Peter Scolari

An ambitious book editor (Sarah Michelle Gellar) determined to rise through the ranks of Manhattan literati by her own accord reluctantly enters into a relationship with a womanizing publishing magnate (Alec Baldwin) many years her senior in director Marc Klein's adaptation of Melissa Bank's best-seller The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Directed by Robert Zemeckis and based on children's author Chris Van Allsburg's modern holiday classic of the same name, The Polar Express revolves around Billy (Hayden McFarland), who longs to believe in Santa Claus but finds it quite difficult to do so, what with his family's dogged insistence that all of it, from the North Pole, to the elves, to the man himself, is all just a myth. This all changes, however, on Christmas Eve, when a mysterious train visits Billy in the middle of the night, promising to take him and a group of other lucky children to the North Pole for a visit with Santa. The train's conductor (Tom Hanks) along with the other passengers help turn Billy's crisis in faith into a journey of self-discovery. A long-time fan of Van Allsburg's book, Hanks also helped produce the film. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Two girls learn that a Christmas too white can be a dangerous thing in this comic fantasy produced for The Disney Channel. Allie (Hallie Hirsh) and Sam (Hallie Todd) are walking home from school and bemoaning their homework assignment for the evening when they discover a strange machine someone seems to have thrown away. To Allie and Sam's surprise, they find the device can control the weather, and they set it to create a snowstorm that will call off school the next day, postponing their project. The machine works, but too well; they've started a snowstorm that they don't know how to stop, which doesn't make anyone happy except weatherman Edwin Bagley (Peter Scolari), who is thrilled to finally have a big story to report. Just in time, Allie and Sam call on Santa Claus to stop the storm so everyone in town can dig themselves out and have a merry Christmas. Pro basketball star John Salley appears in a cameo as one of Santa's tallest elves. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Tom Hanks made his directorial debut in this bright comedy set in the mid-1960's about a rock group and their brief fling with fame. Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott) works as a salesman at his father's appliance store and plays the drums in his spare time, fancying himself a jazz musician. One day, a buddy of Guy's tells him a local rock band, The One-Ders (it's pronounced "wonders"), are in need of a drummer -- they have Battle of the Bands coming up and their usual timekeeper has broken his arm. Guy agrees to sit in, but when it's time to play their best original, a love ballad called "That Thing You Do," Guy lays in a sharp, driving beat that turns the tune into an uptempo pop-rocker. Lead singer Jimmy (Johnathon Schaech) isn't happy at first, but guitarist Lenny (Steve Zahn) and the nameless Bass Player (Ethan Embry) think the song sounds better that way -- and they notice the girls like it just fine. Soon people are actually requesting the song at their shows, and the One-Ders scrape together some money to press a single of "That Thing You Do" to sell between sets. A DJ puts the song on the radio, and opportunity knocks in the form of Mr. White (Tom Hanks), who works for the very major Play-Tone Records label. Play-Tone buys the rights to "That Thing You Do" and puts the band on the road as their song makes it way to the top of the national charts. But what can The Wonders (as Play-Tone have re-named them) do for an encore? And what should Guy do about his infatuation with Jimmy's girlfriend, Faye (Liv Tyler)? Real-life 60's obsessed rocker Chris Isaak has a small part as a recording engineer, and fans of real 60's garage bands will appreciate the wealth of small, accurately observed details (for example, halfway through the film, when a few "That Thing You Do" royalty checks have presumably kicked in, the band's inexpensive Danelectro guitars disappear and the Wonders are suddenly playing on brand new Fender gear -- the height of rock style in 1965). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Yasmine Bleeth stars in this "drawn from the headlines" TV movie as Diane Shepherd, the idealistic producer for the bomb-throwing talkfest "The Howard Grant Show." At present, Howard's most controversial guest is Kelly Reilly (Jenny Lewis), a drugged-out prostitute and single mom. Taking a protective interest in Kelly, Diane endeavors to redeem the girl and put her on the right path--an act of largesse that is coldly vetoed not only by the Springer-esque Howard Grant (Peter Scolari), but also by Diane's ratings-driven boss Sadie (Veronica Hamel), who subscribes to the philosophy that "Everyone in this business is a whore--but we're highly paid whores." Like so many other films which try to "expose" the seamier side of the talk-show industry, Talk to Me exudes an air of smug superiority, but Yasmine Bleeth's surprisingly forceful performance compensates the script's self-righteous shortcomings. The film made its ABC network bow on October 20, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This light-hearted comedy depicts a typical summer camp, but with a special twist: this camp was designed by the campers themselves! "Mud" Himmel is a nerd. Once again he is faced with attending computer camp. His buddy Zack will be marching into go to military camp while Trish is acting happy about theater camp. That Gaby is going again to fat camp weighs heavily upon her mind. None of them are thrilled with their camp prospects and it is rebellious Mud who suggest that they create their own, secret camp. Enter Dennis Van Welker, their crazy high school drama instructor. He offers to join the conspiracy and act as their camp counselor. Just as it looks as if the four misfits are going to have a really great summer together, two dozen of their peers find out about the camp and decide to come along. For a time it's one big chaotic party. But as the kids act out their camp fantasies, they are gaining valuable insight into their lives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Young, self-involved attorney Charles Hibbard (Peter Scolari) screws up his latest assignment by accidentally turning over a hugh inheritance to the wrong person--namely kooky, irresponsible Robin Dunwoody (Wendy Makkena). Now Charles must figure out a way to retrieve the money without causing ill will or giving himself a heart attack (did we mention that he's a confirmed hypochondriac?) It's a good thing that Charles' new assistant is none other than Heavenly caseworker Monica (Roma Downey)...or is it? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The second volume in this film noir style TV-anthology series, this collection of short stories revolves around the dark world of detectives and police officers. Called to look into a murder, an investigator (Gary Oldman) discovers that the victim of the crime is none other than his estranged wife (Gabrielle Anwar) in "Dead End for Delia." When an attractive woman captures the attention of a detective, he ends up entangled in mob business in "I'll Be Waiting." In "The Quiet Room," the underhanded plans of two unscrupulous officers go amok ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

The whole story is in the title of this made-for-TV heartstopper. Based on a true 1988 incident, the film details the breakout of a fire in a Los Angeles high-rise. The LA fire department does what it can, but their ladder equipment falls short of the 37-story requirement. Lee Majors, Lisa Hartman and Peter Scolari comprise the all-TV star cast of this Towering Inferno clone (which improves upon its role model): Majors is the LAFD supervisor, while Hartman and Scolari are the unlucky entrapped office workers. The focal point of Fire! Trapped on the 37th Floor is not the conflagration itself but the resourcefulness of the professional firefighters and the improvisational skill with which they utilize their equipment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two business rivals, a domineering careerwoman (Mary Crosby) and her rival (Peter Scolari), make life hard for each other while scratching their way to the top. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide