Adilah Barnes

German filmmaker Katja von Garnier directs the HBO original movie Iron Jawed Angels, inspired by a pivotal chapter in American history. Hilary Swank plays Alice Paul, an American feminist who risked her life to fight for women's citizenship and the right to vote. She founded the separatist National Woman's Party and wrote the first equal rights amendment to be presented before Congress. Together with social reformer Lucy Burns (Frances O'Connor), Paul struggled against conservative forces in order to pass the 19th amendment to the Constitution of the United States. One of their first actions was a parade on President Woodrow Wilson's (Bob Gunton) inauguration day. The suffragettes also encountered opposition from the old guard of the National American Women's Suffrage Association, Carrie Chapman Catt (Anjelica Huston). The activists get arrested and go on a well-publicized hunger strike, where their refusal to eat earns them the title of "the iron-jawed angels." Iron Jawed Angels was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004 before its television premiere on HBO. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Returning to his home town after the death of the grandfather who raised him, slick and cynical Wall Street trader Will Martin (Neil Patrick Harris) feels decidedly out of place, and not at all in tune with the Christmas preparations being made by the local citizenry. But Will isn't really taking a sentimental journey at all: He's merely in town to modernize and streamline his family's real-estate company. While going through his grandfather's effects, Will and his grandmother (Debbie Reynolds) come across the old man's diary--which reveals a lengthy relationship with a woman named Lillian. Determined to locate this mystery mistress (if indeed that's who Lillian is), Will learns a few vital lessons about love, forgiveness, and recapturing the Yuletide spirit that has so long eluded him. Adapted from a novel by Richard Siddoway, the made-for-TV The Christmas Wish premiered December 6, 1998, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this conclusion of a two-part episode, Roseanne helps Jackie to leave her abusive boyfriend, Fisher (Matt Roth), while Dan spends the night in jail for his actions. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Roseanne hosts a surprise party for Darlene's 16th birthday. Darlene is disgusted and dyes her hair jet black, then Roseanne lets her leave while the adults enjoy the party. Meanwhile, the Tildens move in next door to the Conners and Roseanne contemplates joining in on a business opportunity with Jackie. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

This cold, stylish erotic-thriller grossed over $100 million at the box-office despite vigorous protests at its depiction of gays and women. The shocking opening sequence features a graphic sexual encounter involving a rock-star bound with a white Hermes scarf by an unidentified blond woman. Despite the fact that the scene ends with a bloody icepick murder (horrifyingly realized by makeup artist Rob Bottin), Hermes scarves quickly sold out at stores nationwide. This seeming paradox is at the heart of the film's appeal, as it mixes perverse sexuality and erotic bloodshed in a manner common to European thrillers (director Paul Verhoeven had done it himself in 1979's marvelous De Vierde Man) but mostly taboo in America. The plot concerns Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone), a successful bisexual mystery writer who may also be a ruthless murderer. Everyone close to Catherine dies, and troubled policeman Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) must find out why. In the process, Nick becomes sexually involved with both Catherine and police psychiatrist Beth Gardner (Jeanne Tripplehorn), while the bodies begin piling up and Catherine turns the cat-and-mouse game around on Nick. Verhoeven and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas -- who was paid $3 million for the script -- keep the tension ratcheted up throughout, even during the frequent sex scenes, which carry a violent edge reminiscent of the Italian thrillers of Dario Argento. The film's most notorious scene, a police interrogation in which Catherine makes drooling idiots out of her captors by revealing that she is not wearing underwear, became a cultural touchstone and was widely imitated and parodied. Sharon Stone, meanwhile, was embarrassed to the point that she claimed Verhoeven had aimed lights on strategic locations without her knowledge. George Dzundza and Dorothy Malone co-star. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Free-spirited artist Lindsay Wagner learns that she's dying from cancer. She can handle that, but she worries about the future of her 6-year-old daughter Molly Orr. Enter high-powered executive Shelley Long, Lindsay's oldest friend. Despite the fact that they obviously move in different circles, Shelley commits herself to the task of properly raising young Molly. This lachrymose TV movie suffers from surprisingly noncommital performances by its stars. Message From Holly premiered December 13, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Depressed about the break up with Becky, Mark (Glenn Quinn) gets drunk and rowdy at the Lobo Lounge and punches the jukebox. Dan picks him up, promising not to tell Becky or Roseanne about it. However, Roseanne finds out through Jackie and makes Dan pay for keeping a secret from her. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

In 1988, Nancy Klein, the pregnant wife of Long Island accountant Marty Klein, was involved in a car accident that left her comatose. Convinced that Nancy would never recover if she went to full term with the baby, Marty asked the doctors to perform an abortion. Almost immediately, Nancy Klein became a cause celebre for pro-life and pro-choice activists alike. Made for television, Absolute Strangers recreates this traumatic event and the drawn-out courtroom litigation that followed. Henry Winkler, who produced the film, returned to acting after a long absence to play Klein; others in the cast include Jennifer Hetrick as Nancy, Richard Kiley as Dr. R. J. Cannon, Karl Malden and Audra Lindley as Nancy's parents, and Patty Duke as a lower-court judge. Though it is clear that the filmmaker's sympathies are clearly on Marty Klein's side, the script remains even-handed throughout, observing that the pro-choicers can be just as narrow-minded and contentious as the "absolute strangers" who wish to usurp Marty Klein's rights concerning his wife's wellbeing. Written by playwright Robert Anderson (Tea and Sympathy, I Never Sang For My Father), Absolute Strangers premiered April 14, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

On Halloween, Roseanne goes to the Lobo Lounge dressed in drag as a lumberjack. Mistaken for a man, she gets to hang out with some local bar guys. One of the funniest and bravest episodes, the infamous urinal scene in the restroom was cut from most versions that aired in syndication. First appearance of Chuck (James Pickens Jr.) and Anne-Marie (Adilah Barnes). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Returning from a Catholic retreat, public school teacher Jill Eikenberry picks up a hitchhiker--who repays her hospitality by brutally raping her. Plunged into shame and self-hatred by the incident, she does not report the attack to the police. Only when she becomes pregnant does she tell the authorities, and her employers, what happened. The school board, assuming that Eikenberry's silence was borne of guilt, refuses to believe that she was raped and fires her. This leads to the moment that Eikenberry has always feared--reliving her violation in the courtroom. Inspired by a true story, Cast the First Stone was originally networkcast on November 13, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bill Duke directed this fact-based tale of a poor Southern black woman who rose from poverty to become an FBI agent. Retitled Johnnie Gibson F.B.I. for home video. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide