Bill Zuckert

When your dog, bird, or water-dwelling mammal disappears, who do you call? Ace Ventura (Jim Carrey) is a low-rent private eye who specializes in recovering lost animals, so when Snowflake, the Miami Dolphins' aquatic mascot, is kidnapped, team representative Melissa Robinson (Courtney Cox) puts Ace on the case. However, Snowflake isn't the only Miami Dolphin who has gone missing; several key members of the team also disappear, including quarterback Dan Marino (who plays himself), who is spirited away while filming a TV commercial. With the Super Bowl only two weeks away, will Ace be able to find Snowflake and the missing athletes in time to salvage the big game? Ace Ventura: Pet Detective was a surprise box office smash and catapulted manic comedian Jim Carrey to stardom. The supporting cast includes Sean Young as ill-tempered Lois Einhorn, Udo Kier as the sinister Ronald Camp, and rapper Tone Loc as Ace's detective pal Emilio (Loc also wrote and performed a song for the closing credits). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In the fourth episode of an eight-part story arc, Darrin finds himself locked up in the Salem, MA, jail, accused of stealing an antique bedwarmer from the House of the Seven Gables. It soon turns out that the "stolen" item is actually a warlock in disguise -- namely, Sam's former boyfriend, Newton (Noam Pitlik). It is up to Sam to return Newton to his original form, a task made doubly difficult by the fact that the witch who originally cast the spell is nowhere to be found. Actress/playwright Joan Hotchkis appears as Miss Ferndale. Written by Ed Jurist, "Samantha's Hot Bedwarmer" originally aired on October 15, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In anticipation of a raid by the deadly Wagner outlaw gang, the townsfolk of Virginia City want to replace their ageing sheriff Roy Coffee, whom they feel is not equal to the task of standing up to the Wagners. Adam Cartwright is among the few who insists that Coffee remain in office-but even he has second thoughts when the Sheriff appears to be suffering from a latent case of cowardice. Written by Jerry Adelman, this episode was a tour de force for veteran character actor Ray Teal, here given a rare opportunity to deliver a performance that transcends the standard two-dimensionality of Sheriff Roy Coffee. Parley Baer, the original "Chester" on the radio version of Gunsmoke, is here cast as Mr. Amistead. "No Less a Man" originally aired March 15, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bonanza marked the beginning of its third season by moving from Saturdays at 7:30 PM EST to its now-legendary Sunday 9 PM berth, where it would remain for the next eleven years. Telecast September 24, 1961, the inaugural third-season episode, "The Smiler", was written by Lewis Reed. Defending the honor of widow Mrs. McClure (Catherine McLeod), Hoss Cartwright accidently kills town bully Arthur Bolling (Hy Terman). Shortly thereafter, Arthur's brother Clarence (Herschel Bernardi) arrives in town with smiling assurances that he forgives Hoss. In truth, however, the insidious Clarence has mapped out an intricate plan of revenge, beginning with subtly coercing Mrs. Clure to change her testimony at Hoss' court hearing. Also in the cast of "The Smiler" are Scatman Crothers as Jud and Bill Zuckert as Gilbert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Condominium is a two-part, four-hour TV adaptation of the novel by John D. McDonald. The setting is a hastily constructed Florida high-rise, assembled at the least possible cost by its greedy owners. An oncoming hurricane threatens to topple the structure and its residents into the ocean. Various degrees of greed, lust, terror and concern are displayed by stars Steve Forrest, Dan Haggerty, Ralph Bellamy, Barbara Eden, Stuart Whitman, Jack Jones and Pamela Hensley. Produced for the syndicated "Operation Prime Time" series, Condominium was first made available to local stations on November 20, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though not actually a film addressing the evil lure of cream-filled chocolate cakes, this amusingly cheesy made-for-TV opus from director Curtis Harrington pits a relatively normal suburban family against a slavering, demonically-possessed German shepherd whose hunger for human souls far exceeds that of the normal household pet. Although not above resorting to the usual throat-maulings, the satanic psycho-pup's preferred method of attack is to supernaturally cause the deaths of various friends and neighbors, in a style reminiscent of The Omen. Though the gory potential of this scenario is obviously dulled by the TV-movie format, there are enough implied shocks and chills to keep up the pace -- particularly a grueling scene in which Dad finds himself unable to resist the urge to plunge his hand into a spinning lawnmower blade, while the possessed pooch looks on with tongue-wagging glee. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Captain Stanley (Michael Norell) confuses the emergency staff when he begins showing signs of uncharacteristic nervousness and paranoia. The reason? Stanley's former commanding officer Captain McConnike (William Boyett) is scheduled to make inspection of the Rampart team. Back on the job, Marco (Marco Lopez) is seriously injured during a gas station fire; a car crashes into a truck full of toxic pesticides; two professional clowns aren't terribly funny when they start a fight at a skating rink; and a man is "shot" by a nail gun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bill (Brian Keith) takes the kids back to Terre Haute for a family reunion. The youngsters have a wonderful time visiting old haunts and renewing old friendships--especially Cissy (Kathy Garver), who reconnects with her erstwhile former beau Harvey (Jim Henaghan). And as usual, Aunt Fran (Louise Latham) angles to have the children remain in Indiana with her permanently, and this time it looks like they may be open to the suggestion. As it turns out, however, not every memory in Terre Haute is a happy one, particularly those which remind the children that they will never see their parents again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The family in "flight" is played by Rod Taylor, Dina Merrill and Kristoffer Tabori. While taking an airborne vacation to Mexico, the family crash-lands somewhere in the Baja peninsula. Having taken the vacation as a means to patch up a variety of differences, the family is forced to pull together to survive. At times, however, it looks like no one will return to tell the tale. Made for television, Family Flight debuted October 25, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ex-lawman turned rancher Jed Cooper (Clint Eastwood) is moving a small herd of cattle when a group of nine men on horseback, led by Captain Wilson (Ed Begley Sr.), ride up and accuse him of having stolen the cattle and killed their owner. Refusing to believe his account, they string him up by the neck and leave him for dead, but they don't do the job right. Cooper is dangling there, barely alive, a few minutes later when Deputy U.S. Marshal Bliss (Ben Johnson) spots him and cuts him down. He survives the next few days in Bliss' tumbleweed wagon with the other prisoners, and is later cleared of any wrongdoing and released by Judge Fenton (Pat Hingle), just in time to witness the hanging of the man who really murdered the owner of the cattle and took Cooper's money. Cooper still wants revenge on the nine men who tried to hang him, but Fenton insists that he leave the bringing of them to justice to his deputy marshals. As it happens, Fenton is in desperate need of deputy marshals for the territory that he oversees, and he also knows that Cooper was a good lawman. Cooper, in turn, is now broke and in need of a job, and does want to see justice done. They strike an uneasy bargain, Cooper agreeing to wear a badge and bring in the men he's looking for -- alive -- for trial. The latter proves easier said than done, however, when the first of them that he spots tries to draw on him when he makes the arrest. One of the hanging party, Jenkins (Bob Steele), soon turns himself in and provides the names of the others. Cooper takes Stone (Alan Hale Jr.) alive, but the hapless blacksmith is later shot by the local sheriff (Charles McGraw) while trying to escape. The other men, led by Wilson, have no intention of dying, or even being brought to trial, without a fight. Two of them go on the run out of the territory, while Wilson and two of the others decide to take the law into their own hands once again. Meanwhile, Cooper becomes a hero when he single-handedly brings back a trio of rustlers who are also guilty of murder. This leads to Cooper's first confrontation with Judge Fenton, who, in a gripping scene, explains why it is essential that he be as seemingly quick to hang a man as he is. Unless the people are convinced that the law will do its job -- including hanging men who deserve it -- they will keep taking the law into their own hands and there will be more lynch mobs like the one that tried to kill Cooper. In the course of his quest for justice, Cooper also makes the acquaintance of Rachel (Inger Stevens), a young woman with her own search for justice, haunted by her own ghosts, and the two of them are drawn together, no more so than when Wilson and two of the others try to gun Cooper down in cold blood. The final confrontation between Cooper and Wilson escalates in violence to its savage, irony-laced conclusion. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

While Ed (Don Galloway) is escorting an extradited murder suspect to San Francisco, his plane is grounded in Reno. Knowing full well that the suspect's criminal cohorts are planning to kill him, Ed and his prisoner are forced to hide out in an abandoned bar until help arrives. Unfortunately, it turns out that the mob assassins are the least of Ed's problems. Prominent in the supporting cast is Andy Robinson, playing an interesting variation of his psychotic character in 1971's Dirty Harry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ironside (Raymond Burr) is skeptical when Isabel Fredericks (Katherine Cannon), the daughter of Judge John Fredericks (Joseph Campanella), insists that her father's life is in danger. What the Chief doesn't know (at least at first) is that the Judge's new wife Eleanor (Ina Balin) once had ties with the Underworld. Hoping to start life anew as Mrs. John Fredericks, Eleanor finds that she cannot purge her criminal past, which threatens to destroy both herself and her husband. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Ingalls' first wheat crop is wiped out by a hailstorm, which also devastates the neighboring farms. This catastrophe forces Charles (Michael Landon) and his fellow farmers to leave town and seek out other work. While the menfolk of Walnut Grove are all laboring at a faraway quarry, it is up to the women left behind to harvest what is left of their crops -- an experience that serves to bring the Ingalls girls even closer together. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide