Jeff Allin Movies

Promoted to captain, Lt. Fancy (James McDaniel) is nervous about revealing the identity of his replacement as skipper of the 15th. Diane (Kim Delaney) and Connie (Charlotte Ross) investigate when a man's -- er -- member is sliced off and deposited near an ATM machine. The possibility of a vicious turf war between the Scarpelli and Marino crime families rears its ugly head. A mob informant names a name that has the squad reeling in disbelief. And all speculation regarding the new precinct head comes to an end when the infamous Lt. Susan Falto (Denise Crosby) makes her entrance. With this episode, former recurring character Connie McDowell (played by Charlotte Ross) becomes a regular. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although the corrupt Borough commander Haverell has been forcibly retired, Haverell's replacement, Clifford Bass (Larry Joshua), proves to be just as big a bureaucratic pain in the neck to Lt. Fancy (James McDaniel). Bass' interference bogs down the investigation of a woman's charges that her ex-husband murdered her daughter. On other fronts, Simone (Jimmy Smits) is distressed to learn that a childhood friend is mixed up in a mob-controlled nightclub. And Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) and Lesniak (Justine Miceli) go after a "cosmetic" con artist. Guest star Shirley Knight won an Emmy award for her performance as Agnes Cantwell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This made-for-television drama first aired on NBC and was made shortly after the tragic stand-off in Waco, Texas when a conflict between the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and a group of cultist led by charismatic leader and self-proclaimed messiah David Koresh turned into a bloody battle that left the believers' compound burned and many dead. Soon after the dust settled, investigations revealed that the bloodshed may have been unnecessary. Filmed on location, near Tulsa, Oklahoma, the film recounts events before, during and after the catastrophe. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A raging ex-wife exacts revenge on her former husband in this made-for-television drama. Based on a true story, Meredith Baxter stars as Betty Broderick, the well-to-do ex-wife of Dan Broderick (Steven Collins). Furious at Dan for divorcing her and attempting to get on with his life, the insanely jealous Betty instigates some nasty encounters that culminate with murder. Baxter gives an all-out, over-the-top performance as the crazed ex-wife. This installment was followed by another TV-movie entry, Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, The Final Chapter. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Miracle Landing is a quickly but carefully made TV movie dramatizing an actual near-disaster in the air. The tale begins with Aloha Airline's Flight 737 making a routine trip between Hilo and Honolulu. As the plane reaches an altitude of 24,000 feet, the top portion of the fuselage suddenly strips off, depressurizing the cabin and exposing the passengers to flying debris and deadly winds. The film then concentrates on the cool professionalism of the flight attendants and 3-person crew, as they calm down the 89 passengers and bring the severely damaged plane for a safe landing. Miracle Landing is cut-and-dried for the most part, but isolated moments are impossible to forget--notably a shot of an anguished passenger with a shard of metal grotesquely fused to his face! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hunter (Fred Dryer) and McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) take temporary leave of the streets of LA and head down to Malibu, there to investigate the death of a thoroughbred race horse and the murder of a groom. At first it appeared that the horse had gone berserk before he died, but it turns out that the animal had been slipped a deadly drug--the same drug that cost the groom his life. The two detectives have quite a time solving this one, with more suspects and motives than they can shake a stick at! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A newspaper heiress is kidnapped, brainwashed, and forced to join a group of terrorist bank robbers in this docudrama, based on the saga of Patricia Hearst. In 1974, Hearst (Natasha Richardson), the granddaughter of publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst, was a student at the University of California. On February 4, members of the Symbionese Liberation Army, a radical political group, broke into the Berkeley home she shared with her boyfriend and kidnapped her. Hearst then allegedly spent 57 days locked in a closet as she was indoctrinated into the group's revolutionary beliefs by their charismatic leader, Cinque (Ving Rhames). Eventually, Hearst joined (or at least pretended to join) the SLA, adopted the name Tania and participated in a number of high-profile bank robberies. After several SLA members died in a police fire storm, Hearst and fellow members Bill and Emily Harris (William Forsythe and Frances Fisher) went on the lam and were later arrested. Although she claimed her participation in the group was a ruse carried out to protect herself from further rape, torture, and mind control, Hearst eventually served several years in prison after her 1976 conviction for bank robbery. Based on the novel Every Secret Thing, Hearst's own account of the events, Paul Schrader's film tells the story from the heiress' own viewpoint, with little in the way of conflicting evidence. After President Carter ordered her release from prison in 1979, Hearst went on to act in several films, including Cecil B. Demented, a John Waters spoof whose plot bears some resemblance to her own life story. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

This comedy is set in Hollywood in 1961, where a group of young men join the National Guard in an attempt to escape Vietnam. The men basically do nothing while on supposed weekend duty until they get a visit from the Army, which threatens to ship them out on active duty unless they shape up. Their solution is to hire a troupe of actors to portray convincing soldiers, put on a stage show to impress the Army officers, and make sure that enough winsome nurses are around to satisfy the proverbial lecherous tendencies of a certain colonel. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A sprawling adaptation of the same-named novel by David Nevin, the three-part CBS miniseries Dream West starred Richard Chamberlain as colorful, controversial American explorer John Charles Fremont (1813-1890). The story detailed the visionary (and occasionally mercenary) Fremont's lifelong war against shortsided authority figures, beginning with his early skirmishes with the "brass" as an Army officer. In 1842, Fremont embarked upon his greatest adventure, heading an expedition to map the Oregon Trail -- the first step towards opening the entire North American continent to free and unimpeded exploration. His mission pitted Fremont against hostile Indians, the Mexican army, and the U.S. government itself. Along the way, he crossed paths with scores of historical figures, including Kit Carson, Jim Bridge, John Sutter, and President Abraham Lincoln. Alice Krige, Richard Chamberlain's vis-à-vis in the earlier Wallenberg: A Heroes' Story, co-starred as Jessie Benton, the headstrong senator's daughter who became Fremont's wife. Running seven hours in all (plus commercials), Dream West was originally telecast from April 13 to 15, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide