Ron Canada Movies

Balden (J. August Richards) was a successful businessman whose adoring father always preferred him over family black sheep Rick (Sharif Atkins). Things for Travis went unexpectedly bad, however, when the pressures at work become too much to bear, a suspicious stock sale prompted a serious investigation, and his wife walked out on him for neglecting their marriage. As a result, Travis ended his own life in a shocking act of violence. In the wake of Travis' death, his brother Rick returns to town to check in on grieving sister Nina. When their father catches wind of Rick's visit, he makes it plain to his son that the wrong boy was buried. Infuriated that his father always favored Travis, Rick sets out to prove that his sibling wasn't the angel that everyone credited him with being. But in the course of Rick's dangerous investigation he realizes that his brother's death was much more complicated than anyone realized, and that perhaps it wasn't his father's eyes that needed to be opened, but his own instead. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Season ten of Frasier gets under way not long after Niles (David Hyde Pierce) and Daphne (Jane Leeves) have eloped to Reno. Feeling guilty over leaving Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Martin (John Mahoney) out of their wedding plans, the couple pretends to still be unhitched so that a more formal ceremony can take place in Seattle. What they hadn't counted on was the persistence of Daphne's mom, Gertrude (Millicent Martin), who demands a third ceremony at a place of her choosing; nor are they prepared for the return of Daphne's jilted ex-fiancé, Donny Douglas (Saul Rubinek). ~ All Movie Guide

If not the best new drama series of the 2001-2002 TV season, Philly bade fair to be the loudest and most abrasive. NYPD Blue alumnus Kim Delaney stars as idealistic law school graduate Kathleen Maguire, who, after her divorce from assistant DA Daniel X. Cavanaugh (Kyle Secor), put out her shingle as a Philadelphia defense attorney. When Kathleen's partner Marion (Joanna Cassidy) suffers a nervous breakdown, she reluctantly goes into business with highly unethical lawyer Will Friedman (Tom Everett Scott), thereby launching a series-long shoutfest between the two strange bedfellows. If Will weren't headache enough, Kathleen also has to deal with slimy clients, ill-tempered judges, and a seemingly endless parade of eccentric courtroom habitué, most of whom have nothing but sex on their brains. Providing a bit of moral support and affection to the long-suffering Kathleen is her outspoken ten-year-old son Patrick (Scotty Leavenworth). It should be noted that a number of genuine Philadelphia lawyers actively disliked the series, labeling it "unrealistic" and "insulting" -- but they never said it wasn't entertaining. Executive-produced by the prolific Stephen Bochco, the weekly, 60-minute Philly was supposed to have been unveiled by ABC on September 18, 2001, but the network's coverage of the World Trade Center tragedy pushed the debut date up to September 25. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Julia (Jenny McCarthy) and Jack (Matt Keeslar) are exes who have grown blind to the fact that they're head over heels in love. Though on the surface it appears as if their relationship has failed, these two co-workers still bicker like a couple that's been together for decades. One day, as Jack looks after a golfer suffering from amnesia, divine intervention ensues. It seems that the elderly golfer is actually God in disguise. The creator is taking an earthly vacation, and once he learns about a certain troubled young couple he makes it his holy mission to help them rekindle the romance. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV Before He Wakes is based on the novel by Jerry Bledsoe),which in turn was inspired by the true story of convicted murderer Barbara Stager (who at the time of the film was slated for her first parole hearing in 2006). A small North Carolina town is shocked when popular high school baseball coach Ron Michaels (Timothy Carhart) is killed in his sleep. The killer turns out to be his wife Bridget (Jaclyn Smith), a successful career woman who is widely loved and respected in the community. Bridget insists that she shot her husband by accident, and the police are willing to believe her story--until members of Ron's family, joined with the relatives of Bridget's first husband, raise a number of disturbing questions. Ultimately it is revealed that Bridget has been leading a double life, posing as a pillar of the community while mounting huge debts to maintain her sumptuous lifestyle--and it is determined that Bridget killed her first husband, who died under similar circumstances as the hapless Ron Michaels. All of the character names are changed for various reasons, and a great deal of dramatic license is taken with the sequence of events (in real life, the cops weren't quite as slow on the upstake as they're shown to be here!) Before He Wakes made its first CBS appearance on December 1, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Eleven-year-old Clover is angry, confused, frightened, and sad. She didn't ask her father to fall in love with that Yankee white woman, and she certainly didn't expect her father to die in a car crash on his wedding day. Now she feels all alone, caught between her family, who strongly disapprove of her father's bride, and the well-meaning but culturally clueless stepmother who tries to win Clover's love and deal with her own grief. In an unexpected turn of events, it is the late father/husband himself who provides the catalyst for healing. An unusually well-wrought made-for-cable drama, Clover explores a family's grief and attempts to come together in a realistic, moving manner. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Worf undergoes an extradition hearing to determine if he should stand trial on his home planet. The Klingon Empire has charged Worf with firing upon a civilian transport and killing 444 passengers. Presiding over the hearing is merciless Klingon Advocate Ch'Pok (Ron Canada), who intends to prove that the incident was a deliberate act of aggression and not the tragic accident Worf claims it to be. Directed by former Next Generation regular LeVar Burton, "Rules of Engagement" was scripted by Ronald D. Moore from a story by Bradley Thompson and David Weddle, and first aired April 8, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When her precious Porsche is stolen, Murphy (Candice Bergen) joins a neighborhood-watch group. It doesn't take long, however, for Murphy to realize that the other members are less "watchdog" than "vigilante"--and in fact are one step away from a lynch mob. Tom Poston appears in another of his patented mean-old-man characterizations...and will you be surprised by the performance of onetime "June Cleaver" Barbara Billingsley! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the second half of the two-part "A Voice in the Wilderness," Epsilon 3 is taken over by hostile aliens. Should the planet's reactors fall into the wrong hands, it may mean the end of Babylon 5. Making a bad situation worse, the heavy Earthforce cruiser Hyperion shows up, prepared to defend the planet to the last drop of everyone's blood. Written by J. Michael Straczynski, this episode includes an inside joke that will probably be spotted only by Internet aficionados. Part Two of "A Voice in the Wilderness" was originally broadcast on August 3, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

To improve her grades so that she can keep her engineering scholarship, Lena (Jada Pinkett) writes a florid "biographical" essay, heavily fictionalizing the accomplishments of her father Grover James (Ron Canada). Certain that no one will ever learn the real story, Lena is terror-stricken when dear old Dad shows up to watch her win a journalism award. Meanwhile, Whitley (Jasmine Guy) takes a crash course in politics in hopes of helping Byron (Joe Morton) win the senatorial election. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, Rebecca (Kirstie Alley) says she is willing to marry Robin (Roger Rees), even though he has indulged in illegal insider trading. Worried that Rebecca will be implicated in her boyfriend's crimes, Sam (Ted Danson) blows the whistle on Robin and is rewarded by his corporate bosses with the ownership of Cheers. Convinced that Sam's motives were mercenary, Rebecca refuses to have anything to do with him -- at least until the cliffhanger which brings the eighth season of Cheers to a close. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this detective drama, a private investigator from Phoenix is determined to prove that a young woman's death was caused by a psychologist and a mail-order minister. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide