Googy Gress

While Walt Disney's 1961 filmization of Victor Herbert's Babes in Toyland pales in comparison to the 1934 movie version starring Laurel & Hardy, the Disney film is an unqualified classic when compared to the ill-starred 1986 TV version. Adapted for television by playwright Paul Zindel, the 1986 film stars Drew Barrymore as Lisa Piper, a contemporary girl whisked off Wizard of Oz fashion to Toyland. Here her friends and family from the "real" world are reincarnated as villainous Barnaby (Richard Mulligan), Old Mother Hubbard (Eileen Brennan), Jack-Be-Nimble (Keanu Reeves) et. al. Only "March of the Toys" and "Toyland" have been retained from the original Victor Herbert score; the rest of the songs were specially written for this adaptation by Leslie Bricusse-and, suffice to say, these were hardly classics. Irreparably damaging this version was its 180-minute length-over twice as long as the Laurel & Hardy version, and not even half as good. Filmed in Munich, Babes in Toyland was first telecast December 19, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Produced for theatrical released by PBS' American Playhouse, Bloodhounds of Broadway is not exactly a remake of the 1952 film of the same name, though both pictures use the same Damon Runyon stories as inspiration. The scene is Broadway: the time is New Year's Eve, 1928. Madonna plays small town girl-turned-hoofer Hortense Hathaway, who loves gambler Feet Samuels (Randy Quaid) more than somewhat. Since it is known far and wide that Feet has not a penny to his name, he must find some way to pay off his debts in a hurry. So he offers to sell his huge feet to a demented-an operation which will, alas, cost Feet the use of his life. Upon waking up to the fact that Hortense loves him, Feet decides that he prefers breathing to pushing up daisies. Meanwhile, a society doll named Harriet MacKyle (Julie Hagerty) turns on the spigots when her pet parrot is laid low by a clumsy gunman. And while all this is transpiring, high-roller Regret (Matt Dillon) has to beat a murder rap. Even while Regret is sweating it out, "The Brain" (Rutger Hauer), who is bleeding profusely after confronting the business end of a shiv, searches high and low for someone willing to donate blood to save his life. If you can, keep an eye out for author William Burroughs as a butler. Bloodhounds of Broadway was the first non-documentary effort of filmmaker Howard Brookner-and the last, since he died before the film was released. To gloss over the film's plot holes, the distributors added a Winchell-like narrator to the proceedings, courtesy of actor Joseph Sommer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the quintessential family shows of the late '70s, CHiPs featured two handsome California Highway Patrolmen: Jon, the blonde uptight one, and Ponch, the free-wheeling Latin Lover. Prowling the L.A. freeways for wrong doers and the inattentive, the duo rode cool bikes, witnessed many exciting accidents -- often ending in fireballs -- saved lives, solved mysteries and flirted with pretty girls. Off duty, they often did all the things considered hip during that time, including lots of disco-dancing.

Made-especially for the TNT cable network and featuring most of the original cast and crew, this lighthearted action-adventure is set 15 years from where the old show left off. Jon (Larry Wilcox) and Ponch (Erik Estrada) have not been partners for years, but a puzzling series of car thefts reunite them. Part of the fun of the show is watching the two leads -- no longer sporting washboard stomachs, trim waistlines and smooth faces -- as they try to adjust to the innovations of modern police work, including new bikes and wireless radios that keep them in constant contact with their senior officer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When her new boss, Larry (Johnny Sneed), loses his soul to a demon, Paige (Rose McGowan) is forced into an unholy agreement, one that will undoubtedly cause far more harm than good. In other developments: baby Wyatt seems to be using his inherent magic skills to sabotage his mother Piper's (Holly Marie Combs) social life. Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) is forced to collaborate with her rival columnist at the "Bay Mirror." And in their ongoing efforts to protect Wyatt from demonic harm, Chris (Drew Fuller) and Leo (Brian Krause) are hurtled back to the prehistoric era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Shelley Long recreates her Cheers role as Diane Chambers in this episode (which, of course, was not Diane's first appearance on Frasier -- remember that surprise ending in the second-season episode "Adventures in Paradise"?). Arriving in Seattle full of stories of how wonderful her new life is in Malibu, Diane suddenly goes into one of her customary fits of hysteria and tearfully admits to former fiancé Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) that she has never been so miserable. Taking pity on Diane, Frasier agrees to do anything he can for her, even unto financing production of a play she has written -- which, much to his dismay, turns out to be a thinly disguised recap of Diane's life back in Boston with a group of disturbingly familiar losers hanging around a tavern and pining hopelessly over heroine "Mary Ann." This episode earned an Emmy award for Outstanding Editing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A slacker tries to do the right thing for his family with unexpectedly chaotic results in this independent comedy. Salman (Scott Prendergast) is an out-of-work twentysomething who has few skills and fewer prospects. However, things are significantly worse for his older brother -- his National Guard unit has been called back to Iraq, and his wife, Leslie (Lisa Kudrow), needs to go back to work in order to support their children. However, Leslie doesn't have anyone to look after her two sons, so when Salman learns of her sad situation, he volunteers to move in and help mind the kids. Salman quickly discovers the boys are nearly psychotic and will stop at nothing to get him out of the house, including putting sharp objects in his breakfast. With the household still short on money, Leslie helps Salman get a job, and soon he's become the corporate mascot for a failing Internet company, who pounds the pavement wearing a strange blue costume hoping to drum up interest in renting space in the corporate offices. The first feature film as writer and director for actor Scott Prendergast, Kabluey also stars Christine Taylor, Conchata Ferrell, Teri Garr, and Chris Parnell. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, an ordinary woman finds herself sharing both her home and her body with a ghost who has a pronounced wild streak. Jan (Glenn Close) and Nick (Mandy Patinkin) are a couple moving into an apartment in an old Victorian house in San Francisco. Jan is a straight-laced secretary working for a Catholic bishop, while Nick deals in used books. While stripping some old wallpaper in their new home, they discover a message written on the wall, which their flaky landlady Mrs. Lavin (Ruth Gordon) informs them was written by Maxie, a high-spirited flapper who had a career in silent films before dying in a car wreck on her way to audition for D.W. Griffith. Out of curiosity, Jan and Nick rent a video of one of Maxie's films to see her in action, but it just so happens that Maxie's ghost still lives in the house -- and is looking for a human host. Maxie's spirit enters Jan's body and makes her presence known at the most inconvenient times; suddenly mild mannered Jan is kicking up her heels, swilling gin, starting arguements, and acting like a flaming youth straight out of the 1920s. Nick finds Maxie a good bit more exciting than Jan and even tries to launch Maxie back into a movie career by having her audition for a remake of Cleopatra opposite Harry Hamlin; Jan, however, just wants to have her body to herself again. Maxie proved to be one of the last screen appearances for veteran actress Ruth Gordon, who died several weeks before the film was released. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Three friends face the disappointments of adulthood in this drama. Growing up in Ashville, Utah, a small town where traditional ideals still cling stubbornly to the hearts and minds of youth, Davey Hancock (Jason Gedrick) is the star of the high school's championship basketball team. Pretty cheerleader Mary Daley (Tracy Pollan) is Davey's girlfriend, and bright Danny Rivers (Kiefer Sutherland) is his best friend. Two years after graduating from high school, reality has dimmed their dreams; while Davey won a college scholarship to play ball, he washed out of the team and ended up back in Ashville, where he's now a police officer. While Davey still sees Mary, she wants more out of life than Ashville or her relationship with him can give her. And when Danny, who has spent much of his time since high school drifting in search of an ambition, returns to town to visit Davey and Mary, he brings along a surprise -- Bev (Meg Ryan), a drug-addled floozy with an unstable personality (and a gun) whom he married in Las Vegas three days earlier. Promised Land was also released on home video under the title Young Hearts. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A woman discovers that a part of her family history may be more complicated -- and more famous -- than she ever imagined in this comedy. Thirtysomething Sarah Huttinger (Jennifer Aniston), who has spent most of her adult life in New York City, is flying home to California with her long time boyfriend, Jeff Daly (Mark Ruffalo), for the wedding of her annoyingly perky younger sister, Annie (Mena Suvari). While Sarah and Jeff have recently announced they're engaged to be married, Sarah has been having second thoughts, and she isn't excited about the prospect of spending time with the family where she's always felt like the odd duck. As Sarah tries to decide what she should do with her personal and professional lives, she turns to her sharp-tongued and still youthful grandmother, Katharine (Shirley MacLaine), for advice, and Katharine shares a little-known bit of family history -- that Sarah's now-deceased mother left her father, Earl (Richard Jenkins), a few days before their wedding and ran off with another man for several days before coming back and marrying Earl. However, after hearing this Sarah is also treated to some long-simmering local gossip about a young man who ran off with a bride-to-be after he was seduced by her mother...and that the story became the basis for the hit movie The Graduate. Sarah begins to wonder, was Katharine the real-life Mrs. Robinson of this story? And if it's true, who was the man who had affairs with Sarah's mother and grandmother? Was it dashing and wealthy family friend Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner), who has also turned Sarah's head? Rumor Has It... was produced from an original screenplay by Ted Griffin; Griffin was originally set to direct the film, but shortly after production began he was replaced, with Rob Reiner taking over the project. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this standard story of sex at summer camp, four campers are trapped for awhile in a cave and begin to fabricate supposedly true tales of their past sexual exploits -- giving rise to several flashbacks as their imaginary adventures unfold one by one. Even the nature-studies counselor who is trapped with them gets in on the act and relates a bizarre story when it is her turn to contribute. As time goes by and no help seems to be on the way, the group -- virginal to the core -- begins to wonder if their lives will end in that unwanted state. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Two hapless psychics unwittingly aid a criminal in his quest to obtain a mystic relic in this farcical adventure. Street smart beauty-school dropout Sylvia Pickel (Cyndi Lauper) navigates life with the counsel of a spirit named Louise, while genteel Nick Deezy (Jeff Goldblum) has the ability to "read" an object's past just by holding it. Harry Buscafusco (Peter Falk) is the treasure hunter who brings them together for a trip to Ecuador to find his missing son. Nick and Sylvia don't get on at first, their animosity only amplified by various slapstick escapades that find them posing as siblings and hobnobbing with monied jet-setters. Eventually, Buscafusco's missing-child premise turns out to be a ruse; his true intentions envelop Nick and Sylvia in serious peril just as they're beginning to let down their guard and fall for one another. The action climaxes in a special effects-laden jungle sequence. Vibes marked the screen debut of pop singer Cyndi Lauper, whose single "Hole in My Heart (All the Way to China)" graces the closing credits. Despite the poor box-office results of Vibes and the generally poor reviews for her performance, Lauper would go on to earn an Emmy award for a guest stint on TV's Mad About You and appear with Christopher Walken in the indie drama The Opportunists. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide