Kate Vernon

Inspired by the true-life tale of a dedicated elementary-school teacher who inspired his inner-city students by teaching them the game of chess, Allen Hughes' uplifting made for television feature marks a noted departure from such previous efforts as From Hell and Menace II Society. Richard Mason (Ted Danson) was middle-aged and unemployed when he decided to take up teaching inner-city students, and though most of the kids in his classroom couldn't have cared less about their education in the beginning, something curious happened as time went on. Realizing that he wasn't getting very far with his students through conventional means, Richard realized that he would have to innovate in order to encourage critical thinking among the impressionable youngsters. By breaking the curriculum and instead teaching his pupils the finer points of chess, the man who had once lost all motivation in life suddenly realizes just what a difference one teacher can make if they simply become more attuned to the needs of their students. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The made-for-cable The Family Plan will probably seem a breath of fresh air to anyone who hasn't seen such movies as Picture Perfect and Good Neighbor Sam, or who can't remember the mid-1960s TV sitcom Occasional Wife. A longtime employee at Sugar Dot Bakeries, Ms. Charlie McKenzie (Tori Spelling) faces dismissal when the company is taken over by a conglomerate. It seems that new CEO Walcott (Greg Germann) is a staunch advocate of Family Values, and prefers to employ people who are married and with children. Since Charlie cannot meet either one of these requirements, she hastily concocts a job-saving hoax, "borrowing" her best friend's daughter (Kali Rocha) to pose as her own child, then hiring unemployed actor Buck Maddox (Jordan Bridges) to impersonate Charlie's nonexistent dental-hygienist husband. The you-know-what threatens to hit the fan when Germann moves next door to Charlie and her "family". The Family Plan originally aired over the Hallmark channel on February 17, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The third TV movie produced for the TNT network's "Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentations," Wilder Days stars Peter Falk as septuagenarian James "Pop-Up" Morse, who, though warm and indulgent toward his 11-year-old grandson Chris (Josh Hutcherson), has always been a bit aloof and distant when it comes to his own son (and Chris' father) John (Timothy Daly). As a result, John has become a bitter, uptight, super-pragmatic adult, rigidly rejecting the colorful tall tales that Pop-Up enjoys spinning for Chris. Not wishing to have Chris' imagination stunted by John, and also hoping to make up for neglecting his son, Pop-Up decides to prove that his fanciful stories are factual, beginning with his oft-told yarn of the wreck of the circus boat Wilder Days. To this end, the elder Morse "escapes" from his nursing home and takes Chris on a journey of rediscovery across country in his classic 1959 El Dorado -- without the fuming John's permission. Directed by David Mickey Evans of Radio Flyer and The Sandlot fame, Wilder Days premiered October 19, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on actual events from the early '90s and first aired on the Family Channel, this exciting drama centers on the attempts of one small town to keep the Mississippi river from destroying it. The leaders in this seemingly impossible quest are widower farmer Herb and the Army Corps of Engineers woman he loves. Despite their efforts to shore up the town's levees, the water keeps rising, and the town is increasingly at risk. When a levee up-river breaks, Herb's kids are caught in the flood and a massive search ensues. Finally, just as the town is about to be inundated, Herb finds himself forced to make a difficult decision between the town's welfare and his own. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this exciting effort, the designer of a powerful supercomputer is threatening to launch World War III and only one maverick agent and a Russian computer hacker have the skills to stop him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A frazzled detective tries to track down a serial cop-killer in this made-for-television crime drama. Michael Ironside stars as Detective Gary Yanuck, an investigator with a handful of personal problems who is assigned to find out who is murdering police officers. Despite being charged with sexual harassment, he gets assigned female partner Lynn Reilly (Kate Vernon) who oddly enough has a problem sleepwalking. As Yanuck searches for his killer, he and Reilly get closer but before long he realizes that she may have something more to tell him. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Mimi Leder, director of several 1990s action-adventure flicks directed this made-for-television drama. Melissa Gilbert-Boxleitner stars as Marion Ravinel, a wife who conspires to kill her husband with the aide of his ex-lover. The film is based on the story featured in several movies, including Diabolique. Gilbert-Boxleitner's real-life husband Bruce Boxleitner stars as her abusive husband. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Writer-director Spike Lee's epic portrayal of the life and times of the slain civil rights leader Malcolm X begins with the cross-cut imagery of the police beating of black motorist Rodney King juxtaposed with an American flag burning into the shape of the letter X. When the film's narrative begins moments later, it jumps back to World War II-era Boston, where Malcolm Little (Denzel Washington) is making his living as a hustler. The son of a Baptist preacher who was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan, Little was raised by foster parents after his mother was deemed clinically insane; as an adult, he turned to a life of crime, which leads to his imprisonment on burglary charges. In jail, Little receives epiphany in the form of an introduction to Islam; he is especially taken with the lessons of Elijah Mohammed, who comes to him in a vision. Adopting the name 'Malcolm X' as a rejection of the 'Little' surname (given his family by white slave owners), he meets the real Elijah Mohammed (Al Freeman, Jr.) upon exiting prison, and begins work as a spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Marriage to a Muslim nurse named Betty Shabazz (Angela Bassett) follows, after which X spearheads a well-attended march on a Harlem hospital housing a Muslim recovering from an episode of police brutality. The march's success helps elevate X to the position of Islam's national spokesperson. There is dissension in the ranks, however, and soon X is targeted for assassination by other Nation leaders; even Elijah Mohammed fears Malcolm's growing influence. After getting wind of the murder plot, X leaves the Nation of Islam, embarking on a pilgrimage to Mecca that proves revelatory; renouncing his separatist beliefs, his oratories begin embracing all races and cultures. During a 1965 speech, Malcolm X is shot and killed, reportedly by Nation of Islam members. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

In this entry in the long-running mystery series, Perry Mason proves that a famous illusionist is innocent of deliberately killing his assistant during a spectacular stage stunt. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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

Jessica's trouble-prone nephew Grady (Michael Horton) has landed a job with an accounting firm specializing in tax shelters. Unfortunately, Grady's boss is currently the target of an IRS investigation--and, ultimately, a murder victim. With the cops convinced that Grady is not only the killer but also a big-time tax cheat, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) takes a hand in matters. Ron Masak, later a Murder, She Wrote semi-regular in the role of Sheriff Mort Metzger, is here seen as Marty Giles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide