Darby Stanchfield
Trapped in a miserable marriage and blessed with the ability to transform her misery into delicious desserts, a small-town waitress finds her life forever changed by an unplanned pregnancy. Every day, Jenna (Keri Russell) ties on her apron and serves her customers with a smile, and every night she goes to bed knowing that she is one step closer to the day that she can kiss her scarily domineering husband (Jeremy Sisto) goodbye forever. A smart and sassy baker whose extraordinary pies are inspired by her daily trials and tribulations, Jenna fears that her dreams are all but dead when handsome Dr. Pomatter (Nathan Fillion) reveals that she is soon to become a mother. As Jenna begins penning a series of letters to her unborn baby, her life starts to change for the better in ways she never could have imagined. The final film from actress/filmmaker Adrienne Shelly, Waitress debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah just months after the director was discovered dead in her New York City apartment -- the victim of a homicide. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, (more)
- 2005
Tony (Carlos Bernard) is being held hostage by Mandy (Mia Kirshner from seasons one and two). When Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) realizes that Tony has gone missing, he uses all available personnel to seal a perimeter around the apartment complex and begin searching. Mandy, who knows that Tony once committed treason to save Michelle (Reiko Aylesworth), calls Michelle and asks her if she loves Tony enough to do the same for her. Michelle reluctantly agrees to help Mandy escape by redeploying the men in her path. Michelle relents, however, and tells Buchanan (James Morrison) what's going on. He relays the information to Jack, who tells Michelle to proceed as if she's holding up her end of the bargain, in hopes of drawing out Mandy. But the pretty mercenary is more cunning than they give her credit for. Meanwhile, Bern (Robert Cicchini) is abducted by the Chinese while trying to flee the country. Cheng (Tzi Ma) threatens to spirit him away to a remote labor camp if he doesn't reveal who led the operation to kidnap Lee Jong. This episode was originally shown together with the finale in a two-hour block. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
A single mother whose faith in love died with her former husband learns that Christmas miracles can still happen in director Harvey Frost's warmhearted tale of winter magic. Beth Andrews (Crystal Bernard) is a devoted single mother and advertising executive whose current campaign could put her on the fast track to the big time. The holiday season is here, and in order to sell the latest in video game technology, Beth's campaign needs the perfect Santa Claus. As Beth burns the midnight oil night after night and attempts to convince her young son Jake (Dominic Scott Kay) never to have faith in fantasies, the wistful young man pens a letter to Santa asking for a new dad for the holidays. It seems that up in the North Pole the time has come for Saint Nick to pass along the seasonal responsibilities to his son Nick (Steve Guttenberg), but in order to take the position, Nick must have a Mrs. Claus before Christmas Eve. Upon receiving the Christmas request from young Jake, Nick sets his sights on Los Angeles, and Beth Andrews in particular. Despite his best intentions, it's going to take more than a Christmas miracle to convince the dejected widow that love can still conquer all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Guttenberg, Dominic Scott Kay, (more)
- 2003
CEO Lawrence Hammond (John Sanderford) and his trophy wife Erin (Darby Stanchfield) are murdered after being lured to a vacant lot. With only the CEO's bizarre last words as a clue, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) figures out that Erin, and not Lawrence, was the murderer's target. And there's more: Erin's death may be linked to baseball star Scott Gregorio (Christopher Wiehl), who is currently poised to break the single-season homerun record. Finding a kindred spirit in Gregorio, Monk races to reveal the killer so that the ballplayer will pull himself out of a potentially devastating slump. The detective hits upon the solution under the unlikeliest of circumstances--while he is (ineptly!) umpiring a Little League game. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
