Willie Garson Movies

Created by the same team responsible for the quirky, iconoclastic HBO western series Deadwood, John from Cincinnati was a magical mystery tour of the California surfing scene. Set in the town of Imperial Beach, the story focused on the multigenerational Yost family, led by Mitch Yost (Bruce Greenwood), a onetime surfing legend who had been forcibly retired (except for a few early-morning forays into the waves) by a serious knee injury. The fall of the Yost fortunes had a deleterious effect upon Mitch's son Butchie (Brian Van Holt), who had become a seemingly hopeless druggie; conversely, Butchie's own son Shaun (Grayson Fletcher) was a surfing phenom who bade fare to surpass his grandfather's celebrity--if he ever got the chance. Holding the family together was Mitch's levelheaded wife Cissy (Rebecca De Mornay), owner of the surfing-goods store that provided their income. Into this dysfunctional family unit came a fabulously wealthy and truly bizarre dude known as John Monad (Austin Nichols), who when pressed for details identified himself as "John from Cincinnati." Outwardly a boorish dimwit with an annoying habit of repeating everyone else's conversations, John was clearly operating on some Higher Plane or other, implicitly possessing the ability to heal the sick and revive the dead, and holding out the hope of redemption for the fractured Yosts. With John in the vicinity, no one found it odd that, for example, Mitch suddenly developed the ability to float in the air; everyone seemed to accept the newcomer without question or prejudice. Only the Yosts' friend Bill Jacks (Ed O'Neill), a fancier of birds and pro wrestlers, distrusted John and his motives, suspecting that he was more Satan than Saint. The series' events--subtly but inextricably linking each character with the other--unfolded in a leisurely, day-by-day "need to know" basis, with small, tantalyzing clues as to the story's outcome (Rapture? Armageddon? The Perfect Wave?) buried within each episode. Cocreated by Deadwood's David Milch and "surf noir" novelist Kern Nunn, and featuring Luke Perry and Deadwood alumnus Jim Beaver in key supporting roles, John from Cincinnati began its HBO run on June 10, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, the ten-episode, 20-hour miniseries Taken was one of the most ambitious projects undertaken by cable TV's Sci-Fi Network, ultimately costing 40 million dollars -- a price that proved well worth it, inasmuch as the series posted the network's highest-ever ratings. Covering a period from 1947 to the present, the story focused on three different families, each of whom was profoundly affected by extraterrestrial visitation. The Keys family was headed by WWII bomber pilot Russell Keys (Steve Burton), who spent virtually his entire adult life haunted by his "close encounter" with aliens. The Clarkes were originally represented by lonely Texas waitress Sally Clarke (Catherine Dent), who was impregnated by a charming stranger (Eric Close) who turned out to be an alien survivor of the Roswell crash. And the lives of the Crawfords were dictated by ruthless Army officer Owen Crawford (Joel Gretsch), who was determined to prove that the government had covered up the truth about Roswell by dedicating his life to tracking down all space aliens and their half-human descendants. The story was narrated by Allie Keys (Dakota Fanning), a "hybrid" child of the present day, whose story determined the outcome of the final episodes. Boasting impressive computer-generated special effects and eye-popping facial makeup, Taken was seen over a two-week period, beginning December 2, 2002, and ending on December 13. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Willie Garson guest stars as Martin Lloyd, a wild-eyed conspiracy theorist and self-proclaimed "space alien". Amidst his ramblings about JFK and the CIA, Lloyd intimates that he might have the "lowdown" on the Stargate program. Just to cover all bets, General Hammond (Don S. Davis) asks O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) to investigate Lloyd's claims. Prepared to dismiss Lloyd as a harmless crackpot, O'Neill is compelled to change his mind by a subsequent series of bizarre and deadly occurences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Like many other made-for-TV biopics inspired by popular television series of yore, Come on Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story offers the spectacle of actors playing other actors playing different characters--and as such, those "characters" come off as more interesting than the "real" actors. Focusing exclusively on the five years (1970-1974) that The Partridge Family was in production, the story is told from the viewpoint of Danny Bonaduce (played by a pre-Desperate Housewives) Shawn Pyfrom), and accordingly is colored by the sentiments so often expressed by the real, irrepressibly outspoken Bonaduce. Upon landing the coveted role of Danny Partridge, young Bonaduce must contend with the jealousy of his abusive father Joseph (William Russ); all the while, Danny is a sidelines observer of the effect that overnight stardom has on his coworker David Cassidy (Keith Partridge), who (it says here) despises all the idolatry and yearns for a normal life. Rather touchingly, the film recounts the surrogate son-surrogate father relationship between Danny and actor Dave Madden (Michael Chieffo), who was genuinely fond of his younger costars despite the kid-hating irascibility of his "Reuben Kincaid" character. The film's highlight, which would be impossible to belief if it wasn't corroborated by witnesses, is the episode wherein Cassidy impulsively "kidnaps" Danny, whereupon both boys head off on a short journey of self-discovery; less easy to swallow is the scene which contrives a feud between the "Partridge" cast and the actors on the rival series The Brady Bunch (who are, interestingly enough, identified only by their character names and not their real names). Come on Get Happy: The Partridge Family Story made its ABC network bow on November 13, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Joey (Matt LeBlanc) is in for a lot of ribbing (and not a little pain) when it turns out that his new girlfriend, Katie (Soleil Moon Frye), is slap-happy. Having adjusted to the romance between his sister Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry), Ross (David Schwimmer) finds himself a pariah when he refuses to donate 100 dollars to the apartment janitor's going-away gift. And Chandler begins getting spooked over everyone's "small talk" about marriage and kids. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Unable to slay a bad case of the flu, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is admitted to the hospital. While sleeping, she has a dream about a tall dark creature with a young boy. The next day she discovers the same boy is a patient in the children's ward. He says the creature is Death and has killed many children. A more obvious culprit is the unorthodox Dr. Backer, but Buffy finds him dead. Meanwhile, Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) suspects that Jenny's (Robia La Morte) death might be causing Buffy to fabricate a creature to fight, but he soon uncovers the creature's identity as Der Kindestod, or "child death." Buffy reinfects herself with her fever to battle the monster because he can only be seen by those in the feverish state. It is also revealed that Buffy first encountered Der Kindestod as an eight-year-old when her cousin died in a hospital. ~ All Movie Guide

Ally faces a moral dilemma when she's assigned to defend Richard's partner, who was arrested for solicitation. Meanwhile, Richard tries to use Ally to snag a client. ~ TV Guide, All Movie Guide

Elliot Gould guest stars as Max, an embittered Auschwitz survivor now working for the US Postal Service. Assigned to the dead-letter department, Max responds to people who have written letters addressed to God by coldly informing them that God does not exist. Assigned to help Max regain his faith, Monica (Roma Downey) is comforted when the old man comes out of his shell long enough to help Tanya (Kelsey Mulrooney), a young girl from a troubled household. Unfortunately, Monica is not allowed to intervene when Max tries to rescue Tanya from her abusive guardians--and is promptly accused of kidnapping the girl. With this episode, John Dye becomes a regular in the role of Angel of Death Andrew. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Detective Stu Morrissey (Conor O'Farrell) thinks that a father knows more than he's letting on about a missing baby. Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) makes a bet that he can lose more weight than Sipowicz (Dennis Franz). Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) campaigns to be elected the squad's union delegate. Bobby Simone (Jimmy Smits) has a run-in with Henry (Willie Garson) when a woman is killed outside the building Simone inherited from Henry's aunt. And Bobby and Dianne Russell (Kim Delaney) talk over their relationship. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) and Simone's (Jimmy Smits) investigation of a limo driver's murder leads to a vice ring. Henry (Willie Garson), the nephew of the woman from whom Simone inherited an apartment building, finally reveals what he knows about a murder that occurred just outside the building. Diane (Kim Delaney) has trouble explaining to Simone that she has been assigned to get the goods on handsome hoodlum Jimmy Liery. The sexually promiscuous Geri (Debra Christofferson) is "kicked upstairs." And a kidnapping plot is foiled by a new member of the precinct, Detective Jill Kirkendall (Andrea Thompson, in her first series appearance). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Figuring they have better things to do, Cory (Ben Savage) and Eric (Will Friedle) try to get out of playing with their dad Alan (William Russ) in a father/son softball game. To save them the embarrassment, Alan claims that the game was cancelled anyway. When they find out that their dad is lying to spare their feelings, the Matthews boys are sore ashamed. Somehow all this is tied in with Mr. Feeny (William Daniels) and his attempt to explain and interpret the Pledge of Allegiance to Cory and his classmates. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide