WINGS-"ALL'S FARE"
I was glad to see Jonathan finally get to do some comedy in this episode, and he was very good at it. We meet Gavin Rutledge (Jonathan) about 5 minutes into the show. (He's got a goatee for this one.) He's a real estate developer in town to tie up a deal. He asks the old lady at the desk if he can get a car and driver for the weekend. She replies she would be happy to drive him around in her Plymouth Duster, and he laughs. Then Antonio steps up and offers to drive Gavin around in his cab.
He accepts and starts to walk out to the cab with Antonio. He spots a pretty redhead, Casey, sitting alone. He asks Antonio her name, and he replies, "No, you don't want her." (Antonio has a huge crush on Casey, and realizes his chances are shot if the hunky Gavin goes out with her.) Gavin asks Casey out, and she says yes. After their first date, Gavin walks her to her door, and then gets back into the cab. He reminds Antonio that anything said in the cab remains confidential. He then uses his cell phone to call someone. When someone answers, Gavin says, "Hi honey. It's me. How are the kids?" Another cheating husband.
On their next date, Antonio tries to get Gavin to tell Casey he's married. Gavin doesn't get the hint, and gives Casey a diamond bracelet instead. He tells Antonio to drive to his hotel, not Casey's house. When they get there and are getting out of the cab, Antonio blurts out that Gavin's married. Casey asks Gavin is this is true, and he says, "Well, sort of." Great answer. Casey dumps him and sends him off with a hard squeeze to the crotch. Gavin refuses to pay Antonio, but Casey gives Antonio the diamond bracelet as payment.
This was a very funny episode, especially when Casey grabs Gavin's crotch. Jonathan's face is priceless.
LOIS AND CLARK-"DON'T TUG ON SUPERMAN'S CAPE"
We first meet Tim (Jonathan) and Amber (Genie) Lake when they bust a criminal out of jail. They introduce themselves as "rich people" who like to collect rare and unusual things. They show the criminal (Bad Brain Johnson) his inventions they stole from his hideout. They ask Bad Brain for a demonstration of his invention, which can turn a human into ashes instantly. He says they need a guinea pig, and Tim and Amber say they've got one, and press a button. Poof, no more Bad Brain. They laugh and then kiss to celebrate their success.
Meanwhile, Clark (Superman) and Lois are trying to find out how Bad Brain escaped. The local laboratory is suddenly robbed, and whoever robbed it stole the kryptonite they were keeping there. Cut to Tim and Amber celebrating over a glowing green crystal (kryptonite). These two are truly evil.
Clark and Lois are going to question the Lakes because they found tire tracks outside the laboratory that matched a specific tire and the Lakes are one of only a few people who own them. They tell the Lakes the interview is about how everyone can be as happy as the Lakes are in a marriage. Tim and Amber play kissy-face the whole time, and when asked about the tires, they are caught off guard. After the interview, Lois says the two of them make her want to barf, and says the two of them couldn't have possibly helped Bad Brain (they don't know Bad Brain is dead) out of prison or robbed the laboratory. Tim and Amber are now suspicious of Lois and Clark and decide to kill them.
The Lakes try to kill Clark and Lois with a laser, but since Clark is really Superman, the laser bounces off his back.
He takes Lois to his parents' house for safety and he goes off to correct a disaster in China. Lois goes through all her papers and discovers something. Tim and Amber Lake are on the board of the laboratory, so they would have known about the kryptonite. She goes back to the city to find them. The Lakes leave a fake message for Lois from Superman (thinking Clark is dead, and not knowing Clark is Superman) and capture her in the alley. They put her in a big cage as bait for Superman, because they want him for their collection. Superman figures out everything, and comes to the Lakes' house. Tim tells Superman he has thirty seconds to get in the cage or Lois is dead. He agrees, and the two of them are locked in their cages with bombs at their feet to prevent escape. But, of course, Superman finds a way to escape, and the Lakes' are carted off to jail.
This was a great episode, full of funny lines, and cute scenes between Genie and Jonathan. They would finish each other's sentences and hung all over each other the whole time.
BROTHERS OF THE FRONTIER
The movie stars the three Lawrence brothers as Jonathan's sons Ethan, Aaron, and Jamie. The movie is set in the frontier days in Pennsylvania. Little Jamie and his brothers go home early for their mother's birthday. They're surprised to see visitors at their home. It turns out to be the local fat rich man and his two sons. The older son claims Ethan shot a deer on his father's land, and should pay the man what the deer is worth. Ethan's father, Ben Frye (Jonathan), can't afford to pay, so the rich man says Ethan must become a bondservant to him until his father can pay. Then he rides off. Ben says the rich man will never control Ethan like that, and that they must move immediately.
They load up a wagon and travel to the nearest river. They make rafts and head down the river to Virginia. On the way, they hit rough water, and the family is separated. The boys end up farther down the river by themselves and soon meet a group of Indians who take them to their village. Ben and his wife frantically search for their boys, and find clues as to where they could be. Meanwhile, the rich man sends his sons and an officer to find the Fryes and collect his debt. They catch up with the boys and try to take them back up the river. As they are paddling upstream, Ben swims up from behind and tips the boat over and they all are swept up in the current. Ben grabs Jamie and swims to shore, while the mom stands there and yells. Aaron, the officer and the younger rich son make it to shore by themselves, but the older rich son can't swim, and Ethan goes after him. He ends up saving him and brings him to shore. The older rich son shows no mercy, and tells the officer to arrest the family. The younger rich son says no, and lets them go. The Fryes make it to Virginia and build a house, and live happily ever after.
This movie was very interesting, having a subplot involving Ethan and one of the Indian girls, and nice scenes between Ben and his wife when they are trying to find their boys. The river scene was pretty neat, but I think the mom could have helped a little more in getting her sons out of the water. Anyway, Jonathan portrayed Ben as a caring father, who only wanted the best for his sons, no matter what he had to sacrifice.
THE LOT
This comedic miniseries is hilarious to watch. The characters are well developed, even though it is a short miniseries. It is set during the 1930's on a Hollywood movie lot. The first scenes involve a young actress that has killed herself, and the turmoil it causes on the lot. We meet a makeup artist named Mary whose daughter June comes to visit. June is a pretty young girl who wants to become an actress, against her mother's wishes. The PR man on the lot, Jack, wants June to star in the next picture, and blackmails Mary into letting June sign the contract since she is underage. The lot goes into a frenzy, trying to make June the next biggest star. Eventually, June becomes egotistical and demanding, and alienates everyone who cares about her. She decides to make "friends" with the new playboy/president of the picture company, Roland White (Jonathan) to get what she wants. And she does.
The actress who played Norma St. Claire, the over-the-hill actress friend of Mary, stole most of the scenes in this movie. She was absolutely hilarious in her lines and mannerisms. Jonathan also did a great job of playing the playboy who was after anything female. And the mustache was so cute.
DYING TO LIVE
This TV movie was about a teenage girl who was killed by a jealous fellow student. An angel named Will (Jonathan) helps the dead girl make her boyfriend discover her murderer by occupying another friend's body. The boyfriend has been accused of killing the girl, and the real murderer tries to become more than friends with him. The dead girl uses her friend's body to try and get both her and the boyfriend to realize what really happened. By the end of the movie, the boyfriend figures out who the murderer is when she attempts the kill the friend whose body the dead girl used. The real murderer is arrested, and the friend ends up in the hospital. She seems alright, but suddenly has a heart attack. During this attack, the dead girl's soul is transferred into her friend's body, and the friend's soul dies. Will shows up in the doorway while the now dead friend has her back to him, because she is still confused over what happened. She turns and sees Will, and says, "Daddy?" and rushes into his arms. He explains that she was the one meant to die all along. Then they both walk off into a bright light.
This movie was fairly good, but a little hard to follow. The end confused me somewhat, but I think I understand it now. Jonathan was very good in this movie, especially the end when he was reunited with his daughter. (By the way, his daughter in this movie is the same actress who played June, his mistress, in The Lot.)
THIRD ROCK FROM THE SUN
Third Rock from the Sun has always been an excellent show, and this episode was no different. The show starts with Dick (John Lithgow) and Mary (Jane Curtain) at a movie with Dick's family. Mary says she is tired of always going on dates with Dick's family, and wants to make new friends to go out with. She suggests a woman in her tennis club named Gwen (Genie Francis) and her husband Larry (Jonathan). Dick agrees and they set a dinner date. Gwen and Larry show up at dinner, acting very nice and charming. Later, Dick says he enjoyed having dinner with them, and looks forward to the next time they go out together with Mary.
The next date is for tennis, and Dick and Mary end up beating Gwen and Larry. Dick and Mary ask them to go to a movie, but Gwen and Larry say they can't they have a carpet guy coming. They say they will call and run off the court. Days later, Dick is frantic because Gwen and Larry haven't called. He goes looking for them, and finds them playing tennis. He is elated to see them and gives them both bear hugs. Then he asks why they haven't called, don't they like him? They say yes they do like Dick. Dick laughs and says what's the problem, unless you don't like Mary, and laughs. Oops, turns out Gwen and Larry don't like Mary because she?oo self-absorbed. Dick begs them to give Mary another chance and they agree.
At dinner, Mary is boring Gwen and Larry with stories, and she asks if they already heard this story. Dick says yes. Larry says, "Thank you, Dick!" Dick gets angry and tells Mary to tell the story again anyway. Then he says he doesn't care what Gwen and Larry want because they live in a fake little world that he doesn't want to be a part of. Then he chases Gwen and Larry out of the restaurant with a chair.
This episode was very funny, especially Dick's dialogue. There is a subplot involving Dick's family and the Laundromat that is also very funny. Jonathan and Genie were great together doing comedy. This was a great episode.
OH BABY
This episode is about a single mother who is trying to start her own baby food company. She gets some investors interested in her company and goes to dinner to meet them. Rachel (Genie) and her husband Don (Jonathan) are the investors. Rachel is a bitchy wife who orders her husband around. The scene is very short, but amusing. They end up not investing in the mom's company anyway.
Even though the scene Jonathan and Genie are in is short, it was great. Jonathan played the weak husband, while Genie ordered him around. (Nice change.) They had a great dialogue between them, and I only wish they could have been in more scenes.
ROSWELL-"THE CONVENTION"
I loved this episode of Roswell. It was great to see Jonathan making fun of himself. He plays himself in this episode, as a science fiction convention guest. The first time we see him, he is complaining about how he didn't get a suite in the hotel while Shatner and Stewart did. He ends up getting moved to another hotel, and this makes him happy. The second day, Jonathan is outside the convention hall about to put his handprints into the cement. The cement is still too wet, and he sinks up to his elbows in it.
Later, he is the host of a round table discussion on alien encounters. One of the victims is a big fan, and says he is God to him. The Roswell teen aliens do not like the guy, and they walk by and touch him while he is talking to Frakes, and send a shock through his body. The fan starts to get a terrible itch, and it unnerves Jonathan. The fan ends up grabbing Frakes' microphone, and security is forced to escort him out.
The next day, Jonathan is taking pictures with fans of his. He complains that Shatner and Stewart should be here doing this too, but the convention coordinator says they aren't coming. Jonathan is shocked, but before he can say anything, some fans drag him back for another picture.
This episode was great, not only because Jonathan was in it. All of the Roswell episodes have a great story, and the actors are very good. The show has finally moved away from the Dawson's Creek theme, and more towards science fiction. (I've read that this is because of Jonathan's influence as executive producer.)
WORLD MAGIC AWARDS
These awards were presented to magicians, and the whole two hours was them performing magic acts. Jonathan was the host, and it was nice just to see him on television again. There was one segment where a mind-reading magician read Jonathan's mind after he asked him to think of someone famous. Jonathan wrote the name down on paper, and the guy got the name right. Sammy Sosa. It was pretty cool, and it seemed like it was real and not faked.
CAMP NOWHERE
This is a teen movie about summer camp that starred Jonathan Jackson, (ex-Lucky [Laura's son] on General Hospital). Both Genie and Jonathan made a cameo appearance for about 10 seconds as the parents of a teen boy camper. Genie was wearing a flower dress and a big floppy hat, and Jonathan was wearing a powder blue suit and an equally ugly hat. (The kid that was their son in the movie dressed weird and wore ugly hats all the time, which is why they were dressed like that.)
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