Robert Gossett Movies
The crime drama's fourth season continues to track detective Brenda Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) as she utilizes her sly interrogation techniques to close L.A.-area crimes and finally takes her romance with FBI man Fritz Howard (Jon Tenney) to the next level. A red-hot case opens the season when Brenda smokes out a pyromaniacal nutcase after fires threaten vast swaths of L.A. In other prime-crime events, Brenda and her Priority Homicide Division (later renamed the Major Crimes Division after a moniker overhaul) scrutinize the suicide of a high-school girl in a case that spins around a hotheaded sheriff (Daniel Baldwin). The team also probes the vanishing of a troubled tween boy; sleuths when two Tijuana cops are murdered; investigates the death of a teen involved in an explosive bombing scheme; and tangles with a known sex offender and his sly and slimy attorney. It also gets hairy in Hollywood when a TV-show hairstylist is found slain, prompting Brenda to comb for clues. On the fringe and complicating matters is pesky journalist Ricardo Ramos (Stephen Martines), whose vitriolic column puts the team on the defensive. The year proves to be a difficult one for Det. Sanchez (Raymond Cruz): Not only is his brother shot, but he's shot as well. It's also rough going for gruff yet lovable Provenza (G.W. Bailey) when he loses crucial evidence gained from a sting operation. And wedding bells might ring for a Southern belle: Brenda prepares for her upcoming nuptials with Fritz, but the ceremony could give new meaning to "shotgun wedding" when they both grow obsessed with solving two separate crimes on their big day. At least Brenda's parents (Frances Sternhagen, Barry Corbin) and Fritz's colorful psychic sister (Amy Sedaris) are in town to keep the wedding plans moving-but it won't be a piece of cake. ~ Dean Maurer, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kyra Sedgwick, J.K. Simmons, (more)
Brenda Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick), head of the LAPD's Priority Homicide Division, continues to cope with high-profile murders, higher-profile suspects, and the downright hostility of her coworkers and superiors in Season Two of The Closer. Determining much of the drama this season are the ever-growing romantic difficulties between Brenda and her unit's FBI liason Fritz (Jon Tenney). There is also a pivotal--and very bloody--moment in the midseason episode "No Good Deed",when Priority Homicide's headquarters are nearly reduced to rubble by a frenzied shoot-out. In the season opener "Blue Blood", the murder of an off-duty cop forces Brenda to forestall an important decision involving Fritz. "Mom Duty" finds Brenda bending the rules to the breaking point in order to interrogate the members of a sequestered jury in the middle of a mob trial. In "Slipping", a homicide on the USC campus puts a damper on a visit from Brenda's mom. Brenda herself begins exhibiting stranger behavior than usual in the wake of a restauranteur's murder in "Aftertaste". Two of Brenda's associates, Andy Flynn (Anthony Dennison) and Det. Lt. Provenza (G.W. Bailley), endanger the future of the unit by spending too much time at sporting events in "Protect and Serve". In "Out of Focus", a stalker who specializes in shadowing other stalkers is killed. A possible pregnancy weighs heavily upon Brenda's mind as she investigates the grisly murder of a porn star in "Head Over Heels". In "Criticial Missing", a serial killer could be involved in the alleged suicide of two Japanese women. A small boy may not be guilty of murder, but the kid's mom may know more than she's letting on, in "Heroic Measures". Then follows the aforementioned "No Good Deed", itself followed by "Overkill", in which a reluctant Fritz must act as peacemaker between Brenda and another FBI agent. The two-part season finale "Serving the King" finds Brenda, forced to take administrative leave, going undercover on her own to root out a possible terrorist--even while her longtime adversary Commander Taylor (Robert Gossett) is pulling strings to break up the Priority Homicide Division. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kyra Sedgwick, J.K. Simmons, (more)
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kyra Sedgwick, J.K. Simmons, (more)
- 2001
Escaping from the clutches of Lydecker (John Savage) at Manticore, a nearly dead Zack (William Gregory Lee) tries to contact his genetically engineered sibling Max (Jessica Alba). Along the way, another Manticore refugee, Tinga (Lisa Ann Cabasa), makes her first appearance, thereby laying the groundwork for Dark Angel's first-season finale (which is, of course, still several episodes in the future). At the same time, the growing affection between Max and Logan (Michael Weatherly) is jeopardized by a number of outside influences, not to mention Logan's dissatisfaction with his "new" legs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
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, All Movie Guide
- 2001
In the conclusion of a two-part episode, Max (Jessica Alba) and Zack (William Gregory Lee) assemble an army of X-5 soldiers to bring down Manticore once and for all -- and, incidentally, to avenge the death of their fellow X-5, Tinga. Meanwhile, Max's longtime nemesis Lydecker (John Savage) offers to aid the rebellion, citing his disgust with Manticore director Madame X (Nana Visitor) and her corruption of the originally benign X-5 genetic-engineering program. But can Lydecker be trusted? An apparent victory over the villains suddenly morphs into a tense cliffhanger involving Max's clone -- and viewers will have to wait until the beginning of Dark Angel's second season to see how it all comes out. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
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, All Movie Guide
In this tense thriller, a man begins to suspect his neighbors are not what they appear to be -- and their secrets could be deadly. Michael Faraday (played by Jeff Bridges) is a college professor whose wife, an FBI agent, was killed in the line of duty by members of an extremist right-wing terrorist group, leaving him to raise their nine-year-old son by himself. One day, he saves the life of a boy he sees on the street. The child turns out to be the son of his new neighbors, Oliver and Cheryl Lang (Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack). Michael soon becomes friendly with the grateful Langs, who seem as cheerfully bland as anyone could hope from denizens of suburbia. But the better Michael gets to know Oliver, the more he becomes convinced that something isn't quite right; Oliver seems almost too clean and perfect, and Michael begins to notice that small details in Oliver's stories don't quite add up. The question is whether Michael's well-founded paranoia about the radical right is getting the better of him, or are the Langs up to something a lot more sinister than their cheerful smiles and manicured lawn would suggest? Ehren Kruger's screenplay for Arlington Road won the Motion Picture Academy's Nicholl Fellowship prize in 1996; the film was the second directorial effort for Mark Pellington, who debuted with Going All the Way. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, (more)
- 1999
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. ~ All Movie Guide
A boy learns to get by on his wits and comes to depend on the kindness of (relative) strangers in this independent drama. Jimmy (Brendan Fletcher), whose abusive foster father (Ike Gingrich) likes to call him "Jimmy Zip" (that is, "Jimmy Nothing"), is fascinated with fire and sees no good reason to stay at home where he's not wanted. So Jimmy hits the road and ends up in Hollywood, where he hooks up with a pair of fellow runaway teens, Sheila (Adrienne Frantz) and Snake (Zia). While Jimmy's new friends show him the finer points of scraping up a living on the streets, Rick (Chris Mulkey), a pimp and dope dealer, gives Jimmy a job dealing drugs. While on his way home from a drug buy, Jimmy makes the mistake of getting in an argument with Horace (Robert Gossett), a homeless man with Tourette's syndrome who lives in his car. Horace accidentally ends up with Jimmy's jacket, which has $20,000 of Rick's money inside; when Jimmy realizes what happened, he tries to warn Horace before Rick can get to him, but Horace and Jimmy soon take it on the lam with Rick's money. Horace has artistic ambitions, and with Rick's drug money as a stake, he hopes to create some metal sculptures that he can sell for bigger money, allowing him and Jimmy to support themselves after paying back Rick. Jimmy Zip was shown at the 1999 Hollywood Film Festival, where it won a special prize for best film with a budget under one million dollars. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brendan Fletcher, Ike Gingrich, (more)
- 1999
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tracey Gold, Powers Boothe, (more)
- 1997
Per its title, this Fox network TV movie is one of several followups to the shortlived science fiction series AlienNation, which ran on Fox from 1989 to 1991 and was based on the 1988 theatrical feature of the same name. The original series was set in a futuristic Los Angeles wherein human earthlings coexisted more or less peacefully with the Newcomers, a race of aliens from the planet Tencton who had settled in LA after escaping a slave-transport ship, and who, despite the prejudices harbored by the "Purists" and other such xenophobes, had assimilated to the point of were holding down traditionally "human" jobs and living in the 'burbs with their families. Repeating their series roles are Gray Graham as LAPD detective Matthew Sikes and Eric Pierpoint as his Newcomer partner, Detective George Francisco (George is the one with the huge bald cranium and the vestigal ears). The story gets under way when a group of "kamikaze" Newcomers invades Los Angeles, apparently with homicidal intentions towards the humans--but only because they've been brainwashed by a higher power. Tied in with this alien influx is the Udara, the radicalized Newcomer guerillas who had fomented the rebellion on the Tectonese slave ship, and who remain dedicated in their mission to kill off all "Overseers"--including those of the human variety. Much to George's surprise, his own wife Susan (Michele Scarabelli) is part of the Udara movement, resulting in a major conflict of interest. One of the fim's many subplots involves the efforts by George and Susan's son Buck (Sean Six) to follow in dad's footsteps and join the police force; elsewhere, a few unresolved plot strands from the earlier series and its previous TV-movie sequels are tied up. AlienNation: The Udara Legacy originally aired July 29, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
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, All Movie Guide
From director-writer Desmond Nakano comes this unusual role-reversal picture examining racism from a different perspective. Louis Pinnock (John Travolta) is a semi-literate worker in a chocolate candy factory. One day he makes a delivery to the mansion of wealthy Thaddeus Thomas (Harry Belafonte). He is noticed while he is unintentionally looking up at Thomas' wife, Megan (Margaret Avery), while she is undressing in an open window. Thomas makes sure that Pinnock is fired for this innocent indiscretion despite his years of reliable performance at the factory. Some time later, unemployed and destitute, Pinnock and his wife Marsha (Kelly Lynch) and children are evicted roughly from their home by police officers. Marsha's mother (Carrie Snodgress) takes in her daughter and grandchildren, but she won't let Pinnock stay. Police officers beat up Pinnock one day because, they say, he fits the description of a criminal suspect. Finally, Pinnock goes to Thomas's house to get an explanation for his firing, but Thomas doesn't remember the incident. Pinnock takes Thomas hostage and demands he be paid for all the hours of work he has missed. In this film, all the authority figures and wealthy people are black, and Pinnock is a member of a poor white underclass. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Harry Belafonte, (more)
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Bullock, Jeremy Northam, (more)
- 1994
We'd rather not rehash the sordied Menendez murder case in this space; besides, it isn't necessary, inasmuch as no fewer than two TV movies were produced on the subject in 1994. The first was Fox's Honor Thy Father and Mother; the second, telecast less than a month later, was Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills. Two hours longer than the first film, Menendez spends half of its running time recounting the events leading up to the Menendez brothers' murder of the parents, while the second half devotes itself to their overpublicized trial. Lyle and Eric Menendez are played, respectively, by Damian Chapa and Travis Fine. Edward James Olmos and Beverly D'Angelo costar as the ill-fated parents, while Margaret Whitton is cast as attorney Leslie Abramson. Once past the most lurid aspects of the case-notably the Menendez boys' insistence that their crime was motivated by extreme parental abuse-this 4-hour wallow gets pretty tiresome. Menendez was originally telecast in two parts, on May 22 and 23, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward James Olmos, Beverly D'Angelo, (more)
- 1993
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, All Movie Guide
- 1992
The guys at Cheers inaugurate a marathon poker game, ostensibly for the purpose of teaching Woody (Woody Harrelson) how to play. While the boys are otherwise occupied, Rebecca (Kirstie Alley) bravely holds down the fort -- or rather, the bar -- with the help of Carla (Rhea Perlman). Fortunately, Cheers enjoys one of its busiest nights ever; unfortunately, the bar's liquor license has just expired, forcing Rebecca and Carla to concoct some bizarre, alcohol-free improvisations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, (more)
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rob Estes, Mitzi Kapture, (more)
- 1992
In this made-for-cable thriller, Mimi Rogers portrays a cop who, burned out by her work, transfers to the forensics staff as an evidence photographer. While investigating a string of killings, the trail of evidence leads to the married man with whom she's having an affair. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1991
When a woman is falsely convicted for selling drugs, she asks her sister to raise her young children in this true story. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1990
J. Anthony Lukas' 1985 Pulitzer Prize winning book Common Ground served as the basis of the two-part TV movie Common Ground. Jane Curtin plays Alice McGoff, and CCH Pounder plays Rachel Twymon, two Boston housewives and mothers on opposite sides of one of the city's bitterest racial battles. In 1974, the decision is made to improve the level of education received by Boston's black youth. The solution: bus black kids to white schools, and vice versa, on a quota basis. Spearheading the movement is idealistic Harvard-educated attorney Colin Diver (Richard Thomas). Nobody emerges the winner of this debacle, as newly integrated Charleston High School becomes a battlefield. Part one of Common Ground premiered March 25, 1990 (see separate entry for details on part two). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
