Don McBrearty Movies

In this sequel to the 2003 made-for-cable Sex & the Single Mom, divorced lawyer Jess Gradwell (Gail O'Grady) is confronted with the consequences of her brief fling with heart surgeon Alex Lofton (Grant Show) three years earlier when she finds that she is the mother of a toddler named Jake (Charlie Sperandeo). It isn't long before Alex himself comes back into Jess' life, initially unaware that he's a father but willing to pick up where he left off when he finds out. Trouble is, Jess is currently engaged to another lawyer (the obligatory "Ralph Bellamy" character in these romantic comedies). Meanwhile, Jess' 18-year-old daughter Sara (Chelsea Hobbs), who'd managed to escaped unsullied from her romance with a neighbor kid in the earlier film, has developed a yen for a scruffy photographer. Best line: "Virginity is not all it's cracked up to be." More Sex & the Single Mom first aired February 7, 2005 on Lifetime. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

 

Based on a true story, this made-for-cable drama focuses on the plight of 14-year-old Michael Crowe (Mark Rendall). When his younger sister is found murdered in her bed, Michael is accused of the crime and hauled into the local police station. After a grueling interrogation, the cops manage to coerce a confession out of the beleaguered boy. Michael's mother, Cheryl (Ally Sheedy), together with a small band of sympathizers, desperately takes on "the System" to fight for the boy's fundamental legal rights. The Interrogation of Michael Crowe debuted December 4, 2002, as one of several reality-based movies produced for the Court TV cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on the best-selling books by Catherine Marshall, the original TV series Christy focused on 19-year-old Christy Huddleston, an idealistic schoolteacher who left a life of wealth and comfort behind to accept a job in the backward mountain community of Cutter, NC, in 1912. First telecast as a two-part, four-hour PAX Network miniseries on May 13 and May 14, 2001, Christy: Return to Cutter Gap picks up where the weekly series left off. Lauren Lee Smith replaces Kellie Martin as Christy, while Stewart Finlay-McLennan repeats his series role as the community's agnostic, Scottish-born doctor Neil McNeill. In part one of Return to Cutter Gap, titled "A Change of Seasons," the year is 1913, and Cutter Gap is in the throes of a deadly typhoid epidemic. The superstitious mountaineers believe that the illness has been brought on by such "outsiders" as Christy Huddleston and the community's new minister, Rev. David Grantland (James Waterston). Dr. McNeill realizes that the real cause of the epidemic is Cutter Gap's brackish water and squalid living conditions, but he is unable to convince the locals of his findings. Meanwhile, Christy suffers a crisis of faith when one of her closest friends dies of the fever, and on another front, she finds herself romantically torn between McNeill and Grantland. Part two, "A New Beginning," takes place three months later. This time, the community is literally torn apart by a raging storm. As the rest of the citizens head to the highest point in Cutter Gap, Christy and Dr. McNeill are stranded in a tiny hunter's shack. Shocked when McNeill declares his love for her, Christy rushes into the deluge, contracting a deadly fever. Also complicating matters is the presence of attractive aviatrix Harriet Quimby (Claudette Mink), who has apparently set her cap for McNeill. The story concludes with a wedding -- but which man does Christy choose for her life partner? Filmed in British Columbia, Christy: Return to Cutter Gap was originally telecast under the title Christy: Choices of the Heart). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Like the various incarnations of Anne of Green Gables, the Canadian TV series Emily of New Moon was based on the works of novelist Lucy Maud Montgomery. Set in the 1890s, the series starred Martha MacIsaac as Emily Byrd Starr, who after the deaths of her parents was sent to live with her middle-aged aunts Elizabeth (Susan Clark) and Laura (Sheila McCarthy) in the Prince Edward Island community of New Moon. An aspiring writer, Emily possessed an extremely vivid imagination, which frequently resulted in a heap of trouble for herself and her oddball adult cousin Jimmy (Stephen McHattie). Forty-six hour-long episodes were shown over the CBC during a two-year period beginning January 4, 1998. At the outset of the 21st century, Emily of New Moon was picked up for TV exposure in the United States by the Movieplex cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Dan Aykroyd stars as A. V. Roe Canada President Crawford Gordon in this four-part CBC mini-series tracing the conception and production of the Avro Arrow supersonic jet interceptor. Ron White, Lubomir Mykytiuk, and Nigel Bennett co-star in this highly successful docudrama featuring cameos by Michael Ironside and Michael Moriarty. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In this fact-based drama, a midwife and her spouse are accused of illegally smuggling babies to Canada for adoption. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Originally telecast October 4, 1986, Really Weird Tales was meant to be a satirical spin on the old Twilight Zone series. SCTV regulars John Candy, Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara and Joe Flaherty head the cast of this 90-minute comedy anthology. The tenor of the project can be gauged by the first playlet, "All's Well That Ends Strange," the story of a wastrelly lothario uncovering a Horrible Secret. Laughs? Of course there are laughs. All that's missing in Really Weird Tales is the strong storytelling sense that Rod Serling injected into his Twilight Zone. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After her child is abducted by her ex-husband, a woman hires a contract killer to find the man and rescue her son. ~ John Bush, Rovi