Burton Gilliam Movies

The Sliders find themselves on an "Old West" parallel version of the earth, where Colin (Charlie O'Connell) disappears after being shot down by a grim-visaged gunfighter known as Mr. K (Reiner Schone). As Colin is nursed back to health by homesteader Amanda Starr (Karen Austin), Maggie (Kari Wuhrer) gets a job as a saloon singer so she can afford the horses needed to launch a search for her missing friend. Meanwhile, Quinn (Jerry O'Connell) is framed for murder, thus setting the stage for the obligatory "High Noon" showdown with an old enemy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The final installment in the Back to the Future trilogy picks up where the second film left off, but it casts off the dizzying time travel of the first two films for mostly routine comedy set in the Old West. Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) receives a 70-year-old letter from his inventor friend, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), who tells Marty that he has retreated a century in time to live out a relatively quiet life in the Old West. Doc Brown reveals that he hid his DeLorean car/time machine in an abandoned mine outside town, and when Marty does some research and discovers that the Doc died shortly after writing the letter, he decides to find the car, travel back in time, and warn the Doc about his demise. Meanwhile, the Doc, who has fallen in love with a local woman (Mary Steenburgen), realizes he can't hide in the past from the problems he has caused to the time flow in the previous two adventures. He reluctantly decides to return to the present with Marty, but first, they have to find a way to get the DeLorean up to time-travel velocity with a broken fuel line and no gasoline. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

A sprawling adaptation of the same-named novel by David Nevin, the three-part CBS miniseries Dream West starred Richard Chamberlain as colorful, controversial American explorer John Charles Fremont (1813-1890). The story detailed the visionary (and occasionally mercenary) Fremont's lifelong war against shortsided authority figures, beginning with his early skirmishes with the "brass" as an Army officer. In 1842, Fremont embarked upon his greatest adventure, heading an expedition to map the Oregon Trail -- the first step towards opening the entire North American continent to free and unimpeded exploration. His mission pitted Fremont against hostile Indians, the Mexican army, and the U.S. government itself. Along the way, he crossed paths with scores of historical figures, including Kit Carson, Jim Bridge, John Sutter, and President Abraham Lincoln. Alice Krige, Richard Chamberlain's vis-à-vis in the earlier Wallenberg: A Heroes' Story, co-starred as Jessie Benton, the headstrong senator's daughter who became Fremont's wife. Running seven hours in all (plus commercials), Dream West was originally telecast from April 13 to 15, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The A-Team sneaks into a small and remote town, there to attend the funeral of a fellow Vietnam veteran. They soon discover that their friend was murdered by members of the vicious Watkins family, who also hold the townsfolk in a grip of terror. Thus the team's mission is twofold: To seek revenge for their pal's death, and to end the Watkins' reign of fear once and for all. This is the final episode of The A-Team's first season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV follow-up to 1980's The Girl, the Gold Watch and Everything stars Lee Purcell and Philip MacHale as Bonnie Lee Beaumont and Kirby Winter, roles created in the earlier film by Pam Dawber and Robert Hays. Once more, the hapless Kirby is the possessor of a magic watch that can stop time all around him--and once more, the watch causes him and his fiancee Bonnie Lee nothing but trouble. This time, hero and heroine are pitted against evil land baron Hoover Hess III (Burton Gilliam), who isn't above committing foul play to get what he wants. What Hoover wants, by the way, is a patch of valuable land owned by Bonnie Lee's mother (Carol Lawrence). Among the singular pleasures in this whimsical adventure yarn is the appearance of Jerry Mathers, Beaver Cleaver himself, as one of the bad guys! Based on characters created by John D. MacDonald, The Girl, the Gold Watch and Dynamite was first syndicated to local TV stations May 21, 1984, as part of the "Operation Prime Time" series. It was offered as both a 2-hour movie, and as a series of five half-hour programs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This Roger Corman-produced made-for-television movie was a pilot for a proposed series starring country singer Tanya Tucker. She plays a Southerner who runs an auto repair shop. She and her girlfriends become government agents and go up against a crime ring headed by a woman known as the Dragon Lady. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide

Buck-toothed character actor Burton Gilliam, who appeared in a handful of first-season Alice episodes as an habitual customer of Mel's Diner, shows up herein as Jimmie Joe Castleberry, the bronco-busting younger brother of waitress Flo (Polly Holliday). Takin' a hankerin' to Flo's coworker Alice (Linda Lavin), Jimmie Joe makes plans to rope her into matrimony. Alice isn't keen on this development--but alas, the lonesome cowboy won't take "No" for an answer! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Show-business hopeful Alice (Linda Lavin) is convinced that her big break has come when she is chosen to sing and dance in a commercial for Mel's Diner. Alas, the assignment requires Alice to hide much of her talent--and most of her body--under a huge, idiotic-looking hamburger costume. Though filmed as the third episode of Alice, this entry was held back until mid-March of 1977, ultimately airing as the Season One finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The impressionable Vera (Beth Howland) has fallen in love again. This time the lucky man is Jerry (Tom Poston), a middle-aged mortician. But things may not be as idyllic as Vera imagines they are: there's a strong likelihood that Jerry is already married. Once Alice (Linda Lavin) is in possession of what she thinks are all the facts, she must figure out a way to gently break the news without once more breaking Vera's notoriously fragile heart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Night That Panicked America is centered around Orson Welles' notorious "War of the Worlds" broadcast of October 30, 1938. Welles (Paul Shenar) arrives at CBS studios just in time to assume his directing post for the radio adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic, which has been updated and rewritten in the form of news bulletins. Unfortunately, millions of listeners tune in late and assume that the Earth is actually being invaded by Martians. This TV movie periodically cuts away from the broadcast in progress to concentrate on the panicky reactions of several listeners -- including a terrified mother (Eileen Brennan) who nearly kills her own children rather than allow them to fall into the tentacles of the Men From Mars. Advised of the panic, Welles is convinced that his career is over, but the ensuing publicity makes him nationally famous. As he absorbs the events of the evening, the hoodwinked radio fans crawl back sheepishly to the safety of their homes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide