; at the same time, Mary Robeson (Maree Cheatham), self-proclaimed biological mother of Greg's late wife Laura ries to wrest Meg away from Karen and Mack, whereupon Mack goes temporarily insane--which leads to his being named primary suspect when Mary turns up dead (He is released shortly after the revelation that Mary was really Laura's aunt, not her mother). Just before the series finale, Gary discovers that Val is still alive, the prisoner of crooked businessman Nigel Treadwell, who hopes to get his mitts on the Sumner Group with the help of none other than Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills)--who has been absent from Knots Landing since the end of Season Eleven. Treadwell is foiled in this scheme, and in his subsequent effort to blow up Greg, by another of his hostages, Vanessa Hunt (Felicity Waterman). The upshot of all this activity is a classic moment in the series' second-to-last episode, in which the three principal Knots Landing villainesses--Claudia, Abby and Anne--show up on screen at the same time. And as the very last episode demonstrates, the residents of Knots Landing haven't seen the last of Abby Cunningham yet! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Alas River is known as the River of the Red Ape, named after the orangutan that lives in the Sumatran and Borneo rain forests. Running the rapids of the Alas takes bravery and skill, and not every traveler is up to its challenges. Although the raging river flows through lush vegetation, its rapids are rated high in difficulty. Only on the calmer stretches can the visitor really enjoy the scenery. This series of films was made for the adventurous traveler, who will also experience a meeting with the red apes, whose numbers are growing smaller. William Devane narrates. ~ Alice Day, All Movie Guide

Season Thirteen of Knots Landing gets under way with only one of the four original "couplings" of the series' first season intact: After many romantic side trips and emotional detours, Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford) and his ex-wife Val (Joan Van Ark) have decided to let bygones be bygones and tie the matrimonial knot for the third (and last!) time. Once this matter is settled, Gary again demonstrates his basic lack of common sense by teaming with one Joseph Barringer (Mark Soper]) in a wild scheme to harness the power of ocean tides to provide low-cost energy for the citizens of California. Not surprisingly, Gary loses his shirt (and everything else) in this dead-on-arrival venture, and ends up working as a day laborer on his own ranch before returning to his old cul-de-sac neighborhood. Meanwhile, Val revitalizes her literary career by starting research on a novel intended to expose the crooked machinations of Greg Sumner (William Devane). In other developments, Linda Fairgate (Lar-Park Lincoln), ex-daughter in law of Gary's business partner Karen (Michele Lee), is murdered by Brian Johnston (Philip Brown), who holds several of the principal characters hostage before Karen is able to save the day--thereby confirming her "local heroine" status established at the end of the previous season, when she single-handedly took on the members of a street gang. Also, Greg Sumner's predatory sister Claudia (Kathleen Noone) meets her Waterloo in the form of Alex Barth (Boyd Kestner), who knows where all of her bodies are buried. As for Greg, he begins an affair with Anne Matheson (Michelle Phillips), former lover of Greg's longtime nemesis Mack (Kevin Dobson); reduced to penury after failing to cheat her daughter Paige (Nicollette Sheridan) out of an inheritance, Anne has staged a comeback as a nude model and radio star! Among the newcomers to the series are Bruce Greenwood as Paige's new boyfriend Pierce Lawton, who later tries to kill Paige and several others when he loses all his money in Gary's "Tidal Energy" scheme; Maree Cheatham as Mary Robeson, who claims to be the biological mother of Greg's late wife Laura (Constance McCashin), and who had been sent to prison on a trumped-up charge engineered by Greg; and Felicity Waterman as Vanessa Hunt, an old friend of Claudia Whittaker's daughter Kate (Stacy Galina). Making their final appearances in Season Twelves are Larry Riley and [$Kent Masters-King as Frank and Julia Williams--and, surprisingly, Joan Van Ark as Val Ewing, who mysteriously vanishes in the midst of preparing her tell-all novel. With ratings steadily decreasing during its most recent seasons, Knots Landing wnet on a brief production hiatus in the middle of Season Thirteen so that the new writing team could get a grip on the concept and come up with more compelling storylines. Although things did improve a bit, the series was destined to survive for just one more year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rendered mortally ill by anti-chemical activists during Season Eleven of Knot's Landing, scheming politician-businessman Greg Sumner (William Devane) is snatched from the jaws of death by a liver transplant--which, characteristically, he has secured by dishonest means. This leaves Sumner alive and well, and free to begin life anew with the new love of his life, the bed-hopping Paige Matheson (Nicollette Sheridan), who happens to be the illegitimate daughter of Sumner's perennial crimebusting nemesis, Mack MacKenzie (Kevin Dobson). At the same time, Paige's biological mother Anne (Michelle Phillips), still determined to get her mitts on her daughter's inheritance, dreams up a phony blackmail scheme which brings arouses the attention of her former lover Mario Conti, who dispatches his trusted hatchet man Nick Schillance (Lorenzo Caccialanza) to Knots Landing to help the "victimized" Anne. Ultimately, Anne and Nick will get married and team up to rob Paige of her rightful inheritance. Meanwhile, long-suffering Val (Joan Van Ark) tries to secure a divorce from her imprisoned serial-rapist husband Danny (Sam Behrens), who claims to have been "Born Again" behind bars and refuses to release her from her wedding vows. When Danny is ultimately found dead, Val's ex Gary (Ted Shackelford) is suspected of murder (for about the three-hundredth time!), but is exonerated by Danny's last intended victim, Julie Williams (Kent-Masters King). Elsewhere, novice TV personality Karen (Michele Lee) learns to her horror that her alleged stalker from the previous season, Jeff Cameron (Chris Lemmon), is still alive, still bent on "getting" her despite being exposed as part of a campaign of psychological terror concocted by Karen's conniving former producer Dianne Kirkwood. And in another development, Mack puts his life on the line when he assumes the responsibility of protecting young Jason Lochner (Thomas Wilson Brown) from an abusive parent. Perhaps sensing that the series needed a new "Abby Cunningham"-style villainess, the producer introduce the character of Greg Sumner's scheming sister Claudia Whittaker (Kathleen Noone), who at the outset of Season Eleven swoops into Knots Landing with her daughter Kate (Stacy Galina) and her ex-convict "son" Steve Brewer (Lance Guest) in tow. Steve will eventually be revealed to be the son of the late tycoon Paul Galveston--and thus the brother of Greg Sumner, rather than his nephew. By the time the season finale rolls around, Claudia's machinations have brought about the death of Steven; Karen faces a jail term after forcing a gang of street punks--including one of her own neighbors--to have a car accident; the troublesome Anne is at last kicked out of Knots Landing; and, evidently hastening the process before any more disasters can occur, Gary and Val decide to get married--for the third time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although the scheming Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills) had departed Knots Landing at the end of its tenth season, the series still managed to serve up a full recipe of fascinating intrigues during its eleventh season on the air. Dominating much of the proceedings is a plotline sparked by a pension-fraud scheme involving Oakman Industries, one of several businesses controlled by duplicitous politico Greg Sumner (William Devane). An investigation headed by Sumner's longtime nemesis Mack (Kevin Dobson) is compromised by the actions of Tom Ryan (Joseph Gian), a crooked cop in Oakman's employ. The ramifications of the pension scandal results in the death of Greg's estranged daughter Mary Frances, who turns out to have been an operative for a anti-chemical subversive organization headed by her boyfriend--who in turn gets revenge on Greg by infecting him with a lethal poison. In other developments, Mack's former lover Anne (Michelle Phillips), the mother of his daughter Paige (Nicollette Sheridan), hatches an elaborate scheme to rob Paige of her inheritance. After a season's absence, Steve Shaw briefly returns to the role of Eric, the son of Knots Landing Motors head (and Mack's wife) Karen (Michele Lee)--though he is now divorced from wife Linda (Lar-Park Lincoln), who begins a relationship with Eric's brother Michael (Pat Petersen), sparking a great deal of sibling hostility. Karen herself lands a job hosting the popular local TV series "Open Mike", produced by Dianne Kirkwood (Robin Strasser) and Jeff Cameron (Chris Lemmon). However, it soon develops that Dianne covets Karen's job, and will stop at nothing to get it. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the "crazed fan" who stalks Karen through most of the season is actually Dianne's co-conspirator Jeff. Also: The eternally unlucky-in-love Val (Joan Van Ark) falls for an outwardly charming chap named Danny Waleska (Sam Behrens), whom Val's ex Gary (Ted Shackelford) has good reason to distrust. It soon develops that Danny is a serial rapist and all-around psycho, who not only terrorizes Val's twin daughters but also attempts to kill Gary and makes an effort to assault Julie Williams (Kent-Masters King). Though Danny fails in this attempt, he succeeds in fatally injuring Julie's mother Patricia (Lynne Moody)--while in another of the many developments comprising the season's cliffhanger finale, Paige is jilted at the altar by her newest beau, "dirty" cop Tom Ryan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide