Al Pugliese Movies

Simon (Sean Maher) puts his foot in his mouth again, inadvertently insulting Kaylee (Jewel Staite). While visiting a sort of futuristic carnival freak show, the crew is unable to fence the Lasseter (the priceless weapon they stole in the previous episode, Trash), but they do have occasion to pick up their mail. Jayne (Adam Baldwin) gets a funny hat from his mother, while Mal (Nathan Fillion) and Zoe (Gina Torres) receive a large box, which contains a coffin, which contains a body. The body belongs to Tracey (Joss Whedon regular Jonathan M. Woodward), who fought alongside Mal and Zoe back in the day, when he was a raw recruit, and they kept him alive through the battle of Du-Khang. Back on the ship, they find that Tracey has recorded a message for them, asking them to bring his body to his family on St. Alban's. Soon, an Alliance ship tracks down Serenity. The feds demand that Mal turn over his illegal cargo. But it's not the Lasseter they want, it's Tracey's body. Simon starts to perform an autopsy to find out what the Feds are after. Much to everyone's surprise, Tracey is still alive, and the precious cargo he's carrying is a complete set of genetically engineered super-organs. As it turns out, Tracey agreed to smuggle the organs, but double-crossed his buyer when he got a better offer, then had to fake his own death in an effort to escape. While Tracey woos Kaylee, Mal tries vainly to outrun the feds, but despite Wash's flying skills, the feds have them outgunned and outmaneuvered. Book (Ron Glass) suggests a plan, which Tracey overhears and misconstrues. Believing that his old mates are turning him in, he takes a hostage. This episode, included in the DVD set, was never aired by Fox. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

The lawyers are forced to consult another law firm when they encounter a murder case. ~ TV Guide, All Movie Guide

Versatile Canadian comedian Martin Short plays a 10-year old boy in this comedy aimed at younger audiences. The tale is told in flashback to another little boy. Clifford is a manipulative brat. Clifford really wants to visit Dinosaur World in Los Angeles. Clifford wants to go so badly that he manages to force the Hawaii bound plane he and his parents are on to land in L.A. His parents need to attend a convention in Hawaii so they leave him with his Uncle Martin who despises children. Martin's fiance adores kids, so he pretends to be ecstatic about Clifford's visit. He must also pretend that Clifford is the angel child he isn't. Because Martin reneges on a promise to take him to Dinosaur World, Clifford begins an elaborate plot for revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Coopersmith is the title of a never-sold TV series, assembled by producer/writer Peter S. Fischer of Murder She Wrote fame. In the 2-hour pilot episode, Grant Show stars as insurance investigator C. D. Coopersmith. Nicolas Surovy costars as a homicidal race-car driver whose wife dies in a highly suspicious accident. Clever though Surovy may be, Coopersmith is a degree or two cleverer. Filmed in 1990, Coopersmith was finally given a network airing on July 31, 1992, to capitalize on Grant Show's newly acquired celebrity as costar of Melrose Place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Wings Hauser appears as Wallace Evans, a policeman turned professor who use to teach the Manhattan College criminology course now helmed by Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury). In the spirit of friendly rivalry, Evans challenges Jessica to find the person responsible for a series of recent campus muggings before he himself fingers the culprit. The stakes in this "race" are raised considerably when murder enters the picture. This time out, the suspect list ranges from a suspicious-looking busboy to Professor Evans himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally telecast in two parts, Blind Faith was adapted from a fact-based book by investigative author Joe McGinniss. The scene is Toms River, New Jersey; the year is 1984. Insurance salesman Rob Marshall (Robert Urich) informs the authorities that his wife Maria (Joanna Kerns) has been murdered by a band of marauding thieves. Marshall claims that he and his wife were ambushed at a remote picnic area, and for a while everyone believes the man. But further investigation leads to the conclusion that Maria was the victim of a murder conspiracy, fomented by Marshall himself in order collect his wife's insurance. The climactic trial forces Marshall's three teenaged sons to bear witness against their own father. With grim irony, Blind Faith was first broadcast just before Valentine's Day, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tracey Thurman was a real-life Connecticut housewife who, throughout her marriage, suffered horrendous abuse at the hands of her husband. The beatings culminate in a single bloody night when Buck Thurman stabs his estranged wife 13 times. She survives--barely--and Buck is arrested. Having failed to get proper protection from the local police force, Tracey successfully sued the officers in 1989. The long-range result was the Thurman Law, which called for mandatory arrests in wife-beating cases in Connecticut and several other states. Nancy McKeon, who plays Tracey Thurman in A Cry for Help, starred in the film in the hope that it would prevent Buck Thurman's early release from prison. A Cry For Help: The Tracy Thurman Story first aired on October 2, 1989; Thurman was scheduled for release in 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Forest Whitaker stars as the brilliant jazz saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker in this elegiac biopic. Director Clint Eastwood pays full homage to Parker's musical genius, but also devotes ample time to the musician's twin demons--drugs and alcohol-which accelerated his death at the age of 34. In his struggles to gain widespread acceptance for his music, "Bird" is forever stymied by his own self-destructiveness, and forever bailed out by the love of his life, Chan Richardson Parker (Diane Venora). The film bemoans the decline of the brand of jazz fathered by Parker, which came to be replaced by more conventional material -- as illustrated by the "descent" into the mainstream of Parker's mentor Buster Franklin. Also starring in Bird is Samuel E. Wright as Dizzy Gillespie. That's the real Charlie "Bird" Parker on the film's soundtrack, though most of the background music has been re-orchestrated. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director of the first Police Academy movie, Hugh Wilson is also responsible for the action comedy-caper Burglar. Bernice Rhodenbarr (Whoopi Goldberg) is a retired cat burglar who works at a bookstore. Bad cop Ray Kirschman (G.W. Bailey) blackmails her, so she agrees to do a job for Dr. Cynthia Sheldrake (Lesley Ann Warren) in order to get the money. While she is doing the robbery, she accidentally stumbles onto the scene of a murder. Since she is the prime suspect, Bernice is forced into many chase scenes as she plays detective to find out who the real murderer is in order to clear her name. She is aided by her only two friends: the hapless dog groomer Carl Hefler (Bob Goldthwait) and the drunken floozy Frankie (Elizabeth Ruscio). Along the way, she almost gets killed by numerous tough guys while being closely followed by two stupid cops (Anne DeSalvo and John Goodman). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Mark Lindsay Chapman (no relation to the murderer of John Lennon) stars in the made-for-TV The Annihilator. If the title sounds faintly reminiscent of The Terminator, it might just be more than a coincidence. The plot involves an army of mindless automatons, programmed to kill, kill, kill. Chapman plays a reporter whose efforts to halt the robot army are flummoxed by the fact that he himself is a fugitive from the law. The Annihilator premiered on April 7, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide