Jason Bateman Movies
The younger brother of Family Ties star Justine Bateman, actor Jason Bateman has been a mainstay on television since the 1980s, starring in countless sitcoms of varying success. He first displayed his scene-stealing propensity in the role of young sharpster Derek Taylor, best friend of star Ricky Schroder, on Silver Spoons. The audience response to Bateman was so positive that the 15-year-old was given his own sitcom vehicle in 1984, as "teenaged con man" Matthew Burton on It's Your Move. When this series was cancelled after one season, Bateman moved to the long-running role of wise-guy teen David Hogan on the mid-1980s series Valerie, which of course later changed names (and leading actresses) to emerge as The Hogan Family.During this period, Bateman also found time to star or co-star in a handful of feature films, such as the 1985 made-for-TV summer-camp comedy Poison Ivy, Teen Wolf, Too, and 1991's Necessary Roughness. However, none of the projects were successful enough to give Bateman a springboard to bigscreen stardom.
Following the conclusion of The Hogan Family in 1991, Bateman embarked on a decade plagued by failed TV outings. On top of several pilots that never even saw the light of day, he was the lead in no less than four ill-fated sitcoms, Simon, George and Leo, Chicago Sons, and Some of My Best Friends. Fortunately, as the new millenium was ushered in, things started to look bright for Bateman. After a supporting turn in the Cameron Diaz comedy The Sweetest Thing, his first major theatrical feature in a decade, he was tapped to lead the eclectic ansemble cast of the Ron Howard-produced Fox sitcom Arrested Development. Acclaimed for its smart humor and fresh concept, the show became a hit with critics and viewers.
In the wake of Arrested Development's success, Bateman continued to increase his presence on the silver screen with roles in the 2004 comedies Starsky and Hutch and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
A pregnant Laura (Melissa Gilbert) insists that she can take care of the Wilders' farm in the absence of her husband, Almanzo (Dean Butler). Unfortunately, the land is hit with a drought, and Laura is felled by a heat stroke. It's up to the local schoolchildren to save the crops -- not to mention Laura's own, carefully tended orchard. The title of this episode refers to the famous fable of the same name, used in the story as a means of instilling maturity in perennial classroom troublemaker Willie Oleson (Jonathan Gilbert). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1982
This story begins in 1982, with a set of old blueprints discovered in a Minnesota auction barn. Flashing back a century or so, the audience discovers that the blueprints were drawn up by Charles Ingalls (Michael Landon), who has taken up cabinet-making as a means of establishing a legacy for his family. Alas, when he brings his handiwork to the Big City, an unscrupulous manufacturer steals Charles' cabinet design and mass-produces them. Meanwhile, the Ingalls family farm is left in the hands of Albert (Matthew Laborteaux) -- but is he up to the new responsibility? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1981
- Add Little House on the Prairie: Season 08 to QueueAdd Little House on the Prairie: Season 08 to top of Queue
Season eight of Little House on the Prairie finds Mary Ingalls Kendall (Melissa Sue Anderson, formerly a series regular and now a "special guest star") moving to New York, where her husband, Adam (Linwood Boomer), has joined his father's law firm. Back in Walnut Grove, Mary's father, Charles (Michael Landon), has added orphans James and Cassandra Cooper (Jason Bateman, Missy Francis) to the Ingalls household. Meanwhile, the Ingalls' neighbors the Olesons, suffering from "empty nest syndrome" after the marriage of daughter Nellie (Alison Arngrim), decide to adopt a little girl named Nancy (Allison Balson) -- who turns out to be a terrifying clone of the nasty brat that the now-reformed Nellie had been in her youth. In more serious developments, Charles' daughter Laura (Melissa Gilbert) must cope with the anger and self-pity exhibited by her husband, Almanzo (Dean Butler), when he suffers a stroke -- and his bitterness also threatens to dampen the happiness experienced by Laura when she gives birth to her daughter, Rose. Elsewhere, Charles' old friend Isaiah Edwards (former series regular Victor French) suffers the death of his son, resumes his heavy drinking, and causes the breakup of his marriage; thus, by the time he returns to Walnut Grove, he is seriously contemplating suicide. And in the two-part season-eight finale, "He Was Only Twelve," Charles' adoptive son, James, is left comatose from gun wounds suffered in a bank holdup. Arguably the most fascinating of the season's episodes is "The Legacy," in which an auction taking place in the year 1982 unearths several valuable antiques: chairs designed and constructed by none other than Charles Ingalls. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1981
Jack Kruschen guest stars as Gambini, an aging circus artist in whose footsteps his sons are reluctant to follow. When Gambini's show comes to town, Albert (Matthew Laborteaux) is fascinated with the old man's "escape" act -- so much so that he tries to be Gambini's protégé. This proves to be a near-fatal mistake, not only for Albert, but for many of the other kids in Walnut Grove. On a less dangerous note, Albert develops a crush on another circus performer, a girl named Anna Rosa (Gloria Manos). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1981
Nels Oleson (Richard Bull) is kidnapped by two dimwitted amateur crooks, who demand a 100-dollar ransom. When Nels' wife, Harriet (Katherine MacGregor), refuses to pay, the outraged Nels decides to become the leader of the crooks' "gang." Under Nels' less than expert leadership, the two bumblers abduct several other townsfolk, with hilarious results -- almost as hilarious as the scene in which Mr. Oleson pretends to "haunt" his recalcitrant wife. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1981
Victor French returns to the series in the role of Isaiah Edwards. When his adopted son John a copy boy with a big Chicago newspaper, dies under mysterious circumstances, Edwards is comforted through his grief by his old friend Charles (Michael Landon). By and by, several clues indicate that John was murdered -- whereupon Charles and Isaiah head to the Windy City, there to join forces with a crusading editor to bring the killer or killers to justice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1981
J. Brennan Smith is cast as Elmer, a chubby new student at the Walnut Grove school. Mercilessly ridiculed because of his weight, Elmer gravitates to the only person willing to be nice to him -- bratty Nancy Oleson (Allison Balson). In truth, however, Nancy doesn't care a fig about Elmer; she just hopes to use him to her advantage, and to that end she persuades the boy to "get even" with the other kids by becoming the class bully. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1981
Harriet Oleson (Katherine MacGregor) thinks she has it made when she sells her restaurant to a national franchise. Before long, however, Harriet is being run to a frazzle in her efforts to live up to the franchise's lofty and exacting standards. Meanwhile, Harriet's husband, Nels (Richard Bull), teams with Charles (Michael Landon) to establish a rival eatery across the street, for the express purpose of "rescuing" Harriet by putting her out of business. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1981
In the first episode of a two-part story, Charles (Michael Landon) and Albert (Matthew Laborteaux) accompany the Cooper family while making a delivery. En route, Mr. and Mrs. Cooper are killed in an accident, leaving their children, James (Jason Bateman) and Cassandra (Missy Francis), orphans. Charles tries to find a suitable new home for the kids -- but when they refuse to be separated, he decides to keep them in his own home on a temporary basis (or so he thinks). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1981
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Rev. Alden (Dabbs Greer) finds a foster home for the orphaned Cooper children. Charles (Michael Landon) has a bad feeling about this setup -- a feeling that is borne out when it is revealed that the children's new guardians merely want to use them as cheap labor. The kids run away, whereupon Charles finds them -- agreeing to adopt them if it is humanly possible. Jason Bateman and Missy Francis join the regular cast as James and Cassandra in this, the final episode of Little House on the Prairie's seventh season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1981
Season eight of Little House on the Prairie is marked with the conspicuous absence of several familiar characters, among them Mary and Adam Kendall and Nellie and Percival Dalton, all of whom have moved from Walnut Grove to New York. Mooning over the departure of daughter Nellie, the insufferable Harriet Oleson (Katherine MacGregor) yearns for a replacement. Before long, the Olesons have adopted a little girl named Nancy (Allison Balson), who looks just like the younger Nellie -- and unfortunately acts like her as well. This is the first episode of a two-part story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1981
In the conclusion of Little House on the Prairie's two-part season eight opener, the Olesons' newly adopted daughter, Nancy (Allison Balson), not only looks like a younger version of biological daughter, Nellie, but is just as bratty and troublesome. The kids at the Walnut Grove school have their hands full keeping Nancy from getting out of hand, especially when the little "darling" jockeys for the leading role in an upcoming pageant. Meanwhile, Hester-Sue Terhune (Ketty Lester), former teacher at the blind school, arrives in Walnut Grove, where she accepts a job at the Olesons' restaurant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1981
The Ingalls' newly adopted son, James (Jason Bateman), is desperate to "belong," and even more desperate to emulate his older adoptive brother, Albert (Matthew Laborteaux). After breaking Albert's razor, James tries to make amends by getting Albert another one. Unfortunately, he doesn't bother to pay for the new razor, and when he is accused of being a thief, James runs away -- obliging Albert, himself an adoptee, to persuade him to return. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1981
The normally open-minded Doc Baker (Kevin Hagen) is a bit put off when his new assistant, Dr. Caleb Ledoux (Don Marshall), arrives in town -- not because Ledoux is unqualified (certainly not the case), but because he is black. Reluctant to entrust his patients to a man of color, Baker assigns Ledoux to only the most minor of cases. But when a major crisis develops, Ledoux proves not only equal to the challenge, but even more so than Baker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1981
While attending a literature seminar in Arizona, Laura (Melissa Gilbert) is reunited with her sister-in-law Eliza Jane (Lucy Lee Flippin). This happy reunion is compromised when, failing to land a local tutoring job, Laura is forced to take menial work at a local restaurant. Before long, Laura and Eliza Jane find themselves in a quasi-romantic triangle involving the erudite Professor Woestehoff (Joseph Lambie). Though a married woman and certainly disinclined to stray, Laura allows the professor to flatter her in hopes that he will give a positive assessment of her writing efforts -- while the unattached Eliza Jane seethes with jealousy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
- 1981
Snowed in by a Christmas blizzard, the Ingalls family, including married daughters Laura (Melissa Gilbert) and Mary (Melissa Sue Anderson) and their respective husbands, Almanzo (Dean Butler) and Adam (Linwood Boomer), pass the time by telling stories about their lives. Also on hand is family friend Hester-Sue (Ketty Lester), who imparts a fascinating yarn of her own. This episode features excerpts from the 1974 Little House on the Prairie TV-movie pilot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, (more)
