Julie Stewart
An ex-convict is mysteriously drawn to two intriguing women after becoming involved in a car accident while passing through a sleepy Ontario town in director Marc Evans' enigmatic drama. Invited into the home of high-functioning autistic Linda (Sigourney Weaver) after getting into a car accident that involved Linda's daughter, ex-con Alex Hughes (Alan Rickman) does his best to gracefully accept Linda's selfless generosity. His situation grows increasingly complicated, however, when Alex finds the seductive allure of town sexpot Maggie (Carrie-Anne Moss) too powerful to resist. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver, (more)
- 1998
Debuting over the CTV network on January 23, 1998, the hour-long Canadian drama series Cold Squad was a precursor in both style and substance to the American weekly Cold Case. The series involved the concerted efforts of a dedicated Vancouver detective unit to reopen and (hopefully) solve unsolved murder cases, some of them several decades old. Julie Stewart headed the cast as Sgt. Ali McCormick, the unofficial head of the squad. There was a great deal of personnel turnover during the series' seven seasons on the air, with a complete supporting-cast overhaul at the beginning of Season Three (see the huge cast list below). The winner of eight Gemini Awards, the 98-episode Cold Squad ended its Canadian run on June 4, 2005; it was picked up for syndication in the United States on September 15, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
- AddEd McBain's 87th Precinct: Heatwaveto QueueAddEd McBain's 87th Precinct: Heatwaveto top of Queue
Not only is the teeming metropolis of Isola in the grips of its worst heat wave in history, but the city is also in the thrall of a serial rapist who is targeting his previous victims. Hoping to stop the predator in his tracks, police detective Eileen Burke (Erika Eleniak) goes undercover, posing as one of those prior victims -- only to be raped for real by the elusive assailant. Thus does the search for the perpetrator become a personal mission, especially for Eileen's detective boyfriend, Bert Kling (Paul Johansson). Along the way, the media's culpability in making celebrities out of scumbag criminals is carefully scrutinized, dissected, and condemned. Inspired by Evan Hunter's popular "87th Precinct" novels (written under Hunter's nom de plume , Ed McBain), this made-for-TV thriller features most of Hunter's familiar recurring characters, among them detectives Meyer Meyer (Paul Ben-Victor) and Steve Carella (Dale Midkiff), as well as Carella's deaf-mute wife, Teddy (Andrea Ferrell). Ed McBain's 87th Precinct: Heatwave made its ABC network bow on January 12, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Gross, Dale Midkiff, (more)
- 1997
A coproduction of Canada's CBC and the South African Broadcasting network, the weekly 60-minute drama series Ekhaya: A Family Chronicle was set in 1989. Eric Miyeni starred as Darryl, an expatriate South African writer living in Toronto with his Canadian wife Rosa (Julie Stewart). Obsessing over the possibility that he is still being stalked by the South African secret police, Darryl recalled the tragedies and deprivations experienced by himself and his family under the oppressive Apartheid system. Ultimately, Darryl became a firebrand political activist, determined to return to South Africa to right old wrongs, even though it may cost him his life. The first of the series' 13 episodes was shown by the CBC on January 23, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
