Michael Michaelian Movies
- 1988
Aging and infirm negotiator Admiral Mark Jameson (Clayton Rohner) is transported by the Enterprise to the planet Mordan IV to negotiate a hostage crisis. En route, Jameson miraculously becomes younger and younger. The Admiral's wife Ann (Marsha Hunt) reveals the secret behind Jameson's incredible rejuvenation, while the hostile ruler of Mordan IV, motivated by an as-yet-unexplained vendetta, plans a deadly "reception" for the esteemed visitor. First telecast February 13, 1988, "Too Short a Season" was written by Michael Michaelian and D.C. Fontana. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Though Boss Hogg's crooked nephew Hughie is nowhere to be found in this episode, he is amply compensated for by his equally crooked brother Dewey (Robert Morse). Arriving in Hazzard County, Dewey announces that he is dying of an unknown illness, and hopes to establish his own memorial clinic before he cashes in his chips. What Uncle Boss (Sorrell Booke) doesn't know is that Dewey is actually in perfect health--and that he intends to cheat the county out of $100,000 and pin the blame on Jesse Duke (Denver Pyle). Except for a brief phone-call scene, John Schneider (Bo Duke) does not appear in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Framed for a crime they didn't commit in Osage County, Bo (John Schneider) and Luke (Tom Wopat) are sentenced to hard labor on a chain gang. It turns out that the arrest was orchestrated by crooked landowner Col. Cassius Clayborne (Morgan Woodward, who appropriately enough had appeared in this episode's filmic precursor Cool Hand Luke), who hopes to lure Boss Hogg out of Hazzard country--the better to strip Boss of everything he possesses, and then some! Watch for future Fresh Prince of Bel-Air regular James Avery in a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
To avoid breaking their probation, Bo (John Schneider) and Luke (Tom Wopat) agree to coach the Boar's Nest Bears, a pee-wee basketball team owned by Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke). The Bear are pinning their hopes on their "secret weapon" Rod Moffat (Jason Lively), a farm boy with astonishing athletic skills, to win against a hitherto unbeaten team. Unfortuanately, the boy may not show up in time for the game, thanks to the obligatory crooked gamblers. This episode was directed by series regular Tom Wopat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
One of several syndicated TV miniseries of the 1980s, Roughnecks was part of the same "Golden Circle" project that previously yielded the multipart Wild Times. The title refers to a group of two-fisted oil wildcatters, among them self-made millionaire Paul Marshall (Steve Forrest), his lifelong pal and business partner, Plug Champion (Harry Morgan), and up-and-coming young "roughneck" O'Dell Hartman (Sam Melville). Avoiding the temptation of carbon-copying such previous oil-drilling movies like Boom Town, Flowing Gold, and Tulsa, this two-parter devoted much of its screen time to the hero's efforts to help Marshall's former sweetheart Ida McBride (Vera Miles) save her ranch by bringing in a valuable methane well. In most local markets, Roughnecks was telecast the third week of August (usually the 15th and 16th of that month) in 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Longest Drive is the syndication title for the network TV movie The Quest, which first aired May 13, 1976. Evidently inspired by John Ford's The Searchers, this western concerns the search by two brothers, Quentin and Morgan Baudine (Tim Matheson, Kurt Russell), for their sister, who as an infant was kidnaped by Indians. Morgan himself had spent time as an "adopted" Cheyenne tribesman; his Indian name was, appropriately enough, Two Persons. Breaking up the main storyline is a subplot involving desert rat Brian Keith and a race between a horse and a camel! Written by Tracy Keenan Wynn (Tribes), The Longest Drive served as the pilot for the subsequent Quest weekly series, which ran from September 22 to December 29, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
The Missing are Deadly depicts a disastrous chain of events sparked by an immature misstep. Teenager George O'Hanlon Jr. is on the outs with his father Ed Nelson, a research scientist. Feeling lonely, O'Hanlon makes a pet out of a rat from his dad's lab--a rat infected with a deadly and highly contagious virus. Armed with the reassuring information that the virus can kill 100,000,000 people within three weeks, the whole country is in plunged into mortal terror as the teenager wanders aimlessly and anonymously through the streets. The Missing are Deadly was made for television, but that shouldn't be held against it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
