Michael Ross Movies

Guy (Richard Roxburgh), a lonely bachelor, meets the woman of his dreams in Lizzie (Cate Blanchett), an impossibly beautiful doctor with elegance, style, and sophistication. Their six-week courtship leads to marriage, and the wedding is a big one, with 100 guests and a posh reception that never ends. It's during the reception that Guy begins to have flashbacks -- and second thoughts -- about Jenny (Frances O'Connor), the free-spirited woman who was his first love and who is the opposite of Lizzie. The more he thinks about warm and fun-loving Jenny, the more he sees Lizzie as cold and remote. Although it's a little late in the game to be getting cold feet, that's exactly what Guy has.

~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide

Harry (Harry Anderson) offers his chambers as a safe harbor for rock star Eddie Devon (Michael Ross), who during his six years of celebrity has been mercilessly besieged by a parisitic entourage, an opportunistic psychiatrist (Stuart Pankin), and a swarm of crazy fans. Alas, Eddie's short spurt of freedom doesn't last too long. By episode's end, a covey of fans have taken over the courtroom roof--and Eddie is trapped in the elevator shaft! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

By the time The Jeffersons set forth upon its eleventh season in the fall of 1984, the series had been out of the Top 25 programs for nearly two years. In fine sitcom tradition, the producers tried to remedy the situation by first changing the time slot (from Sundays to Tuesdays, beginning in January 1985) and then introducing a new character -- though this one was not "new" at all, merely remodelled. In the spring of 1980, George and Louise Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford) had become grandparents when their son Lionel (Mike Evans) and daughter-in-law Jenny (Berlinda Tolbert) brought forth a baby daughter, Jessica. This character had been virtually written out when both Evans and Tolbert left the series, and viewers were clearly unhappy. There was nothing to do but to bring Jessica back. Ebonie Smith was cast as Jessica, who through the magic of network television had grown into a healthy eight-year-old within a mere four-year span. While Jessica was a welcome addition, The Jeffersons itself was clearly tired and played out (as evidenced by its wearisome reliance upon celebrity guest stars in several episodes). Still, the cast assumed that the show would be renewed for a 12th season, and accordingly did not bother with taping a "grand finale," closing out the season with a standard, open-ended story line. But CBS had other plans, and with the telecast of the 253rd episode on June 26, 1985, the 11-year saga of The Jeffersons came to an abrupt end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ending its eighth season as the third top-rated TV series in America, The Jeffersons was assured its usual Sunday night CBS berth for a ninth season, beginning in the fall of 1981. Conspicuous by their absence were former series regulars Mike Evans (as Lionel Jefferson), Berlinda Tolbert (as Jenny Willis Jefferson) and Paul Benedict (as Harry Bentley), though both Evans and Tolbert would pop up as "guest stars" and Bentley would be seen in a smattering of episodes filmed for season eight but held back until the following year. Like many another long-running sitcom, The Jeffersons was beginning to show its age, most notably in its paucity of fresh and original story angles. The actors, too, seemed to be more subdued than in previous seasons -- especially Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson, whose energy level had cooled considerably. The seemingly phlegmatic attitude of the series' cast and production crew spilled over into its fan following: The Jeffersons dropped from third to 12th place in the ratings, and would continue to drop throughout its final two years of existence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Its popularity having grown apace since its move to a Sunday night time slot in June 1979, The Jeffersons remained on CBS' Sunday Prime Time manifest as it launched its eighth season in the fall of 1981. Season eight would ultimately yield more first-run episodes than any previous season (27 in all), due to the producers' foresighted decision to "stockpile" new episodes during season seven in the event of another Hollywood union strike such as the one that disrupted production in 1980. At the end of The Jeffersons' 1980-1981 season, Marla Gibbs' character of sassy housekeeper Florence Johnston had been spun off into her own starring series, Checking In, which found Florence appointed as executive housekeeper for the posh St. Frederick Hotel. Alas, Checking In, which premiered April 9, 1981, ran a piddling four episodes. This necessitated Florence's return to The Jeffersons, which in turn required a two-part episode titled "Florence Did It Different," in which it was "explained" that Florence was rehired by George and Louise Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford) after the St. Frederick burned to the ground. (No one missed Florence's temporary replacement in the Jefferson household, a maid named Carmen played by Roseanna Christensen). Though Florence was back, several other Jeffersons' regulars were on their way out. Both Mike Evans and Berlinda Tolbert, cast respectively as Lionel Jefferson and Lionel's wife Jenny, had decided to leave the series at the end of season eight. Though their characters weren't precisely written out, Evans and Tolbert would henceforth be seen only in a sporadic "guest-star" capacity (The couple's infant daughter Jessica, previously all but invisible, finally appeared during the eighth season, played by twin girls Erin and Leslie Holland). And Paul Benedict, who'd been in the series from the beginning as the Jeffersons' eccentric British neighbor Harry Bentley, likewise ankled The Jeffersons in the spring of 1981 -- though he would return, again as a regular, two years later. The Jeffersons closed out its eighth season as the third highest-rated network series -- its most lofty ratings perch ever, and one that it would never attain again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide