James Crocker Movies

The second revival of Rod Serling's classic sci-fi/fantasy anthology The Twilight Zone, this weekly, one-hour UPN network effort was hosted and narrated by actor Forest Whitaker. In keeping with the format of the original series, the stories presented herein found ordinary people trapped in extraordinary, other-worldly situations, with a message or moral subtlety built in to the twist ending. And as before, a number of guest stars graced the series, such as Jason Alexander, who appeared as Mr. Death in the opener (at least two different stories were presented per episode). Boasting several veterans of the Star Trek TV franchise in its production staff, this incarnation of The Twilight Zone premiered September 18, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Five self-absorbed high school students with absolutely nothing in common are suddenly abducted by an alien. Each of the students is given an ultimatum: He or she must decide which of the five is to be killed, or else they all will die within the next five hours. Suddenly realizing that they truly care about one another despite their differences, the kids try to figure a way out of their deadly dilemma -- but first they must escape from a bizarre parallel world. "Abduction" first aired on August 18, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Haven is a high-rise, high-tech building, totally controlled by a master computer named Argus. The tenants barely have to lift a finger for themselves; a full complement of marvelous machines and appliances do all the work for them. Perhaps inevitably, Argus suddenly goes on the fritz, locking in the tenants and cutting off all food and water. In order to survive, the self-absorbed occupants of the Haven, most of whom have never met one another, must band together and work as one. Little does anyone suspect that Argus' "accidental" breakdown may not be an accident at all. "Haven" was originally broadcast on July 2, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In part two of Stargate SG-1's first-season finale, the Stargate project has been determined to be a waste of money and shut down by the government. Still convinced that the Goa'ulds, led by Apophis (Peter Williams), are planning to attack the Earth, the SG-1 team defies orders and passes through the Stargate, prepared to thwart the attack by cutting it off at its source. Hopelessly trapped on a Goa'uld ship, the team members agree to sacrifice themselves for the greater good and set about to destroy the vessel. A slim hope for salvation is aroused when O'Neil (Richard Dean Anderson) discovers that his old friend and comrade in arms, the Abydonian Skaara (Alexis Cruz), is also on board the enemy ship. Alas, Skaara is now the host body of Klorel, son of Apophis -- and as zero hour approaches, it appears that Skaara/Klorel will serve only to seal the Earth's doom. This cliffhanger episode would not be resolved until "The Serpent's Lair," the opening installment of Stargate SG-1's second season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lela Rochon stars as Beth Carter, a woman suffering from a rare malady called Primary Alexithymia, which robs her of the ability to experience emotions. Dr. Steven Molstad (Gordon Pinsent) tries to cure Beth with an experimental brain implant. Sure enough, the emotions begin gushing forward at an astonishing rate, but will Beth be able to survive this terrifying sensory overload? And what is Dr. Molstad's hidden agenda? Making excellent use of both color and black-and-white cinematography, "The Awakening" first aired on March 14, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the distant future, the earth has been overtaken by aliens, and the surviving humans have been reprogammed as slave laborers. Hoping to overthrow the rulers, insurrectionist Trent Davis (played by Star Trek: The Next Generation's Brent Spiner) kidnaps Evan (Erich Anderson), the personal slave of alien leader Koltok (Vincent Hammond). During a grueling and emotionally devastating deprogramming process, Evan is groomed to assassinate Koltok -- but will this result in an even more horrific fate for the enslaved humans? "The Deprogrammers" originally aired on May 26, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While on a standard surveillance mission, Sisko and O'Brien locate a heretofore unknown colonized planet. Stranded on the planet's surface, the two crew members are confronted by a group of humans who have militantly rejected all forms of technology. With no avenues of escape at hand, Sisko and O'Brien may well be forced to adopt the primitive lifestyle of their hosts. First aired February 12, 1994, "Paradise" was scripted by Jeff King, Richard Manning, and Hans Beimler, from a story by Jim Trombetta and James Crocker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Daphne Ashbrook guest stars as Ensign Melora Pazlar, a DS9 cartographer from a low-gravity world who requires a wheelchair to move about in normal gravity. Falling in love with Melora, Bashir tries to find a cure for her affliction. On a less lofty plateau, the redoubtable Quark is targetted for extinction by his old enemy Fallit Kot (Peter Crombie). First telecast October 30, 1993, "Melora" was written by Evan Carlos Somers, Steven Baum, Michael Piller, and James Crocker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Twenty-one years after its network cancellation, Rod Serling's classic sci-fi/fantasy anthology The Twilight Zone was revived by CBS -- minus Serling, who had passed away in 1975. Unlike the black-and-white half-hour original, the new Twilight Zone was seen in full color in a 60-minute weekly slot. Also unlike the first version, which featured a single story per episode, the remake generally offered from two to three different playlets per program. Finally, whereas Rod Serling had appeared on-camera to host the old series, the new series had no "host," merely an off-camera narrator, actor Charles Aidman; and as for the series' "classic" theme song, it was folded into a new opening theme, performed by the Grateful Dead. Debuting September 22, 1985, the new Twilight Zone initially boasted Harlan Ellison as its creative consultant (Ellison, in fact, wrote the opener, "Shatterday);" unfortunately, Ellison angrily left the series early on, citing network interference in the Christmas episode. During its second season, Twilight Zone tinkered with its length and format, with three half-hour episodes, each containing a single story, broadcast in December of 1986. After a brief hiatus, the series returned to its one-hour, multi-story format in February of 1987, retaining this format until CBS canceled the series on July 17 of that same year. In the fall of 1988, Twilight Zone resurfaced in off-network syndication, once again reduced to a weekly half-hour. Though many of the syndicated episodes were abridged versions of network originals, 35 new episodes were filmed inexpensively in Canada. During its syndicated run, Twilight Zone was narrated by Robin Ward, whose voice was also dubbed over the network reruns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This episode is something of an amalgam of the Martin-and-Lewis legend and the much-later TV series The Sopranos). Jim (James Garner) is hired to protect over-the-hill comedian Kenny Bell (Chuck McCann) from his mean-spirited former partner Lee Russo (Robert Quarry), only to find himself implicated in Russo's murder. At the same time, Kenny must ransom his "funny box", a catalogue of jokes that has been stolen. These two plot strands are connected by a sex scandal within a Mob family, which certain parties are determined to keep secret at any cost! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide