Gayle Scott
In an episode inspired by the capture of the notorious "BTK Killer", the police find a note duct-taped to an abandoned baby containing cryptic clues as to the mother's whereabouts. As SVU detectives Stabler (Christopher Meloni), Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Munch (Richard Belzer) and Tutuola (Ice-T) follow a trail of increasingly ominous (and often gruesome) clues, it is apparent that the mother has been kidnapped--and likely murdered--by a cunning serial killer known as RDK. But in assembling the pieces of this grim puzzle, the detectives arrive at another, even more frightening conclusion: They may be dealing with a copycat killer who intends to surpass RDK with his own murder spree. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The devastating big business scandals of the early 21st century served as inspiration for this episode. An investment analyst is murdered, and his body left near a ferry terminal. The detectives are faced with a surplus of suspects, most of them disgruntled investors in a failing corporation. Ultimately, however, the trail of evidence leads to the conclusion that money may not have been the primary motive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Can a wealthy Republican politician find happiness with a chambermaid from the Bronx? One man is about to find out, though he hardly realizes it at first, in this romantic comedy from director Wayne Wang. Marisa Ventura (Jennifer Lopez) is a single mother who is raising her gifted but under-confident son Ty (Tyler Garcia Posey) on her own, with some help from her mother Veronica (Priscilla Lopez), after divorcing her husband. Marisa works as a housekeeper at the exclusive Beresford Hotel in Manhattan, where her boss Paula Burns (Frances Conroy) and chief butler Lionel Bloch (Bob Hoskins) urge Marisa and her best friend and fellow maid Stephanie (Marissa Matrone) to be as efficient and inconspicuous as possible. One day, while cleaning the room of noted socialite Caroline Lane (Natasha Richardson), Stephanie spies a beautiful designer gown and dares Marisa to try it on; against her better judgment, she does, and while all dolled up, she bumps into Christopher Marshall (Ralph Fiennes), a wealthy and well-bred bachelor who is running for the Senate. Immediately charmed, Chris asks Marisa to join him for a walk in Central Park, assuming she's the blue-blooded Caroline. Marisa manages to join Chris for the afternoon, with Ty in tow, and Chris finds himself quite taken with Marisa's beauty and down-to-earth personality, as well as Ty's precocious interest in politics. Chris later calls Caroline's room to set up a lunch date, but soon discovers the stuffy Ms. Lane is not the woman he met before. Marisa is also attracted to Chris, but while her friends encourage her to pursue a romance, Veronica believes her daughter is asking for trouble by trying to win a man so far out of her social strata. The supporting cast also includes Stanley Tucci and Amy Sedaris. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Lopez, Frances Conroy, (more)
The first of NYPD Blue's "delayed" season premieres (its Tuesday-night time slot was briefly supplanted by Once and Again) , this inaugural episode of the series' seventh season did not air until the second week of January in 1999. Still having trouble getting over the death of his wife Sylvia, 15th precinct detective Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) has at least managed to shed some weight during the summer. This newer, leaner Sipowicz jumps back into the swim by joining partner Danny Sorenson (Rick Schroder) in the investigation of a beating death involving two of the fellow officers. Elsewhere, Danny finds a kindred spirit in a newcomer to the 15th, Officer Mary Franco (Sheeri Rappaport in her first series appearance), and Detective Jill Kirkendall (Andrea Thompson) considers getting back together with her unsavory ex-husband, Don (Erich Anderson). Austin Majors, introduced at the end of season six as Andy's son Theo, becomes a semi-regular with this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A woman serving on the jury of an anti-Mafia trial must protect herself and her young son from a psychopathic gangster in this thriller. Demi Moore stars as Annie Laird, a single mother and artist who readily agrees to do her civic duty on the jury in the trial of a major organized crime figure. She quickly comes to regret this decision when a mysterious and eccentric Mafia associate known as The Teacher (Alec Baldwin) threatens to kidnap her son and harm her friends unless she promises to vote not guilty. Fearing for their lives, she plays along, but unfortunately the Teacher shows no sign of backing away from his plans, having become personally obsessed with Annie. Unwilling to trust the authorities, Annie instead develops a plan to save her child by taking on the Teacher and the mob. Adapting a novel by George Dawes Green, the screenplay was written by Ted Tally (The Silence of the Lambs). ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Demi Moore, Alec Baldwin, (more)









