Charles Kimbrough Movies

Paul Rudnick provides the script for the Scott Rudin-produced comedy Marci X, directed by Richard Benjamin. The new song "Shoot Ya' Teacha" by controversial hardcore rapper Dr. S. (short for Dr. Snatchcatcher, played by Damon Wayans) causes a public outcry. The stress causes a heart attack for the owner of the hardcore rap record label Felony Assault (played by director Benjamin). It's up to his stylishly sunny daughter Marci (Lisa Kudrow) to take over his business. She tries to rescue the record label by changing the negative image of Dr. S. in order to appeal to a youth-oriented crowd, which leads the pair into an unlikely romance. Actress Christine Baranski appears as a conservative senator who threatens to ban the rapper. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

This direct-to-video sequel to Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame finds Quasi (voiced once again by Tom Hulce) falling in love with a magician's assistant while attempting to foil that same magician's plan to steal his bells. Previous cast members return (Kevin Kline, Demi Moore, Jason Alexander), while two new characters feature the vocal talents of Haley Joel Osment and Jennifer Love Hewitt. This release faithfully upholds the standards parents have come to expect from Disney. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

The tenth and final season of Murphy Brown resolves the previous season's cliffhanger finale, as TV reporter Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen) bids farewell to her co-workers on the Washington-based newsmagazine "FYI," in preparation of starting her new job as a White House correspondent. Not surprisingly, the tactlessly outspoken Murphy loses her White House gig in a record 45 minutes, forcing her to beg for her old job back. But these intrigues pale in significance compared to the central crisis of season ten, wherein Murphy is diagnosed with breast cancer. Despite the seriousness of the situation and the gloominess of its ramifications -- notably Murphy's efforts to break the news to her son, Avery (played this season by a pre-Sixth Sense Haley Joel Osment) -- the series still manages to deliver plenty of laughs amidst the tears. The humor level remains constant even during a potentially depressing subplot, as the second marriage of Murphy's co-worker Corky (Faith Ford) proves to be no more successful than the first. As the series winds down, Murphy is reunited with her former lover (and journalistic rival) Jerry Gold (Jay Thomas) for what would be their last romantic rendezvous. The series concludes with a surrealistic two-parter, in which Murphy has a pointed conversation with God (played by Alan King) while she is anesthetized for an exploratory operation. Without giving away the ending, it can be noted that the final tally of secretaries hired and fired by Murphy Brown throughout the series' ten-year run is an astronomical 93 (and you'll never guess who the last one is!). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

With the defection of series regular Grant Shaud at the end of Murphy Brown's eighth season, it was necessary to eliminate the actor's character Miles Silverberg, executive producer of "FYI," the Washington-based TV newsmagazine on which Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen) is star reporter. Miles' immediately replacement is snotty Andrew Lansing (Paul Reubens), nephew of the network's president -- a promotion that prompts the entire "FYI" staff to resign in protest. As it turns out, Andrew was a saint compared to his replacement, a contentious former game-show producer named Kay Carter-Shepley (new series regular Lily Tomlin). Clearly in over her head on "FYI," Kay hides her ineptitude with her overbearing behavior and her fondness for playing nasty mind games with the staff. Clearly, Murphy and Kay are going to be at each other's throats for the remainder of the season...and only one of them may come out alive. In other developments, Murphy and her co-workers purchase their favorite neighborhood bar when its owner, Phil (Pat Corley), who has functioned as a sort of house philosopher and father confessor for the past eight seasons, suddenly dies (or does he?). And in the series' most outrageously self-referential episode, Murphy discovers that the dozens of secretaries whom she has fired in seasons past have formed their own support group -- with branches on both the East and West coasts! The season-ending cliffhanger finds Kay being fired for an on-the-air gaffe perpetrated by Murphy -- who, as it happens, may be on her way out as well. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Few other TV sitcoms could boast Murphy Brown's distinction of opening its seventh season with an episode guest-starring both Senator Barbara Boxer and TV's "Captain Kangaroo." This initial episode also introduces Dyllan Christopher in the role of Avery, the son of TV reporter Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen) -- and considering that Avery was "born" only three years earlier, how that boy has grown! New to the series this season is actor-producer Gary Marshall as Stan Lansing, the new head of the network carrying Murphy's TV newsmagazine show "FYI." It is clear from the get-go that Lansing and Murphy will never see eye to eye, especially since he is far more interested in staging wild ratings-grabbing publicity stunts than in straight journalism. The limit comes when, upset that Murphy has hired and fired 76 secretaries in the past seven years, Lansing forces our heroine to engage the services of his own nephew Andrew, played by Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman). Obnoxious though he is, Andrew does too good a job to get himself canned -- and it is obvious that he will remain a thorn in Murphy's side for several episodes to come. In other developments, Murphy's house painter, Eldin Bernecky (Robert Pastorelli), who still hasn't finished decorating her living room after all these years, leaves the series to accept an opportunity to pursue a stellar art career in Europe. Also, Murphy's co-worker Corky (Faith Ford) has divested herself of her husband Will, and has begun dating vacuous anchorman Miller Redfield (Christopher Rich). And in another affair of the heart, swaggering international reporter Peter Hunt (Scott Bakula) finally proposes to Murphy -- but will she accept? This season, Murphy Brown won the second of two Emmy awards for Outstanding Comedy Series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Sometimes it can be hard to tell a true story from one that is fabricated. A group of youngsters listen as host LeVar Burton reads stories that might or might not be factual in Reading Rainbow: June 29, 1999. The featured book by David Wiesner tells of a young girl who sends vegetable seeds up with weather balloons as an experiment to study how the plants will grow. The surprising results are told with humor that young viewers will appreciate. In the book review portion of the program, kids analyze Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and Growing Vegetable Soup. ~ Alice Day, Rovi

What TV reporter Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen) suspected at the end of season three of her eponymously titled sitcom has turned out to be true: Murphy is pregnant. Thus, season four of Murphy Brown begins with our heroine figuring out that her ex-husband, Jake (Robin Thomas), with whom she had a one-night "reunion," is the father, and also worrying if her condition will allow her to continue appearing on the Washington-based newsmagazine "FYI." As if this isn't enough to keep Murphy awake nights, she must also cope with the death of her mother (a plot twist necessitated when the actress who played Avery Brown, Colleen Dewhurst, herself passed away). In other episodes, future Frasier co-star Jane Leeves appears as Audrey Cohen, the first of Murphy's many secretaries who actually keeps her job for more than a single episode; an interview with Aretha Franklin may prove to be disastrous thanks to a confused limo driver; "FYI"'s investigative reporter Frank Fontana (Joe Regalbuto) finally wins a coveted local TV award, whereupon his head swells to ten times its normal size; Murphy's co-worker Corky (Faith Ford), realizing that her marriage is in tatters, drifts into a relationship with anchorman Miller Redfield (Christopher Rich), the only person in Washington more vacuous than she; Murphy tries to get around her lifetime ban from covering the White House; and Kate Mulgrew, still a few years away from Star Trek: Voyager, plays Murphy's temporary replacement, who like our heroine turns out to have a not-so-little problem with booze. The season concludes with the celebrated, Emmy-winning episode in which Murphy goes into labor -- a segment that would famously incur the outrage of a certain American vice president. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Returning from a Catholic retreat, public school teacher Jill Eikenberry picks up a hitchhiker--who repays her hospitality by brutally raping her. Plunged into shame and self-hatred by the incident, she does not report the attack to the police. Only when she becomes pregnant does she tell the authorities, and her employers, what happened. The school board, assuming that Eikenberry's silence was borne of guilt, refuses to believe that she was raped and fires her. This leads to the moment that Eikenberry has always feared--reliving her violation in the courtroom. Inspired by a true story, Cast the First Stone was originally networkcast on November 13, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Making its first appearance on November 14, 1988, the long-running, Emmy-winning CBS sitcom Murphy Brown starred Candice Bergen as the title character, the driving, driven, often overbearing but essentially likable star reporter of the Washington, D.C.-based TV magazine "FYI." A thorough professional, Murphy never gave less than her best before the cameras -- but behind the cameras, it was a different story. Constitutionally incapable of doing anything by halves, Murphy told her colleagues exactly what she thought of them at all times, seldom made a comment that wasn't laced with sarcasm, and was addicted to tobacco and, for a while, booze (this last shortcoming required her to do some time at the Betty Ford Clinic). Though the rest of the "FYI" staffers were accustomed to Murphy's mood swings and idiosyncrasies, outsiders tended to be scared off by our heroine: indeed, one of the series' most famous running gags was the fact that Murphy had a different secretary in practically every episode! Also in the cast were Charles Kimbrough as "FYI"'s uptight, humorless anchorman Jim Dial; Joe Regalbuto as the show's gonzo (and obviously toupeed) investigative reporter Frank Fontana, Faith Ford as "FYI"'s voluptuous, somewhat vacuous cub reporter and ex-Miss America Corky Sherwood, who considered Murphy to be her role model (often to Murphy's dismay) and who eventually married staff writer Will Forest (Scott Bryce), thereby becoming -- are you ready? -- Mrs. Corky Sherwood Forest; and Grant Shaud as "FYI"'s nebbishy executive producer Miles Silverberg, not exactly what one would call a born leader of men (or of Murphy!).

When not on the set of her show, Murphy could be found in her townhouse apartment, often conversing with quirky, philosophy-spouting house painter Eldin Bernecky (Robert Pastorelli), who spent day and night trying to finish redecorating Murphy's living room -- a job he still hadn't entirely completed when he left the series in season seven. Murphy also hung out with her co-workers at a neighborhood bar owned by another erstwhile philosopher named Phil (Pat Corley), at least until he reportedly died, whereupon Murphy and company purchased the bar themselves (as it turned out, reports of Phil's death were slightly exaggerated -- by Phil!). Additionally, Jay Thomas appeared intermittently as Geraldo-like journalist Jerry Gold, with whom Murphy frequently clashed -- when they weren't romancing one another, that is. As the series progressed, the basic throughline, and the characters, underwent a few changes. After her divorce from Will Forest, Corky eloped with Miles Silverberg, though she stayed in Washington when he left to run a CNN-style news service in New York. Murphy's brief fling with her ex-husband, Jake (Robin Thomas), produced a baby named Avery (who apparently grew up rather quickly, since he was played during the final season by Haley Joel Osment) -- and also stirred up a controversy when no less than Vice President Dan Quayle chastised Murphy Brown for eroding "family values" in America by bearing a child out of wedlock. Later on, dashing international reporter Peter Hunt (Scott Bakula) joined the "FYI" staff, sweeping Murphy off her feet and ultimately asking her to marry him (she didn't). Other additions to the cast included Garry Marshall as new network president Stan Lansing, who waged an ongoing war with Murphy over her non-PC attitude; Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman) as Stan's whiny nephew Andrew, who was forced upon Murphy as her secretary -- and actually kept the job for more than a single episode; Christopher Rich as "FYI" co-anchor Miller Redfield, just the sort of gorgeous-looking, empty-headed TV personality whom Murphy despised with every fibre of her being; and Lily Tomlin as Kay Carter-Shepley, "FYI"'s imperious, and not altogether competent, new executive producer. In addition to the main and supporting cast, the series featured a number of real-life news personalities as "themselves," among them Walter Cronkite, Connie Chung, Larry King, Katie Couric, and Paula Zahn. The series' tenth and final season found Murphy undergoing treatment for breast cancer, an outwardly grim situation that, amazingly enough, never intruded upon the laughter. Murphy Brown ended its network run on August 10, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Weekend War takes place in Honduras (though the film itself was shot in Puerto Rico). Stephen Collins, Daniel Stern, James B. Tolkan, Charles Haid and Scott Paulin are among the California National Guardsmen undergoing a two-week training session in the Central American country. Before they quite know what's happening, the guardsmen are embroiled in a "hot" shooting conflict. Their antagonists are a band of anti-government guerillas, who play for keeps. More than a little reminiscent of the 1981 theatrical feature Southern Comfort, the made-for-TV Weekend War first aired February 1, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The 1920s-era play The Front Page was about a Chicago reporter who wants to retire and get married but is tricked by his editor into doing one last story -- which proves to be complicated. It was made into a classic film in 1931 and inspired the 1940 hit movie His Girl Friday, in which the reporter was changed into a woman. Billy Wilder also remade the original film in 1974. Switching Channels is a 1988 remake of His Girl Friday, with Kathleen Turner in the starring role, which has now morphed into that of a cable television network news anchor, Christy Colleran. She wants to marry a rich and handsome sporting goods manufacturer, Blaine Bingham (Christopher Reeve) and move out of town. But her ex-husband, John L. Sullivan IV (Burt Reynolds), who is also her producer and boss, gives her one final assignment to try to keep her around. Her reporting leads her into an investigation of a jail escape that follows a botched-up execution. Writer Jonathan Reynolds updated the original material. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

Filmed on location in France, Italy, Greece, and Egypt, Innocents Abroad was adapted by Dan Wakefield from the 1869 book by Mark Twain. The Twain original was an amusing, semi-satiric account of the author's Grand Tour of Europe and the Holy Land in 1867. Most of the humor derived from the contrast between the iconoclastic Twain and the tacked-on "reverence" of his fellow tourists. The cast includes Craig Wasson as Twain, David Ogden Stiers as a ship's doctor, Barry Morse as Captain Duncan, and-best of all--Luigi Proiette as the glib, effusive tour guide. Innocents Abroad premiered May 9, 1983 on PBS' Great Performances series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Gregory Harrison breathes some humanity into his two-dimensional character in For Ladies Only. Harrison plays an unsuccessful actor who decides to bank on his awesome physique to survive. He becomes a $100-per-night exotic dancer at a ladies-only nightclub. For those female fans who can get past the sight of Harrison bumping and grinding away, For Ladies Only affords some excellent choreography and a modicum of wry humor. Patti Davis, daughter of you-know-who, makes her TV-movie acting debut in For Ladies Only, which debuted on November 9, 1981; also in the cast are Lee Grant and her daughter Dinah Manhoff. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi