Stephanie Kramer

The second made-for-TV "reunion" of the stars of the long-running NBC cop drama Hunter (1984-1990), Hunter: Back in Force was, like its predecessor (Hunter: Return to Justice), set in San Diego. Newly reactivated police detective Rick Hunter (Fred Dryer) and his recently widowed partner, Dee Dee McCall (Stephanie Kramer) are targeted for extermination by vicious ex-convict Randall Skaggs (Gregory Scott Cummins), an old enemy from the original Hunter series. As Skaggs gathers together a mini-army of murderers, Hunter and Dee Dee devote their time to solving a string of bank robberies committed by a team of women -- possibly at the behest of a jailed convict (played by pro wrestler Chyna), with the assistance of a corrupt official. More obviously a TV pilot than Hunter: Return to Justice, Hunter: Back in Force, did in fact precipitate a revival of the old series, with five hour-long episodes telecast in the weeks following the film's April 12, 2003, debut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In Paul Duran's witty comedy-drama, down-and-out Jerry (Will Stewart) chances upon an old woman Alma (Carol Gustafson) walking her dog. The lucky encounter leads to a job when Alma's daughter Helen (Stepfanie Kramer) hires him to look after her mother and the dog. Jerry quickly realizes that the job is more complicated than he originally surmised. Alma is foul tempered, and a trio of wizened bridge-play suitors make increasingly bizarre demands on Jerry, while Helen and her vivacious teenaged daughter both make sexual advances on him. Later, when he enlists the help of his African-American friends, an unfortunate clash ensues resulting in tragedy. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Worried that his ex-wife and her flakey new boyfriend are going to harm his infant daughter, a concerned father kidnaps the baby and sets out across the country. He winds up in San Francisco. With a determined FBI agent hot on his heels, no money, and no stable home for the baby, the desperate father enlists the aid of an underground network for mothers in similar situations. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Jack Scalia and Stepfanie Kramer star in this psychological thriller about Karen (Stepfanie Kramer),a photojournalist who witnesses the brutal murder of a cop while covering a police raid. She makes the acquaintance of Vince (Jack Scalia), partner to the police officer who was killed. She becomes emotionally involved with him as he continues to investigate the case, but she comes to the realization he is not all that he seems to be after her daughter is kidnapped. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

As indicated by the title, this made-for-TV movie is a remake of the 1954 theatrical feature Three Coins in the Fountain. It's the mixture as before: three pretty American tourists head to Rome, looking for romance. Replacing the original film's Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters and Maggie McNamara are Loni Anderson (who coproduced the remake), Stepfanie Kramer, Shanna Reed. Also appearing is Anthony Newley, reprising the waspish character played in the 1954 version by Clifton Webb. The Oscar-winning title song, performed by Frank Sinatra in the original, is here rendered by Jack Jones. Filmed on location, Coins in the Fountain debuted September 28, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season Six of the cop drama Hunter gets under way with "On Air", with LAPD detective Rick Hunter (Fred Dryer) and Dee Dee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) protecting a radio talk host (guest star Erin Gray from a homicidal fan. Hunter and McCall's mercurial superior officer Captain Devane (Charles Hallahan) is center of attention in the subsequent episode "Shalalagh", as he romances a woman (Fiannula Flanagan) who is related to a notorious IRA activist (Nicholas Guest). Also on the schedule this season is "A Girl Named Hunter"--said girl being an infant, named for our hero by a woman who is being terrorized by an illegal adoption agency; "Lullaby", in which Hunter joins forces with Scotland Yard to trap a modern-day Jack the Ripper who kills to the tune of "Brahm's Lullaby" (this one features an early appearance by Gary Sinise); and most movingly, "Yesterday's Child", in which an Asian murder suspect (Joon B. Kim) turns out to be the son Hunter never knew he had. Likewise worth noting is the episode "The Nightmare", if only because its director was former Hunter regular James Whitmore Jr. The season's requisite two-part episodes include "The Legion", wherein Hunter matches wits with a white supremacist who will stop at nothing to spring his brother from prison; and the season finale "Street Wise", wherein a rekindled romance with an old flame (Robert Connor Newman) leads Hunter's partner Dee Dee to make a fateful decision. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a widow who works as a newspaper columnist tries to marry off her four strong-willed daughters. The widow is assisted by a good friend. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Season Four of the cop drama Hunter brings back Fred Dryer as unorthodox LAPD homicide cop Rick Hunter, Stepfanie Kramer as his partner (and, it is hinted, his lover) Dee Dee McCall, and Charles Hallahan--promoted to star billing this year--as their bombastic superior Captain Devane. Among the season's best episodes are the opener "Playing God", wherein the discovery that a recently deceased pillar of society may have had mob connections nearly prompts Hunter and Dee Dee to quit the force in disgust; "Allegra", in which a woman from Hunter's past is the victim of a spectacular murder; "Black Dahlia", a speculative reopening of the infamous unsolved murder case of the 1940s, featuring such venerable character actors as Jeanette Nolan and Lawrence Tierney); "Fourth Man", in which Hunter is again suspected of being a "dirty cop" when an old drug-bust case comes back to haunt him; and a rare light-hearted episode, "Murder He Wrote", a parody of you-know-what series with Marge Redmond as "Jessica Fletcher" clone Jennifer Brasher and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as the archetypal "murder victim who needs killing." The season also serves up a brace of intriguing multipart episodes. In the two-parter "Naked Justice", Hunter tries to ascertain the link between a murdered movie star and a mysterious street person. And in the three-part "City of Passion", adapted from a novel by Dallas Barnes, Hunter and McCall explore the possibility that a serial killer is tied in with a Satanic cult. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season Three of the cop drama Hunter begins with "Overnight Sensation", in which Captain Wyler, longtime superior and chief antagonist of unorthodox LAPD homicide cops Rick Hunter (Fred Dryer) and Dee Dee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer), is promoted out of the department, to be replaced by Captain Charlie Devane (Charles Hallahan). At long last, the series' search for a "perfect" superior officer has come to an end: Devane will remain with the series until its cancellation--possibly because, though he strongly disapproves of Hunter and McCall's methods, he is willing to cut them considerably more slack than his predecessors. Highlight episodes this season include "High Noon in LA", a sequel to the previous season's Rape and Revenge", in which the brother of the South American diplomat who'd raped Dee Dee, and who in turn was killed by Hunter, arrives in LA with vengeance on his mind--and protected by the same diplomatic immunity that had shielded his deceased sibling. In "Requiem for Sergeant McCall", Dee Dee stalks the paroled inmate who had murdered her husband, with potentially disastrous results. And in "Any Second Now", real-life assault victim Theresa Saldana plays a famous pianist who is tormented by a violent fan who, though he'd attacked her in the past, has been released from prison and cannot be prevented from contacting his beleaguered victim. Finally, the two-part "Hot Pursuit" finds Hunter briefly relocating to Mexico to smash a white slavery ring--and to be falsely accused of murder, for what seems to be the 1000th time in his career! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having played to dismal ratings during its first season, the NBC cop drama Hunter increased its viewership dramatically during Season Two, thanks to several corporate and creative decisions. To begin with, the network removed the series from its "suicide" slot opposite CBS' Dallas and into a slightly more appealing Saturday night berth, where its principal competition was the fading The Love Boat. Also, Roy Huggins was brought in as the new producer, whereupon he immediately set about to broaden Hunter's appeal by softening the characters and changing the basic locale. The fact that LAPD homicide detective Rick Hunter (Fred Dryer) was the son of a gangster was allowed to fade into obscurity before disappearing completely, while Hunter's previously impervious partner Dee Dee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) was less the "brass cupcake" she'd been in Season One and more of a sensitive, compassionate human being. It was further hinted that the relationship between Hunter and Dee Dee went far beyond a professional one. Additiionally, Huggins moved the two partners off the mean streets of downtown LA and into a more refined "uptown" setting. Replacing Captain Dolan as Hunter's dyspeptic superior officer this season is Bruce Davison as Captain Wyler, less irascible and vindictive than Dolan but not much more sympathetic to Hunter's unorthodox police methods. Also added to the cast are John Shearin as Lt. Ambrose Finn, whose later death in the line of duty would allow Hunter to demonstrate the more sentimental side of his personality,and Garrett Morris as Arnold "Sporty" James, bombastic street hustler and informant. In the season opener "Case X", directed by onetime Starsky and Hutch star David Soul, Hunter searches for the serial killer of female porn stars. Later episodes include "The Biggest Man in Town", in which Hunter and Dee head to a resort community run by a man who may be a big-time criminal; "Rich Girl", wherein a guilt-ridden Hunter seeks out the actual perpetrator of a crime for which a suicidal young woman was wrongly accused; "Killer in a Halloween Mask", taking place on the set of a Hunter-like TV series for which Hunter and Dee Dee serve as technical advisors; "Fagin 1986", in which our hero mercilessly targets another corruptor of youth; "The Set-Up", bringing Hunter in contact with the "untouchable" international criminal who may have caused the death of his former partner; and "The Return of Typhoon Thompson", clearly inspired by the story of boxer "Hurricane" Carter and starring Isaac Hayes in the title role. The most memorable of the season's offerings is the two-part "Rape and Revenge", with Hunter declaring a vendetta against the South American man who raped Dee Dee, then managed to escape prosecution by declaring diplomatic immunity. Only slightly less fascinating is another two-parter, "The Beautiful and the Dead", in which the murder of a gorgeous girl in a seedy motel plunges Hunter into a complex espionage yarn involving both Federal and Russian secret agents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, Bo (John Schneider) and Luke (Tom Wopat), still operating undercover for the Feds, continue to race the General Lee under the banner of crooked promoter J.J. Carver (Ramon Bieri). The good news is that the Duke boys have managed to gather enough evidence to put Carver behind bars for a long time. The bad news is that Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) and Sheriff Roscoe (James Best), unaware of what the Dukes are up to and hoping to get the good on Carver themselves, succeed only in blowing Bo and Luke's cover at the worst possible moment! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Inspired by the popular Clint Eastwood Dirty Harry movies, the weekly, hour-long NBC cop drama Hunter starred former NFL star Fred Dryer as the Eastwoodesque title character, LAPD detective sergeant Rick Hunter. Originally operating out of the Homicide department, Hunter spent the series' first season patrolling the mean streets of Los Angeles' less savory districts, partnered with the equally no-nonsense lady cop Dee Dee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer), aka "the Brass Cupcake." Using a Magnum revolver that he called Simon--as in "Simon says 'Freeze'!"--Hunter gave no mercy or quarter to the various thugs, pimps, pushers and lowlifes with whom he came in contact. And like Dirty Harry, our hero was given to pithy catchphrases, notably the oft-repeated "Works for me." Introduced with a two-hour TV movie on September 18, 1984, Hunter languished near the bottom of the ratings during its first season due to the stiff competition of CBS's Dallas. Things improved significantly when Roy Huggins took over as executive producer at the beginning of Season Two, primarily due to a softening of the previously grim and intractible characters of Hunter and Dee Dee, and the decision to move them to a more upscale section of LA to provide them with a wider variety of antagonists. Also, Hunter's unsavory past as the son of a mobster--and his checkered present with a slew of crooked relatives and former acquaintances--faded into the background and eventually disappeared altogether. During the first two seasons, Hunter went through several superior officers, each one of whom despised him and sought out any excuse to divest him of his badge. Finally in Season Three, the producers settled on Charles Hallahan as Charles Devane, who remained with the series for the remainder of its run. Though not much more fond of Hunter than his predecessors, Devane was at least willing to cut his most contentious cop a little slack due to the results he'd gotten with his strongarm methods. At the end of Season Six, Dee Dee McCall left the department to get married. The following season, both Hunter and Devane were moved out of Homicide and into the department's elite Metro Division, focusing on cases that warranted extra-special attention. Hunter's new partner was Officer Joanne Molinski (Darlanne Fluegel) who unfortunately was killed halfway through the season. In the series' final months on NBC, Hunter developed a romantic relationship with Sgt. Chris Novak (Lauren Lane), a former girlfriend and presently the single mom of a cute little girl named Allison (Courtney Barella). Ending its network run on August 30, 1991, Hunter was briefly revived four years later in the form of a TV movie, The Return of Hunter: Everyone Walks in L.A., then again in 2002 with another feature length episode, Hunter: Return to Justice. This last project led to a brief weekly revival of the property, reuniting Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer, which ran from April 12 through May 10, 2003 on NBC. Created by Frank Lupo, Hunter was a Stephen J. Cannell pro ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide