James A. Contner Movies

Tourist season sets the stage for terror when a greedy developer attempts to transform a quiet California fishing town into a gaudy tourist trap, and a swarm of man-eating Great Whites begin devouring anyone who dares venture into the once-peaceful waters. Decades of dumping has turned the Pacific Ocean into a toxic cesspool, and while some species died out others somehow managed to survive and adapt. Full Moon Bay is a sleepy seaside town populated primarily by fisherman, though slimy industrial millionaire Hamilton Lux (Armand Assante) is planning to rape the land a reap a profit. Should Lux have his way, overpriced shops will flank historic landmarks and a luxury resort will draw tourists from around the world. Of course this will put a stranglehold on the local business, such as the nearby fishery fun by Daniel (John Schneider) and Brook Wilder (Daryl Hannah). Wilder isn't about to go down without a fight though, and though he's never seen eye to eye with his estranged brother Phillip (Roark Critchlow) - a noted professor and environmental expert - the siblings are about to reunite to fight for a common cause. Just as Phillip returns to town, word emerges that a number of locals have been torn to shreds and eaten alive after venturing into in bay. When Marine biologist Amy Zuckermann (Heather McComb) arrives to survey Lex's developments, she makes a most disturbing discovery - a beached bull shark with sensory organs that still display predatory instincts even after death. As if this news wasn't horrifying enough, Amy discovers that a swarm of Great White sharks are stalking the waters and killing for pleasure. Each day the number of sharks grows, and each day they become more violent. With the sun shining bright and the tourists turning up in droves, Amy, Daniel, and Brook must figure out a way to stop these killing machines before the feast begins. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Paige (Rose McGowan) is transported back to 1969, at the height of the "flower power" era. Here she finds that the younger version of Penny "Grams" Halliwell (Jennifer Rhodes) is an oh-wow hippie (Kara Zediker) who hopes to use the power of love to expunge the world of evil -- and hang the consequences! Meanwhile, back in the present, Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) and Piper (Holly Marie Combs), their powers diminished by Paige's absence, must face the challenge of a magic-devouring slime beast. And Whitelighter Chris (Drew Fuller) continues exhibiting reluctance and resentment while carrying out his assignment to protect baby Wyatt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hiding out from the others upstairs in the hotel, evil Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) continues to manipulate Connor (Vincent Kartheiser) into protecting her and their unborn child. When her little plaything isn't around, the duplicitous mom-to-be also plays cat and mouse with Angelus (David Boreanaz). As the vampire hangs out in a demon bar gloating about his victory over The Beast, she speaks directly into his mind in a booming demon voice so he won't realize that The Beast's master is actually none other than the beloved sidekick of his heroic alter ego. Thus disguised, Cordy threatens to re-ensoul Angelus if he doesn't do her bidding. Soon, he's attacking the hotel on command and making off with all of the information his former friends have gathered about The Beast and its master. Meanwhile, hoping to avoid a repeat of the slayer's recent abject defeat at Angelus' hands, Wesley (Alexis Denisof) struggles to reacquaint Faith (Eliza Dushku) with her dark side by revealing some of his own recently unearthed nasty streak. In a loathsome den where jaded humans get their kicks by allowing vampires to feed on their drug-spiked blood, Wes tortures one of humanity's dregs to elicit information about a recent encounter with Angelus. Faith blanches at such repulsive methods, then bristles when Wes reminds her that she once did far worse to him (see "Five by Five"). Eventually, the former Watcher's message sinks in and Faith attacks Angelus with everything she's got. Just when victory seems imminent, though, Angelus taunts her that she'll never really be able to achieve redemption. Falling for her foe's mind games, the slayer gives him an in and Angelus bites into her neck, promising to make Faith just like him. Originally broadcast March 12, 2003, on the WB network, "Release" marked season four, episode 14 of the supernatural soap opera. As of this episode, Andy Hallett finally joins the regular cast after guest-starring 44 times over the previous 57 episodes. This episode's depiction of a drugged-out den of symbiotic humans and vampires echoes that of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's "Into the Woods." ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

As Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Spike (James Marsters) train the potential slayers and educate them about the life-or-death battle into which they've been thrust, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) learns that another slayerette lurks right there atop Sunnydale's Hellmouth. A locator spell soon reveals the surprising truth: Like her older sister, Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) is a member of the slayer line. Confused by her sudden change in status, Dawn slips outside and bumps into her friend Amanda (Sarah Hagan), who reveals, at the risk of sounding crazy, that she's just been attacked at school by a vampire. Dawn tells her not to worry, that vampires are real, and the girls head to the school so Dawn can test her newfound powers. Unfortunately, the tricky bloodsucker outsmarts them; soon, Dawn is fighting for her life -- and not all that successfully. The First's Bringers interrupt the melee and attempt to kidnap Amanda, revealing to Dawn that it's actually her friend who's the potential. Dawn exhorts Amanda to take out the vamp, which the girl accomplishes as if she were born to do it. Meanwhile, Buffy and Spike show up, fresh from a brutal training exercise with the potentials, and dispatch the agents of The First. Back at the house, Dawn resumes her role as researcher and non-combatant. But Xander (Nicholas Brendon) -- no stranger to being the least powerful member of the team -- consoles her with tender words about the important role they both play. Originally broadcast January 21, 2003, on UPN, "Potential" marked episode 134 of the cult-favorite series. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Disturbed by a prophesy that Angel (David Boreanaz) might harm his own son, Wesley (Alexis Denisof) suffers from terrible nightmares. It doesn't help that he's still all mopey about the romance between Fred (Amy Acker) and Gunn (J. August Richards). Visiting one of the voodoo spirits of the Loa (who appears to him as a giant, talking hamburger), Wes learns of three portents that will signal Connor's death at his father's hands. Meanwhile, the demon Sahjhan (Jack Conley) joins forces with evil lawyer Lilah Morgan (Stephanie Romanov), who arranges to have a sample of Connor's blood stolen from a doctor's office. Back at the hotel, a client named Aubrey (Wendy Davis) shows up and asks Wes to destroy the nest of vampires who turned her son. With help from Fred and Gunn, Wes figures out that she's actually an agent of Holtz (Keith Szarabajka), who is training an entire strike force to battle Angel. Wes confronts Holtz, who challenges Wes to save Connor from the evil his father is destined to commit. Wes gets the final signal that he needs to intervene on the child's behalf when all three of the Loa's portents occur simultaneously during an earthquake: the earth moves, the air burns (thanks to a damaged gas stove), and the sky turns to blood (when the injured Angel bleeds on Connor's sunshine-patterned blanket). Originally broadcast February 25, 2002, on the WB network, "Loyalty" marked season three, episode 15 of the supernatural comedy drama. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) turns to Tara (Amber Benson) for information about why Spike's anti-violence chip no longer registers her as human. Meanwhile, her sexual relationship with Spike (James Marsters) grows deeper and more twisted as the ardent vampire tries to show Buffy her dark side. Elsewhere, Warren (Adam Busch) seeks perverse sexual thrills of his own. The villainous nerd plans to use his latest invention, a cerebral dampener, to turn some lucky lady into his bedroom slave. The first candidate is Warren's ex-girlfriend, Katrina (Amelinda Embry), who's still angry about his dalliance with a sex-bot (see "I Was Made to Love You"). Eliminating any such grudges with the flick of a switch, Warren prepares to sleep with Katrina and then give Andrew (Tom Lenk) and Jonathan (Danny Strong) a turn. The dampener wears off, however, and Katrina accuses Warren of attempted rape. He hits her with a beer bottle, accidentally killing her. Andrew and Jonathan want to go to the police, but Warren insists on framing Buffy for his crime. With the help of a time-shifting demon, the villains stage a hallucinatory battle in which Buffy becomes convinced that she accidentally killed an innocent girl. Distraught, she prepares to turn herself in -- much to the dismay of Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg), who becomes hysterical, and Spike, who gets the tar beat out of him trying to convince the Slayer not to throw her life away. At the last moment, though, Buffy learns the name of her supposed victim and realizes that Warren must be behind the entire episode. Nevertheless, she later breaks down in tears upon learning from Tara that she's still human after all; if she's still human, Buffy asks her astonished friend, then why is she allowing herself to do such perverted things with Spike? Originally broadcast February 5, 2002, on UPN, "Dead Things" marked episode 113 of the cult-favorite series. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

After her post-evil sabbatical in England with Giles, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) returns to Sunndale to face her friends. Unfortunately, due to magical interference from parts unknown, she somehow seems to be invisible to them. As Willow wanders around town, convinced her friends haven't forgiven her and want to avoid her, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Xander (Nicholas Brendon), and Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) are equally stumped about the whereabouts of their favorite Wiccan. They begin to worry that perhaps she has gone back over the dark side -- especially when corpses start turning up with their skin peeled off in an eerie echo of Willow's flaying of Warren (see "Villains"). Ultimately, the culprit turns out to be a skin-hungry demon named Gnarl (Camden Toy) who almost kills Willow herself before Spike (James Marsters) and Anya (Emma Caulfield) are able to see Willow despite the enchantment and reunite her with her friends. And as it turns out, the selective invisibility spell came from a most unexpected source. Originally broadcast Oct. 8, 2002, on the UPN network, "Same Time, Same Place" marked episode 125 of the cult-favorite series. Camden Toy, who plays Gnarl, previously portrayed one of the ghoulish "gentlemen" villains in "Hush." ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Old duffer Marcus Rosco (Rance Howard) loathes his life in a nursing home, so he bones up on his magic and learns to switch bodies with younger folks -- a process that proves fun for him but extremely hard on his host bodies. Of course, a vampire body is immortal, so Angel (David Boreanaz) turns out to be the ideal candidate for a switcheroo. Unaware that the vampire hero has been evicted from his own body, Angel's friends and foes alike suffer through Marcus' escapades. He toys with the affections of Fred (Amy Acker) and then crushes them with relish -- and engages in fun and games of a more physical nature with evil lawyer Lilah Morgan (Stephanie Romanov). Eventually, Marcus realizes that he can live forever in Angel's body if he just kills his own aging vessel. The gang intervene, however, saving their boss' spirit and sending it back to its proper receptacle. Originally broadcast October 15, 2001, on the WB network, "Carpe Noctem" marked season three, episode four of the supernatural comedy drama. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Having suffered through two years of the painful visions bequeathed to her by Doyle (see "Parting Gifts"), Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) finds that the premonitions are taking an ever heavier toll, both emotionally and physically. Her horrific vision of an apparently happy family man plunging a knife into his eye. It turns out he was the recipient of a cursed transplant from a predatory organ bank run by Wolfram & Hart. Lawyer Lindsey McDonald (Christian Kane) soon receives a new hand from the very same institution and learns that the appendage has an evil mind of its own. Crossing paths at demon karaoke bar Caritas, mortal enemies Lindsey and Angel (David Boreanaz) are urged by the Host (Andy Hallett) to work together on the case. They soon uncover the organ bank, which is full of living and half-dead involuntary donors -- including an old buddy of Lindsey's. He and Angel kill the hard-luck cases and save the rest. Lilah Morgan (Stephanie Romanov), on the basis of the firm's magnanimous biological gift to her rival, is convinced that she's going to be knocked off and Lindsey promoted. But, once again disgusted by his firm's tactics (see "Blind Date"), Lindsey quits, taking with him enough sensitive documents to protect himself from any sudden "accidents." Lilah gets the job, and Angel and Lindsey part, if not friends, then at least neutral to one another. Originally broadcast April 24, 2001, on the WB network, "Dead End" marked season two, episode 18 of the supernatural comedy drama. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Immediately after the events of "The Trial," Angel (David Boreanaz) flies into action in an effort to stake the corpse of Darla (Julie Benz) before she rises again as a vampire. Ace detective work on the part of his crew helps him locate Darla in a rooftop greenhouse, where the mad Drusilla (Juliet Landau) is looking forward to "giving birth" to her "grandmother." (Darla, of course, sired Angel, who sired Drusilla, who is now siring the resurrected Darla.) As Angel and Dru slug it out, Darla rises from the dirt and joins the melee; now once again a soulless vampire, she clearly isn't on Angel's side. Eventually, she and Dru both escape and reunite at the offices of Wolfram & Hart. When Angel, too, shows up there, executive evil-doer Holland Manners (Sam Anderson) has Detective Kate Lockley (Elisabeth Rohm) arrest him. Darla and Dru go on a killing spree, so Kate frees Angel in order to halt them. The gleeful bloodsuckers show up at a party at Holland's house, turning on the man who brought them together. Angel arrives on the scene, but rather than save the room full of lawyers, he locks them in with the vampire vixens. When Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), Wesley (Alexis Denisof), and Gunn (J. August Richards) denounce Angel's actions, he promptly and tersely fires all three. Originally broadcast December 19, 2000, on the WB network, "Reunion" marked season two, episode ten of the supernatural comedy drama. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Christian Kane, who appeared as an unnamed Wolfram & Hart attorney in "City of Angels," makes the first of several return appearances here; his character's name is revealed to be Lindsey McDonald. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Xander (Nicholas Brendon) -- the only member of the Scooby Gang without supernatural abilities of his own -- takes the spotlight when an encounter with a demon named Toth (Michael Bailey Smith) splits him into two separate versions of himself, one with all the good qualities and the other with all the bad. The inept Xander soon discovers the existence of his enhanced twin but is dismayed to watch his double succeeding in all the areas where he usually fails. The new, improved Xander not only lands a promotion at his construction job, but also signs the lease on a fabulous new apartment to please girlfriend Anya (Emma Caulfield), who is feeling vulnerable now that she's no longer an immortal demon. When the happy couple learn of the bumbling doppelganger Xander, Anya wants to keep him around as a sex toy while shiny happy Xander wants to kill him. Luckily, Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) and Willow (Alyson Hannigan) figure out that if one Xander dies, both will. While Willow works to break Toth's spell, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) tracks down and kills the demon. Soon things are back to normal enough that Riley (Marc Blucas) has time for a heart-to-heart with Xander, in which he reveals that although he's in love with Buffy, he doesn't believe she loves him back. Originally broadcast October 10, 2000, on the WB network, "The Replacement" marked episode 81 of the cult-favorite series. Kelly Donovan, Nicholas Brendon's real-life twin, portrays the alternate Xander; although their last name is Schulz, the thespian brothers use only their first and middle names professionally. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

An earthquake hits Sunnydale, unleashing some demons seeking the ingredients to bring about the end of the world -- "Again," Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and her friends groan. Meanwhile, Spike (James Marstens), tied up at Xander's (Nicholas Brendon) and utterly dispirited over losing his ability to kill (see "Pangs"), attempts suicide by falling on a stake. Buffy and friends decide that maybe taking him along to stop the end of the world might cheer him up. Then, Giles (Anthony Head) is attacked by the demons who steal a talisman from him, thereby collecting all they need to start the end of the world. Earlier in the episode, Buffy and Riley (Marc Blucas) -- who fought "The Gentlemen" together in "Hush" -- reveal their secret lives to each other. Buffy keeps the information about The Initiative from Giles. ~ All Movie Guide