Rick Schroder

Adapted from the best-selling novel by author Michael Crichton, director Mikael Salomon's made for television mini-series follows a group of specialized scientists as they race to cure a fast-spreading plague. A U.S. military satellite has crashed near a small Utah town, unleashing a deadly pathogen. Everyone who's come into contact with the virus has died, except for two survivors. Could something in the blood of these two survivors prove the key to immunizing the rest of mankind and preventing a devastating outbreak? Now, as a lone reporter begins investigating what he believes to be a vast government conspiracy, the military quarantines the area and a specialized team of scientists race to find a cure for the pathogen they have given the code name, "Andromeda." ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Directed by Anthony Hickox, Consequence centers around a slighted dentist whose surgery mistake costs him his job and dental license. Figuring that hope is lost, he fakes his own death in hopes of collecting the insurance money after assuming the identity of his dead brother. Complications arise, however, when he finds out that his brother was on the lam from several crooked individuals bent on killing him. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, the made-for-cable feature The Lost Battalion is set in 1918 during the final months of WWI. Assigned to capture an enemy stronghold in Charlvaux at the height of the Argonne campaign, the men of the AEF 308th Battalion, 77th Division, are led by young American major Charles Whittlesey (Rick Schroder), an inexperienced but dedicated "citizen soldier." Totally cut off from the other allied troops, unaware of their vulnerability, and barraged by "friendly fire," the 500-plus men of the 308th bravely hold their position, suffering incredible losses and unspeakable deprivations in the process -- while the battalion's superior officers, far from the firing line, callously prepare to write off the men as expendable casualties. Fairly graphic and horrifying by basic-cable standards, The Lost Battalion was filmed on-location in Luxembourg, and made its American TV debut courtesy of the A&E Channel on December 2, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season eight of NYPD Blue began minus the services of longtime executive producer David Milch, who left to develop a project of his own. Steven Bochco, who'd co-created the series with Milch, took full charge of the series. This was far from the only eighth-season personnel change. Andrea Thompson (Det. Jill Kirkendall) had already quit the series in order to launch a new career as a TV news anchor. Kim Delaney, who played Kirkendall's partner, Det. Diane Russell, remained on the scene, the better to develop a new plot strand involving a steamy romance between Russell and her troubled colleague Det. Danny Sorenson (Rick Schroder). But by the end of the season, Delaney was gone -- as was Schroder. One of the series' mainstays since its 1993 debut, James McDaniel, announced his intention of leaving his role as 15th precinct skipper Lt. Fancy after the first 13 episodes of the season. Fancy's initial replacement, hypersensitive feminist Lt. Susan Falto (Denise Crosby), had such a negative effect on the 15th that she herself was quickly supplanted by Lt. Tony Rodriguez (Esai Morales), a by-the-book type who (surprise, surprise) almost immediately clashed with gonzo "I make my own rules" detective Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz). Andy's private life was no less turbulent than his professional one; the moment the bone-marrow tests of his son Theo (Austin Majors) came back positive -- thereby resolving one of the unresolved subplots set up by the previous season's cliffhanger finale -- Andy began considering a reconciliation with ex-wife Kate (Debra Monk), but instead became sidetracked with a blossomed May-December relationship with Cynthia Bunin (Juliana Donald), the niece of Andy's old cop pal Gibson (John F. O'Donohue).

Along with Esai Morales and Juliana Donald, Charlotte Ross, and Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon joined the series, respectively cast as Det. Connie McDowell and new Assistant DA Valerie Haywood. Initially shunned as a possible "spy" from Internal Affairs, McDowell quickly proved her mettle and earned the right to remain at the 15th -- and in the process set the foundation for future plot complications by revealing that, 15 years earlier, she had had a daughter out of wedlock whom she had given up for adoption. As for Haywood, she almost immediately got off on the wrong foot with the extremely touchy Det. Baldwin Jones (Henry Simmons), in the tradition of the first-season flareups between Andy Sipowicz and the late ADA Sylvia Costas. But also like Andy and Sylvia, Baldwin Jones and Valerie Haywood quickly found themselves extremely attracted to one another.

The opening episodes of season eight resolved a dilemma left hanging during season seven, that of the 15th precinct's possible complicity in the drug-smuggling operations of Don Kirkendall, ex-husband of the beleagured Jill Kirkendall. The closing episodes established a brand-new crisis, concerning a botched undercover operation which may or may not have cost the life of the missing-in-action Danny Sorenson (Rick Schroder). Viewers would have to sweat it out until the beginning of season nine before Danny's ultimate fate would be revealed. For the second year in a row, NYPD Blue's season opener was not seen until January, due to backstage hagglings between the ABC network and the producer. Also, only 20 new episodes were produced, rather than the standard 22, reportedly an economical rather than artistic decision. The late start and diminished output did not affect the series' popularity, nor prevent it from garnering another Emmy Award nomination for series star Dennis Franz. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rick Schroder stars as the villain in the made-for-TV thriller Murder at Devil's Glen, also known as What We Did That Night. Along the same lines as I Know What You Did Last Summer, the story involves a group of fraternity brothers who play practical jokes, until one of their pranks leads to the death of a classmate. Years later, one of the fraternity brothers gets released from prison and tries to get his revenge on the others involved in the crime. Also starring Jack Noseworthy, Michael Easton, and Tara Reid. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Charles Dickens's classic holiday tale is given a Wild West twist in this family-oriented outing. This time, the famed miser is a tightwad saloon owner. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

29-year-old defense lawyer Nick Donahue (Rick Schroder) is still tied to the apron strings of his possessive mother Diana (Judith Light)--so much so that, when he tries to move out of the family home, Diana is able to bind him even tighter by attempting suicide. While visiting Diana in the hospital, Nick meets and falls in love with Abby (Sarah Trigger), his mother's nurse. Ultimately, Nick and Abby marry, much to Diana's dismay. When Abby announces she is pregnant, it is too much for the unbalanced Diana to bear--and thus she promptly begins plotting her daughter-in-law's murder. This fact-based melodrama culminates in an intense courtroom scene, in which accused killer Diana is defended by--guess who? Made for the CBS TV network, Too Close to Home originally aired April 29, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The cautionary phrase "It could happen to you!" was seldom more appropriate than in this two-part, four-hour TV movie, inspired by a true story and based on actual court transcripts. The story begins in Fayetteville, NC in 1985, when Army sergeant Tim Hennis (John Corbett) is accused of murdering the wife and children of an Air Force captain. A combination of overzealous prosecution from the District Attorney's office and pressure from the armed forces and the media makes a swift conviction a fait accompli, though Hennis and his family continue to protest his innocence. Refusing to give up on the case, Hennis' defense team presses its own investigation, ultimately turning up a maelstrom of hitherto unknown evidence, surprise rebuttal witnesses, and a startling eyewitness testimony. First telecast by ABC, Innocent Victims was originally shown on January 21 and 22, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Similar to the premise of American Graffiti, this film centers on eight California high school students whose lives intersect over two nights in the hot summer of 1965. As the Watts riots begin, the young people make decisions that will impact their entire lives. Writer-director Floyd Mutrux examines at the graduating class of 1965 of Westwood High School in Los Angeles, which was featured on the cover of Look magazine in 1961. The story is narrated by the class valedictorian, Mary Beth (Lucy Deakins). Kelli Williams plays Sunshine, a prototypical flower child. Characters played by Dermot Mulroney and Rick Schroder and others struggle with decisions about the Vietnam war, aspire to be rock musicians, and take divergent paths on politics while navigating various romantic entanglements. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

The first of a number of sequels to the highly successful western mini-series Lonesome Dove featured few of the same actors as the original, nor was it based on a novel by Larry McMurtry. In this outing, onetime Texas Ranger Call (Jon Voight, replacing Tommy Lee Jones) heads a group of cowboys leading horses from Texas north to Montana. Along the way, Call again meets Clara Allen (Barbara Hershey, taking over for Anjelica Huston), the love of his late partner McCrae's life. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV western stars Rick Schroder as a hotheaded cowboy who guns down the man responsible for the death of his parents. On the run from his victim's powerful father, Schroder is sheltered by old codger Wilford Brimley. Brimley seems to be operating out of friendship, but his reason for keeping Schroder alive is deliberately obscured until close to the end. Blood River was written by John Carpenter, a name usually associated with science fiction and horror. Though set in the Wild West, the film was lensed in Alberta and British Columbia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide