Nicole Eggert Movies

One of a few abortive attempts by B-movie legend Roger Corman to recapture the questionable glory of his 60s Edgar Allan Poe films as well as his 70s sexploitation romps, this is definitely the least entertaining of the lot. Taking massive liberties with Poe's tale, the plot involves lovely young Lenora (Nicole Eggert) being possessed by the ghost of her mother (Eggert again), who was tortured and crucified as a witch when Lenora was an infant. After a series of flashbacks, it is also revealed that Morella had intended to sacrifice her child as part of a Satanic ritual designed to give her eternal life. Lenora's creepy governess Mrs. Deveroux (Lana Clarkson) is revealed as Morella's partner in crime, as she conspires to make Lenora's possession complete -- just in time for her to collect a sizable trust on her 18th birthday. Conceived primarily as softcore exploitation, this makes Corman's earlier bastardizations of Poe's works seem positively inspired by comparison. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Although Charles in Charge fulfilled its mission to produce 100 episodes for daily strip syndication by the end of its fourth season on the air (one season on network, three in off-net), the series remained popular with young viewers, and thus was green-lighted for a fifth and final season of 26 half-hour installments. Most of the familiar cast remains intact: Scott Baio as college student and "male governess" Charles; Willie Aames as Charles' best friend Buddy; James Callahan and Sondra Kerns as Charles' employers the Powells; Nicole Eggert, Josie Davis and Alexander Polinsky as the three Powell children; and Ellen Travolta as Charles' freewheeling mom Lillian. Among the newer additions to the cast is Marlyn Mason as Julia, the steady lady friend of the Powell kids' crabby grandfather Walter Powell (Callahan). Also, several stars in the making appear in guest roles, including Tiffani Amber-Thiessen, Samantha Fox, and Pamela Anderson. The season -- and the series -- ends as Charles is accepted to Princeton's graduate school, and Ellen Travolta essays a dual role as Lillian and her twin sister Sally, who runs a car wash populated by attractive young actors. One might suspect that the series' final episode, depicting life in that car wash, was designed as a spin-off TV vehicle for the talented Ms. Travolta (though no such vehicle ever materialized). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charles in Charge begins its fourth season on the air -- and its third season in off-network syndication -- with the title character, a now-22-year-old college student, still earning his bread and board as male governess for the three Powell children: Jamie (Nicole Eggert), Sarah (Josie Davis), and Adam (Alexander Polinsky). Helping Charles perform his duties is his best friend Buddy (Willie Aames), while the Powell kids' mom Ellen (Sondra Kerns) and grandfather Walter (James Callahan) carefully watch over our hero to make sure he doesn't screw up (which he hasn't yet, at least not to any great extent!). A few changes are in store this season. First off, Charles' freewheeling mom Lillian (Ellen Travolta) purchases the cast's favorite hangout, Sid's Pizza Parlor, reconverting it into the '50s-themed Yesterday Café -- a move that does not assume full significance until the two-part episode "Charles Splits," in which a bump on the head transforms Charles into his favorite TV character, "the Fonz" from Happy Days. (Is it necessary to remind anyone that Scott Baio himself was a Happy Days alumnus?) Secondly, Justin Whelan is introduced in the role of Lillian's wise-guy nephew Anthony, who shakes things up in the Powell household for a handful of episodes. Thirdly, Charles meets the love of his life, Stephanie Curtis, played by none other than Erika Eleniak. And finally, we meet Commander Robert Powell (James O'Sullivan), long-absent husband of Charles' employer Ellen Powell, for the very first time. Guest stars this season range from veterans like Charles Nelson Reilly and Donny Most to comparative newcomers Kellie Martin and Tracey Gold. The most poignant guest appearances is that of Sally Struthers, playing a demure schoolteacher who turns out to be a fugitive '60s activist in the episode "Still at Large." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having survived its freshman year in off-network syndication (following a desultory network run a few seasons earlier), Charles in Charge returns for a third season of 26 episodes, with Scott Baio returning as the title character, a 21-year-old college student who works as male governess to the three children of the Powell family. The season opens with two-parter in which Charles is reunited with Gwendolyn Pierce (Jennifer Runyon), the girl whom he had ardently pursued back during the series' brief tenure on CBS. In subsequent episodes, Charles' mother Lillian (Ellen Travolta), having left her hometown of Scranton far behind, takes over operation of Sid's Pizza Parlor, where the entire cast congregates on a regular basis; Charles proves his mettle by organizing a homecoming celebration for Commander Powell, the long-absent Naval officer husband of his boss Ellen Powell (Sondra Kerns) -- the Commander has not yet shown up on the series -- nor will he show up in this episode; and venerable character actor Dabbs Greer (he was the "older" Tom Hanks in the movie The Green Mile) guest-stars as the crusty seafaring father of Ellen's taciturn dad Walter (James Callahan). Other familiar actors making guest appearances this season include John Astin, Mindy Cohn, Jerry Van Dyke, Jack Riley, Vito Scotti, and a very young Mark-Paul Gosselaar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two and half years after it was cancelled at the end of its first season on CBS, the youth-oriented sitcom Charles in Charge staged a spectacular revival in off-network syndication, returning to the air in most markets in January of 1987. Of the original CBS cast, only Scott Baio as 20-year-old college student Charles and Willie Aames as his best friend Buddy were carried over into the syndicated version. When last we saw Charles, he was working as "male governess" in the New Brunswick home of the Pembroke family, riding herd on the three Pembroke children, whose ages ranged from 10 to 14. In the first episode of the "new" Charles in Charge, Charles and Buddy return from a two-week camping trip only to discover that the Pembrokes (played by different actors than in the network series) have decided to move to Seattle, and to sell their home to the Powell family. Quickly ingratiating himself with Ellen Powell (Sondra Kerns) and her curmudgeonly father Walter (James Callahan), Charles manages to secure a new male-governess position, agreeing to watch over Ellen's three children while her husband, a Navy officer, is commanding a station in the South Seas. Fortunately for Charles, two of three kids are virtual carbon copies of the Pembroke children: oldest daughter Jamie (Nicole Eggert) is crazy about boys just as Lila Pembroke had been; and 12-year-old Adam (Alexander Polinsky) is very much the same carefree sprite as his "clone" Jason Pembroke. Only middle child Sarah (Josie Davis), a shy, mild-mannered girl, represents a contrast to her Pembroke counterpart, the wisecracking Douglas. Halfway through the season, Ellen Travolta makes her first appearance as Charles' free-spirited mother Lillian, whose personality clashes harshly with that of the staunch traditionalist Walter Powell. Though Lillian is supposed to make only a brief visit, she ends up moving to New Brunswick, and by the next season she'll be a full-fledged regular. Although the budget of the syndicated Charles in Charge was lower than that of the CBS version, the producers did not cut corners in their choice of talented and instantly recognizable guest performers. Among the actors showing up in the series' first 24 off-network offerings are Ben Stein, Betsy Palmer, Robert Costanzo, Michael Dorn, Kay Lenz, and Michelle Johnson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Made for television, When Hell Was in Session is the true story of Navy commander Jonathan Denton Jr., here played by Hal Holbrook. Shot down during a bombing mission over Vietnam in 1965, Denton endured nearly eight horrendous years as a POW. The plot details Denton's efforts to organize a resistance movement among his fellow prisoners. The film concludes with a powerful re-enactment of Denton's homecoming, as originally seen by millions of American televiewers in 1973. Based on the book by Denton and Ed Brandt, When Hell Was in Session debuted October 8, 1979 ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A businessman finds that denial is his only coping mechanism when faced with his wife's constant physical abuse of their daughter. His idea of a solution is to move them to a new town. When that fails, he finds himself faced with painful choices. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide