John Romano Movies

Set in Philadelphia during the early '60s, the NBC drama series American Dreams concentrated on the Pryors, an Irish-Catholic family struggling to make sense of the great sociological changes being wrought upon the world -- and themselves. The first episode, ostensibly built around the determination of 15-year-old Meg Pryor (Brittany Snow) to appear on the locally produced TV dance show American Bandstand (whose host, Dick Clark, was one of American Dreams' executive producers), veered sharply into an entirely different direction with the announcement that President Kennedy had been assassinated in Dallas, an event that would inexorably shape the future of the entire family. Other characters included family patriarch Jack Pryor (Tom Verica), the traditionalist owner of a TV sales shop; Jack's wife Helen (Gail O'Grady), an incipient feminist who had begun to realize that a whole new world existed outside of her home and family; son J.J. (Will Estes), whose plans to attend Notre Dame on a football scholarship were sidetracked by his blossoming radicalism; the two younger Pryor children, Will (Ethan Dampf) and Patty (Sarah Ramos); Meg's best friend Roxanne (Vanessa Lengies); and the family's African-American friends, Henry and Sam Walker (Jonathan Adams, Arlen Escarpeta). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An unusually well photographed and acted TV movie, Dark Angel is set in New Orleans, home turf of enigmatic Cajun detective Walter D'Arcangelo (Eric Roberts). The detective's present assignment finds him going undercover in the seamier districts of the Big Easy in order to trap a serial killer who preys exclusively on adulterous wives. In time-honored movie tradition, the elusive killer sends out cryptic clues to the relentless D'Arcangelo, who throughout his investigation is wrestling with some rather persistent demons of his own. Things come to a head when D'Arcangelo himself is suspected of being the very murderer he seeks! Dark Angel made its initial Fox network appearance on September 10, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season One of the Dallas spinoff Knots Landing begins as Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford), ex-alcoholic "black sheep" of the oil-rich Ewing clan, moves from Texas to Southern California with his long-suffering wife Val (Joan Van Ark). The couple make their new home in the cul-de-sac community of Knots Landing, living in the house bought for Gary by his mother Miss Ellie. The Ewings' new neighbors include Sid Fairgate (Don Murray), Gary's boss at Knots Landing Motors,and Sid's wife Karen (Michele Lee) and children Diana (Claudia Lonow), Michael (Pat Petersen) and Eric (Steve Shaw); record executive Kenny Ward (James Houghton) and his wife Ginger (Kim Lankford); and attorney Richard Avery (John Pleshette) and his real-estate agent spouse Laura (Constance McCashlin). Justin Dana is seen in the first episode as the Averys' son Justin, but will be immediately replaced by Danny Gellis) In the course of events (and WHAT events!) during the first season, Karen will become pregnant and miscarry; Julie Harris will make her first appearance as Val's troublesome mother Lilimae Clements, though she won't become a regular until Season Three; Sid Fairgate will endure run-ins with his ex-wife and his daughter from the previous marriage; and in the two-part season finale, Gary overcelebrates upon being appointed VP of Knots Landings Motors, falls off the wagon, and ends up drunk as a skunk in a cheap flophouse before being rescued by the ever-faithful Val. This season also marks a handful of crossover appearances from the Dallas cast, notably Larry Hagman as Gary's conniving brother J.R. Ewing and Charlene Tilton as Gary's bed-hopping daughter Lucy (who, curiously, is seen but once on Knot's Landing). Despite the popularity of its parent series, Knots Landing languished in the ratings during its first season. Clearly, what was needed was a compelling reason for viewers to tune in week after week. What was needed was the sort of "villain you love to hate" personified by Dallas' J.R. What was needed was Donna Mills as Abby Cunningham. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season Three of Knots Landing picks up where the previous season left off, as Sid Fairgate (Don Murray), owner of Knots Landing Motors and the boss of series protagonist Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford), hovers between life and death after his car "accidentally" plummets over a cliff, the end result of Sid's cooperation with the FBI in bringing the crooked owners of the Orchid Cab Company to justice. Ultimately Sid dies, leaving his wife Karen (Michelle Lee) in charge of the family business. Karen's partners in this endeavor are the aforementioned Gary Ewing, and Sid's conniving, predatory sister Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills). In other developments this season, Julie Harris joins the cast as Lilimae Clements, the mercurial, slightly larcenous mother of Gary's long-suffering spouse Val (Joan Van Ark); Val herself pens a "roman a clef" about the oil-rich Ewing family titled "Capricorn Crude"; and Karen Fairgate's brother Joe Cooper (Steven Macht) makes the first of several memorable appearances. The season ends as Abby finally succeeds in her strenuous efforts to get Gary into bed with her--and with Val walking out on Gary when she realizes anew that he can't be trusted as far as he can be thrown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The fourth-season murder of singer Cijji Dunne still looms large over the main characters of Knots Landing as the series launches its fifth year on the air. After briefly suspecting Cijji's erstwhile lover Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford) and Gary's wife Val (Joan Van Ark), Federal prosecutor Mack McKenzie (Kevin Dobson) concludes that the guilty party is Chip Robert (Michael Sabatino), the unscrupulous literary agent who'd been representing Val's efforts to promote her novel. Though Chip manages to skip town, he is brought to justice--temporarily, at least--when he is "accidentally" struck down by the car driven by Val's mercurial mother Lilimae (Julie Harris). In a plot development of more wide-ranging significance, Gary Ewing moves out of his cul-de-sac home in Knots Landing and into their new ranch, using money left to Gary by his late oil-magnate father Jock Ewing. Sharing the ranch is Gary's new wife, the conniving Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills), who hopes that by ensnaring Gary she can expand her own base of power. As for Gary's ex-spouse Val, she will inaugurate a brand new story arc near season's end by announcing that she is pregnant--without revealing the identity of the father. Elsewhere, Gary's business partner Karen (Joan Van Ark), still not completely recovered from such past traumas as the murder of her husband, begins to rely heavily upon drugs. New to the cast this season is William Devane as Mack's old friend, Senator Gregory Sumner, who has risen to the highest political circles via his close connections with the Mob. Believing that every man has his price, Sumner will be quite taken aback to discover that Mack is completely incorruptible--whereupon the "good senator" will do everything in his power to destroy Mack. Meanwhile, Greg's daughter Mary Frances (Danielle Brisbois) will enjoy a romance with Karen's son Eric (Steve Shaw). As for Eric's sister Diana (Claudia Lonow), she will befriend the redoubtable Abby and move in with her on the Ewing spread--a plot contrivance that will seal the doom of fugitive murderer Chip Roberts when Diana causes his accidental demise. Another cast addition is Lisa Hartman as waitress Cathy, whose first appearance proves quite a shock to the other regulars, inasmuch as she is a dead ringer for the murdered Cijji Dunne. Also making their first appearances are Douglas Sheehan as reporter Ben Gibson, who comes to Val's aid when she is briefly suspected of murder and falls for her in the process; and Danny Ponce, taking over from Matthew Newmark in the role of Jason Avery. The season's traditional "cliffhanger" finale--which, incidentally, also marks the 100th episode of Knots' Landing--finds Karen being felled by a gunshot meant for Gary, and Abby in the clutches of kidnapper Mark St. Claire (Joseph Chapman). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "Black Market Baby" story arc which dominated most of Knots Landing's sixth season is resolved in the first few episodes of Season Seven, as Val Ewing (Joan Van Ark) is tearfully reunited with her twin babies, who had been stolen and auctioned off on the illegal-adoption circuit. This settled, the series can now devote itself to the intrigues involving the rest of its ever-growing cast of regulars. Newly divorced from Karen (Michele Lee), owner of Knots' Landing Motors, crime commissioner Mack MacKenzie (Kevin Dobson) begins an affair with Jill Bennett (Teri Austin), little suspecting that Jill is a few bricks shy of a full load. Val's half-brother Joshua (Alec Baldwin), a former preacher, scores a big hit as a TV personality, but develops a dangerous case of jealousy when his wife and co-star Cathy (Lisa Hartman) gets more fan mail than he does. Subsequently, Joshua dies, an apparent suicide--but when all the facts come out, thanks to an investigation inaugurated by undercover reporter Sonny Harkins. This season, Hunt Block joins the cast as ruthless politician Peter Hollister, the self-proclaimed brother of crooked politico Greg Sumner (William Devane) and potential rival (in more ways than one) of series protagonist Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford). Also, Ruth Roman is introduced in the role of Sylvia Lean, ex-mistress of Greg Sumner's dad and (supposedly) Peter Hollister's mother. Elsewhere, Gary accidentally causes an arsenic leak that will imperil his Empire Valley estate, not to mention the rest of Knot's Landing; Val enters into a marriage with reporter Ben (Michael Sheehan), which is shattered by Ben's affair with Cathy; after finding out that her mother Abby (Donna Mills) knew all along that Val's babies had been kidnapped, the disillusioned Olivia (Tonya Crowe) turns to drugs; and in the season's penultimate episode, Nicollette Sheridan makes her first appearances as Paige Matheson, illegitimate daughter of Mack MacKenzie and his former lover Anna Matheson (Michelle Phillips). The season's cliffhanger ending revolves around another kidnapping, this time with Karen as the victim and an as-yet-unidentified stranger as the predator. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The big news of Knots Landing's ninth season is the apparent murder of unsavory politician Peter Hollister, who in the course of the previous season had had affairs with both Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills) and Abby's daughter Olivia (Tonya Crowe)--leading Abby to believe that Olivia was the killer, and vice versa! As it turns out, only Paige Matheson (Nicollette Sheridan), illegitimate daughter of crime investigator Mack MacKenzie (Kevin Dobson), knows the whole story of Peter's untimely end. This season marks the departure of longtime regular Constance McCashin, who in the role of Laura Avery Sumner has weathered two tempestuous marriages, first to unscrupulous lawyer Richard Avery, and then to another "dirty" politician, Greg Sumner (William Devane). Before succumbing to a brain tumor, Laura asks Mack's former wife Karen (Michele Lee) to sell her house to a reliable tenant. This serves to introduce several new regulars, all members of the "jinxed" Williams family: husband Frank (Larry Riley), wife Patricia (Lynne Moody), daughter Julie (Kent Masters-King). It will soon be revealed that the Williamses are in the Federal Witness Protection Program! In other developments, Abby divorces Gary (Ted Shackleford), then renews her relationship with former beau Charles Scott (Michael York)--but only for the purpose of enlarging her power base in Knots Landing. Gary meanwhile continues his affair with the unhinged Jill Bennett, who makes it her mission in life to destroy Gary's former spouse Val, first by attempting to drive Val crazy (again), then more directly with an "accidental" drug overdose. Also, Val's mother Lilimae (Julie Harris) leaves the series when she impulsively runs off with an eccentric messenger-service employee named Al Baker (Red Buttons). And in their efforts to get the Lotus Point Resort up and running, Gary, Abby and Karen become involved with a shady character named Manny Vasquez (John Aprea), who at one point or another attempts to murder practically everyone in the cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although the scheming Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills) had departed Knots Landing at the end of its tenth season, the series still managed to serve up a full recipe of fascinating intrigues during its eleventh season on the air. Dominating much of the proceedings is a plotline sparked by a pension-fraud scheme involving Oakman Industries, one of several businesses controlled by duplicitous politico Greg Sumner (William Devane). An investigation headed by Sumner's longtime nemesis Mack (Kevin Dobson) is compromised by the actions of Tom Ryan (Joseph Gian), a crooked cop in Oakman's employ. The ramifications of the pension scandal results in the death of Greg's estranged daughter Mary Frances, who turns out to have been an operative for a anti-chemical subversive organization headed by her boyfriend--who in turn gets revenge on Greg by infecting him with a lethal poison. In other developments, Mack's former lover Anne (Michelle Phillips), the mother of his daughter Paige (Nicollette Sheridan), hatches an elaborate scheme to rob Paige of her inheritance. After a season's absence, Steve Shaw briefly returns to the role of Eric, the son of Knots Landing Motors head (and Mack's wife) Karen (Michele Lee)--though he is now divorced from wife Linda (Lar-Park Lincoln), who begins a relationship with Eric's brother Michael (Pat Petersen), sparking a great deal of sibling hostility. Karen herself lands a job hosting the popular local TV series "Open Mike", produced by Dianne Kirkwood (Robin Strasser) and Jeff Cameron (Chris Lemmon). However, it soon develops that Dianne covets Karen's job, and will stop at nothing to get it. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the "crazed fan" who stalks Karen through most of the season is actually Dianne's co-conspirator Jeff. Also: The eternally unlucky-in-love Val (Joan Van Ark) falls for an outwardly charming chap named Danny Waleska (Sam Behrens), whom Val's ex Gary (Ted Shackelford) has good reason to distrust. It soon develops that Danny is a serial rapist and all-around psycho, who not only terrorizes Val's twin daughters but also attempts to kill Gary and makes an effort to assault Julie Williams (Kent-Masters King). Though Danny fails in this attempt, he succeeds in fatally injuring Julie's mother Patricia (Lynne Moody)--while in another of the many developments comprising the season's cliffhanger finale, Paige is jilted at the altar by her newest beau, "dirty" cop Tom Ryan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season Thirteen of Knots Landing gets under way with only one of the four original "couplings" of the series' first season intact: After many romantic side trips and emotional detours, Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford) and his ex-wife Val (Joan Van Ark) have decided to let bygones be bygones and tie the matrimonial knot for the third (and last!) time. Once this matter is settled, Gary again demonstrates his basic lack of common sense by teaming with one Joseph Barringer (Mark Soper]) in a wild scheme to harness the power of ocean tides to provide low-cost energy for the citizens of California. Not surprisingly, Gary loses his shirt (and everything else) in this dead-on-arrival venture, and ends up working as a day laborer on his own ranch before returning to his old cul-de-sac neighborhood. Meanwhile, Val revitalizes her literary career by starting research on a novel intended to expose the crooked machinations of Greg Sumner (William Devane). In other developments, Linda Fairgate (Lar-Park Lincoln), ex-daughter in law of Gary's business partner Karen (Michele Lee), is murdered by Brian Johnston (Philip Brown), who holds several of the principal characters hostage before Karen is able to save the day--thereby confirming her "local heroine" status established at the end of the previous season, when she single-handedly took on the members of a street gang. Also, Greg Sumner's predatory sister Claudia (Kathleen Noone) meets her Waterloo in the form of Alex Barth (Boyd Kestner), who knows where all of her bodies are buried. As for Greg, he begins an affair with Anne Matheson (Michelle Phillips), former lover of Greg's longtime nemesis Mack (Kevin Dobson); reduced to penury after failing to cheat her daughter Paige (Nicollette Sheridan) out of an inheritance, Anne has staged a comeback as a nude model and radio star! Among the newcomers to the series are Bruce Greenwood as Paige's new boyfriend Pierce Lawton, who later tries to kill Paige and several others when he loses all his money in Gary's "Tidal Energy" scheme; Maree Cheatham as Mary Robeson, who claims to be the biological mother of Greg's late wife Laura (Constance McCashin), and who had been sent to prison on a trumped-up charge engineered by Greg; and Felicity Waterman as Vanessa Hunt, an old friend of Claudia Whittaker's daughter Kate (Stacy Galina). Making their final appearances in Season Twelves are Larry Riley and [$Kent Masters-King as Frank and Julia Williams--and, surprisingly, Joan Van Ark as Val Ewing, who mysteriously vanishes in the midst of preparing her tell-all novel. With ratings steadily decreasing during its most recent seasons, Knots Landing wnet on a brief production hiatus in the middle of Season Thirteen so that the new writing team could get a grip on the concept and come up with more compelling storylines. Although things did improve a bit, the series was destined to survive for just one more year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not long after the wife of former San Francisco Police Commissioner Harry Ashcombe (John Bourgeois) disappears, the woman's body, buried in a mudslide, is located by self-styled psychic Dolly Flint (Linda Kash). Recognizing Dolly as a notorious con artist, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) has trouble accepting the "miracle" of finding the body--and he also doesn't believe that Mrs. Ashcombe died accidentally. The solution to the mystery may well be in the hands of Aschombe's mistress Jennifer Zeppetelli (Jenny Levine)...and may also hinge on the fact that Dolly Flint is a narcoleptic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The sudden death of their parents forges a strong and impenetrable bond between the five Salinger children as the hour-long drama series Party of Five begins its first season. Appointed his siblings' legal guardian, 24-year-old Charlie Salinger (Matthew Fox) works days as a carpenter and nights tending bar at the San Francisco restaurant once owned by his father, but now run by Joe Mangus (Tom Mason). Bailey Salinger (Scott Wolf), at 16 the second oldest member of the clan, appoints himself treasurer and troubleshooter of the Salinger household; 15-year-old Julia (Neve Campbell) is still traumatized by the loss of her parents; 11-year-old Claudia (Lacey Chabert) continues honing her skills as a violinist; and 1-year-old baby brother Owen (played by twins Brandon Porter and Taylor Porter) gurgles and goos, undoubtedly secure in the knowledge that his older brothers and sisters will always look after him. Hired as a nanny for the younger children, Berkeley graduate student Kirsten Bennett (Paula Devicq) begins dating Charlie, incurring Bailey's jealousy. Before the season is out, Kirsten's duties are taken over by a guy named Bill (David Burke) when she and Charlie become engaged. Meanwhile, Bailey dates such high school contemporaries as Kate Bishop (Jennifer Blanc) and Jill Holbrook (Megan Ward), whose addiction to cocaine yields tragic results in the season finale; and Julia starts going out with Justin Thompson (Michael Goorjian), a budding journalist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season Three of Party of Five opens with the five orphaned Salinger siblings regaining control of their late parents' San Francisco restaurant, thanks to the last-minute intervention of their grandfather Jake (Carroll O'Connor). 26-year-old Charlie Salinger (Matthew Fox), legal guardian of his younger siblings, is still holding down two jobs to make ends meet, but is no longer engage to the kids' nanny Kirsten (Paula Devicq), who after being booted from her new teaching job for accidentally plagiarizing her doctoral dissertation, has left for Chicago. Charlie's current amour is Grace Wilcox (Tamara Taylor), an African American girl who moves in with the Salingers when her own house is destroyed. Alas, Charlie and Grace are destined to break up on the eve of her election as a member of the San Frisco City Counsel. And as for 17-year-old Julia Salinger (Neve Campbell), after several months of juggling two boyfriends, she impulsively runs off to marry the troubled Griffin Holbrook (Jeremy London). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season Five of Party of Five marks the fifth birthday of Owen Salinger, youngest member of the orphaned Salinger clan. Having been previously played by twin infants Brandon Porter and Taylor Porter, Owen is now portrayed by a single child actor, Jacob Smith--and, unfortunately, has also been revealed to have a learning disability. Elsewhere in the San Francisco-based Salinger household, 29-year-old Charlie Salinger (Matthew Fox), legal guardian of his younger siblings, is left to raise his baby daughter Diana alone when his irresponsible girlfriend Daphne (Jennifer Aspen) takes a powder. Charlie and his 20-year-old brother Bailey (Scott Wolf) later engage in a nasty custody battle over little Owen, but eventually Charlie allows Owen to live with Bailey and his girl friend Sarah (Jennifer Love Hewitt). Meanwhile, although 19-year-old Julia Salinger (Neve Campbell) is still the wife of Griffin Holbrook (Jeremy London), she enters into an affair with Ned Grayson (Scott Bairstow), the violent-tempered boyfriend of Julia's Stanford roommate Maggie (Heather McComb). And musically gifted 15-year-old Claudia Salinger (Lacey Chabert) is busily cooking up strategies to break out of boarding school and return home. As the season draws to a close, Charlie moves in with his former fiancée Kirsten (Paula Devicq), whose marriage to Dr. Paul Thomas (Tim Dekay) is on the rocks; and, balking at the notion of marrying her live-in boyfriend Bailey, Sarah prepares to leave for New York. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide