Paul Krasny Movies

Robert Conrad and Dee Wallace-Stone star in this made-for-TV movie about a California civilian rescue squad led by former leatherneck Tooter Campbell (Conrad). Search and Rescue served as the pilot for the subsequent series High Sierra Search and Rescue. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The expensively assembled two-part TV movie Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel is the true story of a successful "bust" engineered by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Part One detailed an undercover attack on the Colombian drug lords' refineries (see separate entry for further details). In part two, DEA agent Mike Cerone (Dennis Farina) risks life and limb--and his job--to reel in the Medelin kingpins in Bogota. Though the villains exact a vengeance upon their tormentors (and several innocent bystanders), victory is ultimately in the hands of the good guys. Part Two of Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel first aired January 21, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Flowers for Matty was one of a smattering of 2-hour Kojak TV dramas presented on the 1989-90 series The ABC Saturday Mystery Movie. Theo Kojak, now a police inspector, takes on the case of a murdered author. The dead man was just about to publish an inflammatory book about mob activities. There's an overabundance of suspects, chief among them guest star Angie Dickinson. Dickinson plays a TV talk show hostess and the wife of the murdered man. She also happens to be the former love of Theo Kojak. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A strange man who had come to Blue Moon hoping to hire a bodyguard abruptly drops dead in the office. Subsequently, David (Bruce Willis) and Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) find themselves "babysitting" their would-be client's corpse. The plot may be wrapped around a missing lottery ticket and a strange tattoo--and then again, maybe it isn't, who knows? The episode's title refers to a lengthy dream sequences in which Maggie finds herself in the Afterlife with some suspiciously familiar-looking ghosts and goblins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

David (Bruce Willis) finally meets Walter (Dennis Dugan), the man whom Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) has impulsively married. Rather than get angry or exhibit jealousy, David generously offers to throw a bachelor party for Walter. That David might have an ulterior motive is evidenced when the stripper hired for the party doesn't show up--and Bert Viola (Curtis Armstrong) takes her place! Highlights of this episode include a chaotic hospital scene, and the formation of "The Royal Order of Napkin Heads." Also: Brooke Adams makes a return appearance as Terri Knowles, the pregnant woman whom David met in a Lamaze class a few episodes back. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Pregnant with David's baby, Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) has decided to return from Chicago to LA via train--but she's still not sure whether or not she and David should resume their relationship. En route, Maddie meets a dweebish fellow passenger named Walter Bishop (Dennis Dugan), to whom she pours out her heart--and a generous supply of story exposition. Meanwhile, Agnes (Allyce Beasley) and Bert (Curtis Armstrong) anxiously await Maddie's return so that they can fill her in as to what occurred in the episodes she has missed--little suspecting that Maddie has a bit of startling news of her own! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Roberts Blossom of Home Alone fame guest stars as Lawrence Everett, a 90-year-old man suffering from a variety of illnesses. Everett has arranged to be murdered--and he hires David (Bruce Willis) and Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) to witness the crime! Before long, David has been led to believe that he himself is Mr. Everett's killer. Not only is this the episode in which David and Maddie finally share their first real kiss, but it is also the one featuring David's amazing "disappearing" shaving cream. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Made for television, When Hell Was in Session is the true story of Navy commander Jonathan Denton Jr., here played by Hal Holbrook. Shot down during a bombing mission over Vietnam in 1965, Denton endured nearly eight horrendous years as a POW. The plot details Denton's efforts to organize a resistance movement among his fellow prisoners. The film concludes with a powerful re-enactment of Denton's homecoming, as originally seen by millions of American televiewers in 1973. Based on the book by Denton and Ed Brandt, When Hell Was in Session debuted October 8, 1979 ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV Fly Away Home was intended as the pilot for a weekly series. Bruce Boxleitner stars as Carl Danton, a combat photographer assigned to Vietnam. This time around, Danton is compelled to cover the Tet Offensive--and to battle with bureaucratic red tape in order to maintain his journalistic integrity. A subplot concerns internal corruption involving an otherwise respectable Vietnamese family. Featured in the cast as Denton's Vietnamese lady friend Mai is Tiana Alexandra, the wife of the film's producer/screenwriter Stirling Silliphant. Fly Away Home first aired September 18, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed on location at Alcatraz Island, this two-part "whole story" actually concentrates on a handful of the denizens behind the cold grey walls of "The Rock". Michael Beck plays the real-life Clarence Carnes, an Oklahoma Choctaw Indian said to be the youngest man ever incarcerated in the notorious maximum security prison. Serving a 99-year sentence for a gas station holdup and murder, Carnes makes periodic attempts to escape, the final attempt being the most violent. Many of the subordinate characters are fictional (as are most of the details concerning Carnes' escape efforts); the one exception is Robert Stroud, the "Birdman of Alcatraz", here portrayed by Art Carney as a gentle, kindly philosopher. Telly Savalas, a costar of the Burt Lancaster vehicle Birdman of Alcatraz, also guest starred in the 1980 film. Originally titled Alcatraz and Clarence Carnes, this made-for-TV movie wavers between gritty realism and "I'm bustin' outta here!" artifice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

240-Robert was an Emergency-style TV series, set (where else?) in Los Angeles. The program focused on three young members of the L.A. County Sheriff Department's Emergency Service Detail (E.S.D.): Trap (John Bennett Perrry), the leader of the trio; Morgan (Joanna Cassidy), the female chopper pilot; and muscule-bound Thib (Mark Harmon). Aired August 28, 1979, the 90-minute 240-Robert pilot episode included hairbreadth rescues from a mountainside auto accident and a narcotics-related plane crash. When the series swung into its second season, Morgan and Thib were replaced by Sandy (Pamela Hensley) and Brett (Stephan Burns). 240-Robert remained on the air until September 19, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While being held in a small-town jail for a minor traffic infraction, Qiuincy (Jack Klugman barely escapes with his life when the jail catches fire--but four other prisoners aren't so lucky. Though Quincy's autopsy indicates that at least one of the four dead inmates was the victim of foul play, the local authorities insist that all the deaths were accidental. Convinced that a cover-up is in the works, Quincy sets out to prove his theory by teaming up with town doctor Carl Jessup (Duncan Gamble)--who suffers mightily for his cooperation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In an episode obviously inspired by the Howard Hughes saga, reclusive billionaire Stanley Appleton Troy is found murdered in his high-rise executive suite, despite being protected by a state-of-the-art security system. There's only one obvious suspect, Ben Mular (Ramon Bieri) and Lt. Monahan (Garry Walberg) wastes no time making an arrest. But as usual, Quincy (Jack Klugman) questions the official police verdict--and he sets about to prove that the hapless Mular was framed by Troy's avaricious business associates. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide