George Wyner

The tragically short life of one of TV's favorite funny ladies is the subject of the network-movie biopic It's Always Something: The Gilda Radner Story. The story begins in Gilda's native Canada, where as a child she develops her comic skills to overcome her shyness and feelings of inadequacy. Gravitating to show business, Gilda (played as an adult by Jami Gertz) becomes a topnotch sketch performer with the famed Second City Troupe, leading to an even more prestigious stint as one of the original "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on the irreverent American variety series Saturday Night Live. Earning the love and devotion of TV viewers throughout the nation with such ditsy comic characters as Emily Latella and Roseanne Roseanadana, Gilda nonetheless has trouble settling down in a satisfactory romantic relationship in her private life. But after a few go-nowhere affairs and an in-name-only marriage to musician G.E. Smith, Gilda at last finds happiness as the sweetheart -- and later the wife -- of actor Gene Wilder (played by Tom Rooney), her costar in the 1982 movie Hanky Panky. Just when it seems that Gilda's life is on the right course with all cylinders clicking, she is diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Based on her 1989 autobiography (published the same year as her death), It's Always Something: The Gilda Radner Story debuted April 29, 2002, as part of an evening-long ABC network tribute to Radner and her career. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A girl poised on the brink of adolescence finds herself shouldering a whole new set of responsibilities in this made-for-TV drama based on the autobiographical book by Esmeralda Santiago. In 1961, Mami Santiago (Wanda De Jesus) decides to leave her life in a Puerto Rican farming community behind and move herself and her six children to New York City in search of a better life -- and better medical care for her ailing son. Mami's oldest daughter, Esmerelda (Ana Maria Lagasca) -- Negi for short -- not only has trouble adapting to her new environment, but doesn't quite fit in at her new school, where she's lumped in with other Spanish speaking students with whom she shares no common culture. Negi's burden is intensified by the fact her mother and siblings are counting on her to learn English and serve as the family's interpreter. One of Negi's teachers senses her creative gifts and arranges for her to audition for the Performing Arts School in Manhattan, but as Negi struggles to learn a monologue in a new language she has yet to master, she isn't sure if she has what it takes to make the grade. Esmeralda Santiago penned the screenplay for Almost A Woman from her own memoir; the film was first broadcast as part of the award-winning PBS anthology series Masterpiece Theater. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A homicide witness and her son are killed, and Andy (Dennis Franz) and Bobby (Jimmy Smits) think that the suspect's lawyer may have had a hand in the homicides. Elsewhere, Diane (Kim Delaney) and Jill (Andrea Thompson) investigate a missing persons case, and James (Nicholas Turturro) and Greg (Gordon Clapp) go after the peddlers of phony sports memorabilia (leading to another desultory romance for Greg). Amidst this activity, Andy is advised by his doctor to start taking Viagra, and Bobby and Diane hope to use their lunch hour to get married in a civil ceremony. This 90-minute episode was the last in NYPD Blue's fifth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The rest of the "FYI" staff displays a variety of reactions--from shock to solace--when Murphy (Candice Bergen) reveals the results of her biopsy. Once this is done, Murphy must decide which of two painful surgical options to choose; she also spends much of the episode going through doctors like she goes through secretaries! And what effect does all this have on Murphy's love life? Welll, Kay (Lily Tomlin) thinks she knows the answer to that one--but she's wrong. This episode originally ended with Candice Bergen doing a PSA for the American Cancer Society. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jessica (Angela Lansbury) arrives at the headquarters of a prominent ice cream manufacturing firm in order to collect a promised donation for her literacy foundation. It soon develops that the company has created a brand-new flavor--but not for public consumption. How else to explain the mysterious death of one of the company's top executives...a death quickly followed by another one that is equally mysterious? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this made-for-TV comedy, a self-made man (Jack Lemmon) tries to teach is idle son (Jonathan Silverman) and greedy wife a lesson by giving away his hard-earned wealth. However, the plan doesn't go quite as smoothly as expected. Released on video under the title Father, Son and the Mistress. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is invited to speak at an exclusive club where only men are permitted as members. Despite her gender, Jessica is asks by the club's governing committee to help them solve a mystery involving the murder of a "rogue" member. This proves difficult when it becomes apparent that the killer may himself be on the committee. This episode is chock full of sly science-fiction and fantasy references--no surprise, inasmuch as it was written by J. Michael Straczynski, a guiding force behind the popular series Babylon 5. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though the original Fletch was drubbed by critics, it proved a major success for star Chevy Chase. It was inevitable, then, that a sequel would make an appearance. Surprisingly, Fletch Lives didn't come out until 1989--a full five years after the original. Once more, Chase stars as Irwin Maurice "Fletch" Fletcher, the gonzo investigative reporter created by novelist Gregory McDonald. Indulging his penchant for disguises and bizarre aliases, Fletch investigates a deep dark mystery at a crumbling Southern plantation. Various friends and enemies are portrayed con brio by Hal Holbrook, Cleavon Little, Juliane Phillips, Randall "Tex" Cobb, Richard Libertini and Richard Belzer (Chase's cohort from the old Groove Tube days). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A space bum helps rescue a princess from an evil overlord with the help of a benevolent elder in this Star Wars send-up written and directed by Mel Brooks. Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and his half-man, half-dog co-pilot, Barf the Mawg (John Candy), are content to scour the galaxy living the easy life. But they reluctantly come to the rescue when Druish Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga) is threatened by the evil Lord Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis), who wants to steal all of the air from her planet, Druidia. Trapped on a harsh desert world with Vespa and her robot chaperone, Dot Matrix (voice of Joan Rivers), Lone Starr and Barf are helpless to prevent Helmet from kidnapping the girl. But assistance arrives in the form of Yogurt (Brooks), a wizard who turns Lone Starr on to a mysterious power known as The Schwartz. Catching up with Helmet just as he's transforming his spaceship into a giant vacuum cleaner in orbit around Druidia, the reluctant heroes stage a dramatic showdown. Although it borrows most of its plot from the Star Wars series, Spaceballs also pokes fun at Star Trek, Snow White, and Planet of the Apes -- as well as the entire videocassette and movie marketing industries. The large supporting cast includes Dick Van Patten, Jim J. Bullock, and the voice of Dom DeLuise. John Hurt makes a cameo in a parody of the exploding chest scene he played in Alien. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

The titular cat is a furry white male named Leo. Leo is able to talk, and if you can't handle that, forget the rest of this TV movie. When he inherits $5,000,000, Leo becomes the target of disgruntled heirs who'd like to bump him off. This is one instance where you're liable to cheer on the villains. The Richest Cat in the World was first telecast on The Disney Sunday Movie. Surprised? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Chevy Chase added a classic comic hero to the film landscape with Fletch, one of his few truly popular star vehicles in a famously misguided post-Saturday Night Live career. Chase plays Irwin M. Fletcher, known to everyone as Fletch, a Los Angeles Lakers-loving investigative reporter with a gleeful disdain for deadlines and a knack for pushing the buttons of his frustrated editor (Richard Libertini). He's also known for donning numerous disguises and assuming zany false identities to help gain information. While pursuing an ongoing story about a powerful drug dealer who operates from Venice Beach, he comes across an intriguing offshoot in which he becomes intimately involved. Aviation executive Alan Stanwyk (Tim Matheson) has an unusual proposition for Fletch: If Fletch agrees to an elaborate plan to kill him, for reasons Stanwyk refuses to divulge beyond explaining that he has bone cancer, Fletch will walk away with a healthy sum of money and a plane ticket to Brazil. Curious yet suspicious by profession, Fletch begins investigating Stanwyk's true motives, which leads him through numerous misadventures. Among them are a visit to a stuffy country club; a high-speed car chase with an unwitting passenger; repeat encounters with Stanwyk's wife (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson), although she may not be his only one; and a trip to Provo -- that's Utah, not Spain. Inspired by a novel of the same name by Gregory McDonald, Fletch went from thriller to comedy as it was adapted into a vehicle for Chase. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

The messages referred to in the title are those conveyed on a Ouija board. The heroine (Kathleen Beller) conjures up these messages, which indicate that her future happiness is gravely in doubt. In point of fact, the words she spells out on the board are I-AM-GOING-TO-KILL-YOU. A mystery figure from the woman's past intends to fulfill this prophecy--with a dagger. Material like this only works if the producers have faith in it; Deadly Messages appears to have been made by people who found the premise amusing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mel Brooks and his real-life wife Anne Bancroft play Frederick and Anna Bronski, musical comedy stars in 1939 Poland. The highlight of the Bronskis' act is Frederick's imitation of Adolf Hitler, but he is forced to eliminate this turn for fear of offending the Nazis. Meanwhile, Anna enters into a harmless flirtation with Polish bomber pilot Andre Sobinski (Tim Matheson). The pilot's nightly signal to visit Anna in her dressing room is "To Be or Not to Be," spoken by Bronski during the Shakespearean portion of his act. When the Germans march into Warsaw, the Bronskis and the rest of their troupe are forced into hiding (notably the homosexual Lupinski, played by Lewis J. Stadlen, who is forced to endure the humiliation of wearing a pink star). Flying for the Polish resistance in England, Sobinski asks kindly Professor Seletzky (Jose Ferrer) to deliver his "To Be or Not to Be" message to Anna. When Seletzky doesn't seem to recognize the name of Anne Bronski, Warsaw's biggest star, Sobinski suspects that something is amiss. Sure enough, Seletzky is a Nazi spy, heading to Warsaw to help Col. "Concentration Camp" Ehrhardt (Oscar-nominated Charles Durning) destroy the underground movement. Parachuting into Poland, Sobinski enlists the aid of the Bronski troupe to foil the Nazis. What follows is an uproarious series of disguises and deceptions, capped by Bronski's impersonation of Der Fuhrer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide