Stephen J. Cannell Movies

The television series that shot Johnny Depp to stardom makes the leap to the big screen in this reboot starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum) have the kind of faces that could let them pass for teenagers. Eager to prove themselves as effective policemen, the pair join the Jump Street program and go undercover to investigate a high-school drug ring. Now, the only thing more daunting than the prospect of taking on violent adolescent dope slingers is the possibility of experiencing the torture of their teenage years all over again. Ice Cube, Brie Larson, and Rob Riggle co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Actress-turned-director Lori Petty makes her feature directorial debut with this period drama set in 1976 that explores a typical day in the life of a decidedly atypical teen named Agnes. Some folks have the luxury of living each day to the fullest, but for Agnes every day is a grueling struggle for survival; her mother is strung out on drugs, her home has been overrun by degenerates, and her only father figure is a pimp. For Agnes and her two younger sisters, this particular day will be marked by both tragedy and triumph, but which will resonate most in the days and weeks to follow? Selma Blair, Bokeem Woodbine, and David Alan Grier star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

As maestro TV producer Stephen J. Cannell's latest foray into feature work, The Tooth Fairy represents the latest direct-to-video entry in an unofficial series of slasher films that resurrect friendly characters in a horrific vein -- from the 1997 Jack Frost to the 2005 Gingerdead Man. This particular outing begins with the legend of a woman known as "The Tooth Fairy," who lures unsuspecting children to her home with promises of gifts in exchange for their lost teeth, and then butchers them. The film implies, at its outset, that the homicidal slayer is long gone -- and that her home is being converted to a cozy bed and breakfast. Everyone believes the story -- until a young girl and her mother check into the inn. The child happens to be on the verge of losing a tooth, and all hell breaks loose. Chuck Bowman (A Kiss So Deadly) directs, from a teleplay co-authored by Cannell and Corey Strode. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

A demon has come to Earth to force possessed women to bear its children, and it's up to a half-human/half-demon hybrid to save the human race in Earth vs. the Spider director Scott Ziehl's dark tale of satanic terror. As possession sweeps the land and the population of the planet lies helpless to defend themselves against the growing supernatural forces that surround them, the offspring of a demon and a human (Billy Drago) must fight to ensure the human race remains free from the murderous influences of Satan's minions. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Imagine being trapped inside a forest ranger station with your loved ones - and praying for your life as a fearsome, carnivorous creature lurks outside, waiting to clean up. This is the fate that befalls the young Danielle St. Claire (Cerina Vincent) and her boyfriend, Justin(Dominic Zamprogna) one evening, in acclaimed TV producer Stephen J. Cannell's made-for-television frightfest, It Waits. Traumatized by a recent auto accident that killed her friend - in which she was driving - St. Claire exiles herself to a ranger station in the San Bernardino Mountains. Meanwhile, a group of archaeology students from Princeton unwittingly open a nearby cave and unleash a centuries-old demon - that heads straight for Danielle. Underplayed and subtle, director Stephen R. Monroe leaves the goriest and most gruesome details off camera, allowing terror to build in the viewer's mind. Cannell co-scripted in addition to executive producing. Eric Schweig co-stars. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Evidently inspired by the 1958 theatrical feature It! The Terror From Beyond Space (which, of course, was also the basis for the 1979 thriller Alien), this made-for-cable melodrama begins as the crew of the space shuttle Oklahoma returns to earth after a routine mission. Unbeknownst to them, they have also brought back an alien "guest" in the form of seeds which blossom into insectoid life-forms, infiltrating human bodies to complete their evolution. At first, the victims of these aliens think they've merely broken out in blisters, but they soon learn differently -- to their unutterable horror. Racing against the clock, the Oklahoma's chief medical officer "Geronimo" Horne (Nicholas Lea) works in concert with his colleague Thaddeus Owens (Anthony Sherwood) and entimologist Savannah Bailey (Jamie Luner) to stem the alien invasion before the rapidly proliferating creatures reach the "threshold" amount -- at which point they will be impossible to control. Threshold debuted April 19, 2003, on the Sci-Fi Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Action hero Steven Seagal goes behind bars -- though don't worry, he isn't really a bad guy -- in this action thriller. Sascha Petrosevitch (Seagal) is an FBI agent working undercover to infiltrate a gangland kingpin's operations. While Petrosevitch is able to gain the trust of one of the gangster's lieutenants, Nick Frazier (Ja Rule), things go haywire during an FBI raid, and Petrosevitch takes several slugs in the back as he struggles to maintain his cover. Eight months later, Petrosevitch and Frazier are serving time together in the newly refurbished Alcatraz Penitentiary, as Petrosevitch secretly continues his investigation. Prison warden Hubbard (Stephen J. Cannell) is arranging for the execution of convicted killer and thief Lester (Bruce Weitz), and U.S. Supreme Court justice Jane McPherson (Linda Thorson) has announced she will attend as a witness. But Hubbard's assistant Donny (Morris Chestnut) has devised a secret plan -- it seems Lester stole and stashed away 200 million dollars in gold before he was arrested, and Donny, along with an underground SWAT team, takes control of the prison and takes Hubbard, McPherson, and the other assembled dignitaries hostage, demanding to be told where Lester has hidden his fortune. Now Petrosevitch must drop his cover and persuade his allies within the prison -- including Frazier and Little Joe (Michael "Bear" Taliferro) -- to join him in a desperate bid to foil Donny and free the hostages. Half Past Dead also features Nia Peeples, Kurupt, Tony Plana, and Claudia Christian. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Hunter: Return to Justice is the second made-for-TV movie based on the popular cop series Hunter, which originally ran from 1984 to 1991. Fred Dryer returns to the role of LAPD detective Rick Hunter, whom, as we soon discover, may be older but is no mellower. In fact, the film begins with a burst of gunplay that would put Dirty Harry to shame. As the result of a bad drug bust which cost the lives of a few innocent civilians, Hunter is put "on leave" by the department and advised to take a good long rest. He heads down to San Diego, current home of his former police partner, Dee Dee McCall (Stephanie Kramer), now the fiancée of fabulous, wealthy mayoral candidate Roger Prescott (Sam Hennings). If Hunter truly expects any R&R, he is in for a shock: Prescott turns out to be an ex-KGB agent, placing himself and Dee Dee in the cross-hairs of the Russian mafia. Filmed almost entirely on location, Hunter: Return to Justice played to excellent ratings when it first aired November 16, 2002, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

James Garner is reunited with several of his fellow cast members from the Rockford Files series in this made-for-TV sequel. It all begins when schoolteacher Ernie Landale (Hal Holbrook), the husband of private eye Jim Rockford's ex-prostitute friend Rita Kapkovic (Rita Moreno), is accused of child molestation. Never mind that the evidence is circumstantial at best, flimsy at worst: The Media have already tried and convicted Landale, irresponsibly whipping up a journalistic frenzy that turns all of the benighted teacher's associates and friends against him. All, that is, except Jim Rockford (Garner), who, together with Landale's attorney Beth Davenport (Gretchen Corbett) and police lieutenant Dennis Becker (Joe Santos), is prepared to move heaven and earth to find the actual pedophile and clear Landale's name. Filmed in 1997, The Rockford Files: If It Bleeds, It Leads made its CBS debut on April 20, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Not to be confused with the 1954 giant-insect film of the same name, the made-for-TV Them is more closely akin to the late-1960s television series The Invaders--and in fact, was produced as the pilot for an unsold sci-fi series of the 1990s. In order to save their own dying race, a band of aliens travels to earth, their to infiltrate and ultimate take over the planet by assuming human form. The viewer can be sure that the film's top-billed actors aren't aliens in disguise, but beyond that it is anybody's guess. If nothing else, Them can boast of better than average special effects, with the extraterrestrials moving with the speed of lighting (actually, they move with the lightning in a piggy-back fashion!) The film was originally aired on October 8, 1996, by the UPN network. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Writer, director, and star Mario Van Peebles tried to correct historical misconceptions about African-Americans on the frontier with this action-packed western that's also an homage to spaghetti Westerns. During the Spanish-American War, a squadron of black soldiers led by Jesse Lee (Van Peebles) is assigned a dangerous mission behind enemy lines in Cuba by evil Colonel Graham (Billy Zane). Joined by a white gambler, Little J (Stephen Baldwin), the troupe is to recover a chest of gold. Realizing that Graham will slaughter them once they've relinquished the booty, Lee and his men retrieve the chest, wound Graham, and head for home. Ambushed by Graham in New Orleans, the "posse" heads for Lee's hometown of Freemanville, a frontier settlement of ex-slaves. Years ago, Lee's minister father (Robert Hooks) was murdered there by Klansmen, and the gunslinger wants revenge. There's new trouble brewing in Freemanville, however. Sheriff Bates (Richard Jordan), top lawman in neighboring Cutterville, plans to wipe out Freemanville's citizens and sell their lucrative property to a railroad. Then there's Graham, still on Lee's trail. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Created by Stephen J. Cannell, the weekly, hour-long police drama Silk Stalkings dealt with unusual and frequently kinky crimes of passion amongst the wealthy elite of Palm Beach, FL. During the series' nine-season run, three different "dog and cat" teams of undercover cops pieced together the clues and snapped the cuffs on the perps. Introduced during season one were Sgt. Chris Lorenzo (Rob Estes) and his partner Sgt. Rita Lee "Sam" Lance (Mitzi Kapture), the latter also serving as the series' narrator. Chris and Rita took their orders first from grouchy, by-the-book Captain "Hutch" Hutchinson (Ben Vereen). He was transferred to the Ft. Lauderdale division midway through season two, then briefly replaced by Lt. Lou Hudson (Robert Gossett). By the time season three rolled around, Chris and Rita were answering to bombastic hypochondriac Captain Harry Lipschitz (Charlie Brill), who in turn answered to his domineering wife Fran (Mitzi McCall). Characters such as Harry and Fran provided comic relief to offset the drama and tension inherent in the stories. Likewise cast in a humorous vein were radio sex therapist Melissa Cassidy (Kim Morgan Greene), libidinous morgue attendant Roger (Danny Gans), bon vivant con artist Cotton Dunn (John Byner), and Runyonesque gangster Donnie "Dogs" DiBarto (Dennis Paladino). While it was "strictly business" between Chris and Rita during the series' early seasons, their relationship deepened into romance after Chris was shot and nearly killed by a demented woman at the end of season three. Ultimately, Chris and Rita were married at the beginning of the fifth season, but one month later Chris was fatally shot while trying to rescue Rita from a kidnapper. She became so distraught that she quit the force, whereupon Captain Lipschitz formed a team of replacement cops: ex-Chicagoan detective Michael Price (Nick Kokotakis) and Southern belle detective Holly Rawlins (Tyler Layton). Come season six, and both Price and Rawlins were gone with little explanation. Their replacements were Det. Sgt. Tom Ryan (Chris Potter) and Det. Sgt. Cassandra "Cassy" St. John (Janet Gunn), who had once been husband and wife. Tom and Cassy remained the stars until the series' curiously downbeat finale. Debuting November 7, 1991, Silk Stalkings was a coproduction of over-the-air network CBS and the USA cable network, and ran on both services until November 4, 1993. The series' final seven seasons were first-run exclusively on USA until the series' end in late 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi