Rick Husky Movies

Hong Kong action-movie superstar Sammo Hung keeps the kicks flying in this TV action farce about a Chinese lawman (Hung) brought to Los Angeles to join forces with detective Louis McGray (Louis Mandylor) and detective Dana Doyle (Tammy Lauren). It's not long before this trio has the bad guys on the run. Filmed in Van Nuys, this series premiered September 16, 1998 on CBS. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Jonathan Kellerman's Edgar Allan Poe Award-winning novel When the Bough Breaks was evocatively adapted for the TV screen in 1986. Ted Danson plays a clinical psychologist, brought in to tend to an emotionally withdrawn little girl (Rachel Ticotin). There's a possibility that the child may have witnessed an unsolved double murder. As Danson and the girl draw closer, he becomes enmeshed in a homicidal conspiracy sparked by a clique of wealthy, well-connected men. Ted Danson also coproduced When the Bough Breaks. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Not long after he lost that "chicken run" to James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), actor Corey Allen switched professional gears to become a prolific film and TV director. Allen was responsible for putting television perennials James Brolin and Lisa Hartman through their paces in Beverly Hills Cowgirl Blues. Brolin plays a Beverly Hills cop who teams up with a luscious female private eye from Texas (Hartman, of course). While Brolin prefers peace and quiet, Hartman insists upon rooting out the murderer of a debutante-turned-hooker. Since both stars were gainfully employed on other TV series when Beverly Hills Cowgirl Blues first aired on October 5, 1985, we hesitate to suggest that this film was the pilot for a potential series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season four of T.J. Hooker opens with the titular police sergeant (William Shatner) and his partner-protégé Officer Vince Romano (Adrian Zmed) agonizing over the fact that their colleague, Officer Stacy Sheridan (Heather Locklear), is in a coma after being shot in the line of duty. Though some viewers may have suspected that Stacy had been rendered immobile so that actress Locklear could spend more time playing Sammy Jo Dean on the nighttime soap opera Dynasty, the character quickly recovered for more thrilling adventures in uniform. (And no, contrary to popular belief, she is not taken hostage in every episode!) Worth noting this season is the series' plethora of guest stars. Among many others, Dennis Franz and Heather Thomas are seen in the episode "Hardcore Connection," Jim Brown appears in "Anatomy of a Killing," Sharon Stone is prominently featured in "Hollywood Starr," Marjoe Gortner and Lauren Tewes show up in "Lag Time," and a pre-Beverly Hills 90210 Tori Spelling co-stars with a pre-Designing Women Delta Burke in "Grand Theft Auto." The series' 72nd episode, "The Chicago Connection," was the last to be seen on ABC. But though it had lost its parent network, T.J. Hooker would be back for a fifth season on rival web CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The second (and first "full") season of T.J. Hooker finds the titular police sergeant (William Shatner) taking on wider responsibilities than his "official" job as trainer at the LCPD Academy Precinct. Along with Hooker, hotheaded rookie cop Vince Romano (Adrian Zmed) is back, as is T.J.'s no-nonsense superior, Captain Dennis Sheridan (Richard Herd). Gone, however, is trainee Vicki Taylor (April Clough), replaced by a new rookie named Stacy (Heather Locklear), who happens to be Captain Sheridan's daughter. Although most of the season's storylines focus on the Hooker - Romano relationship -- Romano has the makings of a good cop, but he's still too reckless and impulsive for his own good -- Stacy is able to prove her worth in record time, and by season's end she has embarked upon her first week of field training. Her new partner is veteran cop Jim Corrigan (played by James Darren), who had previously appeared on the series as a drag racer named Devil Dan Danko in the episode "King of the Hill." As the season progresses, the character of Hooker's ex-wife Fran (Lee Bryant), who figured prominently in the earliest episodes, fades into the background, save for a spectacular "comeback" in "The Hostages." This doesn't get Hooker off the hook, as it were, in matters of male-female relationships, as witnessed by a midseason episode in which our hero clashes with new police commissioner Ms. Cooke (Laraine Stephens), who doesn't agree with his methods. Of special interest during season two are the re-teamings of William Shatner with his former Star Trek co-star Leonard Nimoy, who not only portrays Lt. Paul McGuire in "Vengeance is Mine," but also serves as director for another episode, "The Decoy" (with Stacy, naturally, in the title role). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The five-episode "trial run" of T.J. Hooker begins with the 90-minute pilot "The Protectors," in which former police detective T.J. Hooker (William Shatner) voluntarily accepts the lowered rank of sergeant to return to active duty -- and even campaigns to work in the city's toughest and most crime-ridden districts. Given that Hooker is tormented by the death of his former partner, his recent divorce from wife Fran (Lee Bryant), and his ever-mounting debts, it's just possible that Hooker regards his work as "therapy," taking on big troubles to forget his bigger troubles. During the series' inaugural run, Hooker spends most of his time at the Academy Precinct, where, under the stern gaze of Captain Dennis Sheridan (Richard Herd), he acts as trainer, severest critic, and father confessor to rookie cops Vince Romano (Adrian Zmed) and Vicki Taylor (April Clough). Somehow, T.J. also manages to spend quality time with his daughters Cathy (Susan McClung) and Chrissie (Nicole Eggert) and his son Tommy (Andre Gower). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Kelly (Jaclyn Smith) volunteers to spend the day with Skip (Dennis Dimster), a mentally challenged youngster. Stumbling upon a murder scene at an amusement park, Skip finds the gun, and, thinking it's a toy, accidentally shoots Kelly -- then runs away in a panic. As Sabrina (Kate Jackson) and Jill (Farrah Fawcett-Majors) conduct a frantic search for the boy, the murderer who left the gun behind poses as Skip's father, intending to eliminate all potential witnesses to his crime...beginning with the hospitalized Kelly. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After premiering as a two-hour episode of The Rookies, the weekly series S.W.A.T. made its official debut with this hour-long installment. The emphasis is on series regular Robert Urich, as Officer Jim Street. Anxious to avenge the ambush slaying of his partner Rob Duran (Taylor Lacher), Street joins the Special Weapons and Technical (SWAT) team headed by hard-nosed police lieutenant Dan "Hondo" Harrison (Steve Forrest). Before passing muster, however, the hotheaded Street must learn the value of teamwork -- especially during a tense climactic confrontation with the two criminal siblings who gunned down Duran. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Stone (Karl Malden)and Keller (Michael Douglas) spring into action when a priest is killed in his Confessional. It turns out that the victim had attended the same seminary as three other priests who were murdered in similar fashion. To root out the killer, Stone goes undercover, donning the collar and robe of a Roman Catholic prelate. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Scripted by Rick Husky from a story by Sam Roeca, "Trapped" is a radical departure from the usual Mission:Impossible format. Things start traditionally enough, as the IMF sets about to recover an $8 million army payroll from a family of smugglers: Joe, Arthur and Doug Stafford (Tom Tully, Jon Cypher, and Bert Convy). But the odds change dramatically when Phelps is hit on the head and loses his memory--then wanders straight into a trap set by the crooks. "Trapped" first aired on February 26, 1972, as the final episode of Mission:Impossible's sixth season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi