George Wendt

Originally produced for NBC television, this adaptation of the Lewis Carroll classic features an impressive cast, including Miranda Richardson, Martin Short, Ben Kingsley, Whoopi Goldberg, Gene Wilder, Peter Ustinov, and George Wendt. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Suburbanites from outer space arrive on Earth to clean up the inner city -- strictly for fun -- in this sci-fi-tinged comedy. With the death of his mother, Joseph (Christopher M. Brown) is trying to put his life back on track after several years as a street punk. He decides to turn the family home into a boarding house, but the house happens to be in one of the worst neighborhoods in Los Angeles and Joseph doesn't get many customers. One day Charlie (George Wendt) and Rhonda (Shanna Reed), a cheerful middle-class couple, arrive with their teenage daughter Daphne (Anastasia Sakelaris) looking for a place to stay; Joseph thinks something odd is going on, but given his lack of customers (and Daphne's attractive appearance), he keeps his thoughts to himself. It turns out that something strange is happening, however; Charlie and Rhonda are actually aliens from another planet who have come to Earth on a vacation, and their favorite pastime is hunting and killing the sort of low-life criminals who run rampant in Joseph's neighborhood. Alien Avengers was also released under the title Welcome to Planet Earth. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Jonathan Blank (Sex, Drugs, & Democracy) directed this satirical slap at the media, centered around a reverend (Alan Thicke) who objects to public-access station Channel 69, where his daughter (Jessica Hecht) and other young radicals program such shows as Conspiracy of the Week. The reverend's solution is to buy the station and kick everyone out. They retaliate with protests and a fake bomb threat, barricading themselves in the studio to stage telecasts minus clothing. This film features one of the last film appearances of the late Timothy Leary. Shown at the 1998 Cinequest San Jose Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Second City was a breeding ground for comedic talent, including Bill Murray. ~ All Movie Guide

Seinfeld's Jason Alexander stars in this made-for-television remake of the 1963 classic musical. Alexander stars as Albert J. Peterson, a man hoping to make his fortune and get the girl by promoting the big send-off for a newly drafted pop star named Conrad Birdie (Marc Kudish). A song-and-dance movie, actress-dancer Ann Reinking served as choreographer of this film. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

There was good news and bad news for Cheers during its third season. In the former category, the series continued to climb upward in the ratings (thanks largely to the goodwill engendered by NBC's most popular Thursday-night series The Cosby Show), sharing 12th place with ABC's Hotel. The sitcom also took home two more Emmys -- Outstanding Supporting Actress (the second such award for Rhea Perlman) and Outstanding Live and Tape Sound Mixing and Sound Effects (Douglas Gray, Michael Balin, and Thomas J. Huth for the episode entitled "The Executive's Executioner") -- in addition to ten other nominations. In the "bad news" category, the cast and crew were forced to bid farewell to one of the series' most beloved regulars, who died all too soon. Picking up where season two left off, the romance between Sam Malone (Ted Danson) and Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) was kaput thanks to a foolish argument. Recovering alcoholic Sam crawled back into the bottle and Diane briefly had herself committed to a mental institution, where she was placed under the care of imperious, insufferable Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer, inaugurating a role which he would play for the next two decades in two different series). Once Sam had come to terms with the loss of Diane and had sobered up, he had to deal with the fact that Diane and Frasier were now lovers. By season's end, the couple had embarked upon a working vacation to Europe, where Frasier finally popped the question -- but would the notoriously mercurial Diane accept his proposal? And back at Cheers in Boston, the still-unmarried Carla (Perlman) was pregnant yet again (for the sixth time). Amidst all this comic intrigue, the ineffable Coach (Nicholas Colasanto), Cheers' venerable bartender, emerged as the sole spokesman for calm and reason. Alas, actor Colasanto was suffering from cancer, and died February 12, 1985, shortly after completing work on the episode entitled "The Executive's Executioner" (for which the actor received a posthumous Emmy nomination). Rather than have the character die, as well, the producers went through an elaborate charade during the season's climactic episodes, explaining away Coach's absences with a multitude of lame excuses, or having him briefly show up via outtakes from earlier episodes. Perhaps this was done to avoid an excess of melancholy, or simply to keep the audience's attention on the Sam-Diane-Frasier triangle which determined the outcome of the third-season finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season five of Cheers opened with a resolution to the cliffhanger established at the end of season four, with Cheers' owner Sam Malone (Ted Danson) finally proposing to mercurial waitress Diane Chambers (Shelley Long). This proposal, and several more like it, would be rejected throughout the season, although, in the end, the couple would decide to march down the aisle. The recurring character of psychologist Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) was promoted to series-regular status, where he would remain until the 11th, and final, season. Perhaps to alleviate Frasier's loss of Diane to Sam, he was finally given a "steady" of his own: Prim, severe fellow-psychologist Lilith Sternin (Bebe Neuwirth), a character introduced as a one-shot during season four. Romance also entered the life of the perennially luckless single mom Carla (Rhea Perlman) in the form of Eddie LeBec (Jay Thomas), a goalie for the Boston Celtics hockey team. By mid-season, Carla and Eddie were man and wife; it was a foredoomed alliance, but, happily, the couple was unaware of this at the time. Regarding, Sam and Diane, it appeared by the end of the fifth season that there would be no more hesitation or second thoughts, and that they would indeed tie the matrimonial knot. This was the cue for the re-entry of Professor Sumner Sloane (Michael McGuire), who, on the eve of the wedding, implored Diane to accompany him on a six-month sabbatical so that they could collaborate on a novel Diane had started years earlier. Despite her assurances that she would soon return to Boston, Sam knew all too well -- as did the audience -- that he had lost Diane forever, even though a phony season-ender, in which the wedding went on as scheduled, had been filmed before a live audience to throw industry gossip-mongers off the track. Their on-camera relationship notwithstanding, it was hardly a secret that there was little love lost between series stars Ted Danson and Shelley Long. For whatever reason, Long was not exactly close to any of her other co-stars, and was anxious to leave the series and explore other professional avenues. Thus, viewers were fully aware that the series' fifth season would be Long's swan song, and, accordingly, they were fairly confident that the much-anticipated wedding of Sam and Diane would not take place. Ending season five as America's third most popular TV series, Cheers also picked two more Emmys: One was awarded to John Cleese for his guest appearance in the episode "Simon Says," and the other was bestowed upon the series' sound-mixing team (Michael Ballin, Robert Douglass, Douglas Gray, and Thomas J. Huth) for the third consecutive year. Finally, it was during this season that Cheers yielded its first spin-off sitcom, the short-lived The Tortellis, in which Dan Hedaya and Jean Kasem reprised their roles as Carla's disreputable ex-husband Nick Tortelli and his annoying spouse Loretta. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As Cheers entered its eighth season, viewers began to wonder if the long-awaited romance between Sam Malone (Ted Danson) and Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) would ever blossom. Certainly Rebecca had not backed down from her determination to marry into wealth, as witnessed by her torrid relationship with Trump-like billionaire corporate raider Robin Colcord (Roger Rees). Perhaps hoping to prove his value in Rebecca's eyes, Sam spent most of season eight trying to buy back Cheers -- only to realize this goal in a most surprising fashion. In other developments, psychiatrists Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) and Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) became parents with the birth of baby Frederick. Not long afterward, the much-married Carla (Rhea Perlman) became a widow when her hockey-star husband Eddie LeBec died in a freak accident; Carla's grief quickly turned to rage when she discovered that, not only had Eddie been unfaithful to her, but he'd had another wife in another town all along. Meanwhile, the romance between guileless bartender Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson) and wealthy Kelly Gaines (Jackie Swanson) continued along its bumpy but generally satisfying path. The season came to a riotous conclusion when Rebecca's boyfriend Robin was arrested for illegal insider training -- with Sam turning Colcord in out of fear that Rebecca would be implicated. Out of gratitude, the corporation that owned Cheers gave the bar to Sam as a present, leading Rebecca to conclude that Sam had blown the whistle on Robin out of greed. But before Rebecca could renounce Sam once and for all, the couple found themselves locked in a very amorous embrace on the couch in Sam's office -- at which point the seventh season reached its cliffhanger ending. Cheers returned to third place in the ratings during the 1989-90 season, beaten out only by The Cosby Show and the sophomore season of Roseanne. Three Emmys were bestowed upon the series: Ted Danson finally copped a statuette as Outstanding Lead Actor in a comedy; Bebe Neuwirth (not yet a an "official" regular) won as Outstanding Supporting Actress; and the series' sound-mixing team (Robert Crosby, Thomas J. Huth, Sam Black, and Robert Douglass) walked away with its fourth award. Finally, although Cheers spawned no spin-offs this season, it can be said to have godfathered a similar ensemble sitcom assembled by two former Cheersstaffers: Wings, which began a long and healthy run in April 1990, and in the Thursday-night time slot following its "parent" series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although Cheers had dropped from first to eighth place in the ratings from 1990 to 1992, its 11th and final season still enjoyed a very healthy viewership; in fact, its closing episode ranks as the fourth highest-rated series finale in TV history. Highlighting the show's climactic season was the new design for Cheers (necessitated by a fire precipitated by a chain-smoking Rebecca [Kirstie Alley]); the breakup of the marriage of Frasier and Lilith Crane (Kelsey Grammer and Bebe Neuwirth); the election of newly-married Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson) to Boston's city council; and the very last scene of the very last show, in which the garrulous Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger) finally revealed the meaning of life: "Shoes." The biggest event of season eleven was, of course, the long-awaited return of former series regular Shelley Long as Diane Chambers, which occurred during the aforementioned two-hour finale (actually 90 minutes if one discounts the series retrospective that ran just before the episode, itself). Now a successful TV writer, Diane was invited back to Boston by Sam Ted Danson, whereupon they both spun tall tales about their nonexistent happy marriages before coming to the realization that they were still very much in love. Once again, Sam proposed; once again, Diane accepted; and once again, the marriage never came off, prompting Sam to close Cheers permanently. While the bar's customers and crew pondered over their futures, the audience was assured that least one of the regulars, Frasier, would be headlining his own sitcom come September. Going out in a blaze of glory, Cheers won the last of its multitude of Emmy awards. On this occasion, the statuettes went to Danson (for the second time) and film editor Robert Bramwell, who had assembled the valedictory episode "One for the Road." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

David Mamet wrote the screenplay for this adaptation of his play about a man who suddenly stumbles into a new and dangerous life. Edmond Burke (William H. Macy) is on his way home from work one evening when he impulsively stops to have his fortune read by a woman who informs him, "You are not where you belong." When he does arrive home, Edmond soon falls into an argument with his wife (Rebecca Pidgeon), and he storms out into the city, where he stops at a bar for a few drinks. There, Edmond finds himself talking with a man (Joe Mantegna) who freely shares his racist views about the role of African-Americans in society, and suddenly Edmond begins letting go of the sense of self-control that has always governed his actions. After a crawl through the city's underbelly of watering holes, strip clubs, gambling dens, and brothels, Edmond comes face to face with the violence of this world, and unexpectedly finds himself responding in kind. Edmond also stars Julia Stiles, Denise Richards, Mena Suvari, Bai Ling, and Dylan Walsh; it was directed by Stuart Gordon, who worked often with David Mamet during their early days at Chicago's Organic Theater Company. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A man undergoes a scientific experiment that causes him to wake up after 50 years without aging a day in this romantic science-fiction tale. In 1939, Daniel (Mel Gibson) is a test pilot who is brave in the air but lacks the nerve to ask his girlfriend Helen (Isabel Glasser) to marry him, even though he loves her deeply. When Helen is hit by a truck and is taken to the hospital in a coma, Daniel is despondent, and he approaches his best friend Harry (George Wendt). Harry is a scientific researcher working with the military who has been experimenting with cryogenic suspension; Daniel asks Harry to have him frozen for a year rather than go through the hell of waiting to see if Helen lives or dies. Harry reluctantly agrees, but after the pilot is put on ice, Harry's experiments are shut down, and Daniel is forgotten. In 1992, two young boys, Nat (Elijah Wood) and Felix (Robert Hy Gorman) are playing in an abandoned military warehouse and find a freezing unit. They open it and find Daniel, who before long is all thawed out and physically not much worse for wear. However, the world is a very different place than it was in 1939; the boys bring their discovery home, where their single mother Claire (Jamie Lee Curtis) looks after Daniel and helps him adjust to his new world. A friendship between them begins to grow into something deeper, until Daniel discovers that his beloved Helen is still alive. Forever Young also features Joe Morton, Rob Morrow, and Vanessa Williams. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The directorial debut of producer Irwin Winkler, Guilty by Suspicion is a sobering account of one movie executive's woes in dealing with the political fallout from the McCarthy Era Hollywood blacklist. Robert De Niro stars as David Merrill, a film director in the 1950s whose obsession with his burgeoning career has estranged him from his wife Ruth (Annette Bening) and their son. When he returns from a trip to Paris, Merrill is surprised when told by his boss, Darryl F. Zanuck (Ben Piazza) that he's been summoned to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee, which is investigating Communist ties to Hollywood. Although Merrill once attended a meeting years before, he's not a Communist, and he refuses to help the committee wreck the career of his friend Bunny Baxter (George Wendt). Merrill becomes blacklisted, unable to find work even in menial positions or under assumed names as the editor of a B-movie or the director of a low-budget Western. Reconciled with his family, Merrill caves in and agrees to testify, but as he prepares to "name names," his conscience plagues him. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

The late comedian John Candy directed this made-for-television black comedy. George Wendt stars as Warren Kooey, a poor slob with a vicious wife and a nasty boss. Wooey wants to escape his miserable existence, so he decides to stage his own kidnapping to get away from his tormentors and find some peace far, far away. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide