Roger C. Carmel Movies

The fourth and final season of the original Transformers cartoon series is actually a three-part miniseries titled "The Rebirth." The age-old war between the two rival Transformer factions, the Autobots and the Decepticons, takes the combatants to Nebulos, a planet controlled by evil telepaths. In the course of events, the lines of battle are blurred when, thanks to those aforementioned telepaths, several Decepticons, disguised as good-guy Autobots, infiltrate the other side. As the climax approaches, the fate of everyone concerned rests in the hands of the Autobots' human ally Spike -- with a bit of assistance from the revivified Optimus Prime, head of the Autobots, who has merged his intelligence and resources with the "super computer" Vector Sigma. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Twenty-one years after ending its original ABC prime-time run in 1965, the Hanna Barbera animated adventure series Jonny Quest was revived with 13 brand-new episodes as a component of the weekend syndicated package "Funtastic World of Hanna Barbera." All of the original characters were revived: globetrotting research scientist, Dr. Benton Quest; his tousled-haired son, Jonny; Jonny's bodyguard-tutor, Race Bannon; his mystical young Indian friend, Hadji; and the pet bulldog, Bandit. Of the original voice actors, only Don Messick (as Dr. Quest and Bandit) and Victor Perrin (as perennial villain Dr. Zin) were heard on the later series. In the sixth of the "new" episodes, another member of the Quest team was introduced, a "Monolith Man" named Hardrok. Slightly better animated than the original -- and with markedly wittier dialogue as well as a refreshing increase in its sci-fi-fantasy content -- the Jonny Quest (1986 series) was later incorporated in the same package as the 26 "original" Jonny Quest episodes. Under the blanket title "Classic Jonny Quest," this manifest was seen on cable's Cartoon Network from 1992 to 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The robotic cartoon adventure series The Transformers begins its second season with the episode "Autobot Spike," in which one of the human allies of the Autobots in their ongoing battle against the Decepticons literally loses his mind to a super-Transformer. "Autobot Spike" is one of the few single-episode storylines to be found this season. Many of the other scenarios take up two episodes or more, notably "Dinobot Island," wherein the discovery of a remote island populated by prehistoric beasts leads to a serious schism in the time-space continuum; "Megatron's Master Plan," in which the leader of the evil Decepticons does his best to turn public opinion against the Autobots; and "Desertion of the Dinobots," which finds the title characters rebelling against their enslavement by the robots and trying to claim the Autobots' home planet as their own. The best of The Transformers' two-parters during the series' second season is "The Key to Vector Sigma," a story built around a computer from the planet Alpatrian with which the Decepticons intend to bestow artificial intelligence upon their newly created flunkies, the Stunticons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Terror at Alcatraz indeed! This 1982 TV movie is comprised of two never-shown pilot episodes for the short-lived TV series Fitz and Bones, which was telecast for a couple of months in 1981. Tom and Dick Smothers star as Fitz and Bones, a TV news team with a penchant for getting involved in causes. The main plotline concerns an old man (Tom Ewell) who, disgusted at the ill treatment afforded the elderly in the United States, begins bombing several San Francisco landmarks, including Alcatraz--hence the barely relevant title. A secondary plot (remember that this is a cobbled-together TV movie) concerns a shooting at San Francisco International airport, where the target may have been either the President or a notorious mob boss. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) climb aboard the legendary Moosejaw Express in anticipation of a thrilling train ride from Wisconsin to Canada . It's thrilling, all right, but not in the way the girls had expected. No sooner has the journey began than a murder victim (Roger C. Carmel) stumbles into L&S's compartment and dies--but not before mumbling the fateful words "Beware the bald man"! This star-studded episode was originally scheduled to air on February 11, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Bunkers' upstairs bathroom suffers minor damages in a small fire. Hoping to collect a huge insurance settlement, Archie rearranges the evidence to make it seem that the damage was extensive. His self-inflicted vandalization is merely a prologue for yet another example of Archie figuratively shooting himself in the foot. Roger C. Carmel appears as insurance adjustor Ligway. First telecast on February 19, 1977, "Fire," was written by Michael Loman, Larry Rhine, and Mel Tolkin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this Counterculture vs. Establishment romance, Frank Harmon (William Holden) is a middle-aged businessman, recently divorced and a bit bitter about the state of his life and the world in general. One morning, he discovers a pretty, hippie-esque girl who calls herself Breezy (Kay Lenz) asleep on his front porch. Frank asks her to leave and she politely follows suit; she forgets her guitar, however, and returns the next day to retrieve it. Breezy also asks Frank if he would be so kind as to let her take a bath; he agrees, and even lets her sleep at his house that night. A few days later, Breezy turns up at again at Frank's doorstep, with a cop in tow -- after being arrested for vagrancy, she told the police that she lived here with her uncle Frank. Frank plays along and, against his better judgment, agrees to let her stay with him. After spending some time together, Frank and Breezy begin opening up to each other, discussing their feelings on a variety of issues. A friendship grows between them that, in time, becomes a love affair, but Frank's friends find fault in his new romance, and he breaks it off -- a decision he comes to regret. This was the first film Clint Eastwood directed in which he did not star, something he would not do again until Bird in 1988. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Approximately one year before the debut of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, comedian Bill Cosby, the CBS network and the Filmation cartoon firm collaborated on this 30-minute TV special. Cosby appears in the live-action wraparounds as Greek storyspinner Aesop, who talk-sings a brace of songs and narrates animated versions of two fables. In the "Tortoise and the Hare" segment, funnymen John Byner and Larry Storch provide the voices for the title characters, with Byner returning in "The Tortoise Who Wanted to Fly". And in an extended sequence combining live and cartoon action, two youngsters, Joey (Keith Hamilton) and Marta (Jerelyn Fields), lost in an enchanted forest, are guided to safety by the all-wise Aesop. The special was written by Earl Hamner Jr., of The Waltons fame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

William Shatner guest stars as Don Brand, a hard-nosed parole officer with an obsessive hatred of drug pushers. When Brand's life is threatened, he insists that a paroled dope dealer is responsible--even though he has many, many other enemies. Ironside (Raymond Burr), however, suspects that Brand is his own worst enemy, and that he may be using phony death threats to railroad an ex-con back into prison. This final episode of Ironside's fourth season also marks the last appearance of series regular Barbara Anderson (Eve Whitfield). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gore Vidal's best-selling satiric novel gets an inarguably unique screen treatment in this off-center psycho-sexual farce. Fussy film buff Myron Breckinridge (Rex Reed) goes to Europe and gets a sex-change operation from a slovenly chain-smoking doctor (John Carradine) and returns to the United States as the glamorous and willful Myra Breckinridge (Raquel Welch). Myra appears at the door of former cowboy star-turned-acting school entrepreneur Buck Loner (John Huston), who also happened to be Myron's uncle; Myra insists she's Myron's widow and demands her fair share of Loner's inheritance to her late husband. Loner, suspicious of the appearance of Myron's bride, tries to find a way out of giving her any of his money, while giving Myra a job in his acting school to keep her busy. Myra's new career allows her to make the acquaintance of Leticia Van Allen (Mae West), an aging sexpot and talent agent who represents "leading men only." Through Leticia, Myra meets alpha-male aspiring star Rusty Godowsky (Roger Herren) and his naïve girlfriend Mary Ann Pringle (Farrah Fawcett); as part of her own bid to ferment sexual anarchy, Myra attempts to introduce Mary Ann to the pleasures of lesbianism, while forcibly expanding Rusty's sexual boundaries. In the midst of the action, director Michael Sarne uses clips from dozens of vintage Hollywood films of the 1930s and '40s as a comic counterpoint to the story. Both Gore Vidal and Rex Reed expressed their dissatisfaction with Myra Breckinridge after the film hit theaters, though Vidal has also claimed not have seen the finished product; the film has gone on to develop a devoted cult following, despite the fact the film's only authorized video release has been out of print since the late '70s. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this spy thriller, Robert Vaughn, who then starring on TV's The Man from U.N.C.L.E., plays Bill Fenner, an ex-CIA agent who is called upon by his former boss, Frank Rosenfeld (Ed Asner), to investigate an apparent murder-suicide in Vienna. An American diplomat exploded a bomb at a peace conference, killing himself and all the attendees. Rosenfeld fired Fenner because his wife, Sandra Fane (Elke Sommer), was unmasked as a Communist. Now Rosenfeld tells Fenner that his wife may have been involved with Soviet agents behind the Vienna incident. Fenner eventually finds Sandra, who is hiding from the real bombing culprit, Robert Wahl (Karl Boehm). The story was based on a novel by Helen MacInnes. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Columbia Pictures tried to create a tongue-in-cheek American James Bond with this, the first of five motion pictures based on the character of Matt Helm, a spy created in a series of novels by Donald Hamilton. Dean Martin stars as Helm, a boozing, womanizing cad of a spy coaxed out of retirement by ex-girlfriend Tina Batori (Daliah Lavi). His mission: stop the evil Big O organization, whose leader, Tung-Tze (Victor Buono), schemes to sabotage an atomic missile and thus spark World War III. Producer Irving Allen had once been partners with Albert R. Broccoli in the British film production company Warwick Films, their alliance ironically disintegrating over the merits of creating a Bond series. When Broccoli's instincts proved correct, Allen attempted to create his own spy franchise with the Helm character. The sequels to The Silencers (1966) were Murderers' Row (1966), The Ambushers (1967), and The Wrecking Crew (1968). Allen unsuccessfully tried to resurrect the character as a TV movie, Matt Helm (1975). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

The Starship Enterprise damages its matter/anti-matter energy converter during the rescue of a rogue spaceship, and Captain Kirk must replace the vital lithium crystals or lose his ship. But he must also reckon with Harry Mudd, the felon piloting the runaway ship -- and his "cargo" of three unnaturally seductive women. Kirk seeks help from the lithium miners on a nearby planet, but Mudd makes his own deal -- the women and Mudd's freedom, or no crystals. Amid this stand-off, matters become even more complicated when one of the women (Karen Steele) wearies of hiding the secret behind their allure. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide