John Petlock Movies

George Segal plays the well-nicknamed Daffy Dave Navarro, who has recently been acquitted on charges of murdering his first wife. Now Daffy Dave is determined to sue for a generous share of royalties from a book written by Jessica (Angela Lansbury) and purportedly based on his case. But this time, Dave may have overplayed his hand--and another murder is the result. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Having solved many another murder case in the past, Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is finally given a crack at the JFK assassination! It seems that a Dallas private eye disappeared at the same time that Kennedy was shot, and now, thirty years later, there is positive proof that the P.I. was also murdered. Jessica suspects that the two killings may have been connected--and as a bonus, both may be linked to a current case that she is working on. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

With the help of odds-maker Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro), Will (Will Smith) wins $100 at the country club's Monte Carlo fundraiser. Then he discovers that, according to club tradtion, he is expected to donate the money to charity--specifically, Uncle Philip's favorite charity, the LAPD. Subsequently, Philip (James Avery) blows his top when he finds out that Will has not contributed his winnings...or has he?. An underprivileged kid and a basketball camp figuring prominently in the story's outcome. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Tom O'Roarke is cast as Jameson Whitworth, a very eccentric and highly superstitious client of Philip Banks (James Avery). Taking a liking to Philip's brash nephew Will (Will Smith), Whitworth hires the "Fresh Prince" as his combination business advisor and good-luck charm. Terrified that Will is a harbinger of financial ruin for Whitworth, Philip decides to fight fire with fire, using the daily newspaper horoscope as his weapon. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker story was a "natural" for TV-movie adaptation, and Fall From Grace more than fills the bill. Bernadette Peters heaps on makeup by the trowel as Tammy Faye, the wife of televangelist Jim Bakker (here played with boyish fanaticism by Kevin Spacey). The Bakkers build up their "PTL" organization ("Praise the Lord") into a massive empire encompassing millions of dollars in donations, a cable-TV network, valuable land holdings and a garish religious theme park, Heritage USA. A North Carolina newspaper rocks the boat by investigating inequities in the Bakkers' financial setup. The whole enterprise falls apart when it's discovered that Jim has siphoned off funds to cover up an extramarital affair. Telecast in the spring of 1990 to coincide with the beginning of Jim Bakker's long, long prison sentence, Fall From Grace tries to be fair...for at least fifteen minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Banks family learns a sobering lesson about racial profiling when Will (Will Smith) and Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) are caught "driving while black" in the car owned by Philip's white law partner Mr. Furth (John Petlock). Though the guys were driving with the owner's permission, they are thrown in jail because they fit the descriptions of two car thieves. Worried that they'll never get out of the holding tank, Will "confesses" to being a thief in front of a TV camera crew in order to alert Uncle Philip (James Avery) to his plight. Upon arriving at the police station to spring Will and Carlton, Philip is subjected to a barrage of insults and insinuations by the racist desk sergeant (Dan Desmond)--but when Mr. Furth shows up to explain the situation, it's a different story! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the debut episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, it's difficult to say who is more upset when South Philly teenager Will Smith (played by rap artist Will Smith) is uprooted from his old neighborhood and shipped off to his wealthy Los Angeles relatives by his concerned mother Vy. Will himself didn't ask to be moved, and has a lot of trouble warming up to his pampered cousins Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro), Hilary (Karyn Parsons) and Ashley (Tatyana M. Ali); meanwhile, his Uncle Philip (James Avery), a prominent attorney, is convinced that Will is a bad influence on his kids--especially after Ashley performs some impromptu rap lyrics in front of Phillip's astonished law partners. It is up to Will's Aunt Vivian (Janet Hubert-Whitten), Vy's sister, to act as mediator--and to convince both Will and Phillip that they've got a lot to learn about patience and tolerance. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Just before attending the funeral of an old friend, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) makes the acquaintance of young Rick Banner (Marc Singer), former college roommate of the dead woman's long-lost son Peter. When Rick hears a song written by Peter, the ball starts rolling for a onslaught of intrigue, ill will and murder predicated on the fact that the missing Peter will fall heir to millions should he ever make a return appearance. Jessica's fellow sleuth on this occasion is rumpled, clownish Chief Underwood (Lane Smith), who may remind some viewers of Peter Falk's Lieutenant Columbo (of course, both Columbo and Murder, She Wrote were created by the same writing team!) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Actress-activistTheresa Saldana, who after surviving a brutal knife attack by a deranged fan founded the organization Victims for Victims, plays a semi-autobiographical role in this episode. Seven years after being jailed for attempting to murder famed pianist Jenny Hartman (Saldana), demented "number one fan" Ralph Flager (Andy Wood) is paroled--and once he's back on the street, he makes no secret of his intention to finish the job on Jenny. Since there is no real proof against Flager, the police can do nothing officially: unofficially, however, Hunter (Fred Dryer) vows to shield Jenny from harm during his off-hours--prompting Flager to add Hunter's partner McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) to his list of potential victims! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Atlanta Child Murders is a five-hour, two-part dramatization of one of the most tragic and controversial homicide cases of the past twenty years. From 1979 through 1982, some 28 African-American children and young adults disappeared from Atlanta--some without a trace, but others to later turn up as murder victims. Part One (which debuted February 10, 1985) details the beginning of the manhunt conducted by the Atlanta Chief of Police (James Earl Jones). Screenwriter Abby Mann uses the actual events as a springboard for his thesis that the case and its outcome revealed many uncomfortable truths about the still-fragile state of race relations in the New South. Both parts of The Atlanta Child Murders were later combined into one 245-minute "feature film."

The second part of the five-hour TV docudrama The Atlanta Child Murders originally aired February 12, 1985. After 28 African-American children and young adults have either disappeared or been murdered, the Atlanta police finally have a suspect in custody: Small-time show business entrepreneur Wayne Williams (Calvin Levels). Scriptwriter Abby Mann utilizes actual court transcripts of Williams' trial, which results in a conviction on one count of murder. This decision in essence leaves the cases of the other 27 victims unresolved--and in so doing, Mann opens the door to speculations that Williams, a black man, was a "convenient" suspect, who might possibly have been railroaded in the authorities' haste to find a solution to the sordid case. Whatever Mr. Mann may have felt concerning Williams' guilt or innocence, the fact remains that the murders and disappearances stopped cold once Williams was in custody (as of this writing, Williams persists in his efforts to reopen the case, claiming that he was framed by the white power structure). Morgan Freeman served as narrator for both installments of The Atlanta Child Murders. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the first hour-long episode of Murder She Wrote (the debut episode had run two hours), mystery writer Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is back in her home town of Cabot Cove, Maine, where she makes the acquaintance of a seedy-looking gentleman named Ralph (Howard Duff), who has shown up in her backyard looking for work. At the same time, the authorities are investigating the reported death of multimillionaire Stephen Earl, who was swept off his yacht during a hurricane--or at least that's the story given by Earl's four rather predatory daughters. This episode marks the first series appearances of Tom Bosley as Cabot Cove's sheriff Amos Tupper, and Claude Akins as Jessica's sometime fishing companion Ethan Cragg. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the first episode of a two-part story, the Sunshine Cab Company goes out of business forcing the cabbies to seek employment elsewhere. One month later, Sunshine is up and running again, and the drivers get together to recount their experiences in their new (and very temporary) "outside" jobs. Highlights of this episode include Tony's (Tony Danza) brief and involuntary career as a collector for a bookie, Elaine's (Marilu Henner) misadventures in the secretarial pool, and Jim's (Christopher Lloyd) perambulations as a door-to-door salesman -- without even knowing what it is that he's selling. ~ Rovi