Bill Mumy Movies

Russ Tamblyn guest-stars as Capt. Maynard, an old war buddy of Captain Sheridan's. Maynard's arrival prompts Sheridan to realign his priorities --- and then disaster strikes. On other fronts, Delenn runs afoul of the Delenn hierarchy, while Dr. Franklin tries to administer nutritional advice to some unwilling patients. The episode rushes to a conclusion with a desperate rescue mission, launched from hyperspace. Written by D.C. Fontana, "A Distant Star" was originally telecast on November 23, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Security Chief Garibaldi remains comatose after being shot while investigating the assassination of the Earth Alliance president. In hopes of saving Garibaldi's life, Dr. Franklin performs a forbidden alien medical procedure. Meanwhile, Delenn takes on an entirely new appearance after emerging from her cocoon, Sheridan's sister arrives to reopen the Commander's grief over the loss of his wife, G'Kar returns from the destroyed Quad 37 armed with new information about an old enemy of the Narn. Written by J. Michael Straczynski, "Revelations" first aired on November 9, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Garibaldi is forced to arrest Amis (Dwight Schultz), an unhinged war veteran who insists that Judgement Day is approaching. Amis is especially agitated when Earth woman Mariah Cirrus (Anne-Marie Johnson) is awakened from a 100-year cryonic slumber. Things take an even more frightening turn as Mariah likewise begins experiencing visions of doom. Originally broadcast on November 30, 1994, "The Long Dark" was written by Scott Frost. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The body of a legendary Minbari war hero disappears during a brief stopover on Babylon 5. As the threat of retaliatory action hangs heavily of the space station, Ivanova risks another crisis by sheltering teenage telepathic Alisa Beldon (Grace Una from the Psi Corps. Scripted by D.C. Fontana, "Legacies" was the only first-season Babylon 5 episode not based on a premise by series creator J. Michael Straczynski. The episode first aired on July 20, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Garibaldi tries to interfere when an old friend prepares to participate in the "Mutai", a deadly nonhuman Martial Arts combat. Elsewhere, Ivanova comes to grips with her father's death with the help of Rabbi Koslov (Theodore Bikel). Fans of Harlan Ellison will enjoy the fleeting in-joke involving Ivanova's reading preferences, while boxing devotees should take note of the name of the character played by guest star Greg McKinney. Originally telecast on May 25, 1994, TKO was written by Lawrence G. DiTillio. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

June Lockhart, who previously appeared with Babylon 5 regular Bill Mumy on Lost in Space, guest-stars as Laura Rosen, an unlicensed doctor. Though Dr. Franklin welcomes the "miracle" cure for all diseases developed by Rosen, he cannot shake the feeling that something is seriously amiss. Meanwhile, Talia participates in the "execution" of a condemned man's personality, while Londo and Lennier embark upon a wild B5 pub crawl. Originally titled "The Resurrectionist", "The Quality of Mercy" was written by J. Michael Straczynski. When the episode originally aired on August 17, 1994, it was advertised as Babylon 5's first-season finale -- though there was still one more episode, "Chrysalis", in the series' manifest. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the second half of the two-part "A Voice in the Wilderness," Epsilon 3 is taken over by hostile aliens. Should the planet's reactors fall into the wrong hands, it may mean the end of Babylon 5. Making a bad situation worse, the heavy Earthforce cruiser Hyperion shows up, prepared to defend the planet to the last drop of everyone's blood. Written by J. Michael Straczynski, this episode includes an inside joke that will probably be spotted only by Internet aficionados. Part Two of "A Voice in the Wilderness" was originally broadcast on August 3, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Transformed into a superhero during a secret World War II military experiment, Captain America (Matt Salinger) awakens from suspended animation forty years later to face his old enemy, the Nazi warrior Red Skull (Scott Paulin). This low-budget adaptation of the Marvel comic book series received very little attention upon its delayed release. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Alfred Hitchcock Presents is the portmanteau pilot film for the subsequent TV revival of Hitchcock's celebrated anthology series of the 1950s and '60s. Four short tales are presented, each of them remakes of earlier Alfred Hitchcock programs. "Incident in a Small Jail," originally presented in 1961 with John Fiedler in the lead, stars Ned Beatty as a traveling salesman who finds himself sharing a jail cell with an accused rapist -- the target of an angry, indiscriminate lynch mob. "Man from the South," based on an oft-adapted Roald Dahl piece, stars John Huston as a cagey gambler who makes a grisly wager with novice Steven Bauer. The original 1959 Hitchcock version of this tale starred Peter Lorre and Steve McQueen; featured in the cast of the remake are former Hitchcock movie leading ladies Kim Novak and Tippi Hedren, as well as Hedren's daughter Melanie Griffith. "Bang, You're Dead" is a taut, tension-filled tale of a child who wanders around town with a loaded gun. The child is a little girl (Bianca Rose), but in the initial 1961 version the protagonist was a boy, played by Billy Mumy (who appears in this remake in a small role). The final playlet, "The Unlocked Window," is an abbreviated version of a story first shown on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in 1965. Bruce Davidson is featured in a virtual reprise of that beloved old Hitchcock protagonist Norman Bates. Each of the four stories in Alfred Hitchcock Presents had its own director -- in order of appearance, they are Joel Oliansky, Steve De Jarnatt, Randa Haines, and Fred Walton -- and all were narrated by co-star John Huston. The late Alfred Hitchcock opens and closes each playlet via colorized footage from the original series -- a bizarre touch that "The Master" might have approved of. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on the popular television series created by Rod Serling, this film of horror and the supernatural tells four separate stories--each by a different director: John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante and George Miller. In one, a bigot is taught a lesson when he is transported to experience the lives of three different victims of prejudice and intolerance. Another takes a trip to an old-age home where the arrival of a special man turns some of the residents into youthful people once again. In the third, a woman befriends a timid young child who turns out to be a maniacal brat with bizarre powers. The final segment shows how a man with an aversion to flying has a rough time when he panics and then sees a strange creature on the wing outside his window seat. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

James Garner first assumed the bethumped mantle of Private Investigator Jim Rockford on March 27, 1974. The original Rockford Files TV movie, like the long running series that followed, starred Garner as an ex-con who only takes cases that the people have been unable to solve. Future Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner is the person retaining Rockford's service in this first adventure. She wishes Jim to investigate the death of her father, a skid-row derelict whose demise the police have written off as natural causes. Robert Donley plays Jim Rockford's father in the inaugural Rockford Files, a role that was filled by Noah Beery Jr. in the series proper. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The autobiography of Henri Charriere, one of the few people to successfully escape from the notorious French penal colony of Devil's Island, served as the basis for Papillon. Steve McQueen plays the pugnacious Charriere (known as "Papillon," or "butterfly," because of a prominent tatoo), incarcerated--wrongly, he claims--for murdering a pimp. He saves the life of fellow convict Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman), a counterfeiter who will later show his gratitude by helping Charriere in his many escape attempts, and by smuggling food to Charriere when the latter is put in solitary confinement. One breakout, which takes Charriere and Dega to a leper colony and then to a native encampment, is almost successful, but Charriere is betrayed (allegedly because he stopped for an act of kindness) and back the prisoners go to French Guiana. Years later, Dega is made a trustee and is content with his lot, but the ageing, white-haired Charriere cannot be held back. A tribute to the unquenchability of the human spirit, Papillon brought in an impressive $22 million at the box office. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi