Jay Gerber Movies

The 90-minute debut episode of Alias introduces Jennifer Garner as Sydney A. Bristow, who like many other undergraduates is working her way through college. Unlike her friends and fellow students, however, Sydney is not permitted to discuss her "outside job," not even with her roommate, Francie (Merrin Dungey) -- because Syd happens to be an undercover operative for the CIA. Or at least she thought she was working for the CIA until she reveals the nature of her profession to her fiancé, Danny Hecht (Edward Atterton) -- a revelation that results in Danny's murder. That's when Sydney discovers to her horror that the agency which employs her is not the CIA but instead a rival and somewhat sinister organization known as SD-6, under the aegis of the highly untrustworthy Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin). Though she'd sooner give up the spy game outright, Sydney is forced by Sloane into a deadly game of double-agent espionage, where no one -- least of all Sydney -- can tell the good guys from the bad. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Chevy Chase stars, though not always visibly, as Nick Halloway, a low-level businessman with an acerbic approach to life and work, whose humdrum existence utterly bores him. Nick gets an unexpected jolt of excitement when, nursing a hangover, he's the only one not to evacuate an office building that becomes a disaster area after a mishap involving nuclear testing equipment. An unexpected by-product of the accident is that it turns the molecules of the building, as well as Nick and the clothes he's wearing, transparent. When a team of shady government agents, led by David Jenkins (Sam Neill), notices that a human has been turned invisible, they try to take him into custody, planning to use him as the most dangerous secret intelligence agent the world has ever known. Distrusting their motives, the frantic and confused Nick escapes, and quickly begins learning new information about his unusual condition, such pragmatic details as trying to sleep when he can see through his eyelids and any unprocessed food he eats will give him away. Soon, however, he discovers that the scientist in charge of the experiments (Jim Norton) has no idea how to return him to normal, and begins plotting how best to live a semblance of a normal life while steering clear of his pursuers. Nick involves a beautiful woman he met the night before the accident (Daryl Hannah) in his dilemma, and soon she too becomes a target. Memoirs of an Invisible Man was adapted from a book by H.F. Saint. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

Produced for cable TV, this pedestrian thriller (also known as Till Death Do Us Part) purports to be a riff on Edgar Allen Poe's "The Premature Burial" but actually bears more of a resemblance to Diabolique. It stars Tim Matheson as a cheated-upon husband who can't stay down after his wife's (Jennifer Jason Leigh) unsuccessful attempt to poison him results in his being buried alive. The film's one real moment of horror comes in a claustrophobic sequence where Matheson desperately claws his way out of his coffin. The story then settles into a standard revenge motif, capped with an admittedly potent payoff that, though intriguing, is probably not as shocking as the filmmakers had intended. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Christine (Markie Post) is both surprised and delighted when her widowed dad Jack (Eugene Roche) re-enters the dating scene after eight years of loneliness. Later on, however, Jack is hauled into court in the company of an prostitute--and while still surprised, Christine is far from delighted! The situation turns out to be both innocent and rather poignant, but not before Judge Harry (Harry Anderson) must wrestle with another case involving elderly nudists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Joan Collins and David Hasselhoff star in this made-for-TV comedy caper, in which a con artist who has just gotten out of jail. Curt Taylor (Hasselhoff) finds himself back in business when he becomes an assistant to glamorous film star Cartier Rand (Collins). Curt's primary interest in working with Cartier is the opportunity to get his hands on her world famous and highly-valuable collection of jewelry. In time, however, Curt finds himself attracted to Cartier, which will take a bit of explaining, since he informed Cartier's jealous fiancée that he was gay in order to win the job. The Cartier Affair also stars Telly Savalas, Charlies Napier, and Ed Lauter. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

There was little love lost between Archie and his co-worker Stretch Cunningham when Stretch was alive. Now that Mr. Cunningham has passed away, a reluctant Archie agrees to deliver the eulogy. But then, Archie discovers a hitherto well-concealed fact: Stretch was Jewish. The sight of Archie Bunker wearing a yarmulke is priceless. Written by Phil Doran, Douglas Aragno, and Milt Josefsberg, "Stretch Cunningham, Goodbye" first aired on January 29, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide