Paul Rabwin Movies
- 2007
A Peyton Place for the 21st century, the weekly, hour-long ABC drama October Road starred Bryan Greenberg (One Tree Hill) as popular novelist and successful screenwriter Nick Garrett. Ten years after writing a best-selling novel based on his New England hometown and its residents, Bryan returned to that selfsame town to teach a course at the local university. He was also forced to confront the friends, family members and others whose sins and secrets he had "exposed" in his novel, and who were understandably cold and sometimes hostile towards him. Along the way, Bryan got involved with the current problems of the town's residents, and in the process tried to ascertain his true purpose in life. Other characters included Hannah Daniels (played by That 70s Show's Laura Prepon), Bryan's former girlfriend and the mother of a 10-year-old son named Sam (Slade Pearce) whose paternal parentage was in question; Eddie Latekka (Geoff Stults), Bryan's best friend and the town's resident Lothario; The Commander (Tom Berenger, Bryan's widowed father; sexy coed Aubrey (Odette Yustman); and physically challenged student Phil (Jay Paulson). October Road joined ABC's prime-time lineup on March 15, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2006
The gimmick of the ABC procedural drama The Evidence was established at the beginning of each hour-long episode. It was explained via a videotaped police log that a murder had been committed, and that several clues were left behind by the unknown killer. As the camera froze on each clue, the viewer was treated to a flashback, placing that clue in context of the crime. Thus, the characters onscreen virtually competed against the viewers at home as to who would solve the mystery first. Orlando Jones and Rob Estes headed the cast as San Francisco police detectives Cayman Bishop and Sean Cole, who punctuated each investigation with kidding-on-the-square insults and clever quips, à la Robert Culp and Bill Cosby on the old spy series I Spy. Other regulars included Martin Landau as medical examiner Dr. Sol Goldman and Anita Briem as investigator Emily Stevens. The "backstories" of each character were revealed on a "need to know" basis in the course of each episode, showing how their personal experiences colored the direction of the investigation (much air time was devoted to the death of the wife of Sean Cole). Created by Sam Baum and Dustin Thomason, The Evidence made its network bow on March 22, 2006, only to be placed on hiatus after three episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Orlando Jones, Rob Estes, (more)
Launched in March 2004 as a mid-season replacement, this supernatural comedy drama suffered a death as quick as its premise was quirky. Thanks in part to a punishing Friday-night time slot, Wonderfalls managed only four episodes before Fox pulled the plug. Less than a year later, however, the offbeat series found new life on DVD, where all 13 completed installments were released to brisk sales and critical acclaim (see Wonderfalls -- The Complete Series). The brainchild of veteran director Todd Holland (Twin Peaks, My So-Called Life) and Dead Like Me creator Bryan Fuller, Wonderfalls chronicles the misadventures of Jaye Tyler (Caroline Dhavernas), a Niagara Falls, NY gift-shop employee whose snarky world view gets shaken up when inanimate objects -- a wax lion, a stuffed chameleon -- begin ordering her around. Convinced she's cracking up, Jaye nevertheless follows the animals' instructions and unwittingly helps a broad range of unusual characters: an elementary-school Romeo, a stuttering stalker, a faithless nun, a mysterious housekeeper, etc. Her partners in crime on these assignments include sardonic pal Mahandra (Tracie Thoms), buttoned-up lesbian sister Sharon (Kate Finneran), and overeducated, underachieving brother Aaron (Lee Pace). Though unaware of their daughter's peculiar conversations with stuffed animals, Jaye's stuffy parents Karen (Diana Scarwid) and Darrin (William Sadler) also figure prominently in her adventures. So does Eric (Tyron Leitso), a hot, heartbroken bartender whose honeymoon was recently cut short when he caught his bride servicing the hotel bellhop. As Jaye flirts with Eric, fights with her family, and struggles to maintain her ironic detachment, she comes reluctantly closer to understanding the nature of her unorthodox destiny. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Caroline Dhavernas, Kate Finneran, (more)
