Bobby Brewer Movies
- 2003
Season Two of Monk begins as television's favorite obsessive-compulsive detective (Tony Shalhoub) hires on as a substitute teacher at Ashton High School. This enables him to investigate the death of English teacher Beth Landow (Erica Yoder), who fell from the school's clock tower while most of the students were taking a Saturday-morning SAT exam. Principal Arlene Cassidy (Rosalind Chao) doesn't buy the official theory that Beth committed suicide--and neither does Monk, once he's perused certain bits of evidence overlooked by the police (including a suicide note filled with grammatical errors). In a further complication, the Most Likely Suspect has an airtight alibi: He was proctoring the SATs in full view of a roomful of students at the time Beth fell! With this episode, Kane Ritchotte returns to the role of Benjy Fleming, the son of Monk's loyal nurse-assistant Sharona Fleming (Bitty Schram). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A family of paranormalists investigates the strange goings-on at a high school still reeling over a student's very public suicide in this teen thriller. Hangman's Curse concerns the further exploits of the Veritas Group, a loose collective of people committed to researching supernatural mysteries. The group's members include the Springfield family -- parents Nate (David Keith) and Sarah (Mel Harris) and Elisha (Leighton Meester) and Elijah (Douglas Smith) -- whose current assignment takes them to the aforementioned high school. There, they find that Abel, the teen who took his life, had been long ostracized by various cliques in the school -- jocks, popular kids, and the like -- all of whom are falling prey to mysterious ailments. As Nate and Sarah watch from the sidelines, it's up to Elisha and Elijah to pose as students to get inside the mystery. Hangman's Curse was based on the novel by Christian author Frank Peretti. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Keith, Mel Harris, (more)
- 2002
Upset over her breakup with her latest beau, Roger, Roz (Peri Gilpin) turns to Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) for consolation. One thing leads to another, and before the night is over, Roz and Frasier end up in bed. This leads to a hilarious denouement in which the guilt-stricken Frasier trails Roz all the way to her family reunion in Wisconsin. And on the subject of long trips, Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and Daphne (Jane Leeves) are on the verge of taking their long-delayed Hawaiian vacation -- until they get some bad news from Daphne's mom (Millicent Martin). ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Cox, Millicent Martin, (more)
- 2002
Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and the Scoobies hole up in the Summers' house and imprison Spike (James Marsters) in hopes of learning more about the unseen adversary who's been manipulating him. On a trip to pick up animal blood for the captive to drink, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) encounters incognito super-nerd Andrew (Tom Lenk), who appears to be the pawn of the same shape-shifting fiend as Spike. Soon, ex-lovers Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Anya (Emma Caulfield) are joyfully interrogating the geek. The terrified Andrew is more than forthcoming about his encounters with the spirit of Warren (Adam Busch) and his murder of equally dorky former ally Jonathan (Danny Strong). But Spike reveals very little -- until another visit from the big bad turns him into a mindless, vamped-out threat. Ultimately, Buffy shackles Spike down in the basement but refuses his pained entreaties for a merciful death. Touched by Spike's true confessions about the tribulations he endured to win back his soul (and, less successfully, her heart), Buffy tells Spike that she can see the better man deep inside him. Just then, robed warriors attack the house. Buffy assists her friends in staving them off upstairs, but it's all a diversion: they make off with Spike, whose own spilled blood soon fuels the spell that Jonathan's murder was incapable of completing. Elsewhere, a zonked-out Principal Wood (D.B. Woodside) buries Jonathan's body, and the headquarters of the Watcher's Council blows up spectacularly. Originally broadcast November 26, 2002, on the UPN network, "Never Leave Me" marked episode 131 of the cult-favorite series. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
