Russ Mayberry Movies
- 1988
This feature-length TV pilot stars Lee Majors as an American horse breeder who tries to make a go in New South Wales (shades of Man From Snowy River). Accompanying Majors "down under" is his son (William Hughes); father and son entrench themselves in the ranch of Majors' ex-wife (Rebecca Gilling), who lives with her younger sons. Just when it seems a reconciliation is possible, the woman is killed, forcing Majors to take over the ranch and work it with the help of his three sons and his former father-in-law (Martin Vaughan). Danger Down Under was telecast in March of 1988, where it lost out in a Monday-night ratings battle to Newhart. The film has since been syndicated under two alternate titles: Austral Downs and Harris Down Under. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Magnum (Tom Selleck) is anxious to see justice done in the trial of Quang Ki (Richard Nanta), the Vietnamese official who had earlier tried to kill Magnum's ex-wife Michelle (Marta DuBois) and daughter Lily. Astonishingly, Quang Ki is acquitted of all charges, and Magnum suspects that someone "higher up" has been pulling strings to avoid an international incident. Not long afterward, the detective receives a videotape indicating that Quang Ki has succeeded in murdering his family. Grimly, Magnum prepares to deal out his own brand of justice--a vendetta that well may prove disastrous to a prisoner exchange being negotiated by the US government. Though he receives no screen credit, this episode is narrated by CNN news commentator Bernard Shaw, ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Carol Burnett makes a return appearance as the redoubtable Susan Johnson, who has given up her career as bank clerk to become a private eye. Much to Magnum's dismay, he learns that he and Susan are working on the same case: to locate the missing will of a man who was killed in a highly suspicious boating accident. As Magnum (Tom Selleck) and Susan wade through a morass of lies and deceptions--most of them perpetrated by the dead man's covetous children--the two P.I.s develop a grudging respect for one another. But Susan is still Susan, and by episode's end she has managed to get herself and Magnum trapped in a deserted warehouse! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
While stationed on the planet Ligon II in search of much-needed medical supplies, Enterprise security head Lt. Tasha Yar is kidnapped by the minions of the planet's ruler (Jessie Lawrence Ferguson). In order to secure Yar's release, the rest of the crew must abide by Ligon II's unorthodox -- and very strict -- code of honor. Meanwhile, the beleagured Yar must do battle against the ruler's present wife (Karole Semon), who will stop at nothing to protect her marriage. Written by Katharyn Michaelian Powers and Michael Baron, "Code of Honor" originally aired October 17, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Made for television, A Place to Call Home is based on fact, incredible as it seems from first scene to last. Linda Lavin stars as a Houston mother of eleven children, whose husband decides to move one and all to an Australian sheep ranch in 1970. Lavin drags her kids the requisite 17,000 miles to the Aussie outback--but when she arrives, her husband is nowhere to be found. In fact, except for a couple of fleeting appearances, we never see Lavin's spouse again; she is obliged to forge a life for herself and her huge brood in this forbidding new environment. The woman upon whose life A Place to Call Home is based eventually had herself ensconced in a cloistered convent--and we're hard pressed to blame her. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Lavin, Lane Smith, (more)
- 1987
Filmed in black-and-white, this episode is both an homage to and a spoof of The Maltese Falcon and other "hard-boiled detective" movies of its ilk. In 1941 San Francisco, cynical gumshoe Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) tries to solve the murder of the much-despite publishing baron William Tyler Maxfield. Along the way, he meets the other Magnum, P.I. regulars, recast as "film noir" stereotypes. The story comes to a climax with obligatory revelation scene, in which Magnum gathers all the suspects together in the same room--and is HE surprised by the outcome! Only at the very end do we discover precisely why and how Magnum has been transplanted to another time and another place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Magnum (Tom Selleck) approaches his fortieth birthday with fear and loathing--mainly because he has just lost his lucky $2 bill. How will this catastrophe affect his investigation of arms-smuggling ring which moonlights as an extortion outfit? Also, will he be able to win a special surf-ski race? And as long as we're asking questions, what exactly is the connection between Magnum's current woes and the omnispresence of perky TV reporter Linda Lee Ellison (Patrice Martinez)? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Barbara Rush guest stars as Magnum's beloved Aunt Phoebe, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright known for her extremely vivid imagination. When Phoebe insists that she is being stalked by a murderer, Magnum (Tom Selleck) wonders if the old dear is suffering from the early stages of Alzheimers'. As it turns out, she is--but that doesn't necessarily mean that her life isn't in danger. As an added complication, Magnum must do all of his investigating on the sly: thanks to a bureaucratic oversight, his detective's license has expired. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
French detective Claude Fornier (Paul Verdier), whose exploits have inspired several of Robin Masters' novels, is murdered just after presenting Magnum (Tom Selleck) with the "PI of the Year" award. Though anxious to solve Fornier's murder, Magnum finds that he'll have to wait in line as every other detective attending the awards ceremony (many of whom closely resemble popular TV gumshoes!) insists upon taking a crack at the case. Elisha Cook Jr., usually cast as shady businessman Ice Pick, reprises his characterization of weasely "gunsel" Wilmer from The Maltese Falcon in a dream sequence; and appearing as chief of security at the ceremony is prolific TV producer Stephen J. Cannell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Kicked out of school once again, R.J. Masters (Tate Donovan), punkish nephew of Robin Masters, is sent to Robin's Nest for the summer to learn the finer aspects of gentlemanly behavior from Jonathan Higgins (John Hillerman). Unfortunately, R.J. has no intention of reforming, as he quickly demonstrates by posing as Magnum (Tom Selleck) and accepting an investigation job from a beleagured widow (Meredith MacRae). Before long, the kid is up to his neck in danger, and it looks as if the "real" Magnum may not be able to bail him out! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Filmed on location, this first episode of Magnum, P.I.'s two-part Season Six opener (originally telecast in a single two-hour timeslot) finds Magnum (Tom Selleck) and Higgins (John Hillerman) journeying to London at the behest of their boss, novelist Robin Masters. As Higgins explains the duties of managing Masters' new British estate to caretaker Ian MacKerras (Peter Davison), Magnum looks an old war buddy, Geoffrey St. Clair. The detective has been plagued of late by eerie premonitiions suggesting that Geoffrey has met with disaster--and sure enough, no sooner has he arrived than Magnum is informed that Geoffrey has died. Against his better judgement, our hero finds himself falling in love with his unfortunate friend's widow Penelope (Francesca Annis). Meanwhile, Higgins braces himself for a visit with his father, whom he hasn't seen nor spoken to in over thirty years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
In the conclusion of Magnum, P.I.'s two-part Season Six opener (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode), Magnum (Tom Selleck) and Higgins (John Hillerman) are still in London, still battling their inner demons. Having had premonitions of the death of his friend Geoffrey St. Clair, Magnum finds himself drawing ever closer to Geoffrey's widow Penelope--which opens the floodgates for even more disturbing visions of the past and the future when the detective discovers that his late friend had been a member of a gang specializing in political assassinations. Meanwhile, Higgins comes face to face with his stern, unforgiving father Albert (also played by John Hillerman), with whom he hasn't spoken since being expelled from Sandhurst in 1934. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Magnum (Tom Selleck) pays a visit to the Big Island, where the cattle ranch run by teenager Kenny Harbison (Michael Sharrett) is being plundered by rustlers. Investigating, Magnum soon realizes that Kenny's claims of affluence are highly exaggerated, and that the ranch may be on its last legs. Once he has absorbed this bit of news, the detective must determine which of two supsects is stealing the cattle: The estate's head ranch hand, or a neighboring rancher who happens to be an old friend of Robin Masters. Appropriately enough, this "Hawaiian western" spotlights the talents of two former TV cowboys, Doug McClure (The Virginian) and Henry Darrow (The High Chaparral). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
While scuba-diving in the Kahuku lagoon, Magnum (Tom Selleck) thinks that he sees a boy named Kel'il Parker (Kahale Ahina) swimming alongside him. Trouble is, Kel'il was killed five years before in a boating accident. Despite his friends' efforts to convince him that he was hallucinating, Magnum is determined to prove that he saw exactly what he saw--and in so doing, to expunge the guilt of Kel'il's mother (Ilima Parker), who is convinced that she was responsible for the boy's death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
The Challenge of a Lifetime is Hawaii's Ironman Triathalon. Unless you're an ironman, the outcome of this competition may not be of paramount importance to you. But it is crucial to Penny Marshall, a divorced mother seeking to prove that she's more than just an adjunct to her family. Marshall enters the 140-mile triathalon, which requires her to run, swim, and navigate a bicycle. Most of those who caught this TV movie's premiere on February 14, 1985, had tumbled to its outcome before the second commercial. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Penny Marshall
- 1984
Magnum's latest client is a little Vietnamese street kid named Tran Quoc Jones (Ronald Harrah III). An illegal alien, the boy has come to Hawaii in search of his missing dad, an American G.I. Can it be that Magnum's friend T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) is the man Tran Quoc seeks? And why has pompous politician Dick Hasley (Rick Lenz) chosen to exploit the child's plight as a means of publicizing his campaign? The answers, of course, are not immediately forthcoming--in fact, it will require a murder for the truth to be revealed! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
As a personal favor, Deputy DA Carol Baldwin (Kathleen Lloyd) asks Magnum (Tom Selleck) to investigate the alleged murder of a young mother, a death witnessed by the victim's little daughter. It is highly possible that the woman committed suicide and that the main suspect may be guilty of an even worse crime, but Carol hopes to spare the youthful witness the trauma of testifying. But how can Magnum get his job done now that he has been deprived the use of Robin Masters' Ferrari? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
This sweet family biopic chronicles the rise of the Osmond family singers and the struggles of their parents, George and Olive, to raise eight talented children. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1981
This TV movie stars Tony Randall as Sidney Shorr, a reclusive, middle-aged commercial artist. Sidney opens himself up a bit to an ebullient young actress (Lorna Patterson)--who shocks the shockable Mr. Shorr by becoming pregnant. If we haven't mentioned the fact that Sidney Shorr is gay, it's because the film itself never spells out the fact; his gayness is conveyed through subtle signs and suggestions. Nonetheless, when Sidney Shorr: A Girl's Best Friend became a weekly series titled Love Sidney, there was such an uproar from various pressure groups (of all persuasions) that Shorr's homosexuality was muted down to virtual oblivion. Tony Randall continued to play Sidney Shorr in Love Sidney, but the live-in actress was portrayed by Swoosie Kurtz rather than Lorna Patterson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
This fact-based made-for-television drama tells the story of nurse Joy Ufemal and her invaluable work with those dying of incurable diseases. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Clearly inspired by the theatrical feature Norma Rae, The $5.20 an Hour Dream stars Linda Lavin as a recently divorced woman supporting herself and her 12-year-old daughter. The highest-paying job at the Oregon engine factory where she works is on the assembly line--which has traditionally been an all-male operation. Bucking the system (and several stereotyped "chauvinist pigs"), Lavin eventually wins a place on the line, as do several of her female friends. As always, Linda Lavin (for whom this film was a pet project) looks far too self-reliant to ever be considered a "victim," so the climax of $5.20 an Hour Dream is a foregone conclusion. This made for TV movie received an award from the National Commission of Working Women. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
In this made-for-TV movie, a wedding photographer learns the secrets of marriage while working at several ceremonies. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
