James J. Sloyan Movies
American actor James J. Sloyan's first film was 1970's The Travelling Executioner; he subsequently played major feature roles in films as diverse as The Sting (1973) and Xanadu (1980). Sloyan was a regular on TV's Westside Medical (1977, top-billed as Dr. Sam Lanagan) and Oh Madeline (1987, as Charlie Wayne, husband of series star Madeline Kahn), and a semi-regular as insurance investigator Robert Butler on the 1990-91 season of Murder She Wrote. His many TV-movie roles include Ronald Ziegler in 1978's Blind Ambition. These days, Sloyan is a habitue of science fiction shows, with guest spots on The X-Files, Strange Luck, and all three of the latter-day Star Trek incarnations (The Next Generation, Deep Space 9 and Voyager). James J. Sloyan is married to actress Deirdre Lanahan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1997
Carrying Keiko and O'Brien's child in her womb, Kira goes into labor, resulting in a flurry of activity and interest amongst her fellow crew members. The only person unaffected by the excitement is Odo, who has his hands full with his own baby, a Changeling infant who he has purchased from Quark. As Odo struggles with the trials and tribulations of parenthood, his former mentor and eternal nemesis, Dr. Mora (James J. Sloyan) arrives. Written by Rene Echevarria, "The Begotten" first aired January 27, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Inspired by the example of her English teacher Gary Prescott (Neil Prescott), Julia (Neva Campbell) decides to become a professional writer. At the same time, Avery Baltus (Neil Roberts), an old friend of the late Diana Salinger, offers to transform Claudia (Lacey Chabert) into a violin virtuoso. Ultimately, both Julia and Claudia are persuaded that it is a bit too early to map out the rest of their lives...but not before plenty of tortuous soul-searching and family friction. Meanwhile, Bailey (Scott Wolf) is consumed by guilt over his sexual fling with Callie, especially when Sarah (Jennifer Love Hewitt) insists upon camping out at his apartment to nurse him through the chicken pox. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Refusing to face up to his drinking problem, Bailey (Scott Wolf) has been "expelled" from his own family. Before long, even such friends and intimates as Coach Petrocelli (Dan Lauria) and Callie (Alexondra Lee) have turned their backs on Bailey. His efforts to "prove" that everyone else is overreacting result in an unpleasant misadventure with baby brother Owen--and a near-fatal accident with Sarah (Jennifer Love Hewitt). Elsewhere, Claudia (Lacey Chabert) poses some sensitive questions about her late father; and Julia (Neve Campbell) is briefly reunited with her former flame Griffin (Jeremy London). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Much to the dismay of Grace (Tamara Taylor), Charlie (Matthew Fox) gets along better with her visiting parents (Joan Pringle, Clifton Davis) than she does. On a more serious note, Bailey (Scott Wolf) dresses up as a clown for his kid brother Owen's birthday party, only to utterly ruin the festivities by showing up blind, stinking drunk. And Julia (Neve Campbell) is forced to reconsider her future with Sam (Ben Browder) when he lets slip a particularly vicious racial remark. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
The life of teenager Eric Sutter (Nick Stahl) is forever changed for the worse when he is arrested for attacking a neighbor woman with a knife--the case being "sealed" when the victim positively I.D.s the hapless Eric, who has harbored a crush on the woman for months. Anxious for a conviction, the police use only the evidence that will bolster their case in prosecuting Eric, while the media has a field day stirring up public resentment against the boy. Too, Eric's surly, rebellious attitude seems calculated to tighten the noose around his neck. Only Eric's mother Margaret (Marilu Henner)and her loyal boyfriend David (Matt McCoy) believe in the boy's innocence, and together they tirelessly fight for justice against all odds. Originally broadcast by ABC, the fact-based My Son is Innocent first aired May 6, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
The mother of Diane Russell (Kim Delaney) prepares to face the grand jury to answer questions about the death of Diane's abusive father. Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) and Bobby Simone (Jimmy Smits) unearth additional family intrigue as they look into the murder of a mobster's son. And Diane has problems with the overly amorous stepson of another murder victim and the suspect's slick lawyer -- not to mention a trail of evidence leading circuitously back to the suspect in the case being followed by Andy and Bobby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Based on a true story, Woman with a Past is about a prosperous real estate agent whose hidden life is revealed when federal agents arrest her for her past crimes. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pamela Reed, Dwight Schultz, (more)
- 1994
Odo's discoverer and mentor, Bajoran scientist Dr. Mora Pol, arrives on DS9. After an uncomfortable reunion with Odo (who does not relish the notion of being a "living experiment"), the good doctor announces his intention to resume his search for Odo's true origins. The solution may lie within the ruins of an ancient planet on the other side of the wormhole. Written by Bill Dial and Jim Trombetta, "The Alternate" was originally broadcast on January 8, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
James J. Sloyan guest stars as K'matar, an old and trusted family friend of Lt. Worf's. K'mtar's arrival on the Enterprise coincides with Worf's seemingly futile efforts to transform his son Alexander (Brian Bonsall) into a proper Klingon warrior. Magnanimously offering to help out, K'matar takes Alexander under his wing, thereby setting into motion a plot resolution that has a far more profound effect on Worf than on his son. Armin Shimerman makes a crossover appearance in his Deep Space Nine role as Quark. First telecast April 30, 1994, "Firstborn" was scripted by Rene Echevarria, from a story by Mark Kalbfeld. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
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This fact-based drama follows the flight of a Milwaukee woman wrongly convicted for murdering her husband's ex-wife. Hoping to have a chance for a re-trial she escapes from prison and heads for Canada. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In this made for TV movie based on Danielle Steele's novel, Cheryl Ladd portrays a successful New York television anchorwoman. When she marries a successful surgeon in Los Angeles, romance becomes difficult with their careers on opposite ends of the country. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cheryl Ladd, Michael Nouri, (more)
- 1991
This is one of several seventh-season Murder She Wrote episodes introduced by Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) but starring Dennis Stanton (Keith Michell), a jewel thief turned insurance investigator. On this occasion, Stanton himself is the primary suspect in a murder case. The victim is the estranged husband of Stanton's old flame Christina (Susan Blakely), whom our hero had been romancing just before the murder. Will Lt. Catalano (Ken Swofford) finally be able to put Stanton behind bars again, or will the wily ex-crook manage to wriggle his way out of danger once more? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
This is one of several seventh-season Murder She Wrote episodes introduced by Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) but starring Dennis Stanton (Keith Michell), a jewel thief turned insurance investigator. On this occasion, Stanton is probing into the curious case of a neurotic ventriloquist named Woody Perkins (Grant Shaud) and Woody's prize dummy Billy Boy. Not longer after Woody reports that Billy Boy has been "kidnapped", the dummy turns up in a locked room--along with the corpse of Katie Kelly (Georgia Brown), a nasty comedy-club owner with whom Woody had previously had a violent argument. Stanton tries to unravel the attendant mystery with the help and hindrance of Rhoda Markowitz (Hallie Todd) and Lt. Perry Catalano (Ken Swofford). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
James J. Sloyan stars as Setal, a Romulan defector. Taking refuge on the Enterprise, Setal warns Picard of an impending major Romulan offensive designed to regain control of the Neutral Zone. Since any resistance to this offensive would spark a full-scale war, Captain Picard cannot help but question Setal's reliability, as well as his motives. A surprise revelation awaits the crew in this tense Next Generation entry, which was written by Ronald D. Moore and originally telecast January 6, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
In the final episode of Murder She Wrote's fourth season, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) volunteers as a speech writer for her old friend Kathleen Lane (Shirley Jones), whose wealthy husband Jackson (Eddie Albert) is bankrolling her political campaign. Not surprisingly, politics and scandal go hand in hand on this occasion, with rumors flying that Kathleen is carrying on a romance with her handsome campaign manager. When the manager is murdered, the tabloids have a field day--and Jessica has a not-so-high old time trying to prove that Kathleen was not the killer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
The IMF's assignment: To persuade Frank Marley (James Sloyan), the manager of a casino in the Bahamas, to turn against his boss, mob kingpin Connors (Gus Mercurio). The strategy: To convince Marley that he is being framed for a money-skimming racket perpetrated by his employer. Robert Hammer's script for "The System" was first filmed in 1968, as the 68th episode of the original Mission: Impossible series. The "new" version was telecast on October 30, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Thaao Penghlis, (more)
- 1988
Artist Jill Clayburgh is divorced by her doctor husband James Farentino. Despite the obvious fact that Farentino is a louse, the loyalties of the couple's friends are divided. Left with precious little money, Clayburgh tries to make a go of it as a single mother, but finds that many of her so-called "close friends" don't want to have much to do with her anymore. Despite its melancholy tone and moments of dead seriousness, the made-for-TV Who Gets the Friends is a comedy, and at times a very funny one. Its bittersweet tone is, however, compromised by an out-of-the-blue happy ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Kate Capshaw plays a schoolteacher and suburban housewife who happens to be an ex-spy. Nobody knows of Capshaw's previous espionage activities, least of all her somewhat obtuse husband Cliff De Young. When Capshaw's ex-lover Jeroen Krabbe, an intimate of Castro, lands in a Cuban prison, she is swept back into the spy business, leaving her nonplussed hubby in the dust. Made for television, Her Secret Life did prove there was more to Kate Capshaw's repertoire than the wimpy heroine of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It also proved that a workable premise is not enough when the script is skimpy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
The family is delighted when Maggie (Joanna Kerns) is offered a fantastic job at a big-time New York newspaper run by the celebrated Max Drummond (James Sloyan). But delight turns to dismay for Jason (Alan Thicke) when he ascertains that Drummond is a shameless womanizer--information that he has received in strictest confidence from one of his patients, Drummond's wife Margo (Linda Carlson), making it impossible for Jason to warn Maggie of what she's getting into! Meanwhile, Carol (Tracey Gold) becomes increasingly accident-prone. This is the final episode of Growing Pains' second season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Billionaire Boys Club is the two-part TV adaptation of a book by Sue Horton (unpublished at the time of the film's first telecast). In flashback form, the story recounts the murder of Beverly Hills con artist Ron Levin (Ron Silver). The culprit is yuppie Joe Hunt (Judd Nelson), a sharp young commodities trader who has organized an investment firm with several of his prep school buddies, known as the Billionaire Boys Club. Part one, originally telecast November 8, 1987, traces Hunt's meteoric rise to wealth and power, and the means by which Levin worms his way into Hunt's confidence. In part two, shown the next evening, Hunt has already murdered Levin and carefully disposed of the body. The next step of the scheme is take over where Levin left off by conning an Iranian millionaire out of a huge sum of money. Meanwhile, other members of the Club begin to have qualms over Hunt's finagling. Their whistle-blowing leads to Hunt's arrest and convinction for murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judd Nelson, Ron Silver, (more)
- 1987
The mythical, big-footed Pacific Northwest Sasquatch lives, and an irascible anthropologist and two feisty kids can prove it. This Disney adventure chronicles their interactions with the gentle giants and their attempts to save them from capture. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Vital Signs stars Ed Asner and Gary Cole as father and son, both prominent surgeons. Asner's skills have diminished as his alcoholism increases. Cole returns to his home town to straighten his dad out. What no one knows is that Cole himself is a substance abuser, addicted to morphine. After several near-disasters and squabbling denials, father and son make a mutual pact to wean themselves away from their addictions--with tragic results. Vital Signs is a better than average "affliction of the week" TV movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Jessica's niece Victoria (Genie Francis) and the girl's husband Howard (Jeff Conaway), previously introduced in the first-season episode "Birds of a Feather", make return appearances here--and, as before, the couple promptly embroils Jessica (Angela Lansbury) in a murder case. This time, the victim was Victoria's advertising-executive boss, a notorious womanizer. Victoria falls under suspicion when it turns out that her late boss had intended to "lend" her to his newest client, the hedonistic owner of a questionable fast-food chain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Stars Kirk Douglas and Elizabeth Montgomery manage to rise above the melodramatic trappings of Amos. Douglas plays the title character, a fiercely independent senior-citizen baseball coach, forced to live in a retirement home after an auto accident. During his stay, Amos conducts a battle of wills with overbearing head nurse Daisy Dawes (Montgomery). This Cuckoo's Nest-derived setup has an added wrinkle: Amos suspects, quite rightly as it turns out, that Dawes has been systematically murdering her more troublesome charges. Made for TV by Douglas' own Bryna Productions, Amos first aired September 29, 1985 ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
