Brian McNamara
Jaimie Alexander and Brian McNamara co-headline the direct-to-video supernatural horror saga Hallowed Ground. When an innocent young lady becomes unwittingly stranded in an American small town, she senses imminent danger, and in fact soon learns of the town's wretched history: it was founded by a bloodthirsty, Satanically-evil preacher with a nasty little taste for committing human sacrifices. The strange townspeople are both heirs to this legacy and accomplices in it - to such a degree that the newcomer must soon flee in terror from the clutches of the hamlet's residents and the pursuit of a possessed, animate scarecrow who wants her dead. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jaimie Alexander, Brian McNamara, (more)
After leaving a New Years Eve party Kevin and Tiffany find themselves battling the elements as well as inner demons as they try to make their way out of the deep forest.
- Starring:
- Al Santos, Sandra McCoy, (more)
- 2006
Attending his 25th class reunion at UC-Berkeley, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) is haunted by memories of his late wife Trudy (played in flashback by Lindy Newton). It is especially painful when Monk is reacquainted with Trudy's old school chum Dianne Brooks (Cynthia Stevenson), who it so happens has been targeted for murder. The very odd and extremely manipulative behavior of another fellow grad, coupled with a suicide note written a quarter-century ago, further persuades Monk that he might have been better off skipping the reunion and staying home. This is the episode in which we discover that the student Adrian Monk was known as "Captain Cool"--but not for the reasons one might think. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2006
A walk by the seashore takes a girl on the first step of an amazing journey in this family-friendly drama. When her father loses his job and money gets tight, 14-year-old Julie Kimbell (Suzanne Marie Doyon) leaves her California home and moves with her family to Manzanita, a small town on the coast of Oregon. Julie, her parents, Robert (Brian McNamara) and Kathryn (Julia Campbell), and her bother, Jimmy (Brian Thompson), settle in with her grandpa Kimbell (Max Gail), who knows more than a little about local legends and history. When Julie has an unexpected encounter with an elk while taking a walk on the beach, she discovers an ancient gold coin. After telling her grandpa and his friend Standing Elk (Floyd Red Crow Westerman) about her experience, they tell Julie about the fabled Tillamook Treasure, a fortune in gold supposedly hidden in Manzanita in the 16th century by Spanish sailors who used nefarious means to protect their treasure from the natives. As Julie learns more of the lore of Manzanita's Native American tribes, she begins experiencing some of the magic of their people, and sees the friendly elk as a spirit link to the fabled events of four centuries before. The Tillamook Treasure took the prize as the Best Family Feature at the 2006 Newport Beach Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian McNamara, Brian Thompson, (more)
- 2004
Southern housewife Jodie Colter (Lauren Holly) suspects that her loutish hubby Buck (Max Martini) is cheating on her, and hires a seedy private detective to gather evidence. But when the detective skips town with her money , Jodie takes over the "assignment" herself. Adopting a multitude of clever disguises to keep her errant husband under surveillance, Jodie finds she has a real talent for gumshoe-ing, thus she becomes a full-time P.I., devoted to helping other women who've been hosed by their spouses. Set in Tennessee, but filmed in Belgium (!), the made-for-cable Caught in the Act premiered over the Lifetime network on May 10, 2004, presumably as a pilot for a proposed series starring the estimable Lauren Holly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2004
The Lighthouse's reopening is threatened when its liquor license is turned down due to improprieties on the part of co-owner Jimmy (Tate Donovan). Summer (Rachel Bilson) and Seth (Adam Brody) try to comfort Marissa (Mischa Barton) after she learns the truth about Julie (Melinda Clarke) and Luke (Chris Carmack). Recovering from his near-fatal accident, Luke makes an effort to come clean before exiting the O.C. for good. And in keeping with the title of this episode, Caleb (Alan Dale) startles everyone by proposing to the love of his life. ~ All Movie Guide
Directed by Paul Abascal, Paparazzi chronicles the aftermath of four paparazzi photographers whose search for the all-important "perfect shot" ends in a tragic car accident. Movie star Bo Laramie (Cole Hauser) is understandably furious when, thanks to the notorious celebrity-chasers, his wife, Abby (Robin Tunney), is seriously injured, and his eight-year-old son is paralyzed. After the accident, Bo dedicates his life to putting a stop to a paparazzo's deadly overzealousness. Chris Rock, Matthew McConaughey, Mel Gibson, and Vince Vaughn are reported to be featured in cameo appearances. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cole Hauser, Robin Tunney, (more)
- 2003
Mom Kirsten (Kelly Rowan) and son Seth (Adam Brody) both have much to answer for after their outrageous behavior during Thanksgiving. While still wondering if she should become involved with Kirsten's father, Caleb (Alan Dale), Julie (Melinda Clarke) has trouble dealing with the fact that Kirsten's husband, Sandy (Peter Gallagher), is dispensing advice to her own soon-to-be-ex-hubby, Jimmy (Tate Donovan). In other developments, perpetual rivals Ryan (Ben McKenzie) and Luke (Chris Carmack) temporarily bury the hatchet while teamed on a history project, and a prominent O.C.er makes a disturbing revelation. ~ All Movie Guide
- 2002
Angela Lansbury guest stars as Lady Penelope Berrington, the proud and very haughty matriarch of a famous tea-manufacturing family. When told that he and his wife Sarah (Kate McNeil) can never have children, Lady Berrington's grandson and heir James (Brian McNamara) decides to adopt a Chinese orphan. The outraged dowager is dead set against the notion of her noble lineage being "tainted" by a non-Caucasian--at least until angel Gloria (Valerie Bertinelli) forces Lady B. to reveal an embarrassing secret about her "aristocratic" past. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Against his professional principles, Grissom (William L. Petersen) becomes personally involved in the plight of a wealthy Las Vegas family whose baby has apparently been kidnapped. Complicating matters, evidence is unearthed suggesting that certain family members were themselves involved in the child's disappearance. And, as if to confirm the real-life inspiration for this episode, even the baby's parents find themselves under suspicion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Just before taking medical leave, Gibson (John F. O'Donohue) arranges for Andy (Dennis Franz) to moonlight as the bodyguard for a wealthy -- and very dotty -- old woman named Mrs. Hornby (Elmarie Wendel). In other developments, gay cop John Irvin (Bill Brochtrup) makes a new friend while investigating the theft of some valuable English bulldog puppies, and the squad investigates reports of recent INS screw-ups. Jacqueline Obradors joins the cast as Det. Rita Ortiz, the wife of Assistant DA Don Harrison, who at her husband's insistence is transferred out of Vice and into the 15th precinct, where she is immediately partnered with Det. Connie McDowell (Charlotte Ross) on a missing persons case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Simmons
- 2001
Dishonorably discharged Marine lieutenant Peter Doyle (Jeremy Callaghan) is pulled out of "retirement" by gung-ho General Pembroke (Steven Grives) to lead an elite unit on a dangerous mission deep in the jungles of Africa (actually Australia, where this made-for-TV movie was filmed). In addition to rescuing Doyle's missing brother James (Brian McNamara), the unit must also shut down a auto-destructive nuclear device set up by local "rebels." As the mission proceeds, the unit comes across gruesome evidence that previous rescue missions have failed miserably, but that's not the half of it: the duplicitious General Pembroke is part of a vast conspiracy to cover up a military effort to contact space aliens, an effort that has resulted in an all-stops-out invasion by huge, mutant, carnivorous insects! In America, Code Red: The Rubicon Conspiracy made its TV debut courtesy of UPN on January 9, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
"Christmas Can Be Such a Bitch" was the tasteful advertising tag line for this updated and revised TV-movie adaptation of Dickens' oft-filmed fable A Christmas Carol. This time around, Victorian penny-pincher Ebenezer Scrooge as been transformed into a beautiful, imperious, foul-mouthed pop singer named Ebony (Vanessa L. Williams). Lording it over her staff in general and her long-suffering manager and former boyfriend Bob Cratchett (Brian McNamara) in particular, Ebony intends to callously exploit the Yuletide season by staging a charity Christmas concert "on behalf of the homeless," an act of "generosity" designed mainly to up her popularity and increase her own bank account. Inevitably, on the eve of the concert, the contentious Ebony is visited by a number of spirits who persuade her to change her ways before it's too late. Chilli of TLC is seen as the ghost of Ebony's former singing partner Marli Jacob while Duran Duran's John Taylor shows up as the Spirit of Christmas Present. No better or worse than any other "improved" version of the Dickens original, A Diva's Christmas Carol was filmed in Montréal and telecast over VH1 on December 13, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
A seen-it-all cop takes a walk on the weird side on this offbeat weekly comedy series. Daniel Henderson (Brian McNamara) was a Los Angeles police officer who enjoyed his work with the vice squad (especially when his work required him to dress like a woman) until his wife, an environmental activist, died while trying to save a school of dolphins. Not sure about what to do with his life now that he's a single parent, Henderson is offered a job as the sheriff of Manhattan, AZ, a town so small it doesn't even show up on the map. Henderson takes the position, and along with his teenage son (whose hobbies include looking for porn on the Internet) heads to Manhattan, only to find that the town's mayor, Jake Manhattan (Chad Everett), wasn't quite telling the truth about the full extent of his job; the town has enough eccentrics to make Los Angeles seem like Mayberry. Manhattan, AZ made it's premiere on the USA network on July 23, 2000. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian McNamara, Chad Everett, (more)
High-powered big city lawyer Emma (Lauren Sinclair) is called from her office in a Chicago skyscraper back to her rural hometown to defend Jesse Henson (Brian McNamara), a mild mannered farmer -- and Jesse's former lover -- accused of the murder of the town's game warden, who was shot at night in the local cemetery. To make matters worse, since the game warden was African-American, the local TV news reporter and a politician running a dead-end race have decided to turn the case into a racial event in order to draw attention to themselves. And that's fine for the region's hard-charging, narrow-minded FBI agent (Richard Portnow), who wants to close a high-profile case. Then someone shows up with a video of the night the game warden was shot -- can those be Civil War ghosts rising from their graves? ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- 1999
A few days before she is scheduled to board the space shuttle Discovery, astronaut Josie Saunders (played by ER's Sherry Stringfield) is told that her mother has died. Josie's husband Greg (Brian McNamara's, who is also one of the space mission's Capcoms, worries that his wife may not be emotionally ready for her voyage, and seriously considers washing her out. This crisis could not have come at a worse time: Josie has all but promised young cancer victim Diana (a pre-Heroes Hayden Panettiere) that she will deliver a message to God while flying in space. Monica (Roma Downey) endeavors to alleviate the pain of both Josie and Diana, with the help of a celebrity ghost! Real-life astronaut Dr. Sally Ride appears as herself in this final episode of Touched by an Angel's fifth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
This TV science fiction series is set in the 23rd century aboard an intergalactic medical facility dedicated to the new science of alien physiology. The space-bound doctors, who care for both aliens and humans, include android ANI, aka Android Nursing Interface (Julia Pennington), alien physiologist Dr. Maxwell (Joe Morton), Dr. Caleb "C J" Jurado (Brian McNamara), Dr. Dru Breslauer (Alexandra Wilson), and concerned Dr. Rema Cook (Gay Thomas), who fights for the rights of patients. Filmed in Vancouver, Canada, this series premiered October 6, 1998 on United Paramount Network. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Morton, Maria Del Mar, (more)
- 1997
Small-town housewife Sarah Jenks (Melissa Gilbert) would hardly qualify as the most popular woman in her community: She constantly speaks her mind, contemptuously disdains those who aren't vegetarians like herself, and (horrors!) does not attend church on Sunday. However, no one would ever claim that Sarah was not a loving and devoted mother to her children--at least not until the day that a spiteful woman named Sandy Barlow (Joely Fisher) levies accusations that Sarah is guilty of child abuse. Never bothering to question Sandy's ulterior motives (the audience knows that she has sexual designs on Sarah's husband), the authorities take her charges seriously, and before long Sarah's children have been ripped away from her and placed into foster care. Inspired by actual events, this nailbiting made-for-TV movie exposes the dangers of taking people and events at face value, accepting baseless lies as Gospel and adhering to a rigid "rules are rules" mentality. Seduction in a Small Town made itsABC debut on February 9, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
In all fairness, it isn't surprising that the authorities have trouble believing the outlandish tale of woe related by harried heroine Lauren Carlton (Lisa Hartman Black). After all, Lauren was found in a wrecked stolen car; the body of a murdered officer lies nearby; and Lauren's daughter has mysteriously vanished. Accused of theft and double murder, Lauren can only claim that she doesn't remember a thing--not even the fact that her daughter was in the car. "Amnesia's pretty much gone out of style", clucks one of the disbelievers as Lauren is hauled off to the psych ward--while the actual perpetrators of the carjacking, abduction, and murder, a modern-day "Bonnie and Clyde" couple, are still at large! Produced for the ABC TV network, Out of Nowhere debuted March 23, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
"How Far Would You Go to Save Your Sister's Life?" This was the question posed by the original ad copy for the made-for-TV drama A Case for Life--and the answer would seem to be "to the highest courts of the land", or at least that's how far Los Angeles lawyer Liz Hammett (Mel Harris) is prepared to go. A staunch pro-choice advocate, Liz discovers that her sister Kelly Porter (Valerie Bertinelli) is pregnant--a potential fatal situation, inasmuch as Kelly suffers from a rare medical condition requiring a delicate surgical procedure that will put both herself and her unborn child in jeopardy should she allow the baby to go to term. As dedicated to the pro-life movement as Liz is to the "other side", Kelly is determined to have her baby, and hang the consequences. It soon develops that Kelly is one against many, when even her doctor, her husband and her otherwise pro-life parents recommend an abortion. But Kelly sticks to her guns--and so does Liz, who initiates a lawsuit to force Kelly to abort immediately. Ultimately, the battle between the siblings becomes a national cause celebre, with virtually everyone in the country taking sides. A Cause for Life made its ABC network debut on February 18, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
While researching a novel, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) pays a return visit to New Orleans. Before long, she is enmeshed in a murder investigation, this one stemming from the death of a local businessman. A tiny doll was left behind at the murder scene, indicating the presence of a strong voodoo influence--but what does the Supernatural have to do with the local turf war between rival supper-club owners which would have otherwise been the main motive for the killing? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
"Why it will never happen" for the Buchmans (Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt) is sort of revealed on this episode. At the center of the crisis is the couple's new friends, who aren't exactly what they seem to be. Trouble is, it takes innumerable plot twists to prove this fact -- not to mention a brace of shows and a trio of untruths. All this, and Gilbert Gottfried too. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1994
Forget the Hollywood-heavy sci-fi flash of Armageddon and Deep Impact as you experience the terror of a destructive asteroid impact firsthand in this startlingly realistic faux news broadcast from filmmaker Robert Iscove. The unthinkable has happened, and it's not long before television news cameras across the globe bring images of death and destruction to the evening news. With advanced news technology that allows for the kind of extensive coverage never before possible, viewers will be riveted as veteran journalist Sander Vanocur, author Arthur C. Clarke, and Malcolm in the Middle star Jane Kaczmarek step before the camera for a startling piece of speculative science fiction that may be a bit too realistic for more sensitive viewers. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
