Kevin Dobson Movies

A boy makes the acquaintence of a 500 pound gorilla, and the two become fast friends. ~ All Movie Guide

Inspired by a true story originally dramatized on the TV series Unsolved Mysteries, this made-for-TV thriller stars Megan Ward) as professional nurse Renee Perkins, whose friend and coworker Terry Deveroux (Kim Dickens) is murdered in a particularly vicious manner. Not long after the tragedy, Renee begins receiving psychic messages, suggesting that she has been "possessed" by Terry's spirit for the purpose of tracking down the murderer. Naturally, Terry wants to notify the police, but her doctor husband Bill (John Terlesky) is worried that such an incredible story might do damage to his career should it be proven false. Also known as Crimes of Passion: Voice from the Grave,the film made its NBC debut on March 20, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Monica (Roma Downey) shows up as the assistant to hard-driving high school baseball coach Earl Rowley (Kevin Dobson), while Tess works alongside widow Laura Enloe (Linda Gehringer) at a local sports bar. Unable to play the game due to an injury sustained in Vietnam, Earl takes out his bitterness on his players--especially Laura's son Paul (Ivan Sergei), who regards Earl as a father figure and is devastated when he doesn't measure up to the coach's standards. The situation changes radically when Monica learns from Adam (Charles Rocket) that Earl has only a few months to live. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When a successful newswoman receives an on-the-air shock, she begins to analyze her relationship with her philandering husband. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

The 14th and final season of Knots Landing is distinguished by the conspicuous absence of longtime regular Joan Van Ark, whose character, Val Ewing, mysteriously disappeared while researching a book on mob-connected politician and businessman Greg Sumner (William Devane). In his frantic efforts to find out if his wife is still alive, Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford) somehow finds time for a brief fling with Kate Whittaker (Stacy Galina), Sumner's niece. Meanwhile, Greg, having astonished everyone by giving up his business interests in Knots Landing and retiring to a cabin in Montana, leaves his affairs in the hands of three people: His scheming sister Claudia (Kathleen Noone); Meg (Rhianna Janette), Greg's daughter, adopted by Sumner's longtime nemesis Mack (Kevin Dobson) and his wife Karen (Michele Lee); and Paige (Nicollette Sheridan), illegitimate daughter of Mack and Anne Matheson (Michelle Phillips). Eventually, Greg changes his mind about retiring and returns to regain control of the Sumner Group; at the same time, Mary Robeson (Maree Cheatham), self-proclaimed biological mother of Greg's late wife Laura ries to wrest Meg away from Karen and Mack, whereupon Mack goes temporarily insane--which leads to his being named primary suspect when Mary turns up dead (He is released shortly after the revelation that Mary was really Laura's aunt, not her mother). Just before the series finale, Gary discovers that Val is still alive, the prisoner of crooked businessman Nigel Treadwell, who hopes to get his mitts on the Sumner Group with the help of none other than Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills)--who has been absent from Knots Landing since the end of Season Eleven. Treadwell is foiled in this scheme, and in his subsequent effort to blow up Greg, by another of his hostages, Vanessa Hunt (Felicity Waterman). The upshot of all this activity is a classic moment in the series' second-to-last episode, in which the three principal Knots Landing villainesses--Claudia, Abby and Anne--show up on screen at the same time. And as the very last episode demonstrates, the residents of Knots Landing haven't seen the last of Abby Cunningham yet! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season Thirteen of Knots Landing gets under way with only one of the four original "couplings" of the series' first season intact: After many romantic side trips and emotional detours, Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford) and his ex-wife Val (Joan Van Ark) have decided to let bygones be bygones and tie the matrimonial knot for the third (and last!) time. Once this matter is settled, Gary again demonstrates his basic lack of common sense by teaming with one Joseph Barringer (Mark Soper]) in a wild scheme to harness the power of ocean tides to provide low-cost energy for the citizens of California. Not surprisingly, Gary loses his shirt (and everything else) in this dead-on-arrival venture, and ends up working as a day laborer on his own ranch before returning to his old cul-de-sac neighborhood. Meanwhile, Val revitalizes her literary career by starting research on a novel intended to expose the crooked machinations of Greg Sumner (William Devane). In other developments, Linda Fairgate (Lar-Park Lincoln), ex-daughter in law of Gary's business partner Karen (Michele Lee), is murdered by Brian Johnston (Philip Brown), who holds several of the principal characters hostage before Karen is able to save the day--thereby confirming her "local heroine" status established at the end of the previous season, when she single-handedly took on the members of a street gang. Also, Greg Sumner's predatory sister Claudia (Kathleen Noone) meets her Waterloo in the form of Alex Barth (Boyd Kestner), who knows where all of her bodies are buried. As for Greg, he begins an affair with Anne Matheson (Michelle Phillips), former lover of Greg's longtime nemesis Mack (Kevin Dobson); reduced to penury after failing to cheat her daughter Paige (Nicollette Sheridan) out of an inheritance, Anne has staged a comeback as a nude model and radio star! Among the newcomers to the series are Bruce Greenwood as Paige's new boyfriend Pierce Lawton, who later tries to kill Paige and several others when he loses all his money in Gary's "Tidal Energy" scheme; Maree Cheatham as Mary Robeson, who claims to be the biological mother of Greg's late wife Laura (Constance McCashin), and who had been sent to prison on a trumped-up charge engineered by Greg; and Felicity Waterman as Vanessa Hunt, an old friend of Claudia Whittaker's daughter Kate (Stacy Galina). Making their final appearances in Season Twelves are Larry Riley and [$Kent Masters-King as Frank and Julia Williams--and, surprisingly, Joan Van Ark as Val Ewing, who mysteriously vanishes in the midst of preparing her tell-all novel. With ratings steadily decreasing during its most recent seasons, Knots Landing wnet on a brief production hiatus in the middle of Season Thirteen so that the new writing team could get a grip on the concept and come up with more compelling storylines. Although things did improve a bit, the series was destined to survive for just one more year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rendered mortally ill by anti-chemical activists during Season Eleven of Knot's Landing, scheming politician-businessman Greg Sumner (William Devane) is snatched from the jaws of death by a liver transplant--which, characteristically, he has secured by dishonest means. This leaves Sumner alive and well, and free to begin life anew with the new love of his life, the bed-hopping Paige Matheson (Nicollette Sheridan), who happens to be the illegitimate daughter of Sumner's perennial crimebusting nemesis, Mack MacKenzie (Kevin Dobson). At the same time, Paige's biological mother Anne (Michelle Phillips), still determined to get her mitts on her daughter's inheritance, dreams up a phony blackmail scheme which brings arouses the attention of her former lover Mario Conti, who dispatches his trusted hatchet man Nick Schillance (Lorenzo Caccialanza) to Knots Landing to help the "victimized" Anne. Ultimately, Anne and Nick will get married and team up to rob Paige of her rightful inheritance. Meanwhile, long-suffering Val (Joan Van Ark) tries to secure a divorce from her imprisoned serial-rapist husband Danny (Sam Behrens), who claims to have been "Born Again" behind bars and refuses to release her from her wedding vows. When Danny is ultimately found dead, Val's ex Gary (Ted Shackelford) is suspected of murder (for about the three-hundredth time!), but is exonerated by Danny's last intended victim, Julie Williams (Kent-Masters King). Elsewhere, novice TV personality Karen (Michele Lee) learns to her horror that her alleged stalker from the previous season, Jeff Cameron (Chris Lemmon), is still alive, still bent on "getting" her despite being exposed as part of a campaign of psychological terror concocted by Karen's conniving former producer Dianne Kirkwood. And in another development, Mack puts his life on the line when he assumes the responsibility of protecting young Jason Lochner (Thomas Wilson Brown) from an abusive parent. Perhaps sensing that the series needed a new "Abby Cunningham"-style villainess, the producer introduce the character of Greg Sumner's scheming sister Claudia Whittaker (Kathleen Noone), who at the outset of Season Eleven swoops into Knots Landing with her daughter Kate (Stacy Galina) and her ex-convict "son" Steve Brewer (Lance Guest) in tow. Steve will eventually be revealed to be the son of the late tycoon Paul Galveston--and thus the brother of Greg Sumner, rather than his nephew. By the time the season finale rolls around, Claudia's machinations have brought about the death of Steven; Karen faces a jail term after forcing a gang of street punks--including one of her own neighbors--to have a car accident; the troublesome Anne is at last kicked out of Knots Landing; and, evidently hastening the process before any more disasters can occur, Gary and Val decide to get married--for the third time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As a reporter investigates the disappearance of an anchorwoman, his important characters are being killed by an "avenging angel." ~ All Movie Guide

Season Ten of Knots Landing begins with Val (Joan Van Ark) surviving the lethal drug overdose administered by Jill (Teri Austin). Worried that her current amour Gary (Ted Shackelford) was planning to re-wed his former wife Val, Jill had schemed to bump off her rival in a manner that would look like suicide--and in fact everyone believes that Val has tried to kill herself, leaving Jill temporarily in the clear. At the same time, the lives of business partners Gary, Abby (Donna Mills) and Karen (Joan Van Ark), imperiled by their dealings with master criminal Manny Vasquez (John Aprea), are saved when Manny is killed by his conscience-ridden nephew Harold (Paul Carafontes). Meanwhile, Karen's son Michael (Pat Petersen) and his current flame Paige (Nicollette Sheridan)--the illegitimate daughter of Karen's estranged husband Mack (Kevin Dobson)--are rescued from the clutches of Mexican drug dealers by the mysterious Johnny Rourke (Peter Reckell). In other developments, conniving Abby manages to swindle her partners out of the Lotus Point Resort via the dummy "Murakame" corporation, then begins drilling for oil on the property. Paige takes up with crooked politico Greg Sumner (William Devane), who later dumps her in order to propose to Abby, mainly to revive his political career; at this juncture, Robert Desiderio joins the cast as Greg's new PR manager Ted Melcher, who will be implicated in one of the several mysterious deaths occurring this season. Johnny and Michael are innocently swept up in a computer-theft scheme, a story arc that serves to introduce the character of Danny Waleska (Sam Behrens). Mack returns to Karen after a brief fling with female forest ranger Paula Vertosick (Melinda Culea). And Abby's daughter Olivia is married to her mom's cast-off sweetheart Harold. The series' tenth season is marked by two spectacular exits. Threatened with the exposure of her many sinister schemes, and facing the loss of Gary Ewing, Jill goes completely off the deep end and commits suicide--after first going through the effort of binding and gagging herself so that Gary will be accused of her murder. And when the authorities finally catch up with Abby's various and sundry underhanded business machinations, she manages to escape by the skin of her teeth by wangling an appointment with the US Trade Adminstration--which requires her to immediately relocate to Japan! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Moving to its now-famous Thursday night timeslot on the occasion of its eighth season, Knots Landing quickly updates its fans on events left unresolved at the end of Season Seven, not least of which is the mysterious kidnapping of Karen MacKenzie (Michele Lee). It turns out that Karen's abductor is Phil Harbert (Louis Gimbalvo), who wants to get even with her crime commissioner ex-husband Mack (Kevin Dobson) for sending him to jail during his wife's terminal illness. Before Mack manages to rescue Karen, Phil has obsessively cut her hair, leaving her with the new shorter style that she will sport for the remainded of the season. In other Season Eight developments, Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford) runs for the senate opposite the duplicitous Peter Hollister (Hunt Block), but ends up losing both the election and his wandering wife Abby (Donna Mills) to Peter. The past relationship between Mack and Anne Matheson (Michelle Phillips) is revealed in a series of flashbacks tied in with the appearance of the couple's illegitimate daughter Paige (Nicollette Sheridan), who is a curious character indeed: Benign to Abby's daughter Olivia (Tonya Crowe) as she helps the girl get over her drug dependency, but quite the predator when it comes to seducing every available male in Knot's Landing--including Michael (Pat Petersen), the son of her father Mack's ex-wife Karen. The seriously disturbed Jean Hackney (Wendy Fulton) comes back into the life of Ben Gibson (Michael Sheehan), estranged husband of Gary's ex Val (Joan Van Ark). Gary has his own problems with the conniving Jill Bennett (Teri Austin), who has maneuvered him into a marriage proposal. And Laura Sumner (Constance McCashlin), the wife of crooked politician Greg Sumner, gives birth to a daughter. As the season rushes to a close, Ben is driven mad by the obsessive Jean and completely drops out of view; and Olivia falls for her mom Abby's current amour, the unsavory Peter Hollister--a turn of events that prompts Abby to conclude that Olivia is responsible for Peter's sudden death ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A fashion designer vows revenge on the man responsible for ruining her brother's reputation over 14 years ago. (AKA Sweet Revenge) ~ All Movie Guide

Season Six of Knots Landing begins with the conniving Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills) finding herself the victim rather than the predator for a change when she is kidnapped by the sinister Mark St. Claire (Joseph Chapman). Meanwhile, Karen Fairgate MacKenzie (Michele Lee), having been wounded by a gunshot meant for her business partner Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford), clings desperately to life. Ultimately, Abby is rescued by the timely intervention of Senator Greg Sumner (William Devane)--which does not in any way diminish the fact that Sumner is a crook, whose mob-connected machinations will have a negative impact on practically everyone else in the cast, including Greg's future bride Laura (Constance McCashlin), the former wife of attorney Richard Avery. And although it is nip and tuck for a while, Karen survives the shooting. Several new characters are introduced this season, not least of which is Greg Sumner's stepmother Ruth Sumner Galveston, played by Ava Gardner in her TV series debut. Howard Duff is seen as Greg's father Paul Galveston, an unscrupulous tycoon whom Karen's crime-commissioner husband Mack (Kevin Dobson) intends to bring to justice. Also, Alec Baldwin makes his first appearance as TV evangelist Joshua Rush, ostensibly the nephew of Lilimae Clement (Julie Harris) but actually her son, meaning he is also the half brother of the long-suffering Val Ewing (Joan Van Ark)--of whom, much more later! To her everlasting regret, local waitress Cathy Geary (Lisa Hartman) will become the wife of Joshua Rush before the season is over. Finally, Teri Austin is introduced as Jill Bennett, a woman who is destined to very nearly bring about the demise of both Val Ewing and her ex-husband Gary. Above all else, Season Five is the year of the "Black Market Babies", as Val gives birth to twins, only to have them stolen from her by an unscrupulous doctor and auctioned off on the illegal adoption market. Although everyone in Knots Landing has been convinced that Val's babies were stillborn--everyone, that is, but Abby, who gloms onto the truth but cruelly keeps her mouth shut--Val stubbornly refuses to accept this and leaves town, determined to prove that her children are still alive. In the process, she becomes unhinged and assumes a new identity, "Verna Ellers." Resurfacing in a small Tennessee community, "Verna"--completely unaware of her previous existence--falls in love with a local dry cleaner and accepts his marriage proposal! In the season's cliffhanger finale, Val is on the verge of reclaiming her babies from their adoptive parents, Harry and Sheila Fisher (Joe Regalbuto, Robin Ginsburg)...and then... ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide