Lauren Maltby Movies

The third of the Disney Channel TV movies inspired by Marylyn Sadler and Roger Bollen's novel Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, Zenon: Z3 once again stars Kristen Storms as the title character, a "typical" teenager from the year 2054 A.D. who lives on a space station with her family and friends. In this one, Zenon aspires to attend the Moonstock music festival, and to that end she enters the Galactic Teen Supreme Contest. At first, Zenon thinks that the only roadblock to her success is her snotty rival Bronley Hale (Glen McMillan), but soon she finds herself sidetracked by the efforts of space ecologist Sage Borealis (Ben Easter) to prevent further colonization of the Moon. As it happens, however, the problems of Bronley and Sage don't amount to a hill of beans when a hitherto unsuspected villain appears, intent upon destroying the universe. Many of the film's biggest laughs are delivered by little Alyson Morgan as Zenon's precocious cousin and "biggest fan" Dasha. Filmed in Capetown, South Africa, Zenon: Z3 first aired on June 11, 2004, doing quite well in the ratings despite wall-to-wall coverage of Ronald Reagan's funeral on the other channels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Produced for the Disney Channel cable service, Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century was based on the children's book by Marilyn Salder and Roger Bollen. Kristen Storms heads the cast as Zenon Car, a trouble-prone 13-year-old girl, who, in the year 2049 A.D., lives on a space station with the rest of her family. When she runs afoul of Parker Windom, the owner of the station, Zenon is determined to be "incorrigible," and as punishment is exiled to the worst place imaginable: the planet earth. After several painful weeks of adjustment to her new surroundings, Zenon enlists the aid of his earthbound pals to return to her "real" home with evidence that the "respectable" Mr. Windom is up to no good. Originally telecast on January 23, 1999, Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century was intended as the pilot for a weekly TV series -- and though this series never came to pass, the film was deemed worthy of a sequel the following year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Pragmatic businesswoman Gail Metzger (Joanna Kerns) has never seen eye to eye with her eccentric sister Renee (Debrah Farentino), a bad situation made worse when the two women butt heads over a real estate deal. Later on, Renee turns up dead, an apparent suicide. But as more "facts" come to surface, the police change their minds about Renee's demise--and Gail is suspected of murder. In her efforts to find out what really happened, Gail is enveloped in a frightening atmosphere of suspense and mysticism. Adapted fromBarbara L. Parker's novel Suspicion of Innocence, the made-for-TV Sisters and Other Strangers made its initial CBS network appearance on May 6, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide