Dana Sparks Movies
- 1990
Jesse (John Stamos) wants to accompany Becky (Lisa Loughlin) to her weekly literary discussion group, but is afraid of making a fool of himself amongst her intellectual friends. It falls to Joey to "tutor" Jesse in the fine art of making a good impression--but it may be all for naught when Jesse expresses jealousy over the presence of Becky's handsome mentor Eric Trent (Barry Van Dyke). Meanwhile, DJ (Candace Cameron) and Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) indulge in some tutoring of their own, and as a result little Michelle (played by the Olsen twins) becomes a human "insult machine". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Jessica (Angela Lansbury) takes a sentimental journey to the New Hampshire campus of her old alma mater. Alas, her favorite English professor Leon Walker (E.G. Marshall) is in no mood for a reunion: Discovered at the scene of a young girl's murder, Professor Walker has already confesses to the crime, claiming that he killed in self-defense. Jessica does not believe this confession any more than she believes the subsequent confession made by a young student with whom the dead woman had been involved. Among the guest stars this week is Dinah Shore, appearing as Jessica's onetime sorority sister Emily Dyers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Even in the distant future, computer viruses can wreak havoc. In this instance, a malfunctioning computer on board the USS Yamato spreads to the Enterprise, rendering the crew helpless in the face of an impending Romulan attack. Meanwhile, Picard and the away team explore the remnants of a lost civilization, which may hold the solution to their present plight. Written by Steven Gerber and Beth Woods, "Contagion" first aired March 25, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Picking up where Season Seven of Falcon Crest left off, Season Eight finds the scheming Melissa (Ana Alicia), former wife of powerful vintner Angela Channing's grandson Lance (Lorenzo Lamas), assuming full charge of the Falcon Crest winery, unceremoniously evicting Angela (Jane Wyman) from the premises. Unfortunately for Melissa, her triumph will prove to be short-lived: after losing both her child and her lover, she goes bonkers, setting fire to Falcon Crest and perishing in the conflagration. But while Melissa is definitely out of the picture, Angela's son Richard Channing (David Selby), presumed killed by the sinister organization "The Thirteen" at the end of the previous season, is actually still alive. As for "The Thirteen", the entire group is assassinated en masse by the unhinged Senator Ryder (Charles Frank), who also tries to bump off Richard before he is himself dispatched by Richard's wife Maggie (Susan Sullivan). Meanwhile, Angela's efforts to regain control of her financial empire are blocked by Pilar Ortega (Kristian Alfonso), the daughter of Falcon Crest's foreman Cesar Ortega (Castulo Guera). Pilar has married Lance, who is now in league with Richard to industrialize the Tuscany valley's wine fields with the help of a phony humanitarian organization run by "The Consortium" (apparently his brush with death vis-à-vis "The Thirteen" has not taught Richard a thing) In a further effort to take over Angela's business, Richard kidnaps Angela and subjects her to a "haunting" from the late Melissa (actually a lookalike)--and when she escapes his clutches, Richard claims the incident never happened and suggests that Angela has gone crazy. But before Richard can be named conservator of his mother's estate, Angela suddenly weds Frank Agretti (Rod Taylor), a relative of the departed Melissa. Astonishingly, this hasty action proves that Angela is in her right mind, and ultimately leads to Richard's arrest! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Wyman, Rod Taylor, (more)
- 1987
Falcon Crest enters its seventh season minus longtime series regular Robert Foxworth, whose character, Chase Gioberti, had perished while saving his infant son from the sinister machinations of a crooked private eye. As a result, Chase's aunt and reluctant business partner Angela Channing (Jane Wyman) regains her late nephew's share of the prosperous Falcon Crest winery. Meanwhile, ruthless newspaper publisher Richard Channing (David Selby), previously assumed to be the illegitimate son of Angela's ex-husband Douglas but now revealed as Angela's biological son, enters into yet another unholy business arrangement with the Underworld, this time represented by "The Thirteen", a covert organization, headed by a man named Rosemont (Roscoe Lee Browne), which seeks to ruin the world's economy for its own profit. This does not rest well with Richard's new wife, Chase's widow Maggie (Susan Sullivan), who has every reason to suspect that Richard's new business associates are up to no good. And in a separate development, having rejoined the cast of Falcon Crest after a three-year absence during the previous season, Chase and Maggie's troubled daughter Victoria (Jamie Rose) is promptly kidnapped by an Eastern European white slavery ring. Elsewhere, in her ongoing efforts to obtain Richard's share of Falcon Crest, Angela tries to persuade her prodigal nephew Lance (Lorenzo Lamas) to return home, but Lance wants no part of either Angela or his ex-wife Melissa (Ana Alicia), who has by now aligned herself with Dan Fixx (Brett Cullen), Lance's would-be successor as heir to the Channing millions. Meanwhile, Angela conspires with a movie special-effects artist to rid herself of Melissa by convincing the girl that her house is haunted! Perhaps as a form of divine punishment for this and her many other misdeeds, Angela must resign herself to the fact that her daughter Emma (Margaret Ladd) is currently running a call-girl business, and intends to make a movie about her new career. As the season rushes to its cliffhanger finale, Richard virtually signs his own death warrant by offering to testify against "The Thirteen" before the senate, striking a deal with his would-be assassin to sacrifice his life in exchange for the safety of Angela and her family. And after Melissa digs up hitherto unknown legal papers proving that she and she alone owns Falcon Crest, Angela is tossed out on the street! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Wyman, David Selby, (more)
- 1986
- PG13
Blake Edwards co-wrote and directed this seriocomedy about a couple of rich and famous Malibuans forced to re-examine their lives and values during a weekend party celebrating the husband's 60th birthday. Jack Lemmon and Julie Andrews star as Harvey and Gillian Fairchild. Harvey is a successful architect who has attained his wealth by flattering his rich clients and compromising his ideals. Although he has everything he could want out of life, he is still unhappy. He looks at himself in the mirror and sees a middle-aged man who hates himself, feels that his children don't love him, and thinks that he is dying. Gillian, a successful singer, tries to bolster his self-confidence so that he can have a wonderful birthday. But she has problems of her own -- she has just returned from her doctor, who has informed her that she may have throat cancer. The doctor won't know for sure until the tests come back on Monday. In the meantime, Gillian tries to keep up a brave front for Harvey's celebration. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Julie Andrews, (more)
- 1986
Although the earthquake that ended Season Five of Falcon Crest resulted in only minimal damage (aside from a few quick exits by certain supporting characters), there is still plenty of "shaking" as the series enters its sixth season. For starters, unscrupulous newspaper owner Richard Channing (David Selby), in his never-ending efforts to discredit Falcon Crest winery owners Angela Channing (Jane Wyman) and Chase Gioberti (Robert Foxworth), hires a crafy female private eye named Erin Jones (Jill Jacobson). Quickly revealing herself to be as dishonest as the day is long, Erin proceeds to frame Richard for attempted murder, tries to kill Chase and endeavors to blow up Jeff Wainwright (Edward Albert), the obsessive publicist of Chase's first-time-novelist wife Maggie (Susan Sullivan). Eventually, Chase is forced to ship Erin off to a prison in Borneo, but she manages to resurface as a popular singer--and, incidentally, to kidnap Chase and Maggie's new baby Kevin! While Erin is out of circulation, her sister Meredith (Jane Badler) proves equally adept as a destructive troublemaker. In other developments, Angela's daughter Emma (Margaret Ladd) gets mixed up with Vince Karlotti (Marjoe Gortner), a phony spiritualist. Kim Novak joins the cast as a woman claiming to be Skylar, long-lost daughter of Angela's husband Peter (Cesar Romero), but who is ultimately revealed to be Kit Marlowe, a fugitive from an international criminal gang run by billionaire Roland Saunders (Robert Stack)--whose subsequent murder by poisoned cigar is at first blamed on Peter. Later on, Peter divorces Angela, but not before revealing that her arch-rival Richard Channing is actually her son, whom she thought had died at birth. And covetous truck driver Dan Fixx (Brett Cullen) arrives on the scene, determined to replace Angela's grandson Lance (Lorenzo Lamas) as sole heir of Falcon Crest. Also, after an absence of three years, Chase's rebellious daughter Victoria returns to the series, with Dana Sparks taking over from the original Victoria, Jamie Rose. In the obligatory season-ending cliffhanger, Chase Gioberti exits the series in spectacular fashion as he tries to rescue his new baby Kevin from the ubiquitous Erin Jones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Wyman, Cesar Romero, (more)
