Alan Hale, Jr.

After putting up a valiant (and noisy) fight, a nervous Ben (Jeremy Miller) surrenders to the inevitable and agrees to have his tonsils removed. But while he is anesthetized, Ben has a bizarre out-of-body experience, during which he accepts a ride from a friendly cabbie (played by Alan Hale Jr of Gilligan's Island fame--and returns to the Seaver household to discover that a "New Brad" (Danny Cooksey) has taken his place! Could this disturbing vision have anything to do with Ben's pre-op declaration that he didn't want to be a Seaver anymore? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

ALF's fondness for the old sitcom Gilligan's Island has turned into an obsession, culminating with ALF reconstructing the seven castaways' familiar lagoon in the Tanners' backyard. This inevitably leads to a dream sequence in which ALF meets the Gilligan's Island cast--and learns the hard way that there's a wide gap between sitcom life and real life. Recreating their roles as Gilligan, The Skipper, The Professor and Mary Ann are Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is appointed foreman of the jury in an apparently "open and shut" murder trial. The accused claims that he killed the victim in self-defense, when said victim found the accused in bed with his wife. Half of the jury is for conviction, half for acquittal; as for Jessica, she is convinced that there is more to the case than meets the eye. Indeed, she believes that more than one murder is in play here--and as usual, she's right! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It is doubtful that while acting in D. W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation back in 1914, Lillian Gish ever dreamed that seven decades later she'd be co-starring with a cute dog in something called Hambone and Hillie. It all begins at a busy airport, where octogenarian Hillie (Gish) is accidentally separated from her beloved bow-wow Hambone. In a twinkling, Hambone and Hillie find themselves on opposite coasts of the USA. The rest of the film charts the efforts of both mistress and mutt to find each other again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The seven stranded castaways find comical chaos when an insane scientist, his trusty sidekick and the title basketball tricksters, playing robots visit their tropic island nest in this third in a series of made-for-television films based on the enduring early '60s sitcom. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

While investigating various unusual murders, a police chief and his son develop problems. ~ All Movie Guide

Following the astonishing (and, to some, appalling) success of the 1978 TV movie Rescue From Gilligan's Island, most of the cast of the popular 1960s sitcom Gilligan's Island were hired for two additional "reunion" films. The second, Castaways on Gilligan's Island, finds Gilligan (Bob Denver), the Skipper, too (Alan Hale Sr.) the millionaire (Jim Backus) and his wife (Natalie Schafer), the movie star (Judith Baldwin, subbing for a recalcitrant Tina Louise), the Professor (Russell Johnson) and Mary Ann (Dawn Wells) back on the flyspeck island whence they had recently been rescued. This time, the castaways decide to turn their tiny isle into a tourist resort. This leaves the door wide open for guest stars Tom Bosley and Marcia Wallace as a straitlaced vacationing couple. The Castaways on Gilligan's Island blew its network competition out of the water on the occasion of its debut on May 3, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Eleven years after the network cancellation of Gilligan's Island, the crew and passengers of the ill-fated S. S. Minnow returned to the small screen in Rescue from Gilligan's Island. The cast remains the same, with one significant change. Bob Denver plays inveterate bumbler Gilligan, Alan Hale is the long-suffering Skipper, Jim Backus and Natalie Schafer are the fabulously wealthy Mr. and Mrs. Thurston Howell III, Russell Johnson is the resourceful Professor, and Dawn Wells, as perky as ever, is Mary Ann. Tina Louise wanted no part of any Gilligan's Island reunion, so her role-perennial starlet Ginger Grant-is filled by Judith Baldwyn. The premise: a huge tidal wave transports the seven castaways back to civilization. While they're thrilled to be back in the real world, none of the seven are able to adjust to life outside the island....least of all Gilligan, who on top of all his other problems must contend with a pair of enemy agents (Vincent Schiavelli and Art LeFleur). Conceived as a two-hour pilot film for a weekly revival that never materialized, Rescue from Gilligan's Island was originally telecast in two ratings-grabbing 60 minute installments, shown on October 14 and 21, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The story in this lavish cinemadaptation of Alexandre Dumas' The Man in the Iron Mask remains faithful to the original novel: the right heir to the throne of France is imprisoned in a dungeon by his evil twin brother, his identity kept secret with an uncomfortable iron mask. It's up to the aging D'Artagnan and his three Musketeer companions to set things aright. Though the action takes place in France, the film was rather obviously lensed in Austria, adding an exotic touch to the proceedings. Beau Bridges does double duty as the "right" and "wrong" King Louis, while Beau's dad Lloyd Bridges plays Aramis. Alan Hale Jr. essays the role of Porthos, just as he'd done in 1951's At Sword's Point; also carried over from the 1951 film is Cornel Wilde as D'Artagnan. Other seasoned veterans in the cast include Jose Ferrer (Athos), Ursula Andress (Mme. De la Valliere), Olivia DeHavilland (Queen Anne) and Rex Harrison (Colbert). The Fifth Musketeer was also released as Behind the Iron Mask. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bill Rebane's backyard wonder is a hilariously hokey throwback to the giant-monster flicks of the 50s, while taking its only pseudo-scientific conceit from the mid-70s trend of popular "black hole" theories, combining these two elements to create pure bad-movie heaven. A tiny, decrepit town in rural Wisconsin is rocked by a mysterious explosion, after which a drunken farmer (Robert Easton) discovers dozens of crystal geodes strewn across his property. Cracking each one open reveals a diamond-like encrustation (which to the farmer's dismay proves nearly worthless), as well as a hairy but decidedly un-cosmic tarantula. Being permanently soused, he fails to notice the latter (his equally boozy wife accidentally purees one in her daiquiri!) until the rocks begin opening on their own, and the entire farm is overrun with eight-legged invaders. Despite the title, only one of the spiders would qualify for giant status, but it's definitely a keeper: the Big Daddy arachnid is quite clearly a Volkswagen Beetle covered with black fake fur, with legs operated by the car's passengers and taillights doubling for glowing red eyes. Unfortunately, it is merely glimpsed through much of the film, making its triumphant appearance in the final few minutes. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

This episode marks a rare joint appearance by actor James Daly and his daughter Tyne Daly. The elder Daly is cast as Judge McIntire, who is presently touring college campuses giving lectures about a controversial death sentence he'd levied eight years earlier. During a classroom re-enactment of the trial, McIntire is himself marked to death by an unknown party. Law student Mark (Don Mitchell) must rely upon his boss Ironside (Raymond Burr) to save the judge's life and ferreting out the would-be "executioner". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Oliver (Eddie Albert) and Lisa (Eva Gabor) begin breakfast by opening a box of Crickly Wicklys, a cereal that promises "a prize in each and every package." Well and good -- but they didn't expect to find a cache of genuine and very expensive jewelry! As it turns out, the gems were stashed in the box by a gang of thieves (headed by veteran movie heavy Anthony Caruso). Armed with this information, the viewer should be able to figure out what happens next. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide