Tom Irwin Movies

Set in New York, the weekly, hour-long dramedy Related was another of the WB network's bids to replicate the popularity of their earlier Gilmore Girls. Upon the announcement by their widowed father (Tom Irwin) that he was about to marry his longtime fiancée (Christine Ebersole), the four "couldn't be more different" Sorelli sisters reunited under the same roof. Oldest sister Ginnie (Jennifer Esposito) was a lawyer who'd just become pregnant; Ann (Kiele Sanchez), a therapist, had recently ended a lengthy relationship with her boyfriend (Dan Futterman); Marjee (Lizzy Caplan), a professional party planner, desperately needed a new place to live after being booted out of an illegal sublet; and Rose (Laura Breckenridge) was a will-o'-the-wisp who hadn't yet decided between becoming a doctor or an avant-garde actress. Despite the friction brought about by their highly individualistic personalities, the Sorelli girls could be counted upon to stick together when it really mattered. Co-created by Marta Kauffman (Friends) and Liz Tuccillo (Sex and the City), Related underwent several major revisions between the pilot episode and the series proper, not least of which was the removal of Laura San Giacomo (Just Shoot Me) in the role of Ann Sorelli. As originally conceived, Ann was to have been the oldest of the Sorelli sisters, but as the project developed, it was clear that Ginnie Sorelli was emerging as the "leader" and surrogate mother of the bunch; hence, Ginnie was made the oldest, and San Giacomo bowed out of the cast in favor of the younger Kiele Sanchez. Related debuted October 5, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A kidnapper delivers a gruesome "souvenir" to the squad to show that he means business. Acting on the kidnapper's orders, Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) must accompany Roy Logan (Tom Irwin) as he delivers the one-million-dollar ransom to a prearranged location. If anything goes wrong, Logan's mistress will be instantly killed. But is this particular case merely what it appears to be on the surface, or is something else afoot? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Shown theatrically in Europe and the Middle East in 2001, this live-action version of the classic fairy tale "Snow White" often bids fair to be the grimmest of all Grimm Brothers adaptations. When his wife Josephine (Vera Farmiga) dies in childbirth, hapless woodsman John (Tom Irwin) and his newborn daughter Snow White embark upon a journey which ultimately finds them hopelessly lost in the snowy wastes. Praying for a miracle, John is visited by a seemingly benign spirit called "The Green-Eyed One" (Clancy Brown), who offers to grant John three wishes: Nourishment, a kingdom, and a queen for a wife. Little does "King" John suspect that the Green-Eyed One is actually an emissary for Satan, and that his queenly new wife Elspeth (Miranda Richardson) is the Green-Eyed One's equally evil daughter. The familiar "Snow White" plot takes off from here, complete with Queen Elspeth's efforts to kill the "fair" Snow White (now grown up and played by Kristin Kreuk), her rescue at the hands of seven "little men"--each one a different rainbow color, each one named for a different day of the week--and of course, the last-act arrival of the Handsome Prince, here named Alfred (Tyron Leitso). Balancing its more frightening aspects with slapstick comedy and awesome special effects, the film debuted on American television as Snow White: The Fairest of Them All, and was first broadcast March 17 2002 as an episode of ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Adapted from a novel by Garrison Keillor and Jenny Lind Nillson, this made-for-Showtime movie is set in the conservative small town of Sandy Bottom, WI, where life moves along at a pleasantly quaint pace and doctors still make house calls. Although life may be agreeable for most of the town's residents, it has never been easy for Ingrid Green (Glenne Headly), a classically trained pianist who moved to Sandy Bottom years ago with her dairy farmer husband Norman (Tom Irwin). Politically outspoken and cheerfully eccentric, Ingrid has never fit in with the town's residents, and when Norman announces his intention to put together a classical concert instead of the traditional marching band for the town's Dairy Days, his decision sets in motion a whole chain of events that disrupt everyday life in Sandy Bottom. Meanwhile, Ingrid and Norman's daughter Rachel (Madeline Zima) is struggling with her own problems: a star violinist who has inherited her mother's talent, she is concerned that she has also inherited Ingrid's eccentricities, and the fact that she's growing away from her best friend and wants to attend a musical academy doesn't make fitting in any easier. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

Based on a true story, the made-for-TV God's New Plan essentially begins at the end, as Ellen Young (Katey Sagal) prepares to die from cancer. While Ellen is more or less resigned to her fate, she worries about what will happen afterward to her husband Brian (Tom Irwin) and her children. Luckily, Ellen has become close to Claire Hutton (Annabeth Gish), the nurse hired to care for Ellen's premature infant. Even from the grave, Ellen seems to be pulling the strings of the situation, as Claire slowly, cautiously falls in love with the grieving Tom, and vice versa. Ultimately it falls to the children to stage-manage the happy ending. Blessed with a marvelously feeling of time and place, not to mention the superlative performances by the principal players, God's New Plan debuted February 16, 1999, and has since become a fixture of cable TV under the title No Higher Love. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this made-for-TV psychodrama, Annie Nolan falls in love with the handsome, charming Officer Craig Mitchell. The trouble is that he is married. However, Craig convinces Annie to murder his wife so they can be together. Two years pass and Annie lives with Craig, but she cannot forget her crime. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

In this sudsy made-for-television drama, long-buried resentments, jealousy and other negative emotions re-emerge when a fashion model and an old friend are reunited. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Produced for the USA cable network, Holiday Affair is a remake of the classic 1949 theatrical film of the same name, which in turn was inspired by John D. Weaver's short story "Christmas Gift." Cynthia Gibb and David James Elliott step into the roles of widowed mother Jodie Ennis and department store salesman Steve Mason, the characters originally played by Janet Leigh and Robert Mitchum. "Meeting cute" while Jodie's son Timmy (Curtis Blanck) enthuses over a model train set, Jodie and the raffish but likeable Steve immediately hit it off, but she is already engaged to conservative lawyer Paul Davis (Tom Irwin, taking over from the original's Wendell Corey). The days between Christmas and New Year's Eve, Jodie finds herself in the unenviable position of choosing between two men whom she adores equally--a job not made easier by the well-meaning interference of son Timmy. The remake faithfully recreates most of the familiar setpieces from the 1949 version, including the Christmas-dinner sequence with Timmy's grandparents and a climactic confrontation in a courtroom over a case of mistaken identity. The presence of Al Waxman in the cast is a sure tipoff that, despite its New York City setting, the film was actually made in Canada. Holiday Affair first aired December 15, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

For the first time ever, all 19 episodes of the critically-acclaimed television show My So-Called Life, starring Claire Danes, are available in one 5 disc DVD box set. Her portrayal of Angela Chase, the angst-ridden, introspective teen earned Clare Danes a Golden Globe. Even today, after being off the air since early 1995, the show has thousands of fans all around the world.

The title character, a manic depressive prone to very irrational behavior (Richard Gere), is hospitalized for treatment. While there, the psychiatrist responsible for his rehabilitation (Lena Olin) becomes involved with him and cannot stand to allow his check-out. ~ John Bush, Rovi

Goldie Hawn delivers a surprisingly understated performance (allowing the audience to shift their laughter from the usually comic Hawn to the unbelievable storyline) in the unsuccessful thriller Deceived. Hawn plays Adrienne Saunders, a successful art restorer who is married to Jack (John Heard), a devoted husband who is also an expert in the antiques business. Married for six years and parents of a charming 5-year-old daughter Mary (Ashley Peldon), the Saunders appear to have everything going for them. But after a series of odd occurrences that even an idiot would notice, Adrienne finally comes the conclusion that her husband is not the man she thought he was when she married him. After Jack tells Mary that he was in Boston but Adrienne's friend tells her she saw him in New York, the mysterious clues begin piling up and are too numerous to ignore: there's a call from a department store concerning some sexy lingerie that Jack purchased; a friend is found murdered after checking on the authenticity of an Egyptian necklace; and there are indications that Jack was involved with a scheme to steal artifacts from a museum. Adrienne is finally convinced that something is fishy about her husband when he mysteriously dies is an auto wreck, and she discovers that Jack has been using the name of a man who had died 16 years earlier. Adrienne proceeds to polish her magnifying glass and conducts some detective work on her own to find out who her husband really was. This is when the danger really begins. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Made for television, To My Daughter stars Rue McClanahan as a well-to-do matron whose oldest daughter (Michelle Greene) dies. The girl was always McClanahan's favorite; the remaining children (Samantha Mathis and Ty Miller), though not unaffected by the loss, hope that now their mother will pay some attention to them. Instead, McClanahan's grief threatens to shatter her already shaky relationship with her younger offspring. She virtually shuts the kids out of her life in order to finish her older daughter's uncompleted book. To My Daughter was unofficially based on the career of real-life writer Nancy Lynn Schwartz, who did indeed die before completing her history of the Screen Actors' Guild, obliging her mother to finish the job. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi