Melinda McGraw Movies

A celebrated Broadway director finds his life turned upside down while attempting to raise funding for his big comeback in this contemporary screwball comedy starring Jeffrey Tambor. Harris Chappell (Tambor) wasn't made for Hollywood. When his movie career hits the skids, he hightails it right back to Manhattan. Harris is convinced that he can recapture his status as one of Broadway's leading directors, and heads straight for Frankie & Johnnie's for a meeting with his ex Didi (Melinda McGraw) and a talented young actor named Spencer (Jesse Plemons). All Harris needs is one unqualified hit to re-launch his career, but as the night wears on nothing goes as planned, both his resolve and his sanity gradually begin to erode. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

What sinister scheme can George Williams (Roger Bart) have in mind to steal Bree (Marcia Cross) away from Rex (Steven Culp)? Will Lynette (Felicity Huffman) suffer from the presence of her husband Tom's former girlfriend Annabel Foster (Melinda McGraw) when Annabel is hired by Tom's firm? Does Susan's daughter, Julie (Andrea Bowen), have anything to fear from the increasingly obsessive Zach (Cody Kasch)? How will Edie (Nicollette Sheridan) explain away her illegal home invasion? And here's a question we can answer without any problem at all: will Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) be lonely during the eight months that Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) is in jail? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

There's intrigue aplenty as Desperate Housewives approaches the end of its first season. Still unaware that George (Roger Bart) is more than a passive observer vis-à-vis her husband's illness, Bree (Marcia Cross) falls for George's lie that Rex (Steven Culp) has been bragging about their kinky bedroom escapades; the confrontation that results between her and Rex leads to a drastic downturn in his health. Edie goes into "hell hath no fury" mode when Susan (Teri Hatcher) and Mike (James Denton) move in together. Lynette (Felicity Huffman) unintentionally causes Tom (Doug Savant) to lose his job in her efforts to foil her would-be romantic rival Annabel (Melinda McGraw). And when Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) learns how her birth-control prescription has been tampered with, she angrily tells Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) that he may not be the father, and he reacts in a manner that gets seven more years tacked on to his jail sentence. Alfre Woodard and Mehcad Brooks make their first series appearances as Betty and Josh Applewhite. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Nathan Lane received an Emmy nomination for his portrayal of a visiting college film professor. Upon learning that this was the prof to whom his wife, Jamie (Helen Hunt), surrendered her virginity many years ago, Paul (Paul Reiser) reacts in an unpredictable fashion. Meanwhile, Ira (John Pankow) once again dates a woman with ulterior motives -- or should we say "grave motives." ~ Rovi

Asking the question, "Can't we all get along?," this TV sitcom attempts to shatter stereotypes with a satirical focus on upwardly mobile suburban couples in a gated, planned community. The arrival of black radio disc jockey Curtis Cook (Dondre T. Whitfield) and his pregnant wife Tamara (Kira Arne) elicit a variety of reactions, including one neighbor who accuses the Cooks of stealing his barbecue grill and another who believes Curtis is the gun-carrying punk who robbed him at an ATM. Various neighborz in the 'hood include Prozac-popping, blocked writer Will Marek (Matthew Letscher) and his wife, Jewish attorney Becca (Melinda McGraw); plus bigoted, gold-chained muffler king Carmine Santucci (Lenny Venito) and his trophy wife Lisa (Mia Cottet). Keeping Woodland Heights safe from intruders is beleaguered security guard Gordon (Terry Rhoads), teetering on a mental precipice. After the intro to these people in the pilot, subsequent episodes turn the spotlight from racism toward sexual insecurities and other areas ripe for social satire. This series has been compared to the '70s sitcom All in the Family, starring Carroll O'Conner as lovable bigot Archie Bunker. Filmed in L.A., Living in Captivity premiered September 11, 1998 on Fox. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Actor Kevin Spacey made his directorial debut with this thriller. Dova (Matt Dillon), Milo (Gary Sinise), and Law (William Fichtner) are three small-time crooks on the run after a botched robbery of a New Orleans warehouse led to a car chase, causing the death of two cops. Needing a place to hide, with Milo seriously injured, they sneak into Dino's Last Chance Bar, a shot-and-a-beer joint located on a side street in a basement. Before long, the bar is surrounded by a squadron of Federal agents and SWAT officers. The three robbers are convinced that the cops are trying to flush them out, but it turns out that they aren't the only crooks in search of a cold beer at Dino's. Smart-suited Guy (Viggo Mortensen) is actually an international dealer in illegal arms that the cops were trailing when they stumbled across the robbery gone wrong. As police negotiator Browning (Joe Mantegna) tries to get the bad guys to come out peacefully, the bar's patrons -- pool shooting Danny (Skeet Ulrich), aging beauty Janet (Faye Dunaway), and boozehound Jack (John Spencer) -- beg for mercy as Dova hatches a scheme that involves killing Guy and all the patrons. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Season two of The Commish finds unorthodox, freewheeling Tony Scali (Michael Chiklis) still securely installed as police commissioner in the suburban New York community of Eastbridge. There have, however, been some changes within Tony's circle of associates: Chief of Detectives Paulie Pentangeli has been succeeded by Cyd Madison (Melinda McGraw), and officer Jonathan Papdakis (Ray Scrivano) has been added to the roster. Likewise, the population of Scali's own home has been altered somewhat: wife Rachel (Theresa Saldana) has given birth to daughter Sarah (played by twin infants Dayna and Justine Cornborough), and Tony's freeloading brother-in-law Arnie (played during Season One by David Paymer) will have moved out by season's end. In the two-part season opener "Adventures in the Skin Trade", Tony goes undercover in the porn-film industry to locate a missing person--and gets kidnapped in the process. Subsequent episodes touch upon such issues as vigilante justice, high-class call girls, 20th century witchcraft, TV reality shows and "blue flu." Guest stars include game-show host Pat Sajak as a psychiatrist in "The Two Faces of Ed," Stella Stevens as a faded movie star in "Eastbridge Boulevard," and, in one of his last TV outings, Telly Savalas as a retired (?) racketeer in "The Frame" and the two-part "Family Business." The second season ends on a cliffhanger as Tony's wife, Rachel, considers leaving her family to accept a job out of town. ~ Rovi

Based on the life and career of Tony Schembri, police chief of Rye, NY, the weekly, hour-long ABC crime series The Commish starred Michael Chiklis as Tony Scali, police commissioner of the fictional New York community of Eastbridge. Although dedicated to his job and extremely tough on perpetrators, Tony often took an unorthodox approach to police methods, and he was often known to be quite a jovial fellow amongst his co-workers. Tony also enjoyed his "down time," especially with his wife, Rachel (Theresa Saldana), son David (Kaj-Erik Eriksen), and infant daughter Sarah (played by twins Dayna and Justine Cornborough), who was born at the end of the series' first season. Anoher member of the Scali household -- at least during the show's first year or so on the air -- was Tony's cheerfully indolent brother-in-law, Arnie Metzger (David Paymer). Back on the job, Tony's associates included three different Chief of Detectives: Irv Wallerstein (Alex Bruhanski), Paulie Pentangeli (John Cygan), and Cyd Madison (Melinda McGraw). Among the other crew members were officer Stan Kelly (Geoffrey Nauffts), who is killed by a car bombing at the end of season three, patrol car officer Ricky Caruso (Nicholas Lea) and his partner officer Carmela Pagan (Gina Belafonte), officers Jonathan Papdakis (Ray Scrivano), Gordy Tuefel (Michael Patten), and Mike Rose (Pat Bermel) and detectives Lopez (Jason Scott Schombing) and Hibbs (Ian Tracey). Another fine product from Stephen J. Cannell's production firm, The Commish was filmed in its entirety in Vancouver, despite its distinctively "New Yawk" setting and attitude. The series lasted four full season, plus a limited run of four "movie specials" in 1995. ~ Rovi