Robert Gossett Movies

The frustrated wife of a high-ranking British official abandons her marriage to salvage her stalled-out acting career, and becomes ensnared in a massive terrorist plot after stealing a taxi and discovering the body of a murdered film director. Twenty-five years ago, Naomi Holbroke (Bonnie Loren) abandoned her acting career to get married. Now she's convinced she made the wrong decision, and she's determined to make up for it by landing the role of a lifetime. When Naomi crosses paths with has-been cult movie director Billy Rust (Mario Van Peebles) at the Cannes Film Festival, she convinces him to let her read for the part of a character that winds up tied to a chair, despite the fact that the role was written for a much younger actress. Later, upon arriving in New York for her screen test, Naomi winds up stealing a taxi after being robbed by the driver, and races to the loft where the audition is to take place. With the police in hot pursuit, the ambitious actress makes a mad dash for the loft only to find the director's headless body sprawled across the floor. Now, as Detective Peter Farrell closes in, Naomi rushes to track down the taxi driver who ripped her off and stole dynamite from construction sites around the city. Should Naomi fail, she may take the fall for a pair of crimes she didn't commit. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

No sooner has transplanted Atlantan Brenda Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) arrived in Los Angeles to assume her duties as deputy police chief of the LAPD's Priority Homicide Division that she is plunged into a bizarre murder case--which, like all those that will follow, is embarrassingly high-profile. Season One of The Closer also establishes that there is no love lost between the abrasive, temperamental Brenda and her coworkers, who don't so much resent her for being a woman than for the infuriating fact that her brash behavior and unorthodox methods always yield results. The season's remaining twelve episodes include "About Face", in which the murder of a supermodel brings Brenda literally face-to-face with the Hollywood scene, phony tinsel and all. In "The Big Picture", the victim is a Russian call girl with a list of celebrity clients. Latino gang members are apparently being picked off one by one by a well-trained military sniper in "Show Yourself". "Flashpoint" involves a murder motived by corporate intrigue in the pharamaceutical industry, but Brenda finds that media scrutiny of her checkered past is more troublesome than the case at hand. In "Fantasy Date", Brenda's team embarks upon an odyssey into the seamy underworld of S&M to find the rapist-killer of a congressman's daughter. The only witness to the murder of a much-despised judge is the victim's autistic son in "Batter Up". In "The Butler Did It", Brenda faces the double whammy of a wealthy and fatally dysfunctional family, and an apparent deliberately freeze-out by her own superiors. In "Good Housekeeping", Brenda's zeal to bring a murderer to justice threatens to cost her her job, while I "LA Woman", Brenda's romance with FBI agent Fritz (Jon Tenney) is jeopardized when they both probe the deaTH of an Iranian businessman. The plot complications "Fatal Retraction" include the premature release of a convicted murderer, a victim whose identity is a mystery, and the possibility of evidence tampering within Brenda's own department. And finally, in "Standards and Practices", an unknown antagonist sabotages Brenda's career as she tracks down clues in the murder of a film producer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Back for a second season (and moving to a new night and time slot), Dark Angel picks up where the season one cliffhanger left off. Recaptured by Manticore, the sinister organization which created her, genetically engineered Max Guevara (Jessica Alba) valiantly resists being reprogrammed as a Manticore warrior -- and also fends off efforts to mate her with fellow X-5 Alec (Jensen Ackles) for breeding purposes. At long last, Max escapes with the help of the doglike Joshua (Kevin Durand), an early "transhuman" experiment. As Joshua tries to track down clues to his origins (it has something to do with a "Sandman"), crusading cyberjounalist Logan (Michael Weatherly), who has grown extremely fond of Max, continues battling against the corrupt powers-that-be in futuristic Seattle -- all the while avoiding the vengeful minions of Manticore leader Madame X (Nana Visitor). Originally slated to air a week earlier, this episode was bumped back to September 28, 2001, due to ongoing network coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This episode introduces Nicole Bilderback as Blin, Max and Zack's genetically engineered "sister" from Manticore. En route to a secret meeting with her siblings, Brin is kidnapped -- and Max (Jessica Alba) and Zack (William Gregory Lee) naturally assume that the abductor is none other than their mad-scientist nemesis, Lydecker (John Savage). As it turns out, however, Lydecker is not the culprit -- and Max and Zack are forced to work together with their enemy to save Brin from being chopped up and sold as parts. Alas, one of the trio makes a false move which plunges everyone into the direst jeopardy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Prue (Shannen Doherty) experiences curiously maternal feelings as she endeavors to rescue a young male witch (David Netter), who has been kidnapped in order to assist in a bank robbery -- and whose whereabouts remain a total mystery. Elsewhere, Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) discovers what the viewers of Charmed have known for weeks: handyman Leo Wyatt (Brian Krause) is really a "Whitelighter," assigned to act as guardian angel for all good witches (like the Halliwells). Good news? Not to Piper (Holly Marie Combs), who, in the process of Phoebe's discovery, loses another boyfriend. ~ Rovi

It takes quite a while to determine who the real villain is in the made-for-TV melodrama A Crime of Passion--but once the truth is revealed, it's a terror-inducing ride to a horrifying conclusion. Kindly Dr. Ben Pierce (Powers Boothe) incurs the wrath of his grown daughters Alyssa (Tracey Gold) and Natalie (essie Gold) when he comes home with his new young trophy wife--an ex-stripped named Marci Elias (Kelly Rowan). Since Marci's love for Ben seems sincere, the hostility is all on the side of his daughters, especially Alyssa, who is already on the outs with her dad because of her poor grades in medical school. A series of unfortunate misunderstandings and bad choices causes a serious rift between Ben and Marci--and before long, Ben is found murdered. Normally, Marci would be the primary suspect, but the evidence compels the police to accuse Alyssa of the crime. That is to say, the evidence as it has been carefully and meticulously pre-arranged... A rather gaudy example of the "Smiler With the Knife" school of filmmaking, A Crime of Passion was originally telecast by CBS on December 15, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

TV weatherperson Monica (Roma Downey) and cameraman Andrew (John Dye) are on hand when hard-driving investigative journalist Rocky McCann (Kay Lenz) looks into rumors of child abuse in a foster home run by retired couple Horace and Zelda Wittenberg (John Randolph, Peg Phillips). Though Monica thinks that Rocky's motivations are honorable, Andrew does not--and as for the Wittenburgs, their lives are in a shambles. As it turns out, Rocky is allowing the tragedies of her own past to ruin the future of several innocent bystanders. Meanwhile, there's a mystery afoot: why is Special Angel Agent Sam (Paul Winfield) supervising Monica instead of the missing Tess (Della Reese)? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Irwin Winkler's paranoid thriller focuses on a high-tech nightmare, as a computer programmer finds herself on the run from an unknown enemy dedicated to ruining her life by digital means. Sandra Bullock stars as Angela Bennett, a programmer who unwittingly comes into possession of software that allows access to secret government information. At first, she thinks little of it, heading off to Mexico on vacation. However, thanks to a series of odd events that culminates with the death of a close friend, Angela starts to suspect she may be in danger. This fear is confirmed when she returns to America to find that her identity has been erased, with police computers showing her as a wanted criminal. She soon realizes that a group of evil conspirators are after the program, and she sets out to clear her name and keep the program from falling into the wrong hands. The central concept later inspired a cable TV series. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) draws what seems to be the easiest duty of the week: tracking down the Academy Award statuette stolen from a veteran screenwriter. Meanwhile, Sipowicz's colleagues investigate the brutal slaying of a wealthy family, and Janice (Amy Brenneman) is again ordered to infiltrate the Mob. This last turn of events doesn't sit well with Kelly (David Caruso), who has a bitter confrontation with Janice. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this first sequel to 1989's Batman, the Caped Crusader (Michael Keaton) is up against the Penguin (Danny DeVito), the hideously deformed scion of a wealthy Gotham City family. The Penguin plots with evil businessman Max Schreck (Christopher Walken) to become mayor and then turn Gotham into a cathedral of crime. Upon overhearing these plans, Schreck's mousy secretary Selena Kyle (Michelle Pfeiffer) is tossed from a high-rise window by her boss. Rescued by a covey of kittens, Selena transforms into the leather-clad Catwoman. In this guise, she teams with the Penguin and Schreck to divvy up their ill-gotten gains and help discredit Batman-but she also has her own scores to settle. Paul "Pee-Wee Herman" Reubens, Vincent Schiavelli and Jan Hooks play significant bits, while Pat Hingle and Michael Gough make returns as, respectively, Commissioner Gordon and Alfred the Butler. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Sgt. Chris Lorenzo (Rob Estes) and Sgt. Rita Lee "Sam" Lance (Mitzi Kapture) continue to expose the sordid, sometimes kinky nether world of fashionable Palm Beach, FL, during the second season of Silk Stalkings. Working as undercover cops, Chris and Rita persist in their efforts to solve various crimes of passion amongst the community's rich and powerful, under the baleful eye of their superior officer Captain Hutchinson (Ben Vereen). Or at least, they do so until mid-season, when "Hutch" is transferred to Ft. Lauderdale; his replacement, who remains on the job for the balance of the season, is Lt. Lou Hudson (Robert Gossett). Season two of Silk Stalkings also marks the first appearance of two lovable reprobates. Comedian John Byner is cast as Cotton Dunn, a playboy con artist who preys only on those who can afford to throw away their moolah. Dennis Paladino is seen as Donnie "Dogs" DiBarto, a soft-hearted gangster who clearly has a crush on Rita. Among other plot developments this season, we discover that Chris Lorenzo is the son of famed actress Anna Alexis (Beverly Adams), from whom he has been estranged for years. This, coupled with revelations about Rita's troubled upbringing, serves to add texture to what might have been just another superficial cop drama. Although Silk Stalkings would end its CBS run at the end of season two, first-run episodes would continue to be shown on the USA network for the next six years. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi