Erik Estrada Movies

Designed as a brief replacement for the on-hiatus Jericho, the CBS reality series Armed & Famous has been described as a combination of Cops and The Surreal Life. Five celebrities were chosen to train and perform as patrol officers in the Muncie, Indiana police department. The lucky "rookies" included former ChiPs star Erik Estrada, singer LaToya Jackson, wrestler Trish Stratus, Jackass fall guy Jason "Wee-Man" Acuna, and, perhaps inevitably, a member of the famously dysfunctional Osbourne clan, in this case Jack Osbourne. The quintet underwent the standard rigorous training before being partnered with genuine officers and sent out for street duty. Along the way, the stars made arrests, handed out tickets, and even went undercover (in one episode, the female celebs posed as hookers). Much of the series' fun derived from the sporadic temperamental outbursts by Estrada, and the dithery starstruck behavior of the "perps" when they realized who was arresting them! Armed & Famous ran from January 9 through 24, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A presentation of the daily PBS Kids programming block, Maya & Miguel was a Latino-flavored educational cartoon series geared for children aged 5 through 11. Maya Santos was a lively 10-year-old Hispanic girl who was insatiably curious about the world around her, and who also came up with a million and one ideas to help those around her--in short, a well-meaning busybody, who invariably learned an important Life Lesson, or a new aspect of Latino culture and history, the end of each half-hour episode. Maya was accompanied in her exploits by her twin brother Miguel, her 7-year-old Mexican cousion Tito, and her ethnically diverse friends, among them Chrissy, Maggie, Theo and Andy. The adult characters included Maya and Miguel's incredibly supportive parents Miguel and Rosa, the kids' warm-hearted grandmother Abuela Elena, and friendly neighborhood mailman Senor Felipe. The Hispanic characters all spoke bilingually, switching from English to Spanish and back again with exhilarating abandon. Produced by Scholastic Productions and funded in part by a cooperative agreement between PBS, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the US Department of Education, Maya & Miguel debuted October 1, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Erik Estrada stars in this straight-to-video sci-fi-action flick featuring the former CHiPs man as a blind psychic cop investigating the killing of a highly ranked government scientist. L.A.P.D. detective Frank Moreno (Estrada) is a top cop that gets a little too close to a murder investigation which lands him in a hospital bed after being horribly electrocuted. Waking up, Frank realizes his sight is gone, but in its place are extraordinary ESP powers. Sightless, the detective reopens the case and is soon on the run from a national security agent (Robert Vaughn) and his team of corrupt government agents who hope to un-coif his hair and silence his psychic powers before their plan is destroyed. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

In the tradition of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, the adult animated series Sealab 2021 lifted footage from an old, obscure Hanna-Barbera kiddie cartoon show, reedited the material, and composited the images over newly drawn backgrounds. In this case, the "original" series was Sealab 2020, which was first seen on NBC during the 1972-1973 season. One of several "serious" H-B efforts of the era, the first Sealab took place in the early 21st century and was set in a domed experimental city several miles beneath the sea. Boasting a population of 250, Sealab was commandeered by oceanographer Dr. Paul Williams with the assistance of Captain Mike Murphy, Murphy's niece, Sallie, and nephew, Bobby, and the three Sealab aquanauts who had rescued Murphy et al. from a watery doom: Hal, Ed, and Gail. And, oh yes, there was a comedy-relief dolphin named Tubby. Developed by Adam Reed and Matt Thompson and first aired as a trio of pilot films on the Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" anthology in 2000, Sealab 2021 was a wickedly satirical sendup on the earlier series, top-heavy with sexual references and scatological humor. The premise: The earth's ecological system had totally broken down, forcing the Sealab crew to remain underwater indefinitely. After being cooped up for a full year (hence the series' title), the crew had broken down as well, at least in terms of morale and inhibitions. Foul-mouthed, ill-mannered Captain Murphy--now known as "Hazel" to certain intimates--had no control over his randy subordinates, who in addition to becoming insatiably hedonistic were also terminally indolent and careless, causing one apocalyptic disaster after another. The series was a cornucopia of "inside" jokes for cartoon buffs and TV fans alike, especially in its choice of voice talent, which included TV-series icons Brett Butler and Erik Estrada. The irreverence spilled over into the closing credits in which the name of series producer Mike Lazzo was invariably misspelled. Also featured were cool, crazy excerpts from contemporary and "classic" rock albums. The weekly 15-minute series version of Sealab 2021 first aired on September 2, 2001. ~ All Movie Guide

When an airborne lightning strike kills the entire flight crew of a Europe-bound Boeing 747 during take-off, it is up to a brave senior flight attendant and a host of people on the ground to see the passengers to safety. The stewardess finds assistance from a passenger, and together they figure out that their best hope lies with the plane's sophisticated autopilot system. Unfortunately, it is working indiscriminately and guiding the crippled jet towards airports not large enough to safely land the giant craft. They are on the own when radio contact is lost. While the two them try to handle the jet and keep passengers calm, federal officials on the ground are faced with a horrendous decision. With no working autopilot and no experienced person to land the jet, the loss of life could be disastrous if the plane goes down in a heavily populated area. The officials are therefore faced with the prospect of shooting down the jet before that happens. But what about the passengers on board? ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this broad comedy, two buddies named Frank, with more ambition than sense, are en route to Hollywood in hopes of breaking into the movie business when they accidentally witness a Mafia execution. Before they know it, they're witnesses in a criminal case the FBI is preparing against the Mob, and the two Franks are suddenly being chased by Mafia hit men. The Franks get the "brilliant" idea of disguising themselves as women and posing as make-up artists at an upcoming beauty pageant to avoid being killed -- not knowing that this event is also controlled by the mob. The Naked Truth features M. Emmet Walsh, Erik Estrada, Shannon Tweed, Little Richard and Billy Barty. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, a deaf boy must prove that there is a murderous arsonist loose in his neighborhood. He can stop the killer if he can convince someone to listen to him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, a seductive young woman returns to the home of her step-father, after having spent the last few years in an institution for the criminally insane for killing her mother, and causes all sorts of trouble. She comes in the midst of a terrible thunderstorm. Her step-daddy's girl friend Michelle is not pleased by Angel's sudden appearance, for she is truly a luscious lass. Meanwhile realtor, step-father Steven has his own problems as he and his partner have borrowed a fortune, from violent loan shark Johnny, to finance a failing Palm Springs condo scheme. In Johnny's business defaulting on loans is usually fatal and now he wants Steven to pay up, so he sends out his best killer. Back at home Angel uses her considerable physical charms on both Steven and Michelle to convince them to allow her to stay. When the killer suddenly shows up, Angel gets him into the sack and that's when all hell breaks loose. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This crazy-quilt melange was originally released as Andy Colby's Incredibly Awesome Adventure; apparently it was retitled to avoid confusion with the very similar Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Randy Josselyn plays Andy Colby, a 12-year-old videotape addict. Making a visit to the local rental store, Andy comes across a cassette titled "Incredible Video Adventure". A weird-looking video clerk (isn't that a bit redundant) warns Andy in Gremlins fashion that he must not sit too close to the TV while watching the tape, and he must never, ever let loose of the remote control. Alas, Andy breaks both those rules-whereupon he and his little sister Bonnie (Jessica Puscas) are sucked into a maelstrom of thrills and adventure. Most of the highlights are culled from previous Roger Corman productions like Space Raiders, Wizards of the Lost Kingdom, Deathsport, Chopping Mall and Wheels of Fire. In other words, it's a feature-length "cheater," a hodgepodge of past cinematic glories. The young stars perform as well as possible under the circumstances (it's hard to be convincing while reacting to stock footage), but the film's acting honors go to Chuck Kovacic as the wigged-out villain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy-drama set in Washington, D.C., an ex-burglar and a dumbbell detective must team up to solve several puzzling murders. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a three-part story, McCall (Stepfanie Kramer]) is strangely recluctant to report her near-rape at the hands of the predatory Lloyd Fredericks (Frederick Coffin). Elsewhere, while rounding up a band of Satan worshippers, Hunter (Fred Dryer) is forced into another "shoot first and ask questions later" confrontation. And justice is meted out in a most unexpected fashion to the eminently corrupt jurist Warren Unger (Robert Reed). This episode was adapted from a novel by former police detective Dallas L. Barnes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide