Douglas Netter Movies

Original Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski returns to the cosmos for this direct-to-video sci-fi adventure that picks up several years after the popular television series left off to follow President John Sheridan, Captain Elizabeth Lochley, and Galen on a whole new series of exciting adventures. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Nearly a full year after the first telecast of the two-hour pilot, the weekly, 60-minute Babylon 5 series proper began on January 26, 1994 with "Midnight on the Firing Line." It is now 2258 AD; the Babylon 5 has become the target of increased attacks from enemy pirates, a situation exacerbated by a personal feud between Londo and G'Kar. Making matters even worse, a Narn attack on the peaceful agricultural colony of Ragesh 3 threatens to explode into all-out warfare unless Sinclair can put a lid on the crisis. Watch for cameo appearances by executive producer Douglas Netter and costume designer Ann Bruce. "Midnight on the Firing Line" was written by J. Michael Straczynski. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It is perhaps a blessing that Hannah Scott, daughter of American-born Australian settler Maggie Scott (Louise Caire Clark), had been sent off to boarding school school before the third season of Five Mile Creek got under way (this move was motivated by the departure of series regular Priscilla Weems). Financial setbacks have forced everyone in the community of Five Mile Creek, including Hannah's mom Maggie, hotel owner Kate (Liz Burch), and stagecoach drivers Jack (Rod Mullinar) and Con (Jay Kerr), to pull up stakes a seek out a new home in the Australian outback of the 1860s. The journey across the Great Divide is fraught with danger, and the settlers receive a none-too-friendly reception upon arrival in the town of Emu Plains. Even so, Maggie and Kate are able to get back to business, and Jack and Con quickly reestablish their stagecoach line. New to the series this season is handsome, callow cowboy Matt Buckland, played by Shannon Presby), and feisty, tomboyish miner's daughter Annie, enacted by a talented redheaded teenager named Nicole Kidman. Also, the character of Five Mile Creek's "boss" Charles Withers (Peter Carroll), hitherto appearing only on a recurring basis,has been elevated to full regular. Among the season's story developments: Annie sets her cap for Jack, but she proves to be a bit rough-and-tumble even for his tastes; Jack must compete with a dashing Irish sea captain (Noel Trevarthen) for the attentions of Maggie; a hotly contested election is highlighted by the arrival of a balloon ascensionist; Con has a deadly showdown with a masked bandit; and, perhaps inevitably, the female leads are imperiled in another hostage crisis. In the series finale, Con is given the opportunity to start a new stagecoach service in faraway America. How will this development affect his partnership with Jack--not to mention his romance with Kate? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the earliest weekly dramatic series on cable's Disney Channel, the weekly, hour-long Five Mile Creek was a US-Australian coproduction, debuting on Australia's Seven Network less than a month before its American premiere on November 4, 1983. Created by American novelist Louis L'Amour as part of his anthology The Cherokee Trail, the series was set during the Australian Gold Rush of the 1860s. Louise Caire Clark headed the cast as Maggie Scott, a San Francisco native who came to Australia to start a new life for herself and her daughter Hannah (Priscilla Weems)--and to search for her prospector husband Adam (who was killed off halfway through Season One). Arriving in the rugged stopover community of Five Mile Creek, some 40 miles north of Sydney, Maggie cast her lot with Kate Wallace (Liz Burch), who'd become sole owner of the stagecoach station-diner-hotel The Haven after her brother Eddie ran out on her. Both Maggie and Kate offered assistance to the Australian Express, a fledgling stagecoach service established by the elusive Charles Withers (Peter Carroll) and co-owned by Texas expatriate Con Madigan (Jay Kerr) and headstrong "Gentleman Jack" Taylor (Rod Mullinar), both of whom doubled as drivers. Also lending a helping hand to the stage service was Maggie's handyman Paddy Malone (Michael Caton), a philosophical Irishman with a shady past. Rounding out the main cast was youthful Sam Sawyer (Martin Lewis), whom Maggie and Kate rescued from pursuing a life of crime, and whom Kate eventually adopted. In the tradition of Little House on the Prairie, Five Mile Creek depicted a diverse group of pioneers who'd all gathered together in the same tight-knit community to renew their lives, leave past troubles behind, and follow their dreams. Also, the series followed the standard western-show formula of complicating the main characters' lives with crooked businessmen (who hoped to put the stage line out of business), murderous claim jumpers, bandits and desperados (here known as "bushrangers"), a lack of decent medical facilities, and the usual ravages of bad weather and worse luck. Standing in for the usual Indian tribes were the local Aborigines, for whom Maggie established a school. The series' producers prided themselves on the authenticity, noting that some 500 hours' research went into preparing the scripts, and pointing out the realistic costumes and props. At the outset of the third and final season the entire community of Five Mile Creek was forced to pull up stakes and embark upon a treacherous journey across the Great Divide, ultimately resettling in the town of Emu Plains. Priscilla Weems left the series when Hannah Scott was bundled off to boarding school; new additions to the cast included Shannon Presby as naïve cowboy Matt Buckland, and an 18-year-old Nicole Kidman as Annie, the hoydenish daughter of a grizzled miner. In all, 39 episodes of File Mile Creek were filmed between 1983 and 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of several syndicated TV miniseries of the 1980s, Roughnecks was part of the same "Golden Circle" project that previously yielded the multipart Wild Times. The title refers to a group of two-fisted oil wildcatters, among them self-made millionaire Paul Marshall (Steve Forrest), his lifelong pal and business partner, Plug Champion (Harry Morgan), and up-and-coming young "roughneck" O'Dell Hartman (Sam Melville). Avoiding the temptation of carbon-copying such previous oil-drilling movies like Boom Town, Flowing Gold, and Tulsa, this two-parter devoted much of its screen time to the hero's efforts to help Marshall's former sweetheart Ida McBride (Vera Miles) save her ranch by bringing in a valuable methane well. In most local markets, Roughnecks was telecast the third week of August (usually the 15th and 16th of that month) in 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The made-for-television western The Sacketts combines the plotlines from two seperate Louis L'Amour novels, The Daybreakers and The Sacketts. In this film, the three Tennessee-raised Sackett brothers migrate to the West following the conclusion of the Civil War. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

In this, the third in the Matt Helm special-agent series, Dean Martin plays Helm who's called to save those aboard a hijacked U.S. spacecraft. Ambushers is generally regarded as the weakest of the Helm films, lacking inspiration at most levels. ~ All Movie Guide