Christopher Wiehl Movies

Created by Michael Rauch, the hour-long dramedy series Love Monkey was based on a novel by Kyle Smith, though it also owed quite a lot to the Tom Cruise film Jerry Maguire. Tom Cavanagh headed the cast as music agent Tom Farrell, an A&R rep for big-time Goliath Records. After experiencing a sudden attack of integrity, Tom was fired by his sharkish boss, Phil Leshing (Eric Bogosian), at which point our hero went to work for a tiny independent record label. Other characters included Tom's best friend, Mike (Jason Priestley), his platonic girlfriend, "Bran" (Judy Greery), ex-baseball star Jake (Christopher Wiehl), and the entrepreneurial Shooter (Larenz Tate), as well as two characters obviously intended as "breakthroughs": Tom's main client, Wayne (Teddy Geiger), a John Mayer wannabe, and Tom's literal "dream girl," Julia (Ivana Milicevic). Utilizing a wealth of p.o.v. camera shots, off-camera narration, unexpected flashbacks, and funky original music, Love Monkey was described by some critics as a male Sex and the City. The series made its CBS debut on January 17, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

After 25 years of marriage, our heroine Rose (Christine Lathi), the book editor for the "LA Chronicle", is in for a shock. Her husband Nathan (Brian Kerwin), who is also her boss at the "Chronicle", has fallen in love with his much-younger assistant Mindy (Abby Brammell). Humiliating as it is when Nathan files for divorce, it is absolutely unbearable for Rose when she is fired and Mindy is given her job! As she struggles overcome these personal devastations, Rose is reacquainted with Hal (Bryan Brown), a freewheeling novelist with whom she had been in love before she met Nathan--and whom she had rejected because of his "unreliability." All of the main characters are played by different actors in the film's many flashback sequences. Adapted from the book by Elizabeth Buchan, the made-for-TV Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman was first broadcast by CBS on September 26, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Further cementing 2003 as the year of Ron Shelton cop movies, the director continued his vacation from the sports genre with Hollywood Homicide, a police comedy that comes right on the heels of Shelton's Dark Blue, a decidedly grittier cop thriller. The film stars Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett as LAPD homicide detectives Joe Gavilan and K.C. Calden, two cops with bigger dreams. Gavilan moonlights as a real estate agent, while Calden teaches yoga and yearns for a career on the big screen. When an entire hip-hop group is murdered on-stage, Gavilan and Calden are called in to handle the case. As their investigation progresses, they begin to suspect that the rappers were offed for attempting to get out of their recording contract with label head Sartain (Isaiah Washington). Along with Bruce Greenwood and Keith David, the supporting cast boasts a plethora of real-life musicians, including Dr. Dre, Gladys Knight, Dwight Yoakam, Master P, and Ronald DeVoe of New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Premiering August 26, 2003, the weekly, 60-minute Playmakers was the first "scripted" series presented by cable's ESPN network, which normally focused on sports events and discussion programs. The 11-episode series chronicled a season in the life of the Cougars, a fictional pro football team in a league that resembled the NFL. Omar Gooding, younger brother of Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr., headed the cast as hotshot running back Demetrius Harris. Also appearing were Russell Hornsby as Harris' principal rival, veteran gridiron star Leon Taylor; Jason Matthew Smith as Taylor's linebacker friend Eric Olczyk ; Marcello Thedford as offensive tackle "Buffalo" James, who idolized Harris; Christopher Wiehl as Derek McConnell, an all-pro quarterback in a deep and seemingly inescapable slump; and Tony Denison as head coach Mike George. To avoid alienating TV fans who felt surfeited with sports, the series devoted much of its time to the off-field lives of the principals and their loved ones. Filmed in Toronto, Playmakers was created by John Eisendrath, who was also an executive producer on the popular ABC espionage series Alias. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Hoping to utilize the Supreme Court in the same dramatic manner that West Wing utilized the White House, the weekly, 60-minute CBS series First Monday focused on the nine Justices who laid down the law for the United States. Joe Mantegna headed the cast as Joseph Novelli, the newest member of the nine-person Supreme Court. Entering a political arena that was evenly divided between Conservative and Liberal, the "moderate" Justice Novelli generally acted as the tie-breaker in matters of national jurisprudence (though supposedly noncommittal politically, Novelli's beard and pugnacious personality indicated that he was the "champion of the underdog" type). James Garner co-starred as staunchly conservative Chief Justice Thomas Brankin, who displayed his contempt for contemporary political correctness by puffing away on a cigarette in his "officially" smoke-free private office. Brankin's chief ally was the whimsical, womanizing Justice Henry Hoskins (Charles Durning), while on varying extremes of the political spectrum were Jewish jurist Esther Weisenberg (Camille Saviola) and black Justice Jerome Morris (James McEachin). Created by Jag's Donald P. Bellisario, First Monday premiered on Tuesday, January 15, 2002, before settling into its standard Friday-night slot. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The influence of the popular action film The Fast and the Furious hangs heavily over the first episode of CSI's third season. Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) and Nick (George Eads) investigate when the mutilated corpse of Jace Felder, a champion in the field of illegal street-racing, is found at an abandoned desert airstrip. Meanwhile, Grissom (William L. Petersen) probes the death of legendary poker player Doyle Pfeiffer, who appears to have suffered a heart seizure during a high-stakes card game. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A kidnapper delivers a gruesome "souvenir" to the squad to show that he means business. Acting on the kidnapper's orders, Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) must accompany Roy Logan (Tom Irwin) as he delivers the one-million-dollar ransom to a prearranged location. If anything goes wrong, Logan's mistress will be instantly killed. But is this particular case merely what it appears to be on the surface, or is something else afoot? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Tess (Della Reese) brings her fellow angels along on a visit to one of her former assignments, ebullient tavern owner Betty Poplovich (Debbie Reynolds). Before long, everyone on the premises--including Betty's partner Lew (Billy Barnes)--is conspiring to help a lonely lass named Zoe (Sarah Paulson) discover the true meaning of love. Will she find that meaning with equally lonely delivery guy Billy (Chris Wiehl)--or can it be that Jeff (Christopher Jacobs), the man who has broken her heart, will come back into her life? The answers, of course, are not immediately forthcoming...and it will take a devastating tragedy for Zoe to finally discover what love really means. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Dealing with love and your friends' problems is tough enough for any young person -- imagine how much harder it is when you're a vampire! As a teenager, Vicktoria (Marisa Ryan) was fascinated by gothic horror tales and vampire legends, so when she was confronted by a real vampire, she was more than willing to join the legions of the undead. However, ten years later Vicktoria has come to realize that there's little romance or glamour in the life of a bloodsucker. She's fallen in with a group of young vampires who spend their summers in a resort town near the ocean, knowing that the tourists they attack won't be readily missed for a while. Vicktoria's best friends are Alicia (Amy Jo Johnson), a vampire with a sort of "eating disorder" who can't bring herself to drink the blood she needs to survive, and the street-smart Darius (Jon Huertas). Vicktoria meets Seth (Robert Floyd), a mysterious stranger who dresses in black, and she finds herself becoming infatuated with him, to the annoyance of Charles (Christopher Weihl), Vicktoria's former boyfriend and leader of the local undead community, who thinks that this new guy in town is up to no good. Cold Hearts marked the directorial debut for Robert Masciantonio, who also works as a radio personality in Philadelphia under the name "Roger Rogier." ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Episode five of the series finds the Master (Mark Metcalf) attempting to fulfill another prophecy. This time, an Anointed One will be turned into a vampire and become the Master's frontline weapon against the Slayer. In the meantime, the Master sends the Order of Aurelius -- special warrior vampires -- to kill Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar). She subsequently kills one them, and in reporting the incident to Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), learns of the prophecy. While Giles attempts to determine the identity of the Anointed One, Buffy attempts to have a date with Owen Thurman (Christopher Wiehl), a sensitive, good-looking student who likes the poetry of Emily Dickinson -- because it's so morbid. The date is interrupted halfway due to the pressing issue of having to save Giles from some vampires at a funeral home, where he went in search of the Anointed One. In coming to Giles' rescue, Buffy fights a large vampire spouting prophecy-like rhetoric, and she assumes that he's the Anointed One. The upside is that Owen, jazzed by their violent date, can't get enough of Buffy. The downside is that Buffy, realizing the danger she put him in, has to break up with him. Unbeknownst to Buffy and Giles, the Master has actually anointed a young boy and taken him into the catacombs below Sunnydale. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi

Brian (Steven Weber) is dating Emily (Shannon Tweed), who is slightly older than he. At the same time, Brian's ex, Casey (Amy Yasbeck), is dating Shawn (Christopher Wiehl), who is slightly younger than she. Thing of it is, Emily is Casey's mother! And in a separate development, Joe (Tim Daly) and Roy (David Schramm) struggle to overcome their childhood fear of clowns. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi