Kevin G. Cremin Movies

Although the gritty cop drama The Shield would become the FX's network longest-running dramatic series during its fourth season, a serious drop in ratings at the end of season three could well have precipitated the show's cancellation. Giving the program a major shot in the arm was the addition of two new regulars, Glenn Close and Anthony Anderson. Close is introduced as Monica Rawling, the new captain of the Farmington District Strike Force and the new (nominal) boss of tough, brutal, and borderline-corrupt Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis). Rawlings has been appointed to her post after Mackey's former captain and longtime enemy David Aceveda (Benito Martinez) is elected to the city council. Though certainly not enamored of Vic's strong-arm tactics and questionable ethics, Rawling is willing to give the detective a relatively free hand in dealing with the district's most vicious drug dealers. Even so, both Aceveda and Rawling intend to closely monitor Vic's movements, forcing him to play it "straight" (or as straight as he's capable of being) throughout the season. The promotion of Rawlings has a profound effect not only on Vic but also on his fellow detective Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder), who is bitter over not being promoted to captain herself.

Anthony Anderson is cast as Antwon Mitchell, at once the most formidable and most frustrating adversary that Mackey and his team have ever come up against. Once a powerful drug lord, Mitchell has managed to win release from prison, and is now regarded by many of the power elite as a reformed man, a dedicated community activist. Of course, Vic (and the viewers) known that Mitchell hasn't changed a bit, and in fact is a more dangerous mob leader and drug pusher than he'd been before his arrest thanks to strong ties with the Russian mafia. But to the public at large, Mitchell is virtually a saint, and thus above suspicion when the you-know-what hits the fan. Even when Vic and Rawlings have Mitchell dead to rights, he manages to wriggle out of their clutches, leading Vic to suspect that there's a mole in the ranks of the strike force -- a mole who may or may not be his longtime colleague Shane Vendrell (Walton Goggins). Vic's determination to expose Mitchell heats up after several cops are murdered in a well-planned ambush. In giving Vic a tacit carte blanche to blast Mitchell's operation apart, Rawling puts her own job on the line. Ironically, what ultimately seals Rawling's doom is not her war against drugs, but her fierce determination to bring the city's most heinous child abusers to justice. Bringing Glenn Close and Anthony Anderson to the fold turned out be the best thing that had happened to The Shield in years. The series ended its four season posting its best-ever ratings -- indeed, some of the best ratings in the entire realm of cable television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The final five episodes of Babylon 5's third season were originally shown in England from August 19 to September 22, 1996, but the American syndication service PTEN did not wish to "throw away" these episodes during the low-rated late summer months. Thus, viewers in the US did not see the season's final story arc until September, beginning with the telecast of "Walkabout" during the week of September 30, 1996. Written by J. Michael Straczynski, "Walkabout" finds Captain Sheridan and telepath Lyta Alexander (Patricia Tallman) preparing to exploit the Shadows' newly-discovered "achilles' heel" to mount a counteroffensive against the enemy. Meanwhile, Dr. Franklin heads DownBelow to determine his true purpose in life. Erica Gimpel appears as Cailyn, a beautiful singer who will have a profound effect on the introspective Franklin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"Point of No Return" was the blanket title for the third-season episodes of Babylon 5. The first installment in this saga, "Matters of Honor," was written by series creator J. Michael Straczynski, who went on to script every episode during the 1995-96 season. Things get under way as Captain Sheridan heads to Vorlon, there to thank Ambassador Kosh for saving his life. Back on B5, Earthforce Special Intelligence officer Endwai (Tucker Smallwood) investigates the strange ship encountered by Lt. Keffer, while a rift delevops in the relationship between Londo and Morden. As the episode rushes to its conclusion, Sheridan mans a Minbari-Vorlon vessel to confront a dangerous new enemy: the Shadows. Jason Carter joins the cast as Ranger Marcus Cole. "Matters of Honor" first aired the week of November 6, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is one of several seventh-season Murder She Wrote episodes introduced by Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) but starring Dennis Stanton (Keith Michell), a jewel thief turned insurance investigator. Stanton's latest assignment is to investigate the suspicious events surrounding a fire that destroyed the hands of famous concert pianist Vaclav Maryska (Ricardo Montalban). The intrigue reaches a crescendo when Maryska's wife Milena (Patricia Neal) is murdered, with a veritable orchestra of suspects at Stanton's disposal. As usual, Stanton is more or less assisted by ditzy Rhoda Markowitz (Hallie Todd) and by flustered Lt. Catalano (Ken Swofford). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is off vacationing somewhere, her nephew Grady (Michael Horton) and his pregnant wife Donna (Debbie Zipp) agree to take care of Jessica's house. Unfortunately, in past episodes Grady could barely take a breath without getting mixed up in murder, and this episode is no exception: the victim is a peg-legged sailor, who is killed smack in the middle of Jessica's living room! As indicated by the episode's title, the key to the mystery is a valuable artifact...and this time it's up to Grady rather than his aunt to crack the case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide