Billy Warlock Movies
Though tagged by one publication as "one of prime-time TV's great new faces" when he joined the cast of NBC's Baywatch in the late '80s, Billy Warlock had -- by that point -- already eked out an eminently successful career in multiple venues, including big-screen features (Halloween II, 1981); soap operas (Days of Our Lives, as Frankie Brady), and prime-time situation comedy. Born in Gardena, CA, Warlock achieved his big break thanks to television guru Garry Marshall, who hired him for a guest-starring role in the Robin Williams/Pam Dawber sitcom Mork & Mindy. The positive working relationship with Marshall led, in turn, to a memorable one-season stint as Flip Phillips, the younger brother of English teacher Roger Phillips (Ted McGinley) on the blockbuster ABC sitcom Happy Days (ca. 1982-1983). Warlock joined the cast of Baywatch in 1989; thanks to his presence on that program, he achieved enormous popularity and evolved into a major sex symbol, and in fact remained with the series for one season after it went into syndication in 1991. In subsequent years, Warlock opted to focus more of his attention on soaps, enjoying lengthy runs on daytime dramas including As the World Turns, The Young and the Restless, and a brief reprise of his Brady role on Days in 2005 and 2006. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie GuideA research team sent to investigate a distress signal sent from a top-secret oil rig makes a horrific discovery in this tale of maritime terror from genre specialist Jay Andrews. Upon arriving on the remote oil rig, Captain Jack Griffin (Billy Warlock) and Professor Anna Davis (Catherine Lough Haggquist) are perplexed to find no trace of life. As they venture ever deeper into the heart of the mysterious oil rig and crew members begin to disappear one by one, rumors of a mysterious creature said to lurk beneath the ocean floor appear to take on an element of reality. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Fans of the old Baywatch TV series take heart. Despite all evidence to the contrary, legendary lifeguard Mitch Buchannon (David Hasselhoff) was not killed in that explosion during the series' final season. Instead, he has been suffering from amnesia for the past three years, and has now re-emerged from the shadows with a stunning new fiancée in tow. The lovely Allison bears an astonishing resemblance to Mitch's long-dead sweetheart, policewoman Stephanie Holden -- as well she may, since Allison is also played by the series' Alexandra Paul. Virtually all of the old Baywatch regulars gather together for the lavish wedding of Mitch and Shannon in Hawaii, little suspecting that Allison is actually in league with an old enemy of Mitch's who has set his cold, black heart on a horrible revenge. Is there anyone in the wedding party who will step up and rescue Mitch from certain doom? Perhaps his ex-wife Neely Capshaw (Gena Lee Nolin), or the still beautiful, incredibly pneumatic Casey Jean Parker (who else but Pamela Anderson)? The sort of TV-movie fare for which sweeps weeks were invented, Baywatch Hawaiian Wedding made its Fox network debut February 28, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson, (more)
In this action-adventure, a hostage situation commands the presence of an elite cadre of Navy divers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Busey, Billy Dee Williams, (more)
When an airborne lightning strike kills the entire flight crew of a Europe-bound Boeing 747 during take-off, it is up to a brave senior flight attendant and a host of people on the ground to see the passengers to safety. The stewardess finds assistance from a passenger, and together they figure out that their best hope lies with the plane's sophisticated autopilot system. Unfortunately, it is working indiscriminately and guiding the crippled jet towards airports not large enough to safely land the giant craft. They are on the own when radio contact is lost. While the two them try to handle the jet and keep passengers calm, federal officials on the ground are faced with a horrendous decision. With no working autopilot and no experienced person to land the jet, the loss of life could be disastrous if the plane goes down in a heavily populated area. The officials are therefore faced with the prospect of shooting down the jet before that happens. But what about the passengers on board? ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Jackson, Ed Marinaro, (more)
Simone (Jimmy Smits) manages to catch a suspected serial rapist, but his triumph is short-lived. After a violent confrontation with her battling parents, Diane (Kim Delaney) has trouble remaining sober. The victim of a shooting has been attacked several times and doesn't know why; investigating this mystery, Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) is teamed with Lesniak (Justine Miceli) -- who makes a show-stopping revelation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
For a couple of years during the mid '90s, the Menendez Brothers, Lyle and Erik, held the country's interest after they stood trial for cold-bloodedly killing their parents. The murders took place in L.A., where both victims had successful Hollywood careers. What shocked the nation was that the nicely dressed, soft-spoken defendants claimed their parents abused them all their life. This sensationalistic dramatization is the first of several TV movies that exploited the brothers and their trial. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jill Clayburgh, James Farentino, (more)
William Katt, Catherine Oxenberg and Nia Peeples star in this comedy about an advertising agency who are about to lose their biggest client, the Saltaire Swimwear Company, until they come up with a brilliant idea -- create a swimsuit model talent search. Saltaire loves the idea and the media eats it up, but the contestants prove to be more trouble than anyone expected. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
The directorial debut of horror producer Brian Yuzna, this low-budget shocker was an overseas success but sat on the shelf for three years before gaining a U.S. release. Billy Warlock stars as Bill Whitney, the troubled scion of a wealthy Beverly Hills family. Feeling like an outcast his entire life, Bill begins seeing Dr. Cleveland (Ben Slack), a therapist who's trying to help him reconcile his conflicted feelings about his parents, who seem to lavish more attention on his sister Jenny (Patrice Jennings). Bill then discovers that his doubts have more of a foundation in reality than simple teen angst. After he receives a copy of an audio tape of horrific sounds at Jenny's coming out party, Bill becomes convinced of the existence of a secret "society" of wealthy people preying on outsiders, and that his family is involved. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Warlock, Devin DeVasquez, (more)
This made-for-TV film served as the pilot for the internationally popular adventure series Baywatch. David Hasselhoff stars as Lt. Mitch Buchanan, the man in charge of the LA County lifeguard squad at Malibu beach. Future series regulars spotlighted herein are Shawn Weatherly as Jill Riley, Parker Stevenson as Craig Pomeroy and Erika Eleniak as Shauni McLain. Not that it should matter to the film's "babewatchers," but there is a plot-a "Fatal Attraction"-style thriller involving a woman scorned. And, as bonus, there's a thriller explosion-at-sea vignette. Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier was first telecast April 23, 1989, some six months before the premiere of the series proper. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The made-for-TV Class Cruise is Animal House for the MENSA crowd. As a reward for their scholastic brilliance, a group of high school kids is rewarded with a 14-week ocean cruise. Not surprisingly, the snootier kids spend most of the trip fending off the idiocies of the "slobs." There's also plenty of tickle-and-tease sexual situations, few of which get past first base. So many TV regulars (including the ineluctable McLean Stevenson) appear in the cast that the original ads for this film didn't bill the actors, but instead listed the series in which they appeared. The best scenes belong to Ray Walston as grizzled, generously eyebrowed "Cappy Connors." Class Cruise first sailed into view on October 22, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Jimmy (Jim Youngs) is from a wealthy family and longs to be a professional soccer player in this plodding sports drama. His mother Georgia (Rutanya Alda) and father Nick (Peter Henry Schroeder) are opposed, believing Jimmy should focus on other endeavors. After he fails in his tryout with the New York Rockers, Jimmy travels to Brazil to learn from the soccer superstar Santos (Pele). Jimmy wins a spot on the team with a chance to play in the proverbial "big game." ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Youngs, Pelé, (more)
Billy Warlock stars in this ABC Afterschool Special as a 16-year-old boy who is desperate to impress his peer group. This leads him to break every rule in the book and to make as much trouble as possible, much to the dismay of his family. When the boy's misbehavior finally earns him a weekend in jail, the time has clearly come to shock him to his senses -- and to not-so-gently divest him of the mindset that, no matter what happens, "It's not my fault!" ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Warlock, Jay Varela, (more)
- Starring:
- Henry Winkler, Scott Baio, (more)
While John Carpenter's 1978 horror classic Halloween irrevocably changed the style of horror cinema with its simple but relentlessly tense story, it triggered more than a decade's worth of uninspired, exploitative knock-offs, and one could easily list Halloween II among these failures. As with its predecessor, this film was written and produced by Carpenter and Debra Hill, but the terse style and unbearable suspense of the first film are missing, replaced by a more simplistic stalk-and-slash scenario. Directorial duties were handed over to Rick Rosenthal, whose lack of expertise is quite evident (though he managed to hit his stride two years later with the prison actioner Bad Boys). The plot picks up exactly where the original left off: Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), shaken and injured from her battle with unkillable psycho Michael Myers, is taken to the Haddonfield Hospital for observation, while Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) continues his desperate search for his monstrous patient. An interesting plot twist has Loomis' investigations revealing Michael's true identity (some of these sequences incorporate footage of young Michael originally shot for the television version of Halloween, which contained scenes hinting at the link between Michael and Laurie). After slashing his way through the town, Myers manages to track Laurie to the hospital, where the remainder of the action takes place. Numerous night-shift employees are slaughtered in a variety of gruesome ways before Loomis catches up with his quarry, leading to an explosive -- and seemingly conclusive -- confrontation. Pleasence is compelling as usual, but Curtis, who made an auspicious debut in the original, is sadly wasted here, her character reduced to shuffling half-drugged through darkened hospital corridors and screaming helplessly. Carpenter's active involvement in the Halloween franchise continued to dwindle steadily from one sequel to the next, getting scarcely a mention by the time producers Hill, Moustapha Akkad and Irwin Yablans revived the series in 1988 for three more sequels. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, (more)





















