Lane Smith Movies

Timothy Hutton stars as a government agent dealing with the aftermath of a biological attack in this thriller from director Robert Mandel (School Ties). In the wake of a deadly outbreak on a cruise ship, it becomes clear that the U.S. has been hit by a terrorist attack. As the virus spreads, it's up to Agent Sullivan (Hutton) to track down those responsible and prevent the entire country from becoming infected. Winds of Terror was originally broadcast on the Fox network as WW3. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Per its title, this Fox network TV movie is one of several followups to the shortlived science fiction series AlienNation, which ran on Fox from 1989 to 1991 and was based on the 1988 theatrical feature of the same name. The original series was set in a futuristic Los Angeles wherein human earthlings coexisted more or less peacefully with the Newcomers, a race of aliens from the planet Tencton who had settled in LA after escaping a slave-transport ship, and who, despite the prejudices harbored by the "Purists" and other such xenophobes, had assimilated to the point of were holding down traditionally "human" jobs and living in the 'burbs with their families. Repeating their series roles are Gray Graham as LAPD detective Matthew Sikes and Eric Pierpoint as his Newcomer partner, Detective George Francisco (George is the one with the huge bald cranium and the vestigal ears). The story gets under way when a group of "kamikaze" Newcomers invades Los Angeles, apparently with homicidal intentions towards the humans--but only because they've been brainwashed by a higher power. Tied in with this alien influx is the Udara, the radicalized Newcomer guerillas who had fomented the rebellion on the Tectonese slave ship, and who remain dedicated in their mission to kill off all "Overseers"--including those of the human variety. Much to George's surprise, his own wife Susan (Michele Scarabelli) is part of the Udara movement, resulting in a major conflict of interest. One of the fim's many subplots involves the efforts by George and Susan's son Buck (Sean Six) to follow in dad's footsteps and join the police force; elsewhere, a few unresolved plot strands from the earlier series and its previous TV-movie sequels are tied up. AlienNation: The Udara Legacy originally aired July 29, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The third season of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman gets under way as "Daily Planet" reporter Clark Kent (Dean Cain) finally proposes to his sexy co-worker Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher). Imagine Clark's surprise when, upon preparing to reveal to Lois his true identity as the "Man of Steel" Superman, Lois bluntly informs him that she's already tumbled to his secret -- and that she is rather miffed that he hasn't told her earlier. A wedding date is set, only to be "un-set" by the unexpected reappearance of Superman's arch-enemy, Lex Luthor (John Shea). This traumatic experience causes Lois to lose her memory, not to mention her affections for Clark. By season's end, however, Lois is back to her normal self, and the wedding is rescheduled. Perhaps inevitably, though, another interruption occurs: this time, Clark/Superman must rescue several other refugees from the long-extinct planet Krypton from a deadly peril on their new home planet -- and among the rescuees is Zara (Justine Bateman), who had been Superman's predesignated bride back when he was "Kal-El of Krypton." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first season of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman borrows just enough from its comic-book source material to satisfy dyed-in-the-wool Superman buffs while adding several novel and surprising twists of its own. Fresh from the rural community of Smallville, handsome country bumpkin Clark Kent (Dean Cain) lands a job as reporter for the "Daily Planet," the biggest and most influential newspaper in Metropolis. Dyspeptic editor Perry White (Lane Smith) decides to team Clark with the paper's star reporter, the sophisticated, career-obsessed Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher). Though openly contemptuous of Clark in the early episodes, Lois gradually develops a strong affection for the earnest young novice. Still, it appears that she would much rather romance the mysterious "man of steel," Superman, who has saved Metropolis (and herself) from a variety of grisly fates on innumerable occasions. It never dawns on Lois that the bespectacled Clark Kent and the muscular Superman are actually the same person; this secret is shared only between Clark and his adoptive parents, Martha and Jonathan Kent (K Callan, Eddie Jones) -- who, for their part, have never told Clark the whole story of how he had come to Earth as an infant in a spaceship from the doomed planet Krypton. Superman's origins are but a few of the hitherto unknown facts revealed to Clark during season one; another is the dangerous effect that Kryptonite, a metal derived from his home planet, can have on Superman and his powers. Making regular appearances during the series' first season are Michael Landes as "Daily Planet" cub reporter and photographer Jimmy Olsen; Tracy Scoggins as gossip columnist Catherine "Cat" Grant, Lois' chief rival for Clark's affections; and John Shea as billionaire philanthropist Lex Luthor, whose secret life as a master villain goes undetected by everyone except Superman. Indeed, at the end of season one, the unsuspecting Lois, continually frustrated in her efforts to attract Clark's attention, is on the verge of marrying Lex -- while Superman, racing to the wedding with evidence of Lex's perfidy, is enmeshed in a deadly Kryptonite trap! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though based on fact, the two-part TV movie False Arrest plays more like one of those Linda Blair "babes in prison" flicks. Donna Mills plays Joyce Lukezic, a well-off Phoenix businesswoman/homemaker accused of murder. She knows, and we know, that she didn't do it. The double homicide was the handiwork of her sleazy husband Robert Wagner, who works diligently behind the scenes to make certain his wife is convicted. And with the "guilty as charged" verdict, he leaves Joyce high and dry at the end of part one. Part two of False Arrest was telecast three days later, with Joyce fending off hostile and sexually abusive inmates, courting a nervous breakdown, and battling to have her conviction overturned. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Garr Hagar's Gerald McRaney son is killed by white supremacists. Expecting justice from the usual legal channels, Hagar is outraged when the jury acquits his son's murderers. Though the audience is primed to expect violence, this doesn't happen: Hagar opts for an insidious, psychological cat-and-mouse game to exact vengeance on the criminals. And he's always in the shadows -- always watching. Sustaining its subtlety and restraint throughout, Blind Vengeance is infinitely preferable to the usual USA Cable Network mayhem-fests. The film was first telecast on August 22, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When an institutionalized patient who is forcibly released commits murder, the treating psychiatrist's career is in jeopardy. ~ All Movie Guide

A made for TV movie which serves as much a condemnation of the military establishment as a murder mystery, this film revolves around an upper classman who is falsely accused of responsibility for the death of a student when he begins to investigate the mysterious demise of the young gay cadet. Part of a two-part series, the crux for the upper classman is whether he is willing to jeopardize the future of his own military career to investigate the death of the freshman cadet at this prestigious military academy. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

The story of Jack The Ripper may be the cause of a small town's crime spree in this strange made-for-television thriller. David Hasselhoff stars as Don Gregory, a cop in an Arizona town whose claim to fame is being the home of the newly transplanted pieces of the original London Bridge. When the bridge is fully assembled and a murder spree begins, Gregory suspects that the bridge's historical link to Jack The Ripper and the Thames River, may have something to do with the killings. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Advertised as "a realistic depiction of fictional events," the harrowing speculative drama Special Bulletin was shot on videotape and staged as an actual late-breaking news event. The story concerns a group of anti-nuclear activists who take over the waterfront of Charleston, South Carolina. The group wants the 968 nuclear warheads located in the Charleston area to be disarmed immediately; if this demand is not met, the activists will detonate their own nuclear device. Written by Marshall Herskovitz and directed by Ed Zwick (who would later collaborate on the TV series thirtysomething), the Emmy-winning Special Bulletin first aired on March 20, 1983. This initial broadcast was accompanied by repeated disclaimers, assuring the audience that what was transpiring on their TV screens was not really happening. Even so, the production was so authentic-looking (right down to the fabricated previews of upcoming network dramatic programs) that thousands of panicky viewers called in to NBC, demanding further information on the siege of Charleston. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, an attorney tries to prove that his incarcerated client is indeed innocent of murder. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, a snoopy and ambitious television news reporter causes an average citizen to become suspected of being a serial killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide