Michelle Maclaren Movies
A census taker (Jeremy Sisto) sent to find out why the population of a small, puritanical town has remained fixed at 436 for the last century finds out that even the most idyllic small towns can harbor deadly secrets in the feature directorial debut of longtime television producer/director Michelle Maxwell MacLaren. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
The ABC sci-fi/horror/thriller series Night Stalker was not so much a remake of the cult 1974 series Kolchak: The Night Stalker as it was a "reimagining" of the earlier show -- at least according to the series' producer, X-Files alumnus Frank Spotnitz. Stuart Townsend stepped into the old Darren McGavin role as maverick journalist Carl Kolchak, whose mission in life was to alert the world of various and sundry paranormal, supernatural, and extraterrestrial activities -- only to be made the fool each week when evidence substantiating his stories of ghost, monsters, spacemen, etc. mysteriously disappeared. Instead of answering to an acerbic, disbelieving editor (the role played by Simon Oakland in the original show), Kolchak verbally sparred, "Mulder and Scully" fashion, with his erstwhile partner, doubting reporter Perri Reed (Gabrielle Union). And whereas the "old" Kolchak was merely trying to make a living and restore his journalistic reputation, the "new" Kolchak was motivated by the unsolved murder of his wife -- which he claimed was at the hands of supernatural forces, but which the authorities suspected was his own handiwork (a dash of Fugitive there). The weekly, 60-minute Night Stalker premiered September 29, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stuart Townsend, Gabrielle Union, (more)
- 2002
Scully (Gillian Anderson) again briefly abandons her academic duties to help Reyes (Annabeth Gish) locate the missing Doggett (Robert Patrick). Meanwhile, Doggett awakens in an obscure Mexican town, with no memory of how he got there nor any clue as to his own identity. In this amnesiac state, Doggett is inexorably drawn into a vicious gang of alien smugglers. First telecast on January 13, 2002, "John Doe" represented writer Vince Gilligan's return to The X-Files fold after a lengthy absence. Incidentally, the actress cast as Mrs. Doggett (Barbara Patrick) is the real-life wife of Robert Patrick. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
This fact-based TV movie stars John Ritter as Ed Chandler, whose life is torn asunder when his daughter Missy (Anna Chlumsky) is diagnosed with cancer. The nature of Missy's illness obliges Ed to spend many hours away from his job as a car salesman to commiserate with her daughter's doctors at the hospital. Then one day, Ed shows up at work to be coldly informed that he has been fired--and there is no one to whom he can go to plead his case. The plight of the Chandler family ultimately leads to the creation of the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows persons up to six weeks' leave from their jobs when their family members are suffering from serious illnesses. Telecast by CBS on January 21, 1997, Child's Wish (cable title: Fighting for Justice made headlines when it first aired because of the appearance of President Bill Clinton in the final scene--the first time that a sitting President ever starred as "himself" in a dramatic film (as well as the first such scene to be lensed on location in the Oval Office!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Another of the many TV-movies produced for NBC's off-and-on "Moment of Truth" series, The Other Mother was based on the autobiographical novel by Carol Schaefer, herein played by Frances Fisher. The astonishing resilient Carol manages to endure a messy divorce, handling the raise of two children all by herself, and survive a nasty bout with cancer. Having weathered all these crises, Carol feels it is time to tackle an unresolved issue from her past. Thus, she embarks upon a journey (both spiritual and physical) to locate the child that she gave up for adoption 18 years ago--and faces obstacles that may, in her own words, "threaten everything I valued in life." Although the core of the drama is the rights of birth parents vs. the rights of privacy of adoptive parents, the film manages to engender sympathy and understanding for both sides of the argument. The Other Mother: A Moment of Truth Movie was first shown on April 17, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frances Fisher, Deborah May, (more)
