Scotty Leavenworth Movies

It's just another one of those days when a bald eagle swoops into Drew's house and trashes the place. Unfortunately, the bird is an endangered species, meaning not only that it cannot be removed, but Drew (Drew Carey) must also protect and coddle the eagle at all costs! The situation worsens when the eagle "captures" and flies off with a dog belonging to Drew's new girlfriend Kathy (Kathy Griffin). Meanwhile, Oswald (Diedrich Bader) and Lewis (Ryan Stiles) are blackmailed by a youngster (Scotty Leavenworth) who threatens to tell the authorities about their house in the park. Amazingly, this episode was virtually unscripted, with the actors ad-libbing their dialogue based on a storyline provided by Julie Ann Larson). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

James Cromwell starred on this weekly, hour-long drama series as veteran politician Elliott Baines. After three successful terms as senator, Baines is cast adrift when a fourth-term bid comes a cropper. Knowing no other life but politics, the widowed Baines returns home to Seattle, there to contend with the exigencies of being a private citizen -- and to reestablish family ties with his three grown, estranged daughters. Yes, the whole thing sounded a lot like King Lear, which of course was the producers' intention. Also in the cast were Embeth Davidtz as Baines' lawyer daughter, Ellen; Jane Adams as Baines' unhappily married "middle child" Reeva; and Jacinda Barrett as youngest daughter Dori, the obligatory iconoclastic "bohemian." Originally titled The Second Act, Citizen Baines was to have made its CBS debut on September 22, 2001, but was moved to September 29 due to TV coverage of the World Trade Center bombing. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

One of the most atypical weekly series to emerge from the Aaron Spelling TV factory, 7th Heaven, created by Spelling and Brenda Hampton, has eschewed the sex-and-sin shenanigans of such series as Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place in favor of honest, three-dimensional family values, with generous doses of warmth, heart, humor, and pathos. There can be no doubt that this fundamentally wholesome program has struck a universal chord. The series has not only been lavishly praised by critics, honored by such organizations as the Parents Television Council, the Academy of Religious Broadcasting, and the Anti-Defamation League, and given innumerable industry awards, but it is also one of the most successful offerings of the WB network; indeed, it was the first WB series to run more than seven seasons, and during four of those seasons, it was the network's highest-rated show. Set in the suburban L.A. community of Glen Oak, the series revolves around the Camden family, headed by Eric Camden (Stephen Collins), pastor of the town's Community Church, and Eric's homemaker wife, Annie (Catherine Hicks). In the tradition of The Waltons, loyal 7th Heaven viewers have enjoyed the rare privilege of watching the Camden children grow up before their very eyes. When the series debuted on August 26, 1996, handsome and personable Matt Camden (Barry Watson) was 17 years old; basketball-playing Mary Camden (Jessica Biel) was 13 going on 14; intellectual, inquisitive Lucy Camden (Beverley Mitchell) was 12; happy-go-lucky Simon Camden (David Gallagher) was ten; and precocious Ruthie Camden (Mackenzie Rosman) was five. By the time the series entered its eighth season, the three oldest Camden kids were married and pursuing careers, while the two youngest were seasoned veterans of the school dating scene. (Two more Camden youngsters, twin boys Sam and David, were born halfway through the 1998-1999 season). All of the Camdens, parents included, have had more than their share of setbacks and tragedies (some of them absolutely devastating) as the series has rolled forward, but somehow all of the members of the clan, from patriarch Eric on down, have been able to recover, rally, and persevere with the help and support of their family and friends -- not to mention their inner faith. And unlike so many other TV series which traffic in personal interrelationships, the characters in 7th Heaven are very much a part of the "real" world. During its lengthy WB run, the series has exposed its principals to a wide variety of contemporary issues: teen suicide, racial prejudice, substance abuse, drunken driving, homelessness, negative peer pressure, teen pregnancy, Alzheimer's disease, the Holocaust, the war in Iraq, and the crisis in the Sudan. Eminently suitable for viewers of all ages, but never a mere sop to the "kiddie" trade nor a placebo for the clean-up-TV brigades, 7th Heaven has been and will likely always remain the jewel in the WB crown. ~ Rovi

Julia Roberts stars in this legal drama based on the true story of a woman who helped win the largest settlement ever paid in a direct-action lawsuit. Erin Brockovich (Roberts) is a single mother of three who, after losing a personal injury lawsuit, asks her lawyer, Ed Masry (Albert Finney), if he can help her find a job. Ed gives her work as a file clerk in his office, and she runs across some information on a little-known case filed against Pacific Gas and Electric. Erin begins digging into the particulars of the case, convinced that the facts simply don't add up, and persuades Ed to allow her to do further research; in time, she discovers a systematic cover-up of the industrial poisoning of a city's water supply, which threatens the health of the entire community. Erin Brockovich was directed by Steven Soderbergh; Julia Roberts earned a $20 million payday for her work on the film, the highest salary paid to a female film star up to that time. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi