Nancy Miller Movies

Oscar winner Holly Hunter made her TV series debut in the gritty semi-fantasy Saving Grace. Hunter was cast as Oklahoma City police detective Grace Hanadarko, who after the death of her sister in the Murrah Building bombing of 1995 had turned her back on God and taken the first step down the road to self-destruction. Drowning her problems in booze and clouding her neuroses in cigarette smoke, Grace also degraded herself with a long line of dead-end romances, most recently with her married partner Ham Dewey (Kenny Johnson). Late one night, while driving drunk, Grace was involved in a terrible car crash. She was plucked from certain death by the enigmatic Earl (Leon Rippy) a "last chance" angel who had been giving the unenviable task of helping Grace find redemption before it was too late. Far from grateful, Grace constantly groused about Earl's unorthodox methods and the fact that she no longer had control over her own life; but little by little, our hard-bitten heroine began to turn her life around, beginning with her affectionate treatment of her late sister's troubled son, Clay (Dylan Minnette). Even so, it was hard for Grace to convince her co-workers that an angel had entered her life -- all except for forensic specialist Rhetta Rodriguez (Laura San Giacomo), a deeply religious woman who was estranged from her family because of her unwillingness to "judge" anyone. Besides Grace, the only other person able to see Earl was death-row inmate Leon Cooley (Bokeem Woodbine), who likewise had precious little time to save his own soul. Rounding out the regulars were Detective Butch Ada (Bailey Chase), former college athlete and one of Grace's discarded lovers; and Detective Bobby Stillwater (Gregory Norman Cruz), a devoted family man with a burning desire to make the world a better place (though he didn't quite know how). Saving Grace premiered July 23, 2007, on the TNT cable channel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A spin-off of the immensely popular cop drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, this CBS series provided steady work for two former regulars from ABC NYPD Blue: David Caruso and Kim Delaney. Assigned to head the CSI unit in Miami ( whose jurisdiction included the beach, the Everglades, and much of "Alligator Alley"), ex-homicide detective Horatio Caine (Caruso) preferred to work instinctively, while the unit's brilliant DNA specialist Megan Donner (Delaney) was strictly "by the book." Others in the cast included Emily Procter as Southern-accented ballistics expert Calli Duquesne, Adam Rodriguez as underwater-recovery specialist Eric Delko, Rory Cochrane as streetwise investigator Tim Speedle, and Khandi Alexander as sharp-witting coroner Alexx Woods. Unlike their CSI: Crime Scene Investigation counterparts, who exclusively dealt in detection, the Miami operatives could make arrests. Reportedly, the casting of Kim Delaney obliged the producers to cut down the screen time of the series' other two female regulars, but that was typical in the big bad world of personality-driven television. CSI: Miami was pushed onto the CBS prime-time schedule amidst an enormous publicity blitz on September 23, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Fifty-three people die in a fire at a private Manhattan nightclub. Suspects include a disgruntled patron who was not allowed entry to the popular night-spot, and a rival club owner. But as the investigation proceeds, the trail of evidence leads to a particularly nasty green card scam, targeting illegal aliens. This episode is distinguished by its impressive supporting cast of Hispanic actors. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi