Michael Weatherly

Season Three of NCIs opens on a melancholy note, as the Naval Criminal Investigate Service team headed by the iconoclastic Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) mourns the death of team member Caitlin "Kate" Todd (Shana Alexander) at the hands of ruthless terrorist Ari (Rudolf Martin) (though actress Alexander had left the series, she would return in "ghostly" form once or twice). Gibbs' response to the loss is encapsulated in the title of the two-part season opener, "Kill Ari", which introduces Cote de Pablo as new NCI member Ziva David, a former Mossad officer who also has a score to settle with Ari. Another new regular is introduced in the episode "Silver War": Lauren Holly as NCIs director Jenny Shepard, who replaces former director Tom Morrow (Alan Dale) when the latter joins the Homeland Security department. Jenny's arrival adds a whole new dimension to the series, inasmuch as she had previously been the partner--and lover--of Leroy Gibbs. In addition to these newcomers, together with longtime series stalwarts Michael Weatherly (Tony DiNozzo), Pauley Perrette (Abigail Sciuto), Sean Murray (Tim McGee) and David McCallum (Donald "Ducky" Mallard), the third season also marks the debut appearances of recurring characters Stephanie Mello as Cynthia Summer and Muse Watson as Michael Franks. Throughout the season, the viewer is offered seconds-lasting flashbacks to the jealously guarded past of NCI team head Gibbs, culminating in the revelation that the first of his three wives was murdered, along with his daughter. This information comes to surface during the two-part finale "Hiatus", wherein Tony DiNozzo is put in charge of the team while Gibbs is recovering from a serious injury which may rob him of his memory--a tragedy that could not happen at a worse time, inasmuch as Gibbs is the only person who knows the modus operandi of a vicious terrorist group which threatens the lives of everyone whom the viewer cares about! Incidentally, there's a bit of benevolent nepotism afoot during NCI's third season. Appearing in key roles as Michael Bellisario and Troian Bellisario--the real-life offspring of series producer/creator Donald P. Bellisario. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This three-hour TV biopic of actress Natalie Wood emulates Citizen Kane by beginning at the end -- the tragically ironic drowning death of the water-phobic actress in 1981 -- then recounts her life story in flashback. Justine Waddell plays the adult Natalie, with younger performers Elizabeth Rice, Candice Moore, and Nadia Scappa portraying the actress in various stages of childhood, adolescence, and puberty. Although little Natasha Gurdin's Russian-born mother and father (here played by Colin Friels and Alice Krige) had drive and ambition, it was the girl herself who energetically and enthusiastically promoted her career as a child star named "Natalie Wood," and it was Natalie herself who demanded that producer stop casting her in cute-kid and ingenue roles and take her seriously as an adult -- even before she technically was one. Naturally, the film recounts Natalie's marriage to actor Robert Wagner (Michael Weatherley), the breakup of the union as she pursued affairs with the likes of Warren Beatty (Matthew Settle), and Wood and Wagner's ultimate reconciliation and remarriage. One might assume that the "mystery" of the film's title is Natalie's death by drowning -- to this day, no one quite knows how she managed to end up in the water -- but it also manifested in the enigma of Natalie herself, a woman who despite her aggressive and unending pursuit of fame and stardom might well have willingly given it all up just to be a wife and mother. In fine old Hollywood-biography tradition, the movie boasts an endless parade of celebrity lookalikes impersonating such friends and colleagues of Natalie Wood as James Dean, Edmund Gwenn, Marilyn Monroe, and directors Irving Pichel, Elia Kazan, and Nicholas Ray, as well as several real-life celebs offering their reflections on the film's protagonist, notably Margaret O'Brien, Robert Vaughn, and Henry Jaglom. Directed by no less than Peter Bogdanovich, The Mystery of Natalie Wood first aired over ABC on March 1, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service was the somewhat redundant official title of this popular "procedural" series during its first season on the air. Mark Harmon tops the cast as the rule-bending, intensely private Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the head of an elite NCI team specializing in solving baffling crimes related to US Navy personnel. Gibbs' cohorts during this season include tough, outspoken Caitlin"Kate" Todd (Shana Alexander), former Baltimore homicide detective (and flagrant womanizer) Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), caffeine-addicted, goth-girl technogeek Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette); and all-knowing, long-winded chief lab technician Donald "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum). Though the two-part pilot episode was filmed for the military-legal series JAG, it was not shown until several weeks after NCIs proper premiered with its debut episode "Yankee White" (in the pilot, Robyn Lively is seen as Viv Blackadder, the character that eventually morphed into Abby Sciuto). Its plot involving a mysterious death during a flight of Air Force One, "Yankee White" introduces several recurring characters: Alan Dale as NCIs director Tom Morrow, Joe Spano as FBI agent Fornell and Pancho Demmings as Ducky's assistant Gerald Jackson. Another frequently seen character, Special Agent Paula Cassidy, first shows up in "Minimum Security", while Gerald Jackson's ultimate replacement Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen makes his bow in "Split Decision". Finally, "Sub Rosa" marks the initial appearance of MIT-educated lab tech Tim McGee (Sean Murray), who would join the cast as a regular in Season Two. The series' second episode, "Hung Out to Dry", is something of a crossover, with Patrick Labyorteaux appearing in his JAG characterization of Lt. Bud Roberts. "My Other Left Foot" is a reunion of sorts for onetime St. Elsewhere regulars Mark Harmon and Bonnie Bartlett. And "Bete Noire" introduces the series' most vicious antagonist, Ari Haswari (Rudolf Martin--Hamad/Mossad double agent, terrorist, master of disguise, and ultimate assassin of one of the show's best-loved characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A genetically altered teenager named Max (Jessica Alba) escapes from the clutches of government scientists and lives amidst the Seattle underground in this six-disc collection which features the entire first season of the sci-fi action cult favorite Dark Angel. All of the episodes included have been transferred to disc in their original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and the audio is mastered in Dolby Digital Surround. The episodes were originally in English, but in addition, alternate dubbed tracks in French and Spanish are included, as well as subtitles in English and Spanish. Four of the episodes include additional audio commentaries from members of the cast and crew, along with a handful of other bonus features -- three featurettes on the production of the series ("Genesis," "Creating An X-5," and "Seattle Ain't What It Used to Be"), a chapter of bloopers and outtakes, highlights from the cast auditions, and a preview of the video game based on the series. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A writer's deadly secret is about to rise to the surface in this made-for-TV suspense thriller. Stanley Caldwell (Judd Nelson) is a screenwriter working on a story for a suspense film about a lunatic who kidnaps and murders young women. However, Stanley's research methods are more than a bit unusual -- he actually does kidnap women, and once he's learned as much as he thinks he can from them, he disposes of their bodies by drowning them in a nearby lake. Stanley's buddies who work at a special effects company don't suspect anything could be wrong, nor does the local sheriff Boone Preston (Michael Weatherly), but when Stanley snatches Mallory (Hedy Burress), a pretty but iron-willed teenager, he may have finally found a victim who can outwit him and put a stop to his twisted game. Cabin by the Lake was produced and first aired by the USA cable network. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this Fox drama series, Los Angeles angst permeates a group of lifelong friends -- Campbell (Eion Bailey), Henry (Scott Bairstow), and Nell (Jennifer Garner). Website porn author Henry moves in with Nell, but after they break up, he takes an interest in married porn-queen Charlotte (Gigi Rice). Campbell, learning an ex-girlfriend might marry his older brother Ben (Michael Weatherly), deals with his feelings by shooting some pool. In the second episode, a final birthday party is planned for someone who's HIV positive, while Campbell plans to make a children's video about farm animals. Premiered March 11, 1998 on Fox. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

In this sci-fi thriller, Harper (Isabella Hoffman) is a reconnaissance agent from an alien civilization sent to Earth to study the planet and its inhabitants. Harper has taken over the body of a human being in order to not seem conspicuous, and has been performing tests to see if her mind control techniques will make it possible for her people to enslave the human race. But Harper has learned that most of the earthlings do not respond to her methods, and another three alien scouts -- Alpha, Bravo, and Charley -- are sent to see if the path can be cleared for a massive invasion of the planet three days hence. While Harper's new comrades show little concern or compassion for human beings, she has developed an understanding of humans during her six months on the planet and is no longer certain that taking over the planet is a good idea. The Advanced Guard also stars James Avery, Michael Weatherly, and Jeff Kober. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide