Maria Celedonio Movies

The first episode of the medical examiner/police procedural Crossing Jordan introduced viewers to Jordan Cavanaugh (Jill Hennessy), a forensic pathologist unafraid to engage in ethically questionable tactics in order to solve a case. Guiding her through a case that affects her more deeply than she expects is her no-nonsense boss Garret Macy (Miguel Ferrer). ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

In a spoof of the popular NBC sitcom Friends, Kelly (Christina Applegate) goes out with delivery guy Tom (Matt Borlenghi), who is trying to get even with his regular girl Shannon (Nicole Eggert). In retaliation, Shannon agrees to date a middle-aged millionaire named Henry (Alan Thicke). Both couples end up at a cheap diner, where they do their best to "out-sex" each other. This episode, in which series regular Katey Sagal (Peggy) does not appear, was intended as the pilot for an unsold Married. . .With Children spinoff starring Nicole Eggert and Matt Borlenghi. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Now that Andy Sipowicz' son Andy Jr. (Michael DeLuise) has decided to join the Hackensack police force, Andy Sr. (Dennis Franz) feels it is his bounden duty to offer professional advice. Back on the job, Sipowicz and Bobby Simone (Jimmy Smits) join forces with Detective Martina Escobar (Wanda DeJesus) -- against whom Andy has held a long-standing grudge -- to investigate a bizarre string of child murders in which the victims are thrown from high buildings. And the precinct is sharply divided along gender lines over how Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) and Diane (Kim Delaney) are handling a case of date rape. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally telecast as a two-hour special, the first episode of ER has since been divided into a two-parter for syndication. In part one, young and inexperienced third-year med student John Carter (Noah Wyle) reports for work at the emergency room of Chicago's County General Hospital. During a hectic 24-hour shift, Carter is brusquely introduced to his future co-workers: his arrogant trainer, Dr. Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle); workaholic chief resident Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards); the equally hardworking Dr. Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield); the womanizing Dr. Douglas Ross (George Clooney); and troubled head nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies). All in all, it is a typical shift at the ER, with cases ranging from gunshot wounds, ruptured aneurysms, burns, and even hangnails -- but a few surprises are in store for both the staff and the viewers at home. In part two, inexperienced three-year med student John Carter continues to cope as best he can with his hectic first day in the emergency room of Chicago's County General Hospital. Meanwhile, chief resident Greene weighs the possibility of entering private practice; Carter's supervisor, Benton, oversteps his authority by operating on a patient with an aortic aneurysm; and troubled head nurse, Carol Hathaway, becomes a patient herself after attempting suicide (originally intended as a one-shot character, Hathaway proved so popular with the viewers that she was immediately pencilled in as a regular). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Made for television, Danger Island has also been released as The Presence. Things get going when a private plane crashes on tropical island. We soon learn we aren't in for Gilligan's Island Redux as an unseen presence wreaks havoc. Some of the castaways disappear, while others develop bizarre deformities. It's all due to a biological experiment which went horribly wrong nearly two decades earlier. Model Kathy Ireland costars with June Lockhart and Richard Beymer: where else but on American network television? Danger Island debuted September 20, 1992, its print ads emphasizing a bikini-clad Ireland rather than horrific elements. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not to be confused with the oft-filmed Fannie Hurst yarn Back Street, Backstreet Dreams is a contemporary drama of Humanity vs. the Streets. Jason O'Malley plays a New York hoodlum who doesn't trust his wife Sherilyn Fenn as far as he can throw her (and for good reason). The only person O'Malley truly cares for is his autistic son Shane, played by twin children Joseph and John Viezzi. Brooke Shields (who's better than you might think) enters the scene as a PhD candidate who hopes to get through to Shane. Now it is the unfaithful Fenn's turn to seethe with jealousy as Shields applies her "force holding" theory to Shane, she and O'Malley draw closer together. O'Malley is so taken by Shields' compassion that he severs his mob ties--but Big Boss Burt Young won't let him off so easy, and uses Shane as a "bargaining chip." Backstreet Dreams appears at times to be three films jumbled together; every time a story element starts rolling, it is exiled to the back burner in favor of another gratuitous subplot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide