Marsha Warfield Movies

Originally aired as an epic mini-series, Doomsday Rock was the first revival of "what-if-an-enormous-(insert appropriate astral body)-hit-the-Earth" movies. Essentially a sub-genre of the disaster movie, the story centers on the struggle of one main character to save the planet while simultaneously presenting on-going vignettes following the predicaments of secondary characters. Famed astronomer Dr. Paul Sorenson has been studying the ancient paths of comets for most of his career; he knows that comets and large meteorites have hit our planet before and believes such impacts caused the mass extinctions of the past. According to his latest calculations, a large comet is due to collide with our planet very soon. Unfortunately, nobody but his daughter, also a respected researcher and astronomer, believes him. Desperate to save humanity from mass extinction, Sorenson and his few followers commandeer an nuclear silo. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Insisting that he has voluntarily turned his back on his Hollywood career, ex-soap opera star Joel Redding (Ted Shackelford) becomes a drama professor at a small-town college. Though Joel's son Marshall (Harley Cross) idolizes his dad, the same cannot be said for Joel's wife Sally (Stephanie Faracy), who is all too aware of her husband's philandering--and of his current affair with a pretty co-ed. Ultimately, the relationship between Joel and Marshall also collapses when the elder Redding directs the younger in a fund-raising play. If Monica (Roma Downey) hopes to remedy this situation, she'll have to work quickly; Sally is now gravely ill. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The ninth and final season of Night Court finds Judge Harry T. Stone (Harry Anderson) poised to renew his romance with recently divorced public defender Christine Sullivan (Markie Post) -- while Assistant DA Dan Fielding (John Larroquette), unnerved at being the victim of an elaborate confidence scam, goes berserk big-time and kidnaps Christine! Believe it or not, things get even more bizarre and surrealistic from this point on: Harry nearly sparks World War III when he jails a foreign diplomat, bailiff Bull (Richard Moll) is forced to perform a miracle if he wants to get married, and is later abducted by aliens from the planet Jupiter; court matron Roz (Marsha Warfield) makes headlines by revealing her erotic dreams; and Mel Tormé practically becomes a series regular. The series finale goes into overdrive as its distances itself from any sort of recognizable reality -- but it's better to see the episode than describe it, so we won't (describe it, that is). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A group of comedians, including Arsenio Hall and Chris Rock, are featured in this entertaining stand-up comedy special. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

This comedy returns to the exclusive but crazy country club golf course seen in the original Caddyshack. This time its the blue-bloods against the blue collars as a loud, vulgar self-made millionaire tries to join the stuffy upper-crust club after his daughter falls in love with the son of one of the members. Naturally, the boisterous millionaire is rejected by the genteel jerks. He retaliates by buying the golf course and turning it into an ultra-tacky amusement park. Merry mayhem ensues, but in the end, the snobs learn a valuable lesson, the millionaire gets to join, and his daughter and her lover are finally united. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Season five of Night Court begins by resolving a plot strand left dangling at the end of season four, in which it appears that Harry T. Stone (Harry Anderson) is about to be removed as a night-court judge -- to be replaced by Harry's erstwhile girlfriend, public defender Christine Sullivan (Markie Post). Suffice to say this doesn't happen, and Harry returns to the bench for another season of judicial irreverence. Also back in the saddle are Richard Moll as cadaverous bailiff Bull, Marsha Warfield as sassy matron Roz Russell (who this season is diagnosed as a diabetic), John Larroquette as libidinous Assistant DA Dan Fielding, and Charles Robinson as calm, efficient court clerk Mac Robinson -- whose Vietnamese wife, Quon Lee (Denice Kumagai), also briefly drops in. Guest stars during the series' fifth season are an impressive lot, among them Teri Hatcher, Elayne Boosler, Eugene Roche, Shelley Berman -- and, perhaps inevitably, Mel Tormé, Harry's idol. Also, John Astin begins making what will be frequent appearances as Buddy Ryan, a mental patient who turns out to be Judge Stone's stepfather. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, a relocation to Florida throws lowlife New Yorkers Barney (Paul Rodriguez) and Jake (Michael O'Keefe) into a dilemma when Jake falls for a beautiful schoolteacher, Olivia Farragut (Lucinda Jenney), who is struggling to find enough money to keep her school open. However, when they discover that Olivia stands to inherit a fortune, if only she will marry a true gentlemen, Jake decides to transform himself into the epitome of good breeding. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Carla (Rhea Perlman) perceives a golden opportunity for revenge when her former reform-school principal begins showing up at Cheers. Summoning other "graduates" of St. Clete's School for Wayward Girls, Carla assembles a get-even plan of mammoth proportions. Meanwhile, Diane (Shelley Long) and Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) continue their European odyssey. The late Nicholas Colasanto (Coach) appears briefly via outtakes from earlier episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is the true story of Rocky Dennis (Eric Stoltz), a personable young man suffering from "lionitis," a fatal disease which causes hideous facial disfigurement. The son of freewheeling biker Rusty Dennis (Cher), Rocky is accepted without question by his mom's boyfriends and cycle buddies, but treated with pity, condescension, and disgust by much of the outside world. The local high school principal tries to get Rocky classified as brain-damaged so he won't have to enroll the boy in his school, but Rusty fights for her son's rights with the ferocity of a mother lioness. Rocky makes friends easily both at school and at summer camp. He also falls in love with Diana (Laura Dern), a blind girl who cannot see his deformed countenance and is entranced by the boy's kindness and compassion. Now that he's got his own life in order, Rocky sets about to wean his chronically depressed mother from her drug habit. Mask is the sort of story that might have ending up wallowing in its own pathos had the acting, direction and scriptwriting (by Anna Hamilton Phelan) been anything less than very good. The film proved a much-needed financial success for director Peter Bogdanovich, though unfortunately it didn't come soon enough to stave off his declaring personal bankruptcy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Introduced to NBC's Wednesday-night schedule as a mid-season replacement on January 4, 1984, the weekly 30-minute sitcom Night Court quickly built a large and appreciative audience, enabling the series to remain on the network for nine seasons. Harry Anderson, a comedian who had established his reputation as a smooth-talking, nimble-fingered street magician and self-styled con artist, was perfectly cast as affable, irreverent Manhattan night-court judge Harry T. Stone. Although he came across as an iconoclastic jokester who held standard legal procedure in contempt (in one episode, his verdict was based on the flip of a coin), Harry was a highly successful jurist with a well-honed sense of fair play, whose handling of the oddballs that paraded in and out of his court resulted in a gratifyingly low "return" rate and quite a few reformations. Even those who'd never stood before Judge Stone in court were familiar with his lovable eccentricities, including his fondness for faded blue jeans and his adoration of singer Mel Tormé. The supporting cast included John Larroquette as Assistant DA Dan Fielding, who spent as much time trying to score with the ladies in night court as he did trying to secure convictions, and Richard Moll as bald-headed bailiff "Bull" Shannon (Richard Moll), whose bark was worse than his bite, but not by much.

During the series' first season, Paula Kelly was seen as legal-aid defense lawyer Liz Williams, who was alternately appalled and fascinated by Harry's unorthodox tactics; Karen Austin also appeared as court clerk Lana Wagner, who harbored a not-so-secret crush on Harry. In subsequent seasons, Liz was replaced by Billie Young (Ellen Foley), who in turn was replaced by Christine Sullivan (Markie Post); as for Lana, her replacement was Mac Robinson (Charles Robinson). Both Christine and Mac remained for the rest of the series; not so with Selma Diamond as abrasive jail matron Selma Hacker, a character who lasted only until Diamond's death. The actress' replacement, Florence Halop as Florence Kleiner, likewise passed away after only a short time on the series; she in turn was replaced by Marsha Warfield as Roz Russell, a character who stayed in place until the series' own demise. The on-again, off-again romance between Harry Stone and Christine Sullivan was definitely "off" during seasons seven and eight, when Christine was wed to undercover cop Tony Guillano (Ray Abruzzo), a union which produced a baby. After Christine divorced Tony, her relationship with Harry heated up considerably, but before long the ardor had cooled. Eventually, Christine was elected to congress, whereupon she was pursued not by Harry but by the ever-libidinous Dan Fielding. The final episode of Night Court, which set something of a record for the number of bizarre, surrealistic incidents occurring within a single half-hour, was broadcast on July 1, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

I Be Done Been Was Is may sound like the title of a film about dyslexia. Instead, it is the name bestowed upon a rollicking hour-long documentary focusing on contemporary female African American stand-up comics. Filmmaker Debra Robinson concentrates on four such mirthmakers, covering her subjects at work and at leisure. Of the four ladies spotlighted herein, the best known is Marsha Warfield, later the co-star of Night Court and host of her own daily TV talkfest. The other participants in I Be Done Been Was Is are Alice Arthur, Rhonda Handsome, and Jane Galvin Lewis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide