Michael Durrell Movies

A young mother is the victim of a drive-by shooting. The ensuing investigation is complicated by a discrepancy in establishing time of death. By the time this matter has been sorted out, the DA's office is presented with two prime perpetrators: the person who fired the gun, and the doctor who declared the victim brain dead -- then harvested her organs for transplant. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

We'd rather not rehash the sordied Menendez murder case in this space; besides, it isn't necessary, inasmuch as no fewer than two TV movies were produced on the subject in 1994. The first was Fox's Honor Thy Father and Mother; the second, telecast less than a month later, was Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills. Two hours longer than the first film, Menendez spends half of its running time recounting the events leading up to the Menendez brothers' murder of the parents, while the second half devotes itself to their overpublicized trial. Lyle and Eric Menendez are played, respectively, by Damian Chapa and Travis Fine. Edward James Olmos and Beverly D'Angelo costar as the ill-fated parents, while Margaret Whitton is cast as attorney Leslie Abramson. Once past the most lurid aspects of the case-notably the Menendez boys' insistence that their crime was motivated by extreme parental abuse-this 4-hour wallow gets pretty tiresome. Menendez was originally telecast in two parts, on May 22 and 23, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A sleeper hit that received a lukewarm reception from critics but was a success with audiences, Sister Act (1992) was star Whoopi Golberg's first bona fide smash after her Oscar victory for Ghost (1990). Goldberg stars as Deloris Van Cartier, a Reno lounge singer who accidentally witnesses a brutal murder carried out by her gangster boyfriend Vince (Harvey Keitel). Under the protection of a detective (Bill Nunn) who's trying to bring down Vince's criminal operation, Deloris is placed in protective custody at a San Francisco convent. Masquerading as a nun renamed Sister Mary Clarence, Deloris shakes up the established order of the sisters' lives, particularly enlivening their choral efforts. Although running constantly afoul of the Mother Superior (Maggie Smith), the new, jazzed-up musical act becomes a huge hit in the community, even drawing the attention of the Pope, but also alerting Vince to Deloris' whereabouts. Although credited to the pseudonymous Joseph Howard, Sister Act was actually written by Paul Rudnick and Carrie Fisher. The film was followed by a sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

From the Dead of Night has an acceptable two-hour premise; unfortunately, the producers saw fit to drag things out to four hours. Lindsay Wagner stars as an LA fashion designer who, when she nearly drowns, has an out-of-body experience. Haunted by this, Wagner seeks out a spiritualist (Rita Zohar). This weird but worthy seer suggests that Wagner saw what no living person can be permitted to see, and prophesies that six entities from "the other side" will try to drag Wagner back. The conclusion finds the plucky Ms. Wagner doing battle with resurrected corpses. From the Dead of Night was stretched out over two consecutive days, February 27 and 28, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Filmed in Portland, Oregon, The Last Innocent Man stars Ed Harris as an adroit criminal lawyer. Having gotten several obviously guilty clients off the hook, Harris suffers a conscience attack and takes a few months off to get his act together. He is pulled out of his sabbatical by his girl friend Roxanna Hart, who persuades Harris to take on one last case. The client is Hart's estranged husband (Darrell Larson), accused of killing an undercover policewoman. This time the client is blatantly innocent--but Harris utilizes his same old sneaky tactics to win an acquittal and even throws a few new underhanded techniques into the stew. Made for television, The Last Innocent Man premiered over the HBO cable service on April 19, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the first episode of a two-part story, Kip Niven returns to the series, but not in his familiar role as Vera's duplicitous ex-fiance Steve Marsh. Instead, he shows up as Steve's cousin Travis Marsh, a heavily bewhiskered country-western singer. After hearing Alice (Linda Lavin) warble a tune, Travis invites her to join his travelling band--but his interest in Alice is a bit more than professional! Linda Lavin and Kip Niven sing "Higher and Higher". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This episode of Highway to Heaven reunites star-writer Michael Landon with his former Little House on the Prairie co-star Matthew Laborteaux. Be that as it may, the episode's emphasis is on guest performer Lew Ayres, cast as elderly widower Harry Haynes. Placed in a retirement home by his daughter-in-law, Harry has all but given up the will to live. It will take the divine intervention of angel Jonathan Smith (Michael Landon) -- with a little help from the old man's grandson (Matthew Laborteaux) -- to convince Harry to give life a second chance. ~ Rovi

The story which began with the mini-series V comes to a stunning conclusion in this made-for-TV sci-fi adventure. A race of reptilian creatures from another planet arrive on Earth, disguised as humanoids and claiming to come in peace in a search for needed water and food. However, their true motives soon become evident when they take control of the world and begin eating humans for sustenance. A ragtag army of Earthlings form an underground resistance army, leading to a final apocalyptic showdown between the humans and their new rulers. V: The Final Battle reunites most of the original cast of V, including Marc Singer, Robert Englund, Jane Badler, Andrew Pine, and Faye Grant. Followed by a short-lived weekly series. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The ninth and final season of Alice gets under way as Jolene (Celia Weston) and Vera (Beth Howland) take pity on fellow waitress Alice (Linda Lavin), who has endured several dateless weekends of late. Without Alice's knowledge, the girls place an ad on her behalf in a magazine's personal column, describing Alice in terms that go far beyond tantalizing! With this episode, Charles Levin becomes a regular in the role of Vera's husband Elliot, while Michael Durrell makes his first appearance as Alice's steady beau Nick Stone. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this sprawling television miniseries, originally aired in May 1983 on NBC, a race of seemingly human-like aliens arrive en masse on Earth. These "Visitors" promise cooperation and friendship -- then launch a clandestine takeover of the planet by accusing the entire scientific and medical community of conspiring to destroy them, then finally "benevolently" seizing power. Inspired by Sinclair Lewis' It Can't Happen Here, a 1935 account of a fictional fascist takeover of America, V uses a huge ensemble cast and an elliptical method of storytelling to trace the contact between humans and the Visitors, from the arrival of 50 giant flying saucers in low Earth orbit to the first major victory of the underground resistance that opposes the aliens. Major characters include Mike Donovan (Marc Singer), a television cameraman who leverages his experience filming in various war-torn locales to help expose the Visitors' true nature; news anchor Kristine Walsh (Jenny Sullivan), his sometime girlfriend, who allows her ambitions to cloud her journalistic judgment and becomes a pawn of the alien invasion; Juliet Parrish (Faye Grant), a young biochemist who finds herself thrust into the role of resistance leader; Abraham Bernstein (Leonardo Cimino), the patriarch of a Jewish family divided between the lessons of the Holocaust and the need to survive; Elias Taylor (Michael Wright), a petty thief who joins the resistance after the Visitors kill his doctor brother, Ben (Richard Lawson); and Robin Maxwell (Blair Tefkin), the surly eldest daughter of a scientist (Michael Durrell) who finds his family the target of harassment and intimidation. The Visitors, who assume common human first names as their monikers, include supreme leader John (Richard Herd); sultry science and security officer Diana (Jane Badler); hunky Brian (Peter Nelson); and gentle Willie (Robert Englund). V was written and directed by Kenneth Johnson, who initially envisioned the project as a less fanciful story of fascist aggression; when his pitch to NBC seemed to be faltering, Johnson allegedly added the alien angle extemporaneously, securing himself a green light and NBC a sweeps-week hit. The success of V spawned a second miniseries, V: The Final Battle, and a weekly TV series that lasted 19 episodes from 1984 to 1985. Johnson ended his association with the world of V halfway through production on the second miniseries, but his work on the Alien Nation TV spin-off years later would resurrect many of the themes of V. Actor Singer was already known to sci-fi fans as star of The Beastmaster, while Englund would go on to portray Freddy Krueger in countless Nightmare on Elm Street films. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Chaim Sigerski (Martin Balsam), an Auschwitz survivor who runs a Holocaust museum, is convinced that his old friend Isaac (Than Wyenn) did not die in a traffic accident, but was instead deliberately murdered by a fugitive Nazi war criminal. Finding the authorities indifferent to his suspicions, Chaim turns to medical examiner Quincy (Jack Klugman) for help. As a result, Quincy ends up butting heads with Cornelius Sumner (Norman Lloyd), a wealthy and influential activist who denies that the Holocaust ever happened. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An incompetent ER doctor (Michael Durrell) panics under pressure, causing the death of a heart attack victim. Though she knows what really happened, nurse Margaret Alldred (Margaret Ladd) is pressured by the doctor and her boss to help them cover up the details of the tragedy--intimating that she will be blacklisted from the medical profession if she doesn't cooperate. In desperation, Margaret turns to an old family friend for help and advice...an old family friend named Quincy (Jack Klugman). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi