Michael O'Keefe

The true story of a young girl held captive by her insane caretaker comes to life in this disturbing film from Ella Enchanted director Tommy O'Haver. Hard Candy's Ellen Page stars as Sylvia Likens a teenager who, along with her sister, is left to live temporarily with seemigly-mild-mannered housewife Gertrude Baniszewski, played by Catherine Keener. Unfortunately for Sylvia, Gertrude soon snaps and holds her hostage in harsh conditions until the former's eventual death. Bradley Whitford costars as the prosecutor tasked with trying the case against Baniszewski. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

While House (Hugh Laurie) and Stacy (Sela Ward) are in Baltimore to explain House's highly suspect Medicaid billing practices, journalist Fletcher Stone (Michael O'Keefe) is rushed to the New Jersey clinic. After suddenly collapsing during a reception, Stone has begun speaking in gibberish, and Cameron (Jennifer Morrison), Chase (Jesse Spencer) and Foreman (Omar Epps) are unable to agree on the cause of the man's affliction. The three doctors contact House by phone in hopes of getting him to return to the clinic, but he is snowed in at the Baltimore airport. Worsening the situation is the fact that Stone has been hiding certain details of his medical problems from his wife (Erica Gimpel)--and now is unable to say anything at all! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Missing for several days, 16-year-old Tani McCain (Amanda Seyfried is found bound and beaten in an abandoned building. When the girl claims that she was kidnapped and raped by three uniformed men, suspicious immediately falls on a group of college army cadets. But in the days that follow, Tami keeps changing her story, much to the confusion of the men and women of the SVU: Obviously, the girl was raped by someone, but who? With media rabble-rousers and an outraged public breathing down the SVU's neck, the detectives work overtime to track down the actual perpetrator--only to find that the solution to the case may be tragically close to Tandi's own home. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A human eyeball, found in a raven's nest, leads the CSI team on a hunt for evidence which ultimately yields a dismembered female body in a landfill. But while the clues are there, the suspects or not -- unless one counts that divorced man with two children. And in another development, an autopsy on car salesman Fred Stearns, who apparently has died of a heart attack, is rudely interrupted when Stearns turns out to be still alive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

KACL manager Kenny (Tom McGowan) figures that Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) could improve his following amongst younger listeners if he agrees to appear on the station's public-service program "Teen Scene." Confidentially, Frasier gears up for questioning from the show's panel of high-school journalists. Unfortunately, the show's host has nothing but contempt for Frasier, and as a result, our hero ends up a laughing stock to listeners of all ages. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sean Penn directed this tense drama of loyalty, honor, and obsession, based on a novel by Friedrich Durrenmatt. Jerry Black (Jack Nicholson) is a veteran police detective who lives and works in a small Nevada town. On the day of his retirement, it falls to Jerry to handle an especially unpleasant assignment -- a seven-year-old girl has been brutally murdered, and Jerry has to check out the crime scene, and then tell the girl's parents the awful news. The girl's mother (Patricia Clarkson), understandably distraught, demands to know if the killer will be brought to justice, and Jerry promises her that he will personally see to it, "on my soul's salvation." A younger detective also on the case, Stan Krolak (Aaron Eckhart), thinks he's traced the crime to Toby Jay Wadeneh (Benicio Del Toro), a mentally retarded man who confesses to the murder shortly before killing himself. Stan considers the case closed, but Jerry can't shake his belief that Toby Jay wasn't actually the murderer, and Jerry begins to investigate the case on his own time, over the objections of his former boss, Eric Pollack (Sam Shepard), who reminds Jerry that he's no longer an official member of the police force. Before long, Jerry's personal investigation has taken over his life, and he uncovers evidence that suggests the girl's murder was just one in a series of killings involving young girls and a mysterious man called "the Wizard." When Jerry becomes close to a young single mother, Lori (Robin Wright-Penn), he feels he has reason to believe the murderer may be targeting her eight-year-old daughter, and finds himself using her as a decoy in order to bring the killer to justice. The Pledge marked Jack Nicholson's second starring role in a film directed by Sean Penn following 1995's The Crossing Guard; The Pledge's stellar supporting cast includes Vanessa Redgrave, Helen Mirren, Harry Dean Stanton, and Mickey Rourke. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This holiday-themed children's film offers a unique take on the legend of Santa Claus and his tiny reindeer. In this movie, a young boy finds a deer in the forest he is sure is Santa's beloved Prancer. Determined to return the creature to the North Pole and his rightful destiny, the child overcomes the cynicism of his family to teach them and us a lesson about the true spirit of Christmas. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide

In this courtroom drama set in the near future, the U.S. Supreme Court has recently overturned the Roe vs. Wade decision and thrown the issue of abortion rights back to the individual states. Alabama has subsequently outlawed abortion on demand and has prosecuted Virginia Mapes (Lisa Gay Hamilton) for first degree murder after she opted to terminate her pregnancy. Mapes and her attorney have taken the case to the Supreme Court in hopes of keeping her out of prison, and with the court evenly divided on the issue, newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Joseph Kirkland (Andy Garcia) looks to be the man who will cast the deciding vote in a case that could reinstate a woman's right to choose. Kirkland, however, finds himself surrounded by proponents of both the pro-choice and pro-life agendas, with his fellow justices, his secretary and even his wife trying to influence his vote. Produced for ABC Television, Swing Vote boasts a distinguished supporting cast, including Harry Belafonte, Robert Prosky, Milo O'Shea, Kate Nelligan, Albert Hall, and Bob Balaban. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A single mother moves into a new neighborhood unaware that her new neighbors, a couple unable to have their own children, have designs on hers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, two women head for Reno to get simultaneous quicky divorces and end up becoming friends. Edie was married years ago, but her husband abandoned her two weeks after the wedding. Pen spent nine years married to an ice-cold businessman who neglected her. Edie and Pen meet while leaving the courtroom. They immediately head for a bar where they encounter Harry, who is despondent that his wife took his beloved dog when she left him. As the three grow increasingly inebriated, they begin having long conversations about their pasts, presents and futures. Now that ditzy Edie is divorced, she plans to marry her new love in Acapulco. Meanwhile, womanizing Harry attempts to bed the vulnerable Pen. Dramatic tension rises when Pen discovers that Edie's fiancé is her ex-husband. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

"Past Imperfect," is part one of a two-part episode. Dan's father, Ed (Ned Beatty), isn't keeping up with his alimony payments. Meanwhile, Jackie doesn't appreciate Fred's (Michael O'Keefe) attitude about her sexual history. Incidentally, the waiter is played by Bob Nickman, a regular writer for Roseanne who would go on to write for Freaks and Geeks and The Drew Carey Show. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

In the episode "Isn't It Romantic?," guest stars from the soap opera One Life to Live appear as their characters: John Loprieno as Cord Roberts, Clint Ritchie as Clint Buchanan, and Robert Woods as Bo Buchanan. Fred (Michael O'Keefe) takes Jackie on a weekend getaway to Lake Geneva, WI, and proposes to her, while Dan and Roseanne try to put some spark back into their romance. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide