Joe Lando Movies

This made-for-TV movie, inspired by the 1989 film Alien Nation (as well as the subsequent TV series adapted from it), follows the adventures of an unlikely pair of police detectives -- earthling Matt Sikes (Gary Graham) and assimilated alien "newcomer" George Francisco (Eric Pierpoint). When Sikes and Francisco are assigned to investigate the death of a "newcomer," Sikes is given a glimpse of the ugly side of the aliens' caste system, as Francisco turns up his nose at chasing the killer of an "Eeno" -- an alien trained to do the most menial labor aboard the cruisers used to transport alien slaves. Alien Nation: The Enemy Within also features Terri Treas, Michele Scarabelli, and Joe Lando. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Anna Chi directed this drama about a middle-class Hong family during a single night. Doctor Daniel Hong (Chin Han) armors himself against the intense emotions radiating from his mother, blind Mrs. Hong (Lisa Lu), and his wife, angry Natalie (Vivian Wu). They are interrupted by the arrival of gun-toting Patrick (Joe Lando). Once Daniel's friend and Natalie's lover, Patrick has spent a decade in jail after killing his parents, and his return opens a Pandora's box of long-buried family secrets. Shown at the 1998 Hollywood Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

A summit meeting between the American president and the Chinese premier, held in secret on the luxury liner Queen Elizabeth 2 somewhere on the high seas, is rudely interrupted when the ship is hijacked by Taiwanese extremists. Fully prepared to nuke the vessel and spark a world war to get the point across, the terrorists cannot be stopped by traditional peacekeeping methods. It is up to a pair of long-estranged brothers, ATF agent Vince Kellogg (Joe Lando) and Secret Service operative Thomas Kellogg (Rob Estes), to secretly parachute onto the deck of the QE2 and save the world from annihilation -- with a little help from the ship's plucky (and drop-dead gorgeous) security head, Brittany Cooper (Rachel Blakely). Also appearing are Marie Matiko as Maggie Chang, a terrorist posing as a martial arts movie star, and Christopher Lawford, son of actor and former J.F.K. intimate Peter Lawford, ironically cast as the American vice president. Originally filmed as Attack on the Queen (the title of the novel on which it was based), Counterstrike first aired March 2, 2003, on the TBS superstation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Enjoying astonishing (and well-deserved) popularity at a time in TV history when dramatic programs trafficking in "family values" were few and far between, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was also one of the last of that hardy breed known as the "TV Western." Set in Colorado Springs, CO, in the years just following the Civil War, the weekly, 60-minute series starred Jane Seymour as Michaela "Mike" Quinn, one of a handful of women doctors west of the Mississippi (or anywhere else!) during the second half of the 19th century. After the death of her father and medical partner, Dr. Mike left her hometown of Boston to set up practice in the hardscrabble village of Colorado Springs. Not surprisingly, she encountered much hostility and mistrust from the townsfolk, but gradually won them over not only because of her medical brilliance, but because she was almost unerringly "in the right" at all times. When one of her first patients, Charlotte Cooper (Diane Ladd), died of a snakebite, Dr. Mike inherited the woman's three children, who at the outset of the series ranged in age from 10 to 17. Oldest son Matthew Cooper (Chad Allen) grew up to become the town's sheriff, and later went off to study law; daughter Colleen (played by Erika Flores from 1993 to 1995, thereafter by Jessica Bowman) eventually followed Dr. Mike's footsteps by pursuing a medical career, and ultimately married her foster mother's young assistant, Dr. Andrew Cook (Brandon Douglas); and youngest Chandler boy, Brian (Shawn Toovey), got into many a scrape -- some of them near-fatal -- in the course of the series.

Also in the cast was Joe Lando as taciturn mountain man Byron Sully, who spent most of his time communing with nature (including his pet wolf) and commiserating with the local Cheyenne Indian tribe. In the early episodes, Sully was merely the man who owned the house rented by Dr. Mike and her "instant" family; later on, he and Mike fell in love, got married, and had a daughter named Katie. The huge, rotating cast of recurring characters included curmudgeonly (and, initially, downright nasty) storekeeper Loren Bray (Guy Boyd in the pilot episode, Orson Bean thereafter); Bray's sister-in-law, Dorothy Jennings (Barbara Babcock), editor of the town newspaper; Grace (Jonelle Allen), a black woman who owned the town diner; telegraph operator Horace Bing (Frank Collison) and his bride, Myra (Helene Udy), a former saloon girl; Myra's ex-boss Hank (William Shockley), owner of the local "sporting house"; Rev. Timothy Johnson (Geoffrey Lower), who functioned as the town schoolteacher until Teresa Morales (played first by Michelle Bonilla, then by Alex Meneses) took over; Loren Bray's conniving buddy, barber Jake Slicker (Jim Knobeloch); Sully's old pal, wealthy ex-prospector Daniel Simon (John Schneider); and the much-maligned Cheyenne medicine man Cloud Dancing (Larry Sellers), whose persecution at the hands of the U.S. military aroused the fire-breathing activism of pioneering feminist and humanitarian Dr. Mike.

Our heroine also fought tirelessly for the rights of blacks, Hispanics, battered wives and practically everyone else who suffered under the weight of bigotry and misunderstanding in the Old West. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was far and away CBS' most successful and beloved Saturday-night series throughout its five seasons on the air, and has remained an audience favorite on cable and in syndication. ~ All Movie Guide

No sooner has Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn (Jane Seymour) hung up her shingle in Colorado Springs than the community is hit with an influenza epidemic. Using Charlotte's (Diane Ladd) recently foreclosed boarding house as a temporary clinic, Dr. Mike does her best to treat the disease, but the isolated townsfolk still can't get over their mistrust of a woman doctor. Things get worse as more and more locals fall victim to the epidemic -- including Dr. Mike herself. This is the first "official" episode of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dissolute Civil War surgeon Doc Eli (Robert Culp) is now barnstorming with his own "Kickapoo Indian Miracle Elixir" medicine show. At first regarding Eli as a charlatan, Dr. Mike (Jane Seymour) is forced to rely on his long-dormant surgical skills when Myra (Helene Udy) falls victim to an ovarian cyst. Similarly, Sully (Joe Lando) tries to "redeem" a disillusioned Cheyenne named Franklin (Pato Hoffman). As a bonus, two of the series' prominent supporting characters get engaged in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Her "romantic" experience gleaned from pulp magazines, Colleen (Erika Flores) develops a crush on Sully (Joe Lando) after he saves her life. Colleen then deliberately gets lost in the woods, hoping to be rescued again -- and nearly dies of frostbite. Meanwhile, Hank (William Shockley) foments racial animosity in town when he comes down with food poisoning and holds restaurant owner Grace (Jonelle Allen) responsible. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kevin Rogers guest stars as David Watkins, a famed Civil War photographer. As the townsfok argue over who will be include and who will be left out of Watkins' proposed panoramic portrait of Colorado Springs, Dr. Mike (Jane Seymour) comes to realize that the photographer is suffering from diabetes -- and refuses to have it treated, even though he is rapidly losing his eyesight. Meanwhile, the dying Mrs. Bing (Rosemary Murphy) staunchly opposes the marriage between her son Horace (Frank Collinson) and Myra (Helene Udy). This was the final episode of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman's first season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sully (Joe Lando) is beaten up by a band of scurrilous buffalo hunters, hired to clear the land on behalf of the incoming railroad. Though paralyzed, Sully vows to wreak vengeance against his attackers and to stem their slaughter of the local bison herds. Meanwhile, a slick con artist, posing as a railroad advance man, is busily swindling the citizens of Colorado Springs out of their hard-earned property. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season two of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman introduces a new arrival in the town of Colorado Springs: Dorothy Jennings (Barbara Babcock), sister-in-law of crotchety storekeeper Loren Bray (Orson Bean). Given shelter by Dr. Michaela "Mike" Quinn (Jane Seymour) while escaping the wrath of her abusive husband, Dorothy must subsequently stand trial for her spouse's murder. In other dramatic developments, the growing affection between Dr. Mike and mystical mountain man Sully (Joe Lando) is threatened by, of all things, the ghost of Sully's late wife; Loren Bray's duplicitous buddy, town barber Jake Slicker (Jim Knobeloch), nearly incites a bloody war when he accidentally kills one of the local Cheyenne Indians; a typhus epidemic reveals a hitherto hidden government plan to commit full-scale genocide; the townsfolk react prejudicially to the arrival of a troop of black "Buffalo Soldiers"; a bitter strike at the local mine pits friend against friend; the Ku Klux Klan tries to persuade Dr. Mike's foster son Matthew (Chad Allen) to join their ranks; and Dorothy's disturbed war-veteran son puts the town on edge. On a happier note, in the two-part episode "Where the Heart Is," Dr. Mike returns to her native Boston to be with her ailing mother, a brief sojourn that culminates in a declaration of love -- and a marriage proposal -- from the heartsick Sully. This season concludes with another two-parter, wherein Dr. Mike is forced to choose between Sully and her former fiancé, David Lewis (Maxwell Caulfield) -- whom she assumed had been killed in the Civil War. ~ All Movie Guide

Additions to the cast of characters on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman during the series' fifth year on the air include Katie Sully (played by various female members of the Calabreese family), newborn daughter of Colorado Springs' lady doctor, Michaela "Mike" Quinn (Jane Seymour), and her mountaineer husband, Byron Sully (Joe Lando), and Teresa Morales (Michelle Bonilla), who after arriving in town upon the death of her husband becomes the new schoolteacher in place of the Reverend Timothy Johnson (Geoffrey Lower) -- and briefly arouses the bigotry of certain townsfolk in the process. Recovering from her pregnancy, Dr. Mike tries to go back to work, only to find that her patients have become rather accustomed to her temporary replacement, Dr. Andrew Cook (Brandon Douglas). Elsewhere, Sully's friendship with Indian shaman Cloud Dancing (Larry Sellers) causes him to lose his job as local Indian agent; strapped for cash, Sully and Mike are rescued from penury by Sully's old pal Daniel Simon (John Schneider), a prospector who's struck it rich. Meanwhile, Mike's foster daughter Colleen (Jessica Bowman) begins attending college -- and dating the handsome Dr. Cook. Season five ends on a cliffhanger, as Dr. Mike is left alone when Sully helps Cloud Dancing jump his reservation -- and disappears in the massacre that follows. ~ All Movie Guide

John Schneider guest stars as Red McCall, an impoverished cowboy who is reduced to robbing Loren's (Alan Young) store in order to provide for his half-breed baby. Realizing he can no longer care for his child, Red leaves the baby with Dr. Mike (Jane Seymour) -- who, in turn, is unable to find a proper new home for her charge. As this drama plays itself out in the background, danger rears its ugly head in the form of a rampaging rabid bear. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide