O.J. Simpson Movies

Season three of the racy HBO football sitcom 1st & Ten bears the subtitle "The Championship," which may or may not bode well for our heroes on the California Bulls. In addition to returning regulars Delta Burke as the Bulls' sexy owner Diane Barrow, and Reid Shelton, as bombastic team coach Ernie Denardo, special emphasis is placed upon quarterback Tom Yinessa, played by Jason Beghe; indeed, the first of the season's four episodes is titled "Yinessa's Interview" (other episodes include "Easy Come, Easy Go," "A Family Affair," and "The Big One"). In another development, quarterback T.D. Parker (played by none other than O.J. Simpson) decides that his playing days are over -- and in a twinkling, he is appointed the Bulls' assistant coach. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

"The Bulls Mean Business' is the new subtitle for 1st & Ten as the raunchy HBO sitcom enters its fifth season. This refers to the fact that the members of the California Bulls football team now all have a financial stake in the franchise. As for sexy team owner Diane Barrows, she has flown the coop (actress Delta Burke left to devote all her time to her other starring sitcom Designing Women). Replacing Diane in the owner's box is the even sexier Kristy Fulbright, played by Shannon Tweed, the famous softcore movie diva. (Given this series' propensity for feminine nudity, it is somewhat disheartening to report that Ms. Tweed remains fully clothed throughout her tenure on the program!) Titles of the season's 14 episodes include "The Bulls Own Up," "The Inmates Buy the Asylum," "Caught in the Draft," "Down and Out in Bulls Stadium," "The Clock Runs Out," "The Dark Side," "Saturday Bloody Saturday," "Injustice for All," "Team Picture,"Out of the Past," "Final Bow," "Duty Calls," "The High and the Mighty," and "The Irreducible Bottom Line." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having lost the Championship and two of their best players, John Manzak (John Matuszak) and Johnny Gunn (Christopher Meloni), the California Bulls bind their wounds, grit the teeth they have left, and hope for the best as the sexy, profane HBO football sitcom 1st & Ten begins its seventh and final season. The series' subtitle this year is "In Your Face!," and that pretty much sums up the attitude of the battered gridiron vets under the aegis of tough team coach Ernie Denardo (Reid Shelton) and buxom team owner Kristy Fulbright (Shannon Tweed). New to the team is receiver "Miracle Miles" Coolidge (Keith Amos), who just might have the right stuff to guide the Bulls to another Championship. Without giving anything away, we can observe here that "Miracle Miles" figures prominently in the season's best-remembered episode, involving a surprise cameo from a most unlikely guest star. Episode titles this season include "Opening Night," "Old Dogs, New Tricks," "She's Ba-ack," "Altared States," "Going in Style," "Don't Powderburst My Bubble," "The Squeeze," "Take My Wives Please, "Bull Day Afternoon," "Sex, Bulls, and Videotape," "Irma Za-Greb," "If I Didn't Play Football," "A Roast is a Roast," "Close Encounters of the Third Down," "Flashbacks," and "Championship Game." The director for all but one of the above-mentioned episodes was Peter Bonerz of The Bob Newhart Show fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello not only starred in the delightfully "retro" Back to the Beach, but also served as executive producers. Appropriately set 25 years after such drive-in faves as Beach Blanket Bingo, the film finds Frankie and Annette as husband and wife, living far from the surf 'n' sand in Ohio. Heading to California to visit their daughter Lori Loughlin, Frankie and Annette are appalled to learn that she has been keeping time with punker Tommy Hinkley. In time-honored fashion, our hero and heroine set about to make the beach safe for funlovers everywhere by driving out Hinkley's unsavory pals. Along the way, Frankie nearly bollixes up his marriage by dallying with Connie Stevens-one of several pop-culture icons appearing in Back to the Beach, including Don Adams, Bob Denver, Jerry Mathers, Tony Dow, Dick Dale & the Del-Tones , Stevie Ray Vaughan, and even Pee-wee Herman! Back to the Beach is fun for a while, but its six-person writing team can't figure out a logical way to wind it all up. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A terrorist couple is pitted against each other when the female counterpart is captured by C.I.A. agents. She is convinced to help them bring down the dangerous group in this violent actioner. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Cocaine and Blue Eyes was the pilot film for a TV detective series starring former footballer O.J. Simpson (who also produced the film). Playing a private eye in San Francisco, Simpson is hired by a man who ends up seriously dead. The deceased client had wanted Simpson to locate a former girl friend, and in carrying out his assignment Simpson unearths a deadly (and very well connected) cartel of drug dealers. Cocaine and Blue Eyes gathered dust until O.J. Simpson's murder trial in 1994. After that, this tiresome old TV movie became a staple of "Late Late Shows" everywhere. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The murder trial of O.J. Simpson became an obsession for millions of people. As the case unfolded, it became an example for the issues of race, celebrity, wealth, police corruption, and how they impact the court system and justice in American society. The Prosecution -- volume two in the four-part videotape series Court TV: The O.J. Simpson Trial -- features heavily edited Court TV coverage of prosecutor Marcia Clark's case against Simpson. Commentators provide legal background and analyze Clark's strategies regarding DNA testing and the 911 phone call. The other volumes in the series are Background and Opening Statements, The Defense, and Closing Statements and Verdict. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide

O. J. Simpson plays a chartered bus driver shepherding a group of wealthy tourists to Las Vegas. His bus is waylaid by a trio of murderers, who intend to kidnap one of the passengers and bump off the rest. Arte Johnson provides a few laughs as a tour guide, while one of the villains is played by Lorenzo Lamas. Detour to Terror is, by TV standards, a real oldie-it debuted February 22, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in the Caribbean, Firepower is one of those "celebrity salads," featuring a glittering all-star cast. Sophia Loren heads the ensemble as Adele, the widow of a murdered chemist. Believing that a multimillionaire industrialist is the culprit, Adele determines that she can expect no help from the authorities. Thus she engages the services of retired professional assassin Jerry Fanori (James Coburn), who in turn enlists the aid of troubleshooter Catlett (O.J. Simpson). Watch for Jake LaMotta, the ex-prizefighter whose life was dramatized in Raging Bull, in a supporting part. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This 1981 sequel to the 1979 made-for-TVer Goldie and the Boxer once again stars O.J. Simpson and Melissa Michaelsen as, respectively, boxer Joe Gallegher and Joe's 10-year-old manager Goldie Kellog. When Joe incurs the wrath of an evil promoter, he and Goldie high-tail it to Hollywood. They take refuge in the home of Babe (Stubby Kaye) and Cuddles (Sheila MacRae) a pair of Tinseltown "fringies" distantly related to Joe's trainer Wally (Jack Gilford, taking over for the first film's Phil Silvers). Produced by Orenthal Productions (guess who ran that company?), Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood first aired February 19, 1981. It has been rerun incessantly since June of 1994, thanks to the latter-day notoriety of star O. J. Simpson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Few television programs have broken as many taboos as Screw publisher Al Goldstein's groundbreaking late-night cable program Midnight Blue, and in this collection of audacious clips, Goldstein takes a look beyond the porn and politics and into the lives of the era's hottest celebrities. From the notorious "Barbra Streisand Porno Movie" to a visit to the 1979 Hooker's Ball where football legend O.J. Simpson offers his candid views on the sexual state of the nation, these are the interviews that would influence and inspire the celebrity gossip programs for decades to come. After witnessing Go-Go's beauty Belinda Carlisle fly solo in a late-night pleasure session, viewers can get a peek at the infamous Rob Lowe sex tape -- footage that nearly brought the handsome Brat Packer's Hollywood career to a screeching halt. Other guests include Arnold Schwarzenegger, R. Crumb, Tiny Tim, Gilbert Gottfried, Larry Flynt, Debbie Harry, Buck Henry, and vintage commercials for some of New York City's hottest adult sweet spots offer an intimate look at a time when the debauchery of the disco era was at an all-time high. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide