Nicollette Sheridan Movies
As Knots Landing's scheming, manipulative vixen Paige Matheson, actress Nicollette Sheridan proved a devilish highlight of 1980s television. Though she had essayed a few small supporting roles in film and television before landing that fateful role, it was Sheridan's icy perfection on Knots Landing that defined her early career. Just as her career seemed to be on the wane with appearances in such B-grade fare as 1999's Raw Nerve and director Jim Wynorski's Lost Treasure, Sheridan surprised television viewers by rising from the ashes to reclaim her former glory by landing the role of fast and loose divorcée Edie Britt on the hit ABC series Desperate Housewives in 2004. Her reborn celebrity status was cemented when the aging actress courted controversy by baring it all (or at least her back) in a steamy Monday Night Football promo.The granddaughter of revered English actress Dinah Sheridan, Nicollette was born in England and raised in London before later relocating to Los Angeles. In 1984, she made her small-screen debut in the short-lived television series Paper Dolls. The next year, Sheridan gained feature credibility as the object of John Cusack's character's affection in the lightweight romantic comedy The Sure Thing before returning to the tube for a pair of made-for-television features. In 1986, she began an enduring seven-year run on the evening drama Knots Landing, her performance providing the series with some of its most memorable moments. Sheridan's post-Knots Landing career was highlighted by roles in Spy Hard, Beverly Hills Ninja, and a series of made-for-television movies including A Time to Heal and The People Next Door. If it appeared at the dawn of the new millennium that Sheridan would be forever relegated to obscure independent films and little-seen small-screen features, the tireless actress received a healthy career boost when chosen to portray saucy Edie Britt in the surprise ABC hit Desperate Housewives. If this wasn't enough to put Sheridan back in the spotlight, her controversial appearance on a teaser spot for Monday Night Football raised eyebrows when the actress appeared to seduce Philadelphia receiver Terrell Owens by entering the locker room and dropping her bath towel. Just as Janet Jackson had shocked viewers with the Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction" commonly known as "Nipplegate," Sheridan's revealing moment was instantly dubbed "Towelgate" by a salivating press eager to capitalize on the latest controversy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

- 2007
- Add Desperate Housewives: Season 04 to QueueAdd Desperate Housewives: Season 04 to top of Queue
A truly contemporary take on happily ever after, Desperate Housewives takes a darkly comedic look at suburbia, where the secret lives of housewives aren't always what they seem.
- Starring:
- Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, (more)

- 2006
- Add Desperate Housewives: Season 03 to QueueAdd Desperate Housewives: Season 03 to top of Queue
The women of Wisteria Lane are back, and it's time to air some dirty laundry. In the Emmy Award-winning show's sensational third season, the gossip is juicier, the secrets are more scandalous and the revenge is even sweeter. "Desperate Housewives is back," raves The New York Daily News. Experience all 23 tantalizing episodes of Season Three, and get the dish on Susan's new love, Bree's unsettling marriage to Orson (Kyle MacLachlan) and a dangerous new presence living down the lane. Everything will come out in the wash in this spectacular six-disc set. Bubbling over with exclusive bonus features, including a behind-the-scenes look at the season finale and even more secrets straight from the show, this is the sudsiest season yet.
- Starring:
- Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, (more)

- 2005
- Add Desperate Housewives: Season 02 to QueueAdd Desperate Housewives: Season 02 to top of Queue
Television's hottest show gets even juicier in its delicious second season. The women of Wisteria Lane are back, and just when you thought things couldn't get any steamier, a new neighbor and her handsome teenage son arrive to make new waves on the shady side of suburbia. Join the Emmy(R) Award-winning cast for all 24 episodes of Season Two, and discover Bree's new life without Rex, Lynette's chaotic return to the working world, and what becomes of Susan's on-again, off-again relationship with Mike. That's just the beginning of the secrets in store in this six-disc DVD experience. Sizzling with sensational bonus features, including revealing, never-before-seen story lines featuring Susan Mayer and Lynette Scavo, "there are almost too many things to love in DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES" (San Francisco Chronicle).
- Starring:
- Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, (more)
A new lease on life comes with visions of death in this made-for-TV thriller. Ann Culver (Nicollette Sheridan) is a woman who regains the sight she lost in an auto accident thanks to a cornea transplant, but this blessing turns out to have some terrifying strings attached. Ann begins having gruesome visions in which she's being stalked by a killer, and discovers that the donor who provided her new corneas was a young woman who died at the hands of a disturbed murderer. Is Ann merely having bad dreams or is she seeing the slaying through the eyes of the victim? Possessed was originally produced as Deadly Visions, and was first aired on the Lifetime cable network. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

- 2004
- Add Desperate Housewives: Season 01 to QueueAdd Desperate Housewives: Season 01 to top of Queue
An awful lot of awful things happen in the outwardly respectable neighborhood surrounding Wisteria Lane during the first season of Desperate Housewives, beginning with the suicide of Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) -- who still manages to stick around in spectral form to serve as the series' narrator. Why did she do it -- and what exactly is her husband, Paul (Mark Moses), trying to cover up by throwing that old box he'd dug up from the backyard swimming pool into the river? Then there are Mary Alice's housewife friends Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher), Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman), Bree Van De Kamp (Marcia Cross), and Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria). Divorcée Susan starts dating handsome plumber Mike (James Denton), only to be undercut by the neighborhood's resident vamp, the much-married Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan). Lynette has given up a high-paying business career to take care of her family, only to be rewarded with the cutthroat competitiveness of husband Tom (Doug Savant), the miserable behavior of her children, and the open scorn of such obnoxious neighbors as Maisy Gibbons (Sharon Lawrence). Control freak Bree, described by the ABC publicity folks as "Martha Stewart on steroids," finds her life spiralling out of control when her husband, Rex (Steven Culp), divorces her and her sociopathic son, Andrew (Shawn Pyfrom), adopts a "so what" attitude after striking down an old woman with his car. And sexy ex-model Gabrielle is cheating on her moonstruck millionaire husband, Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira), with hunky 17-year-old gardener John (Jesse Metcalfe). And that's only a sample of what season one has to offer. Want more? Well, you asked for it! Susan accidentally burns down Edie's house and is blackmailed on that account by a Mrs. Martha Huber (Christine Estabrook) -- who is later killed by Paul Young, but it is Mike who is arrested for her murder. Later still, Susan is descended upon by her ex-husband, Karl (Richard Burgi), and her intrusive mother, Sophie Bremmer (Lesley Ann Warren). As for Lynette, she finds out that her husband's sainted father (Ryan O'Neal) is a serial philanderer. Also, after painfully adjusting to the breakup of her marriage, Bree starts going out with pharmacist George Williams (Roger Bart); Paul Young's son, Zach (Cody Kasch), inexplicably drops out of sight; and it is revealed that the oh-so-judgmental Maisy Gibbons has been sleeping with practically every man in the neighborhood -- including Bree's ex Rex! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, (more)
A wife's affair turns deadly in this steamy entry from suspense specialist Jason Hreno. As a successful television news cameraman, Jeff Randal (Robert Seeliger)'s job finds him frequently out of town on assignment for days at a time, leaving his young wife Donna (Nicollette Sheridan) alone with the couple's young daughter. Bored by the lack of company and hungering for attention, Donna soon becomes romantically involved with her daughter's handsome teacher Alan (Andrew Jackson). When Alan's past begins to surface and the affair turns deadly, Donna must fight not only for her own life, but for the life of her family as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicollette Sheridan, Andrew Jackson, (more)

- 2002
- Add Mary Higgins Clark's Haven't We Met Before? to QueueAdd Mary Higgins Clark's Haven't We Met Before? to top of Queue
The third in a series of PAX Network films based on the suspense novels of Mary Higgins Clark, Haven't We Met Before? straddles over 100 years in its depiction of a truly unstoppable serial killer. Under hypnosis, mental patient Stephen Koenig (Page Fletcher) suggests that he is responsible for a series of recent brutal murders. He also offers a bizarre defense, claiming to be the reincarnation of a 19th century man wrongly sentenced to the gallows on the testimony of a beautiful woman -- whom, Koenig insists, has also been reincarnated, in the form of law-school student and part-time waitress Emily Watson (Nicollette Sheridan). It is up to dedicated detective Jack Cobel (Anthony Lemke) to uncover the true story -- and to rescue Emily, with whom he has fallen in love, from the wrath of a murderer who may well be several centuries old. Mary Higgins Clark's Haven't We Met Before? made its American TV bow on March 23, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Written and directed by Nico Mastorakis, .com for Murder centers around Sondra Brummel (Nastassja Kinski), who bedridden after a skiing accident, unwittingly chats it up online with a potential murderer. Along with Misty (Nicollette Sheridan), her sister, Sondra is determined to thwart her would-be killer's efforts. Guest stars include rockers Huey Lewis and Roger Daltrey, who play an FBI agent and Sondra's boyfriend, respectively. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
Ethel Lina White's suspense novel Some Must Watch was first filmed under the title The Spiral Staircase in 1946. This same title was applied to a subsequent 1962 TV special adaptation, and a 1975 British TV-movie remake. The Spiral Staircase resurfaced again in 2000 as a made-for-cable feature film, which updated the original story from the early 20th century to the present day. Pathologically mute since a terrible trauma in her youth, Helen Capel (Nicollette Sheridan) works as a housekeeper in the gloomy old mansion of wealthy Emma Warren (Holland Taylor). By nature timid and frightened, Helen has good reason of late to be even more afraid to venture outside the Warren home: A serial killer who preys upon "imperfect" women is on the loose, with such victims as a blind girl and a clubfooted woman in his wake. Understandably, the literally speechless Helen is worried that she will be the next victim. What she doesn't know is that her would-be murderer is someone living within the walls of the Warren mansion -- and it isn't the most obvious suspect. The Spiral Staircase debuted April 2, 2000 on the Fox Family Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicollette Sheridan, Judd Nelson, (more)
Attempting to cheer up his friend Brian (Scott Thompson) following a painful breakup, Hank (Jeffrey Tambor) treats him to a night on the town after the show. When Hank and Brian are seen together at various gay bars, gossip writer Army Archerd makes mention of their night out in his column. Meanwhile, things aren't looking too good for Pauline's (Janeane Garofalo) new assistant, Mary Lou (Mary Lynn Rajskub), who even manages to rub easygoing Tim Conway the wrong way after making a series of mistakes. Desperate to prove he's not gay following Archerd's "revealing" gossip blurb, Hank arranges to be seen in public with a beautiful woman. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
In this science-fiction-tinged drama a wily serial killer leads the FBI to take extreme measures: in order to catch him, they implant cells from another woman's brain into the head of a rookie agent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicollette Sheridan, Stacy Keach, (more)
A single mother moves into a new neighborhood unaware that her new neighbors, a couple unable to have their own children, have designs on hers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Faye Dunaway, Nicollette Sheridan, (more)
Set in Utah (but filmed in Texas), the made-for-TV Shadows of Desire will probably seem fresh and original to anyone who hasn't seen the old Katharine Hepburn-Robert Taylor-Robert Mitchum theatrical feature Undercurrent--or, for that matter, to anyone unfamiliar with the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. Central to the plotline is Rowena Ecklund (Nicollette Sheridan), a woman torn between her sincere love for the kindly, sensitive Jude Snow (Adrian Pasder) and her insatiable lust for Jude's arrogant, dangerous older brother Sonny (Joe Lando) (guess which brother has the longest hair and the sweatiest shirt?) The passions engendered by this triangle are matched only by the all-stops-out histrionics of Piper Laurie as Jude and Sonny's domineering mother Ellis. Originally telecast September 20, 1994, on CBS, Shadows of Desire has since been rerun on cable television and on Canadian TV under the title The Devil's Bed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This made-for-TV thriller was based on Robin Cook's bestseller Outbreak, but had to be retitled to avoid conflict with a similarly plotted theatrical feature of the same name (which in fact had been conceived long after Cook's novel hit the stands in 1987). Somewhere, somehow, someone has released a rare and deadly African ebola virus into the United States, apparently for the purpose of devastating major cities with death and disease. In her efforts to track down the root cause of this virus, fearless female medical researcher Marissa Blumenthal (Nicollette Sheridan) uncovers a sinister conspiracy that may involve her own colleagues--and in so doing, all but signs her own death warrant. First aired by NBC on May 8, 1995, Robin Cook's Virus has since been rebroadcast on cable TV under the title Robin Cook's Formula for Death, thereby distancing itself even farther from Outbreak (but not from another Cook novel called Coma, vestiges of which can be discerned in the plotline of this film!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicollette Sheridan, William Devane, (more)
The 14th and final season of Knots Landing is distinguished by the conspicuous absence of longtime regular Joan Van Ark, whose character, Val Ewing, mysteriously disappeared while researching a book on mob-connected politician and businessman Greg Sumner (William Devane). In his frantic efforts to find out if his wife is still alive, Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford) somehow finds time for a brief fling with Kate Whittaker (Stacy Galina), Sumner's niece. Meanwhile, Greg, having astonished everyone by giving up his business interests in Knots Landing and retiring to a cabin in Montana, leaves his affairs in the hands of three people: His scheming sister Claudia (Kathleen Noone); Meg (Rhianna Janette), Greg's daughter, adopted by Sumner's longtime nemesis Mack (Kevin Dobson) and his wife Karen (Michele Lee); and Paige (Nicollette Sheridan), illegitimate daughter of Mack and Anne Matheson (Michelle Phillips). Eventually, Greg changes his mind about retiring and returns to regain control of the Sumner Group; at the same time, Mary Robeson (Maree Cheatham), self-proclaimed biological mother of Greg's late wife Laura ries to wrest Meg away from Karen and Mack, whereupon Mack goes temporarily insane--which leads to his being named primary suspect when Mary turns up dead (He is released shortly after the revelation that Mary was really Laura's aunt, not her mother). Just before the series finale, Gary discovers that Val is still alive, the prisoner of crooked businessman Nigel Treadwell, who hopes to get his mitts on the Sumner Group with the help of none other than Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills)--who has been absent from Knots Landing since the end of Season Eleven. Treadwell is foiled in this scheme, and in his subsequent effort to blow up Greg, by another of his hostages, Vanessa Hunt (Felicity Waterman). The upshot of all this activity is a classic moment in the series' second-to-last episode, in which the three principal Knots Landing villainesses--Claudia, Abby and Anne--show up on screen at the same time. And as the very last episode demonstrates, the residents of Knots Landing haven't seen the last of Abby Cunningham yet! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Shackelford, Michele Lee, (more)
Nicollette Sheridan plays a stripper in the made-for-TV Somebody's Daughter. Together with her bodyguard/lover Nick Mancusco, Sheridan becomes involved in a murder. The subsequent official cover-up and the attendant police corruption places Nicollette's future seriously in doubt. In fact, she escapes death so often before the climax that we feel as though we've stumbled into a full-color, streetwise remake of a Pearl White serial. Somebody's Daughter was first telecast September 20, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Season Thirteen of Knots Landing gets under way with only one of the four original "couplings" of the series' first season intact: After many romantic side trips and emotional detours, Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford) and his ex-wife Val (Joan Van Ark) have decided to let bygones be bygones and tie the matrimonial knot for the third (and last!) time. Once this matter is settled, Gary again demonstrates his basic lack of common sense by teaming with one Joseph Barringer (Mark Soper]) in a wild scheme to harness the power of ocean tides to provide low-cost energy for the citizens of California. Not surprisingly, Gary loses his shirt (and everything else) in this dead-on-arrival venture, and ends up working as a day laborer on his own ranch before returning to his old cul-de-sac neighborhood. Meanwhile, Val revitalizes her literary career by starting research on a novel intended to expose the crooked machinations of Greg Sumner (William Devane). In other developments, Linda Fairgate (Lar-Park Lincoln), ex-daughter in law of Gary's business partner Karen (Michele Lee), is murdered by Brian Johnston (Philip Brown), who holds several of the principal characters hostage before Karen is able to save the day--thereby confirming her "local heroine" status established at the end of the previous season, when she single-handedly took on the members of a street gang. Also, Greg Sumner's predatory sister Claudia (Kathleen Noone) meets her Waterloo in the form of Alex Barth (Boyd Kestner), who knows where all of her bodies are buried. As for Greg, he begins an affair with Anne Matheson (Michelle Phillips), former lover of Greg's longtime nemesis Mack (Kevin Dobson); reduced to penury after failing to cheat her daughter Paige (Nicollette Sheridan) out of an inheritance, Anne has staged a comeback as a nude model and radio star! Among the newcomers to the series are Bruce Greenwood as Paige's new boyfriend Pierce Lawton, who later tries to kill Paige and several others when he loses all his money in Gary's "Tidal Energy" scheme; Maree Cheatham as Mary Robeson, who claims to be the biological mother of Greg's late wife Laura (Constance McCashin), and who had been sent to prison on a trumped-up charge engineered by Greg; and Felicity Waterman as Vanessa Hunt, an old friend of Claudia Whittaker's daughter Kate (Stacy Galina). Making their final appearances in Season Twelves are Larry Riley and [$Kent Masters-King as Frank and Julia Williams--and, surprisingly, Joan Van Ark as Val Ewing, who mysteriously vanishes in the midst of preparing her tell-all novel. With ratings steadily decreasing during its most recent seasons, Knots Landing wnet on a brief production hiatus in the middle of Season Thirteen so that the new writing team could get a grip on the concept and come up with more compelling storylines. Although things did improve a bit, the series was destined to survive for just one more year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, (more)
- Starring:
- Nicollette Sheridan
Rendered mortally ill by anti-chemical activists during Season Eleven of Knot's Landing, scheming politician-businessman Greg Sumner (William Devane) is snatched from the jaws of death by a liver transplant--which, characteristically, he has secured by dishonest means. This leaves Sumner alive and well, and free to begin life anew with the new love of his life, the bed-hopping Paige Matheson (Nicollette Sheridan), who happens to be the illegitimate daughter of Sumner's perennial crimebusting nemesis, Mack MacKenzie (Kevin Dobson). At the same time, Paige's biological mother Anne (Michelle Phillips), still determined to get her mitts on her daughter's inheritance, dreams up a phony blackmail scheme which brings arouses the attention of her former lover Mario Conti, who dispatches his trusted hatchet man Nick Schillance (Lorenzo Caccialanza) to Knots Landing to help the "victimized" Anne. Ultimately, Anne and Nick will get married and team up to rob Paige of her rightful inheritance. Meanwhile, long-suffering Val (Joan Van Ark) tries to secure a divorce from her imprisoned serial-rapist husband Danny (Sam Behrens), who claims to have been "Born Again" behind bars and refuses to release her from her wedding vows. When Danny is ultimately found dead, Val's ex Gary (Ted Shackelford) is suspected of murder (for about the three-hundredth time!), but is exonerated by Danny's last intended victim, Julie Williams (Kent-Masters King). Elsewhere, novice TV personality Karen (Michele Lee) learns to her horror that her alleged stalker from the previous season, Jeff Cameron (Chris Lemmon), is still alive, still bent on "getting" her despite being exposed as part of a campaign of psychological terror concocted by Karen's conniving former producer Dianne Kirkwood. And in another development, Mack puts his life on the line when he assumes the responsibility of protecting young Jason Lochner (Thomas Wilson Brown) from an abusive parent. Perhaps sensing that the series needed a new "Abby Cunningham"-style villainess, the producer introduce the character of Greg Sumner's scheming sister Claudia Whittaker (Kathleen Noone), who at the outset of Season Eleven swoops into Knots Landing with her daughter Kate (Stacy Galina) and her ex-convict "son" Steve Brewer (Lance Guest) in tow. Steve will eventually be revealed to be the son of the late tycoon Paul Galveston--and thus the brother of Greg Sumner, rather than his nephew. By the time the season finale rolls around, Claudia's machinations have brought about the death of Steven; Karen faces a jail term after forcing a gang of street punks--including one of her own neighbors--to have a car accident; the troublesome Anne is at last kicked out of Knots Landing; and, evidently hastening the process before any more disasters can occur, Gary and Val decide to get married--for the third time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, (more)
Although the scheming Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills) had departed Knots Landing at the end of its tenth season, the series still managed to serve up a full recipe of fascinating intrigues during its eleventh season on the air. Dominating much of the proceedings is a plotline sparked by a pension-fraud scheme involving Oakman Industries, one of several businesses controlled by duplicitous politico Greg Sumner (William Devane). An investigation headed by Sumner's longtime nemesis Mack (Kevin Dobson) is compromised by the actions of Tom Ryan (Joseph Gian), a crooked cop in Oakman's employ. The ramifications of the pension scandal results in the death of Greg's estranged daughter Mary Frances, who turns out to have been an operative for a anti-chemical subversive organization headed by her boyfriend--who in turn gets revenge on Greg by infecting him with a lethal poison. In other developments, Mack's former lover Anne (Michelle Phillips), the mother of his daughter Paige (Nicollette Sheridan), hatches an elaborate scheme to rob Paige of her inheritance. After a season's absence, Steve Shaw briefly returns to the role of Eric, the son of Knots Landing Motors head (and Mack's wife) Karen (Michele Lee)--though he is now divorced from wife Linda (Lar-Park Lincoln), who begins a relationship with Eric's brother Michael (Pat Petersen), sparking a great deal of sibling hostility. Karen herself lands a job hosting the popular local TV series "Open Mike", produced by Dianne Kirkwood (Robin Strasser) and Jeff Cameron (Chris Lemmon). However, it soon develops that Dianne covets Karen's job, and will stop at nothing to get it. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the "crazed fan" who stalks Karen through most of the season is actually Dianne's co-conspirator Jeff. Also: The eternally unlucky-in-love Val (Joan Van Ark) falls for an outwardly charming chap named Danny Waleska (Sam Behrens), whom Val's ex Gary (Ted Shackelford) has good reason to distrust. It soon develops that Danny is a serial rapist and all-around psycho, who not only terrorizes Val's twin daughters but also attempts to kill Gary and makes an effort to assault Julie Williams (Kent-Masters King). Though Danny fails in this attempt, he succeeds in fatally injuring Julie's mother Patricia (Lynne Moody)--while in another of the many developments comprising the season's cliffhanger finale, Paige is jilted at the altar by her newest beau, "dirty" cop Tom Ryan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, (more)
Season Ten of Knots Landing begins with Val (Joan Van Ark) surviving the lethal drug overdose administered by Jill (Teri Austin). Worried that her current amour Gary (Ted Shackelford) was planning to re-wed his former wife Val, Jill had schemed to bump off her rival in a manner that would look like suicide--and in fact everyone believes that Val has tried to kill herself, leaving Jill temporarily in the clear. At the same time, the lives of business partners Gary, Abby (Donna Mills) and Karen (Joan Van Ark), imperiled by their dealings with master criminal Manny Vasquez (John Aprea), are saved when Manny is killed by his conscience-ridden nephew Harold (Paul Carafontes). Meanwhile, Karen's son Michael (Pat Petersen) and his current flame Paige (Nicollette Sheridan)--the illegitimate daughter of Karen's estranged husband Mack (Kevin Dobson)--are rescued from the clutches of Mexican drug dealers by the mysterious Johnny Rourke (Peter Reckell). In other developments, conniving Abby manages to swindle her partners out of the Lotus Point Resort via the dummy "Murakame" corporation, then begins drilling for oil on the property. Paige takes up with crooked politico Greg Sumner (William Devane), who later dumps her in order to propose to Abby, mainly to revive his political career; at this juncture, Robert Desiderio joins the cast as Greg's new PR manager Ted Melcher, who will be implicated in one of the several mysterious deaths occurring this season. Johnny and Michael are innocently swept up in a computer-theft scheme, a story arc that serves to introduce the character of Danny Waleska (Sam Behrens). Mack returns to Karen after a brief fling with female forest ranger Paula Vertosick (Melinda Culea). And Abby's daughter Olivia is married to her mom's cast-off sweetheart Harold. The series' tenth season is marked by two spectacular exits. Threatened with the exposure of her many sinister schemes, and facing the loss of Gary Ewing, Jill goes completely off the deep end and commits suicide--after first going through the effort of binding and gagging herself so that Gary will be accused of her murder. And when the authorities finally catch up with Abby's various and sundry underhanded business machinations, she manages to escape by the skin of her teeth by wangling an appointment with the US Trade Adminstration--which requires her to immediately relocate to Japan! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, (more)
The big news of Knots Landing's ninth season is the apparent murder of unsavory politician Peter Hollister, who in the course of the previous season had had affairs with both Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills) and Abby's daughter Olivia (Tonya Crowe)--leading Abby to believe that Olivia was the killer, and vice versa! As it turns out, only Paige Matheson (Nicollette Sheridan), illegitimate daughter of crime investigator Mack MacKenzie (Kevin Dobson), knows the whole story of Peter's untimely end. This season marks the departure of longtime regular Constance McCashin, who in the role of Laura Avery Sumner has weathered two tempestuous marriages, first to unscrupulous lawyer Richard Avery, and then to another "dirty" politician, Greg Sumner (William Devane). Before succumbing to a brain tumor, Laura asks Mack's former wife Karen (Michele Lee) to sell her house to a reliable tenant. This serves to introduce several new regulars, all members of the "jinxed" Williams family: husband Frank (Larry Riley), wife Patricia (Lynne Moody), daughter Julie (Kent Masters-King). It will soon be revealed that the Williamses are in the Federal Witness Protection Program! In other developments, Abby divorces Gary (Ted Shackleford), then renews her relationship with former beau Charles Scott (Michael York)--but only for the purpose of enlarging her power base in Knots Landing. Gary meanwhile continues his affair with the unhinged Jill Bennett, who makes it her mission in life to destroy Gary's former spouse Val, first by attempting to drive Val crazy (again), then more directly with an "accidental" drug overdose. Also, Val's mother Lilimae (Julie Harris) leaves the series when she impulsively runs off with an eccentric messenger-service employee named Al Baker (Red Buttons). And in their efforts to get the Lotus Point Resort up and running, Gary, Abby and Karen become involved with a shady character named Manny Vasquez (John Aprea), who at one point or another attempts to murder practically everyone in the cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, (more)
Peter Ustinov stars once more as Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's insufferably brilliant Belgian detective. Unlike many of Ustinov's earlier Poirot vehicles, which were set in the 1930s, the made-for-TV Dead Man's Folly takes place in contemporary England. Jean Stapleton costars as an American mystery novelist who organizes a "murder hunt" at a sprawling English manor. It isn't long before several of the guests are also sprawling--on the ground, stone cold dead. American-born British stage star Constance Cummings makes a rare TV appearance as a mysterious noblewoman. Dead Man's Folly was lensed on location at West Wycombe Park in Buckinhamshire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Ustinov





















