Actor Dean Stockwell (1936)

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009), a television film set in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica universe, follows the events leading up to the destruction of the Twelve Colonies as shown in the miniseries. Humanoid Cylon John Cavil is seen strategizing the devastating attack on humanity with the other seven known Cylons at their main base. Meanwhile, two versions of Cavil reside in a Resurrection Ship along with the mysterious ‘Final Five’ Cylons in stasis. In a brief conversation, the two Cavils discuss their plans for punishing their creators. One version of Cavil makes his way to witness the annihilation of humanity firsthand on planet ...

Richard Condon’s 1959 novel, The Manchurian Candidate (2004), is a political thriller that tells the story of a prominent U.S. political family and their son’s involvement in a Communist conspiracy. The novel has been adapted into two feature films with the same title, released in 1962 and 2004 respectively. In the story, Major Bennett Marco and his infantry platoon are captured during the Korean War in 1952 by an elite Soviet commando unit. They are eventually brainwashed into believing that Sergeant Raymond Shaw saved their lives in combat, leading to him receiving the Medal of Honor. Years later, Marco, ...

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000), an American superhero film, was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment respectively. As the third installment in the DC Animated Universe, it draws from the animated series Batman Beyond and also resolves plot points left open in The New Batman Adventures. A new faction of the Jokerz gang – including Bonk, Woof, Ghoul, Chucko, and the Dee-Dee twins – tries to steal advanced technology but is stopped by Terry McGinnis, who has taken on the role of Batman under the guidance of his predecessor Bruce Wayne. The gang reports back to their ...

The American legal drama film, The Rainmaker (1997), was both written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It is based on the 1995 novel of the same name by John Grisham. Unlike many other graduates from Memphis State University Law School, Rudy Baylor finds himself without a well-paying job and instead takes on part-time positions at a local bar. In dire need of employment, he meets the bar’s owner, J. Lyman ‘Bruiser’ Stone, who is known for being a ruthless but successful ambulance chaser. After hiring Rudy as an associate, Bruiser explains that ...

The Langoliers (1995), a two-part horror miniseries, was both directed and written by Tom Holland. It is based on the novella by Stephen King from the book Four Past Midnight, which consists of four parts. During a red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Boston, most of the passengers and crew disappear after flying through a strange light. Their personal belongings are all that remain. The remaining passengers were asleep during the event and include pilot Brian Engle, deadheading on the flight, an enigmatic Englishman named Nick, schoolteacher Laurel Stevenson, tool ...

The Player (1992), an American satirical black comedy mystery film directed by Robert Altman and written by Michael Tolkin, is based on Tolkin’s own novel of the same name. It follows Griffin Mill, a Hollywood studio executive dating story editor Bonnie Sherow. In his role, Mill listens to pitches from screenwriters and decides which ones have the potential to be turned into films. However, out of 50,000 submissions yearly, he only green-lights twelve. When ambitious exec Larry Levy joins the studio, Mill’s job ...

Created by Donald P. Bellisario, Quantum Leap (1989–1993) is an American science fiction television series that debuted on NBC in 1989 and concluded after five seasons in 1993. Starring Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a physicist who unintentionally travels through time during experiments, the show follows his involuntary displacement into the bodies of others to fix historical errors. Along for the journey is Admiral Al Calavicci, played by Dean Stockwell, who appears to Sam as a cigar-smoking hologram and helps him form ...

Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) is a biographical comedy-drama movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Detroit’s Preston Tucker harbored a passion for car-making since his youth. During the Second World War, he created an armored vehicle for the military and earned profits producing gun turrets for planes in a small workshop near his Ypsilanti residence. With the unwavering support of his extended family, especially his wife Vera, children Preston Jr., Noble, and Marilyn Lee, Tucker embarks on a mission to create the ‘car of tomorrow’. The ‘Tucker Torpedo’ boasts groundbreaking safety ...

Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), a buddy cop action comedy film, was directed by Tony Scott and written by Larry Ferguson and Warren Skaaren. Following the events of the first film, Beverly Hills Police Department finds themselves investigating a series of high-value robberies known as the Alphabet Crimes. Each heist has an encrypted letter with a distinct alphabetic character left behind at the scene. The situation is further complicated by the new political climate at the department, with Chief Harold Lutz at the helm. He is ...

Gardens of Stone (1987), an American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is based on Nicholas Proffitt’s novel of the same name. Sergeant First Class Clell Hazard, a hardened veteran of the Korean and Vietnam Wars, would prefer to serve as an instructor at the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, preparing soldiers for the conflict in Vietnam. However, he is instead assigned to the 1st Battalion 3d Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) at Fort Myer, Virginia. This unit serves as the ceremonial honor guard for fallen soldiers’ funerals and guards the ...