Tracey Walter Movies

An epic-Western in the grand tradition, the made-for-cable The Trail to Hope Rose stars Lou Diamond Phillips as Keenan Deerfield, a half-Indian outlaw just released from prison. Determined to start life anew, Keenan takes a grueling rock-mining job in a town controlled by the odious Driggers family, headed by flint-eyed patriarch Samuel Drigger (Warren Stevens), with the coldblooded Gerald Rutledge (Richard Tyson) as the family's chief henchman. Keenan's fellow workers are treated like slaves and forced to live in squalor, but none dare complain lest they meet with one of the many convient "accidents" that have befallen anyone who dares stand up to the Driggers. With stoic fortitude, Keenan waits for the right moment to strike a blow for justice, benefiting from the moral support of the town's honest but ineffectual Marshal Toll (Lee Majors) and good-natured farmer Eugene Lawson (Ernest Borgnine). The plot thickens when Keenan falls in love with Gerald's "woman," the pregnant Christine Beckford (Marina Black), and when one of Keenan's past associates, A.J. Foster (David Shackelford), rides into town intent upon stealing the Drigger mine's payroll. The rather endearing old-fashioned quality of the film is enhanced by the location-shooting at the Paramount Ranch, a reconstructed western town in Agoura, CA. The Trail to Hope Rose first aired July 4, 2004, on the Hallmark channel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the first episode of a two-part story, peacekeepers in the Middle East unearth "The Black Heart," a lunar gemstone with awesome powers. It turns out that the stone is possessed by an evil alien spirit, bent on destroying everyone on earth. The Justice League is drawn into the story when Wonder Woman accidentally lays hands upon the Black Heart -- and immediately transforms from virtuous heroine to sinister villainess! ~ Rovi

Alex, an undergraduate art student at a California school, attempts to find meaning and purpose in his life in this satirical Canadian comedy-drama. He decides that the only way to accomplish this is to become a filmmaker. Unfortunately he has no inspiration as to a subject matter until he looks closely at his fringe-dwelling buddy Gnome, a Venice Beach comic-book store owner who considers every aspect of life a political cause to fight against. Gnome is truly a bizarre character and the perfect subject for a film. Now that Alex has a subject, he needs the cash to make his film. Helpful Gnome grabs his life-savings and heads off to Vegas to win some cash for his friend, leaving Alex and his pals to race after him before he destroys his life. During the chase, Alex finds himself falling for punk-rocker Maggie. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A computer with a mind of its own is the subject of this made-for-television thriller. Set sometime in the future, the film tells the story of a female writer who goes to a secluded cabin to work. She decides to take a programmable male android with her for company. She changes his programming to suit her specific needs but gets more than she bargained for when the android gets his own ideas on what she wants. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi

Farrah Forke makes her first series appearance as Alex Lambert, a sexy and very outspoken helicopter pilot. Almost immediately upon Alex's arrival, brothers Joe (Tim Daly) and Brian (Steven Weber) begin enthusiastically vying for her attentions -- but she considers both Hacketts to be tiresome and childish. Meanwhile, Antonio (Tony Shalhoub) and Lowell (Thomas Haden Church) become bitter rivals in an impromptu rat-shooting contest. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The "history is inviolate" theory so chillingly elucidated in Ray Bradbury's The Sound of Thunder is recycled for the made-for-TV Timestalkers. William Devane plays a genially eccentric professor who teams with time traveller Lauren Hutton to prevent the course of history from being disastrously altered. In a manner slightly reminiscent of the 1984 movie hit The Terminator, Devane and Hutton must deal with Klaus Kinski, a mad scientist from the 26th century, who plans to hopscotch through time, spreading death and destruction wherever he goes. The odyssey takes the main characters to all manner of locales, including the Old West. Veteran actor Forrest Tucker made his final screen appearance in Timestalkers, which originally aired March 10, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this conclusion of a two-part story, David (Bruce Willis) attempts to escape from a chain gang in order to be reunited with his pregnant sweetheart Maddie (Cybill Shepherd, who is represented only by her voice in this episode). It looks like David's only hope for freedom is to follow the "musical" advice of his fellow inmates. Meanwhile, with one of the Moonlighting stars out of circulation, the nervous ABC executives begin auditioning potential "David Addison" replacements! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Willie (Max Wright) is moping around the house, complaining that he's never cut loose and had an adventure. Obligingly, ALF cooks up a beauty of a plan--and before long he and "Boxcar Willie" have hopped a freight and are speeding across the country. Versatile character actor Tracey Walter delivers another delightfully antisocial characterization as veteran hobo Gravel Gus--who thought he'd seen everything until he laid eyes on ALF! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Bill: On His Own is the laudable made-for-TV sequel to the Emmy-winning 1981 film Bill. Mickey Rooney once more shines as Bill Sackter, a mentally-retarded adult struggling to survive in the mainstream. The owner of a coffee kiosk at the University of Iowa, Bill becomes disoriented when his friend and mentor Dennis Quaid moves to Los Angeles. Taking over Bill's case is idealistic young social worker Helen Hunt. While studying towards his Bar Mitzvah (which he was denied at the age of 13 because of his "incompetence"), Bill suffers a severe personal blow that threatens to send him spiralling back into helplessness. Bill: On His Own was originally telecast November 9, 1983, some four months after the death at age 70 of the real-life Bill Sackter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Announcing a contest held by WKRP during his deejay shift, Johnny (Howard Hesseman) makes a potentially disastrous slip of the tongue, declaring that the 50-dollar grand prize is $5000--which, as Andy (Gary Sandy) ruefully points out, is the station's contest budget for the entire year. Hoping to save the day, Venus (Gary Reid) conjures up a contest that will be impossible for anyone to win; alas, he soon finds out that in this day and age, nothing is impossible. Featured in the supporting cast are two of Hollywood's best--and most eccentric--character actors, Vincent Schiavelli and Tracey Walter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A long-dormant Hollywood mystery returns with ferocious intensity when an avid movie fan wins a walk-on role in an upcoming horror film and finds himself thrust into the center of a blood-soaked, behind-the-scenes killing spree. Adam Waltz (Edward Furlong) was beginning to think his life was going nowhere until the day he won a role in the latest shocker from high-powered studio chief Connor Pritchett (Lance Henrikson). But just as Adam meets scream queen Cassie Blue (Tiffany Shepis) and all his wildest fantasies start coming true, a serial killer begins stalking the set and slaughtering all of the actors. Scheming to cash in on the publicity while the bodies are still warm, Pritchett attempts to turn the low-budget thriller into a Hollywood hit. The first step is to expand Adam's role - not a difficult goal considering the actors are dropping like flies - though the future of the film comes into question when Detective Shields (Tony Todd) takes up the case. Shields is determined to get his man, even if it means shutting down the production altogether. Now everyone is a suspect, including Adam, and the only hope for getting the film made is to wrap up production before the entire crew gets sent home in body bags. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Danny DeVito steps behind the camera for this darkly funny satire that combines elements of Barney and Friends with the real-life Pee-Wee Herman scandal while recalling the director's previously twisted black comedies Throw Momma From the Train (1987) and The War of the Roses (1989). Robin Williams stars as Randolph Smiley, a popular children's show host known professionally as "Rainbow Randolph." Dismissed from his beloved job when he's caught taking payola, Randolph becomes increasingly mentally unhinged and the target of his delusional revenge fantasies is Sheldon Mopes (Edward Norton), otherwise known as Smoochy, the fuchsia rhino character that has replaced him and soared to national popularity. Randolph soon learns that his ex-girlfriend and network executive Nora Wells (Catherine Keener) is sleeping with Sheldon, so he sets out to kill Smoochy, egged on by an unexpected ally: corporate president Marion Frank Stokes (Jon Stewart), who should be profiting from Smoochy's rise to fame, except for the fact that he and his cronies are unable to control the idealistic Sheldon's on-air agenda. Death to Smoochy (2002) co-stars Harvey Fierstein, Vincent Shiavelli, and Michael Rispoli. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi