Christopher Pettiet Movies

Chad Everett guest stars as Rev. Daniel Brewster, who is involved in a terrible car accident shortly after presiding over the opening of the Mount Calvary Teen Center. Daniel's son Luke (Christopher Pettit) was killed in the accident, and now the minister is consumed with guilt: Having quarrelled bitterly with his son just before the tragedy, Daniel holds himself responsible for the boy's death. Originally assigned merely to raise funds for the Center and handle the teen hot line, angels Monica (Roma Downey) and Andrew (John Dye) are quick to realize that their job is far from over. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on the novel Farmer by Jim Harrison, this drama concerns Joseph Svenden (Dennis Hopper), a one-time farmer in his late forties who took up teaching when he permanently injured his leg in an accident. Joseph's life is orderly, precise, and rather dull. He teaches with as much enthusiasm as he can muster, lives in the farmhouse where he grew up, and has been engaged for the last six years to Rosealee Henson (Amy Irving). Rosealee is the widow of his best friend, and, for a variety of reasons, both she and Joseph are reluctant to set a date (she devotes much of her time to caring for her ailing mother). One day Joseph is met in his barn by Catherine Wheeler (Amy Locane), a new student in his senior class. Catherine attempts to seduce Joseph, who dutifully refuses, only to request a second chance a few moments later, which Catherine eagerly grants him. This unexpected event brings out a newly adventurous side in Joseph, though he suddenly has a new set of complications to go along with it; he discovers that his school is closing, and Catherine's parents are predictably angry when they find out about their daughter's liaison. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Made for television, Danger Island has also been released as The Presence. Things get going when a private plane crashes on tropical island. We soon learn we aren't in for Gilligan's Island Redux as an unseen presence wreaks havoc. Some of the castaways disappear, while others develop bizarre deformities. It's all due to a biological experiment which went horribly wrong nearly two decades earlier. Model Kathy Ireland costars with June Lockhart and Richard Beymer: where else but on American network television? Danger Island debuted September 20, 1992, its print ads emphasizing a bikini-clad Ireland rather than horrific elements. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Leathery old stationmaster Teaspoon Hunter moves his Pony Express way-station from Sweetwater, Wyoming to the larger, more urbanized community of Rock Creek, Nebraska, as The Young Riders begins its third and final season. Now a US marshal, Teaspoon has left the care and maintenance of his station in the hands of his loyal young riders, including The Kid (Ty Miller), Billy Cody (Stephen Baldwin), Jimmy Hickok (Josh Brolin), Ike McSwain (Travis Fine), Buck Cross (Gregg Rainwater), Noah Dixon (Don Franklin) and "token female" Lou McCloud (Yvonne Suhor). Also making the big move to Rock Creek are the station's secretive cook Rachel (Claire Wren) and enterprising storekeeper Tompkins (Don Collier). And in the second episode of the season, a brash 14-year-old Missouri refugee named Jesse James (Christopher Pettiet) signs on with the Pony Express. The most startling event of the season is the sudden death of the taciturn Ike McSwain, who dies while protecting the only woman he has ever loved. Less startling but definitely out of the ordinary is one of the few episodes built around the half-Kiowan Buck Cross, in which he is reunited with the woman of his tribe who'd been promised to him in marriage years earlier--and who now is apparently possessed by an evil-spirit. In the not uneventful series finale, Cody signs up as an Army scout (he's getting closer and closer to those Buffalo!), life turns sour for Noah when he is denied entry in an all-white military regiments, Lou and the Kid finally get married, and hotheaded Jesse James is inveigled into joining his brother Frank in a new and less reputable line of work. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

On the planet of Rutia Four, Dr. Crusher is abducted by the Ansata, a radical terrorist group. The danger is intensified when the Rutian leader refuses to negotiate for Crusher's release. Meanwhile, Ansatan leader Kyril Finn (Richard Cox) begins showing symptoms of a serious illness caused by the high-tech weaponry used by himself and his followers. Written by frequent Next Generation contributor Melinda M. Snodgrass, "The High Ground" was originally telecast February 3, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Set in a small Maine town in 1883, this made-for-TV production tells the tale of an honest physician's attempt to warn his community about a public hazard that politicians and investors want to hide. The story begins with Thomas Stockman, M.D. (John Glover), who is awaiting results of the university's analysis of a water sample he took from a local spa. The spa promises to bring the town a windfall of tourist dollars, but he suspects that illnesses among the first users of the spa resulted from contaminated water. When the university confirms the presence of "infectious organic matter," Dr. Stockmann proposes to publicize the report and close the spa in order to make improvements that will purify the water. He believes the public will embrace him as a hero for discovering the pollution. But his brother, Mayor Peter Stockmann (George Grizzard), insists that the spa remain open, calling his brother a niggling busybody who would ruin the town with a false report. Besides, it would cost an enormous sum to rectify the problem. At first, a reform-minded newspaper editor, Hovstad, backs the doctor, saying his report will not only disclose the problem at the spa but will also expose corruption among local power brokers who back the spa. But Hovstad withdraws his support after the mayor tells him the loss of tourism would force merchants to curtail their newspaper advertising. Meanwhile, the townspeople turn against the doctor because the mayor claims the spa improvements would force a substantial tax increase. At a town meeting, almost everyone sides against Dr. Stockmann and agrees to boycott his medical practice. That evening and into the following morning, angry citizens stone the doctor's house as the film moves toward its conclusion. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi