Dabbs Greer Movies

Yet one more derivation of Malcolm in the Middle, the WB Network sitcom Maybe It's Me went into production under the less sensitive but more amusing title Maybe I'm Adopted. The "Me" in question was 15-year-old Molly Stage (Regan Dale Neis), a resident of "the smallest town in the smallest state," who did her best to survive life with her nutty family: soccer-coach dad Jerry (Fred Willard), super-stingy mom Mary (Julia Sweeney), Christian-rocker brother Grant (Patrick Levis), punkish sibling Rick (Andrew Walker), spawn-of-satan twin sisters Mindy and Cindy (played by real-life twins Daniella and Deanna Canterman), and eccentric (to say the least) Grandma Harriet (Ellen Albertini Dow). That grand old trouper Dabbs Greer was seen as goofy old Grandpa Fred. Series creator Suzanne Martin claimed that the Stage clan was based on her own family; if so, the poor woman deserves all our sympathy. Part of a Friday-night WB comedy block, Maybe It's Me debuted on October 5, 2001, its original September 21 premiere date preempted by continuing coverage of the World Trade Center tragedy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the series pilot, Ally (Calista Flockhart) goes to work for a former classmate (Greg Germann). ~ TV Guide, All Movie Guide

Some teen girls take to the road in this made-for-cable remake of the 1956 original. Set in 1957, three guy-crazy friends take to the road in a stolen car, trying to track down one of their ex-lovers before he goes off into the Navy. The film is part of Showtime's "Rebel Highways" series of remakes. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Director Anthony Hickox (Waxwork) crafted this entertaining bit of horror-western fusion about the vampiric residents of a remote, dusty desert town who have chosen to derive their sustenance from a plasma-manufacturing plant in an attempt to put aside their monstrous nature and peacefully co-exist with humans. When the plant begins malfunctioning, the town's leaders summon the designer, David Harrison (Jim Metzler), to look into the problem. Soon after Harrison and his wife Sarah (Morgan Brittany) arrive, however, they find themselves in the thick of an escalating rivalry between two vampire factions -- one led by peaceful Count Mardulak (David Carradine), who ordered the blood plant as part of his plan to integrate the dying vampire race into human society; and the old-school bloodsuckers, under the sinister Jefferson (John Ireland), who consider Mardulak and his followers traitors to their predatory heritage. While the Harrisons' fates hang in the balance, the scales are jostled further by the arrival of a man named Van Helsing (Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell, in a surprisingly low-key performance), descendant of the legendary vampire hunter, whose disorganized efforts at wiping out town's undead populace are impeded by his growing attraction to a pretty young vampire (Deborah Foreman). With tongue firmly in cheek, this semi-parody plays off audiences' familiarity with the conventions of the vampire genre, but it seldom sacrifices creepiness and suspense when needed. It marked a creative step forward for Hickox (who would later stumble with Hellraiser III), who clearly tailors his projects to seasoned horror buffs. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

When Roseanne takes on a second job working nights at the Lobo Lounge, it cuts into her love life. Dan gets advice from his friend Andy (Robert Miranda), while Jackie offers what she can to Roseanne.To steal away some time with her, Dan decides to dress up like a tough greaser kid and fight for his girl at the Lobo Lounge. This episode was written by Tom Arnold, whom the real-life Roseanne would marry in 1990. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

This silly horror film stars Dean Jagger in a zoned-out performance as a mad scientist whose experiments in halting the aging process have reduced the residents of Smalltown, U.S.A. to shambling zombies. Since his serum requires massive amounts of extracted human pituitary fluid, Jagger is ever on the lookout for more unwilling donors -- i.e. nearly everyone unlucky enough to pass through town. This film is apparently assembled from pieces of two different projects, including an uncompleted film from the mid-'70s, and spiced up with some gratuitous nudity courtesy of former Playboy playmate Lynda Wiesmeier. As expected, the combination doesn't really work -- the editors have made a commendable attempt at maintaining some form of continuity, but the end result seems hardly worth the effort. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Season eight of Little House on the Prairie finds Mary Ingalls Kendall (Melissa Sue Anderson, formerly a series regular and now a "special guest star") moving to New York, where her husband, Adam (Linwood Boomer), has joined his father's law firm. Back in Walnut Grove, Mary's father, Charles (Michael Landon), has added orphans James and Cassandra Cooper (Jason Bateman, Missy Francis) to the Ingalls household. Meanwhile, the Ingalls' neighbors the Olesons, suffering from "empty nest syndrome" after the marriage of daughter Nellie (Alison Arngrim), decide to adopt a little girl named Nancy (Allison Balson) -- who turns out to be a terrifying clone of the nasty brat that the now-reformed Nellie had been in her youth. In more serious developments, Charles' daughter Laura (Melissa Gilbert) must cope with the anger and self-pity exhibited by her husband, Almanzo (Dean Butler), when he suffers a stroke -- and his bitterness also threatens to dampen the happiness experienced by Laura when she gives birth to her daughter, Rose. Elsewhere, Charles' old friend Isaiah Edwards (former series regular Victor French) suffers the death of his son, resumes his heavy drinking, and causes the breakup of his marriage; thus, by the time he returns to Walnut Grove, he is seriously contemplating suicide. And in the two-part season-eight finale, "He Was Only Twelve," Charles' adoptive son, James, is left comatose from gun wounds suffered in a bank holdup. Arguably the most fascinating of the season's episodes is "The Legacy," in which an auction taking place in the year 1982 unearths several valuable antiques: chairs designed and constructed by none other than Charles Ingalls. ~ All Movie Guide

After many setbacks, Laura Ingalls (Melissa Gilbert) finally marries Almanzo Wilder (Dean Butler) in the two-part opener of Little House on the Prairie's seventh season. Wedding bells also ring for Laura's childhood nemesis (but now good friend), Nellie Oleson (Alison Arngrim), who weds Percival Dalton (Steve Tracy) -- much to the horror of Nellie's status-climbing mother, Mrs. Oleson (Katherine MacGregor) when it is revealed that "Percival" is actually a Jewish boy named Isaac Cohen. Nellie herself resolves this problem by giving birth to twins, then announcing that one baby will be raised Christian, the other Jewish! Meanwhile, recently widowed Jonathan Garvey (Merlin Olsen) teams with Laura's dad, Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon), to set up a warehouse business headquartered in Sleepy Eye, the same town where Laura and Almanzo now live and work as teachers. Also, we are re-introduced to Laura's blind older sister, Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson), and her equally blind husband, Adam Kendall (Linwood Boomer), likewise employed as teachers. A freak accident restores Adam's sight, whereupon he decides to go to law school -- after first reassuring Mary that his ability to see will not in any way dim their love. As the season draws to a close, Laura finds that she is pregnant. And in the two-part season seven finale, "The Lost Ones," Charles Ingalls decides to adopt a brace of orphans, James and Cassandra Cooper (played respectively by Jason Bateman and Missy Francis). ~ All Movie Guide

Devastating financial reverses, prompted by the closing of the town mill, force several Walnut Grove citizens to pack up and move out as Little House on the Prairie enters it fifth season. Among those leaving are Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon), his wife, Caroline (Karen Grassle), and their younger daughters Laura (Melissa Gilbert), Carrie (Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush), and Grace (Wendi and Brenda Turnbaugh). Charles has decided to move his family closer to eldest daughter Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson), now attending a school for the blind in Winoka, Dakota Territory. As luck (and the scriptwriters) would have it, the Ingalls' neighbors the Garveys and the Olesons likewise relocate to Winoka. Upon their arrival, the Ingalls take in an orphan named Albert (Patrick Laborteaux), who returns with the family to Walnut Grove after an unexpected financial windfall enables the Ingalls, the Garveys, and the Olesons to go back where they feel they belong. This necessitates a few rousing episodes wherein the neighbors pitch together to rebuild Walnut Grove, which in their absence has fallen into a sad state of disrepair. At the same time, the Winoka blind school closes, whereupon Mary and her teacher-fiancé Adam Kendall (Linwood Boomer) set up a new school at Walnut Grove. To this end, they hire a teacher named Hester-Sue Terhune (Ketty Lester) who, much to the dismay of status- and race-conscious social arbiter Mrs. Oleson (Katherine MacGregor), turns out to be a black woman -- and who, to the surprise of absolutely no one except Mrs. Oleson, possesses more class, sophistication, and intelligence than all the Olesons combined! The two-part "Blind Journey," in which Hester-Sue is introduced, is followed by another superb episode touching upon racial prejudice, "The Craftsman," which finds young Albert befriending an elderly Jewish merchant. Season five ends with "The Odyssey," a poignant story in which Albert and Laura run away from home to keep company with their young friend, a boy dying of leukemia. ~ All Movie Guide

Season four of Little House on the Prairie finds the Ingalls' household increased from five to six after Caroline Ingalls (Karen Grassle), wife of series protagonist Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon), gives birth to another daughter, named Grace. At the same time, the Ingalls' farmer friend Isaiah Edwards and his family leave Walnut Grove (Victor French, the actor playing Edwards, had gone off to star in his own sitcom, Carter Country), whereupon the town greets a new crop of citizens: kindly but bull-headed farmer Jonathan Garvey (Merlin Olsen), his wife, Alice (Hersha Parady), and their troublesome son, Andy (Patrick Laborteaux). That said, it must be emphasized that most of the season's meatier plotlines are focussed on the Ingalls' household. Inspired by her teacher, Miss Beadle (Charlotte Stewart) -- who gets married in the course of the season -- Mary Ingalls (Melissa Sue Anderson) opts for a teaching career herself. Alas, it looks as if her ambitions may be dashed when Mary is told that she is going blind. Once she has reconciled herself to her fate -- but is still determined to make education her life's work -- Mary agrees to attend a blind school in Winoka, Dakota Territory, where she meets and falls in love with her new teacher, Adam Kendall (Linwood Boomer). Season five marks the final full season in which Karl Swenson appears in the role of mill owner Lars Hanson; the actor passed away in the fall of 1978. ~ All Movie Guide

An upcoming Chief's examination has Captain Stanley (Michael Norell) more uptight than usual, due to the "bad blood" between himself and his former commander (William Boyett). Meanwhile, an actor (Leon Ames) who plays a doctor on a popular soap opera checks into Rampart as a patient, driving everyone crazy with his "medical expertise", and bringing along a further burden in the form of his publicity-hungry producer (Tom Williams). Also, a retired doctor (Dabbs Greer) is stuck in an elevator while suffering from an aneurysm. This was the last hour-long Emergency! episode to be filmed, though not the last to be telecast on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Victor French and Bonnie Bartlett, heretofore guest stars in the roles of Isaiah and Grace Edwards, graduate to regular status as Little House on the Prairie enters its third season. The opening episode, "The Collection," features country legend Johnny Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, in the story of a reprobate who is reformed by the kindness and generosity of the Walnut Grove townsfolk -- including farmer Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon), his wife, Caroline (Karen Grassle), and daughters Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson) and Laura (Melissa Gilbert). In other season-three developments, Mary falls in love with the Edwards' adopted son; bratty Nellie Oleson (Alison Arngrim) continues pulling off nasty and spiteful pranks, including pretending to be paralyzed after a fall from Laura's pony; and in the 90-minute episode "The Hunters," Charles nearly loses his life in a hunting accident. Also, the season features a brace of compelling two-part stories: "Journey in the Spring," highlighted by a flashback to Charles' childhood, and "To Live With Fear," in which Charles takes an extremely risky job to finance the operation that will save daughter Mary. The season ends with yet another two-parter, "Gold Country," in which Charles and his family try to compensate for the loss of their crops by prospecting for gold. ~ All Movie Guide

Season two of Little House on the Prairie opens with Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon) losing his "outside" job when Lars Hanson (Karl Swenson) is forced to close Walnut Grove's mill. Back at home, Charles' daughter Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson) begins to notice signs that her eyesight is fading (she would not become totally blind for several seasons). Elsewhere, mean old Ebenezer Sprague (Ted Gehring) is appointed town banker; the widow Thurman (Mariette Hartley) is suspected of having an affair with the very married Charles Ingalls; and Charles' daughters Mary and Laura (Melissa Gilbert) experience a hair-raising adventure in the episode titled "The Runaway Caboose." Another episode, the two-part "Remember Me," finds Charles seeking out proper homes for three orphaned children -- prompting taciturn Isaiah Edwards (Victor French, still a recurring rather than regular supporting player) to marry Grace Snider (Bonnie Bartlett) and adopt the children. In the season's final episode, Charles Ingalls considers moving back to Wisconsin after his crops are wiped out by a tornado...and little Mary receives her first kiss. ~ All Movie Guide