Aaron Spelling Movies

The title of this ABC cop series referred to the patrol-car code used to indicate that said car was "in service." The central character was Rico Amonte (Danny Nucci), a former Brooklyn street punk who after relocating to Los Angeles opted to work on the right side of the law. A deputy trainee with the LAPD robbery-homicide division, Rico was assigned to irascible, South Central-born Senior Deputy John Henry Barnes (Ernie Hudson). It perhaps goes without saying that there was little love lost between the no-nonsense Barnes and the wisecracking Rico, but this odd-couple duo managed to do their job well and get the best results. In the fine tradition of the old series The Rookies, several other trainees were placed under the tender care of Deputy Barnes: would-be Romeo Matt Jablonski (Scott William Winters) and his partner, ghetto-raised Gabriella Lopez (Mercedes Colon); and bookish, politically ambitious Chase Williams (Travis Schuldt) and his partner, tough cookie Anna Li (Christina Vidal). 10-8 premiered on September 28, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A remake of the 1973 TV movie of the same name, Satan's School for Girls is set within the grim walls of Fallbridge College for Girls. Hoping to learn the truth behind the "suicide" of her younger sister, Beth Hammersmith enrolls in Fallbridge under the assumed name of Karen Oxford. Our heroine soon learns that the school is in the clutches of a coven of witches called "The Five" -- and that she herself has the right satanic qualities to enable The Five to take over the world. Kate Jackson, who played the leading role of Roberta Lockhart in the original film, is here cast as college dean Olivia Burtis. The "new" Satan's School for Girls was telecast by ABC on March 13, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A single father tries to raise his three sons while working as a sheriff in a Florida community. Assisting him at home (a former motel) is his eccentric mother, a former magician's assistant. ~ Rhoda Charles, Rovi

In this TV drama-comedy, Julie Barber (Allison Smith) hires detective wannabe Bob Jones (Frank Whaley) to track down the legendary private eye Buddy Faro (Dennis Farina), who was once such a name that he was portrayed by an actor (George Hamilton) in a TV series. Now nearly forgotten, Faro has inherited a small fortune, but no one knows where he went. Traveling to the dusty streets of a little town in Mexico, Jones manages to find the booze-soaked Faro lying in the gutter. Rescued by Jones and Julie, Faro returns to Hollywood, where he made his mark 20 years earlier. Things have changed, but the stylish Faro is soon back in business in a big way, confronting criminals in his ultra-cool style, while the Joel McNeely soundtrack provides a jazzy accompaniment. Premiered September 25, 1998 on CBS. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Three of the most gorgeous TV witches since the days of Elizabeth Montgomery were the heroines of the hour-long WB fantasy series Charmed, which first materialized on October 7, 1998. Reunited in their ancestral San Francisco mansion, the Halliwell sisters -- Prudence (aka Prue, played by Shannen Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), and came upon a dusty tome titled the "Book of Shadows," which by and by revealed a secret that had long been withheld from them: the sisters were witches known as the "Charmed Ones," blessed with extraordinary powers which they were expected to use in the never-ending fight of good against evil. Prue, the oldest, had the gift of telekinesis, enabling her to move objects at will; middle child Piper was able to stop time; and Phoebe, the baby of the family, was able to see the future. The ritual enabling them to combine their powers involved the linking of hands and chanting in unison, "The power of three will set us free." Of course, now that the girls knew they were witches, they were immediately targeted for destruction by all manner of warlocks, sorceresses, and malevolent spirits, many of these hoping to steal the Halliwells' powers for themselves. Also, in their efforts to lead "normal" lives and not give away their secrets, the ladies encountered a great deal of difficulty in the romance department -- not to mention the holding and maintaining of regular employment.

During season one, Prue worked for the Buckland Auction House, whose owner turned out to be a warlock; she also lost her policeman boyfriend, Andy Trudeau (T.W. King), who was killed in an effort to save the Halliwells from a demon. Phoebe's private life was not quite so tempestuous, though she had a bad habit of losing jobs due to the bad things happening around her. The impressionable Piper, who managed to find work as a caterer and later as the owner of the "P3 Club" nightspot, thought she had found true love in the form of hunky handyman Leo Wyatt (Brian Krause), until learning that Leo was a "Whitelighter," a guardian angel fated to protect all good witches from harm -- and as such, was off limits. In later seasons, however, Leo was demoted to "mortality" and was able to marry Piper, with whom he had a "bewitched" son named Wyatt. By the time Leo's powers were back to full steam in season five, he'd been appointed an "Elder" Whitelighter; his former job of protecting the sisters was taken over by another Whitelighter named Chris Perry (Drew Fuller), who turned out to have a hidden agenda.

Season three saw quite a few upheavals in the lives of the sisters, with Phoebe falling for Assistant DA Cole Turner (Julian McMahon) -- who turned out to be the demon Belthazor, and whose mission was to kill the sisters. Cole managed to purge himself of evil, only to revert to wickedness -- a cycle that continued to repeat itself until, in season four, the "bad" Cole married and impregnated Phoebe with his evil seed. Eventually the baby was stolen by a demon called The Seer (Debbi Morgan), and poor, mixed-up Cole wound up trapped in another dimension before being "vanquished" permanently. (At least Phoebe landed a permanent job as a newspaper advice columnist once the dust had settled!) As for Prue, season three of Charmed turned out to be her last when she was killed during a "demon assault." Her place in the Halliwell household was taken in season four by the girls' half sister, Paige Matthews (Rose McGowan), who like the late Prue possessed telekinetic powers. Paige would eventually find "civilian" employment as a social worker, enabling her to emulate the other girls by applying her powers for the forces of good on a full-time basis.

There were scores of additional plot complications and story arcs occurring in and out of the "real world" and back and forth in time (at one point, for example, the heroines were converted into Greek goddesses). "Charmed" though the Halliwell girls may have been, it didn't mean that they exactly led charmed lives. Perhaps it was the unstable nature of the world in which our heroines dwelled that made Charmed one of the WB's most successful offerings; viewers literally never knew what to expect from one week to the next! ~ Rovi

In the comedic farce Soapdish, the behind-the-scenes lives of several soap opera actors are just as melodramatic as those of their television counterparts. Sally Field stars as Celeste Talbert, the star of a declining TV show. To make matters worse, Talbert's career is thrown into turmoil when her rival, Montana Moorehead (Cathy Moriarty), tries to persuade producer David Barnes (Robert Downey Jr.) to write Talbert off the show. Smitten by Moorehead, Barnes comes up with a scheme to get Talbert off the show by hiring her niece Lori (Elisabeth Shue) and then Jeffrey (Kevin Kline), an old flame and cast member who was written out of the show 20 years prior. Soon, mayhem rules on the set as the cast and crew tangle, culminating in a special episode, broadcast live. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Loose Cannons may be a wacky buddy-cop comedy, but it starts with a chilling premise. It seems that a film is discovered that depicts the final moments of Adolf Hitler's life. The climax features young German officer Von Metz, who is seen putting Hitler to death. Von Metz (Robert Prosky) is now running for chancellor of West Germany. If this film gets out, his political career is finished, so Von Metz has arranged for the murder of anyone who has seen the film. The killings have taken place in the Washington area and Mac (Gene Hackman) and Ellis (Dan Aykroyd) are sent to investigate the crimes. Mac is a middle-aged veteran of the force, a professional who gets things done. But Ellis is a different ball of wax. Suffering from a multiple personality disorder, he has spent two years in a Benedictine monastery to recover from his problems. But he is far from cured -- as Mac discovers, whenever Ellis is confronted by violence, he blacks out and begins to assume the characters of popular culture icons like Popeye, Captain Kirk, and the Road Runner. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

TV's sitcom teen (Family Ties) Justine Bateman is cast as the leader of a four-girl/one-guy rock band who's first real gig is an all-summer job playing at a resort club. The gig includes living accommodations--one room--which the entire band shares for the summer. That memorable summer, with all its emotions, plans and pains, provides the substance of the film. ~ Rovi

The first feature film from director Phil Joanou (State of Grace), Three O' Clock High chronicles a high school nerd's much hyped after-school bout with the infamous class bully. When the impish Jerry Mitchell (Casey Siemaszko) is assigned to interview the new transfer student with a supposedly violent past, Buddy Revell (Richard Tyson), he makes the fatal mistake of touching his subject. Revell, who hates being touched, responds by challenging the unwilling Mitchell to a fight at three o'clock in the parking lot. Spanning the course of the school day, the film follows the disaster-bound Mitchell as he soils his good-boy image through various misguided attempts at averting the fight. Also making noteworthy appearances in the film are Jeffrey Tambor and Philip Baker Hall. ~ Rachel Deahl, Rovi