Holly Ann Brisley

In the tradition of Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company and Growing Up Brady comes the telemovie Dynasty: the Making of a Guilty Pleasure: a slightly tongue-in-cheek docudrama that purports to tell the scintillating story behind the scenes of ABC's nine-season prime time soaper about the Carringtons and the Colbys. The feature (produced by ABC itself) reflects on the parent network's own lust after a serial drama in the face of drowning competition from Dallas. To solve this issue, producer Aaron Spelling (here played by Nicholas Hammond) and show creators Richard and Esther Shapiro (Ritchie Singer and Pamela Reed) conceive of a modern American dress version of I, Claudius about the corrupting influences of wealth and power in the Reagan era. The suits devise the scheming character of Alexis Carrington Colby and bring Joan Collins (Alice Krige) in to play her as a kind of feminine equivalent of J.R. Ewing. The main thrust of the story involves the program's rise to one of the top-tiered series on television, followed by its inevitable fall when it disrespects and underestimates its regular audience. John Bart portrays John Forsythe, Melora Hardin plays Linda Evans, and Robert Coleby is Rock Hudson. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

The long-running cartoon from William Hanna and Joseph Barbera that began life in 1969 as Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? becomes this live-action, tongue-in-cheek comedy-adventure featuring a computer-generated version of the easily frightened, mush-mouthed Great Dane. Freddie Prinze Jr. stars as Fred, the blonde, confident, ascot-sporting leader of Mystery Inc., a ghost-busting service that exposes phony supernatural phenomena as the work of shysters. Working with Fred are: his rich, beautiful girlfriend, Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who has a bad habit of getting kidnapped by villains; Velma (Linda Cardellini), the real brains of the group who pines secretly for Fred; cowardly slacker and dog's best friend Shaggy (Matthew Lillard); and the snack-gobbling pet pooch Scooby. However, after solving its latest case involving a beleaguered toy company owner (Pamela Anderson), the group fractures over Fred's habit of grabbing credit for everyone's hard work, despite the pleas of Shaggy and Scooby. Two years later, they are reunited at Spooky Island, a theme park and teen spring break destination that owner Emile Mondavarious (Rowan Atkinson) claims is plagued with ghosts. Suspicious as usual of any claims involving the paranormal, the Mystery Inc. clan is soon probing a scheme involving ancient rites, summoned spirits, and brainwashed college students, forcing the group members to resolve their differences and uncover the truth. Directed by Chris Columbus protégé Raja Gosnell, Scooby-Doo features the voice of Scott Innes as the title character. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide