James Avery Movies

Still a bachelor after breaking up with his fiancée a scant few moments before his wedding, Philadelphia émigré Will Smith (played, of course, by Will Smith) returns to the bosom of his wealthy California relations as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air enters its sixth and final season. Even though the basic "culture clash" premise was still intact, at this point, nothing Will could do can shock his prosperous and mildly pompous uncle Philip (James Avery) nor his serenely sensible aunt Vivian (Daphne Maxwell Reid). Similarly, Will no longer pokes fun at his relatives occasional haughty airs -- in fact he rather enjoys their pretensions and sometimes embraces them himself. As for the rest of the Bankses, college student Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) is well on his way to full-time political conservatism, Hilary (Karyn Parsons) is not as much of a spoiled brat as in earlier seasons, Ashley (Tatyana M. Ali) continues pursuing a singing career, and youngest child Nicholas (Ross Bagley) is -- well, youngest child Nicholas. The series' final two-part episode found Philip Banks deciding to put the mansion up for sale. Among the prospective buyers are several blasts from sitcoms past including Diff'rent Strokes' Conrad Bain and Gary Coleman, and Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, and Marla Gibbs from The Jeffersons. But does this finale mean that Will himself will pull up stakes and return to West Philly? Tune in and see! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A recently transferred high-school student finds herself walking a double-edged sword in her attempt to court friendship with the powerfully popular but frighteningly unpredictable head cheerleader in a disturbing look at the adolescent social hierarchy starring Tori Spelling and Kellie Martin. Angela Delvecchio (Kellie Martin) has just transferred to a new high school, and popularity is her highest priority. Her burgeoning friendship with beautiful cheerleader Stacy Lockwood (Spelling) a sure sign that she is fast making headway with the in crowd, Angela quickly discovers that it doesn't take much for her new best friend to become her new worst enemy. Now, as the vengeful Stacy unleashes a firestorm of cruelty and humiliation on the increasingly vulnerable transfer student, Angela grows unstable for fear of what horrors her venomous teen tormentor will inflict upon her next. But Angela isn't one to take Stacy's abuse in stride, and before the semester is over, the unrelenting tyranny of the cold-blooded cheerleader will lead the newest girl in school to commit an act so shocking that it will shake the entire community. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The immediate aftermath of the terrorist bombing on the World Trade Center provides the focus of this taut real-life drama. In addition to detailing the rescue efforts, it also centers on the victims, including schoolchildren on a field trip, trapped inside. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The big news during The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's fourth season is the arrival of new cast member Daphne Maxwell Reid, replacing Janet Hubert-Whitten in the role of Vivian Banks, the wealthy but down-to-earth aunt of wise-guy West Philly transplant Will Smith (Will Smith). Otherwise, the rest of the main cast is pretty much the same, with Will continuing to enrich and sometimes complicate the lives of his rich Bel-Air relatives, including Vivian's lawyer husband Philip (James Avery), their mild-mannered son Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro), their trend-conscious daughters, Hilary (Karyn Parsons) and Ashley (Tatyana M. Ali), and their new baby son Nicholas (who would grow up real fast within the next year or so). Also on hand, as ever, is the Banks family's devastatingly sardonic butler Geoffrey (Joseph Marcell). It is during this season that Will and Carlton graduate from high school and begin attending the University of Los Angeles. To celebrate their "independence," the boys move into their new pad -- which turns out to be the pool house on the Banks family's Bel-Air estate. In another development, Will is reunited with his ex-girlfriend from West Philadelphia, Jackie Ames (Tyra Banks). An unusually high number of guest stars grace this season. Among them are Hugh Hefner in the episode "Fresh Prince After Dark," Branford Marsalis in "Sleepless in Bel-Air" and "Stop Will in the Name of Love," Robert Guillaume in "You'd Better Shop Around," Pam Grier in "M Is for the Many Things She Gave Me," Ben Vereen (as Will's long-missing father) in "Papa's Got a Brand-New Excuse," Donald Trump in "For Sale By Owner," and Dick Clark in "The Philadelphia Story." Though the last-named episode was originally intended as the series finale with Will leaving Bel-Air and returning home to Philadelphia, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was renewed for a fifth season at the very last moment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The producers of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air weren't about to tinker with a successful format as the series entered its third season. Although West Philadelphia teenager Will Smith (played, of course, by Will Smith) has been living with his wealthy relatives in Bel-Air for three years now, he still hasn't lost his streetwise flippancy, though he does begin evincing signs of burgeoning maturity and responsibility. In the same fashion, Will's host, the Banks family, continues putting on airs and currying favor with the Bel-Air elite, though they generally get their heads out of the clouds and return to earth at the end of each episode. The most signifcant change from seasons past is the pregnancy of Will's Aunt Vivian, a plot development created to accommodate the real-life pregnancy of actress Janet Hubert-Whitten. By the end of season three, Vivian has given birth to a son named Nicholas -- whereupon she virtually disappears from view, reportedly because of creative differences between Janet Hubert-Whitten and Will Smith.
The actress left the show at the end of the year and would be replaced by Daphne Reed Maxwell for the 1994-1995 season. In this season's opener, Will returns from a summer visit to his mom in West Philly with a new haircut and flamboyant wardrobe that appalls his stuffy lawyer uncle Philip Banks (James Avery), leading to the first of several obligatory "Let's stop arguing and compromise" moments. Later highlights included Philip and Vivian's not-so-sentimental journey to their old neighborhood, which had been all but levelled during the L.A. riots; the matriculation of the Banks' youngest daughter Ashley (Tatyana M. Ali) into the newly co-ed Bel-Air Prep School; older daughter Hilary's (Karyn Parsons) new job as a TV weather girl; former Jeffersons star Sherman Hemsley's appearance as Judge Carl Robertson, against whom Philip Banks would enter into a bitterly fought political battle; another guest-star turn, this one by no less than Oprah Winfrey; and the ongoing romantic tribulations of Will's prissy, preppy cousin Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro). In one of the season's final episodes, Will gets the opportunity to perform at a comedy club -- where among the other participants is future sitcom leading man D.L. Hughley. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air enjoyed its highest-ever ratings during season three, ending up the 16th most watched program on network television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The most fascinating thing about Beastmaster 2 is how well the cartoonish sword-and-sorcery characters blend in to contemporary Los Angeles -- it may as well be documentary. Marc Singer plays Dar, a muscle-headed barbarian whose main claim to fame is his ability to communicate with a wide array of animal friends. Dar is informed that his evil brother Arklon (Wings Hauser) has nefarious designs on the universe. Arklon has teamed up with Lyranna (Sarah Douglas), a sexy witch who cracks wise in Valley Girl vernacular, a parlance picked up during her travels through the portal of time to a netherworld called L.A. Arklon has to find a quick way to decimate the universe, so Arklon and Lyranna travel through the portal to steal a neutron detonator from a military base close to Los Angeles. Dar and Southern California teen Jackie Trent (Kari Wuhrer) -- who had gotten stuck in the portal and ended up in Togaland -- pursue Arklon and Lyranna as they make their way through the time hole. Once in La-La land, Dra and his companion find themselves pursued by the LAPD, which considerably slows up their race to catch Arklon. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Just before embarking on a DEA assignment to South America, undercover cop Tony (Ray Abruzzo) takes his lady love Christine (Ray Abruzzo) to a restaurant, where he proposes to her--and promptly marries her! Meanwhile back at Night Court, the staff is in a state of disarray and despair, the result of a labor dispute which has robbed them of their regular maintenance man Art (Mike Finneran) and left an incompetent boob in his place. This first episode of a two-part story ends with a startling announcement--the third such announcement of the evening, as it turns out! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rap star Will Smith plays West Philadelphia teenager Will Smith (!) as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air launches its first season. Worried that the family's ghetto neighborhood is getting too dangerous for her son, Will's mom packs him up and ships him out to his rich relatives, the Banks family, in ritzy Bel-Air, CA. In the first few episodes, Will's irreverent, streetwise attitude rubs his new family the wrong way, just as their snooty airs drive him crazy; but before long, everyone likes everyone else, and it is clear that the series is in for the long haul. Most of season one is devoted to establishing the characters of the Banks clan: Wealthy, snobbish attorney Philip Banks (James Avery); his down-to-earth wife Vivian (Janet Hubert-Whitten); their nerdish, preppy son Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro); their spoiled-brat older daughter Hilary (Karyn Parsons); and their smart-mouthed younger daughter Ashley (Tatyana M. Ali). Viewing the entire culture-clash spectacle with haughty disdain (and commenting on the same with hilarious pithy putdowns) is the Banks' "veddy" proper butler Geoffrey (Joseph Marcell). Occasionally, Will's jive-talking buddy Jazz (played by Will Smith's real-life musical partner Jeff Townes) would pop into the Banks mansion. Among the highlights of season one are a guest appearance by future award-winning actor Don Cheadle as Will's "homey" Ice Tray; Jasmine Guy in another guest-star turn as a scholarship student who briefly falls for Will; Queen Latifah as a flamboyant actress who hires Hilary as an assistant but only under certain "conditions;" the sudden realization when Will and Carlton are wrongly arrested that even in Bel-Air some people judge others by the color of their skin instead of the content of their character; and a wild family Christmas party in which former President Ronald Reagan (played by impressionist John Roarke) makes an extended cameo appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Full Exposure: The Sex Tapes Scandal was advertised as being inspired by "today's headlines", though most of those headlines were generated by TV tabloid shows. In her first TV movie, dethroned Miss America Vanessa Williams plays a hooker who specializes in S & M. She videotapes her kinky sexual liaisons, then blackmails the participants. When a mystery killer begins bumping off some of Williams' female compatriots, assistant D.A. Lisa Hartman (we missed that election) is called in on the case. Full Exposure: The Sex Tapes Scandal was mercifully buried in the ratings by its powerhouse competition: the premiere telecast of Lonesome Dove. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Les (Corey Haim) is embarrassed when he fails his driving test in this routine teen comedy. His buddies are depending on him to provide the wheels for the weekend, but Les is more interested in his Saturday date with Mercedes (Heather Graham). Les secretly steals his grandfather's immaculate 1972 Cadillac for the adventure. The dream date soon turns into a nightmare when Dean (Corey Feldman) bothers Les with camera flashes and cigar smoke, and his sloppy-drunk date dances on the hood of the car with high heels. The car is towed when he parks illegally, and later the teens are chased by revved-up motorheads who challenge him to a race. Carol Kane and Richard Masur play Les' parents. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The "history is inviolate" theory so chillingly elucidated in Ray Bradbury's The Sound of Thunder is recycled for the made-for-TV Timestalkers. William Devane plays a genially eccentric professor who teams with time traveller Lauren Hutton to prevent the course of history from being disastrously altered. In a manner slightly reminiscent of the 1984 movie hit The Terminator, Devane and Hutton must deal with Klaus Kinski, a mad scientist from the 26th century, who plans to hopscotch through time, spreading death and destruction wherever he goes. The odyssey takes the main characters to all manner of locales, including the Old West. Veteran actor Forrest Tucker made his final screen appearance in Timestalkers, which originally aired March 10, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A U.S. senator who is planning an upcoming election instructs his aid to escort his troublesome daughter to a reform school so he will not be embarrassed during the campaign. The aid (Martin Sheen), with the company of his friend (Alan Ruck), set off on a road trip with the headstrong daughter (Kerri Green) and find their hands full in this light comedy. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, the made-for-television Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story is the tale of a Washington, DC-based Vietnam veteran (Martin Sheen) who fights for America's homeless by staging hunger strikes and battling with various government agencies, eventually winning the attention of several city officials. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide