Lifetime Kills

Directed by: David Greene Written By: Mel Frohman and Ross Firestone, Starring: Tracey Gold, Sharon Gless, Tom Irwin Originally produced for CBS in 1998, The Girl Next Door is a decent time waster about the perils of a weak spirit coerced into committing murder in the name of love – or so she believes. Tracey Gold has played victim, predator, hero... you name it. Her baby faced, slightly frumpy appearance allows her to take on all kinds of various Lifetime-esque roles, and how can someone not appreciate that? Although I prefer when she’s the psycho, I do like her as various other characters too...

For anyone who reads my sporadically updated Lifetime Kills column (which I promise to update soon), you are well aware of my love for the basic cable channel that features delish delights of scandalous scandal, tawdry tawdriness and (G-rated) sexy sex. It's Television for Women and by and large it delivers. If you're aware of Lifetime, then certainly you're no stranger to the second half of Meredith Baxter's impressive resume. Maybe it's because of my connection with these movies (and of course, watching her for years on Family Ties), that had me feeling overjoyed watching Meredith on the Today Show when she told Matt Lauer she was gay...

Directed by Richard A. Colla Written by David Burton Morris, Victoria Wozniak Starring Yasmine Bleeth, Richard Grieco 1999, USA Network One of my favorite things about the Lifetime Movie Network (and trust me, I LOVE a lot of things about that channel!) is their True Movie Thursdays. Every week they show two movies based on real life events. They can be about anything although most of the films revolve around murder. I've always been fascinated by how filmmakers take these stories and condense them into two hour movies. Ultimate Deception is an almost a perfect example of how to do it right...

Review By Amanda Reyes Directed By Pierre Gang Written By John Moffatt Starring Mimi Rogers, Sara Lind, JR Bourne 2005, ImaginAtion TV It doesn't embarrass me one bit to confess that I am a Lifetime Junkie. From re-runs of The Golden Girls to the makeover show How to Look Good Naked to original TV series like The Division (yeah, that's how far back Lifetime and I go!), this little cable channel has offered me many hours of 'Television for Women'. But of course, this network would be nothing without their TV Movies. I live for Lifetime originals. They are so good! I know, I just can't contain myself! ...

Review by Amanda Reyes Directed by Peter Medak Written by Teena Booth Starring Mena Suvari, Matthew Modine, Jonathan Schaech, Marcia Gay Harden Lifetime Movie Network, 2008 Having been raised in Sin City myself, I have an unhealthy obsession with watching films that take place in my old stomping grounds because from the time I was 7 until I moved away at 25 years of age in 1996, that dang city has changed more often than Liz Taylor changed husbands. I'm also fascinated by the kind of lifestyle that some of the city's more, uh, interesting patrons live. Fittingly, a lot of these citizens are ripe for characterizations in movies. Case in point, Sex & Lies in Sin City is the non-fictional tale about the infamous Ted Binion murder. Unfortunately, it's also full of enough fictional accounting to make you remember why this kind of stuff is supposed to stay in Vegas...

Directed by: Douglas Jackson Written by: Christine Conradt & Mary Weinstein Starring: Nicholle Tom, Gwynyth Walsh, Cameron Daddo Lance Entertainment I make no excuses for my love of Lifetime, and I sure won't do it here either as I unabashedly state that Her Only Child is the kind of movie that keeps me coming back to Lifetime. It's an engaging thriller for women. You won't find any gore or T&A, but the story is interesting and the movie as a whole is quite fun...

By Amanda Reyes It would be difficult to pin a label on the women mentioned in this article. All are gorgeous, strong, and smart and each imbues something unique that made them so original in the first place. But one fact ties these vixens, girls-next-door, spinsters and housewives together - All are Small Screen Scream Queens. From 1970-1979 this fine assortment of talented ladies took over the boob-tube (pun intended!) and created memories long held dear by latch key kids everywhere. Moreover, they became icons of an era sadly long since passed. The Made for TV movies of the 70s provided a unique contribution to the genre and have actually created a sub-genre all their own.

Directed by: Harvey Kahn Written by: Julie Ferber Frank, Steven Fran Starring: Tori Spelling, Tahmoh Penikett, Victoria Pratt Lifetime Movie Network   Tori Spelling is one of the reigning queens of made-for-television thrillers. She may have got some street cred on the indie circuit with House of Yes and Trick, but she definitely found a niche for herself on the small screen in such fare as Co-ed Call Girl (i.e. the best movie title ever) & Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? (i.e. the second best movie title ever)...

Thinking about the month of October conjures up all kinds of images into the holiday lover's head. One of them probably doesn't involve sitting around watching the Lifetime Movie Network, but what the hell? It's blatantly obvious that they are in full spirit with a week of fun thrillers running all the way through to the 31st.  My favorite network plans to celebrate All Hallows' Eve … Lifetime-style. Don't go in expecting the conventional horror film marathons - think high drama with a little suspense and you'll do just fine. So, just sit back and let Lifetime take you away. It's kind of like Calgon except its got people in it, which makes it kind of like Soylent Green! Oh, I'm so confused!   You can check out their full schedule here, but I thought I'd list some of the highlights (all listings are Eastern Standard Time)...

Directed by: Paul Schneider Written by: Michele Samit, Eric Edson, John Carlen, Dennis Nemec Starring: John Ritter, Marg Helgenberger, Megan Gallagher Braun Entertainment Group, Inc. Some people say John Ritter can't do drama. Seriously, I've heard them say it. I won't point them out to you because I know you'll want to slug ‘em. What a shame it is for these people because Ritter was pretty good at being bad. The first performance that comes to mind is as Ted on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He played a menacing cyborg and dude was scary. He usually avoided over-the-top duplicity, but still managed to be quietly menacing in a few interesting roles. One great film that featured John as the man to hate was Lethal Vows. Here he plays Dr. David Farris, who is divorced from Ellen (Marg Helgenberger). David remains on good terms with his ex, who seems to be a bit of a hypochondriac. She is often tired and unfocused and although David is attentive towards her, it is obvious he is only partially amusing the former missus and her so-called sickness. David's new wife Lorraine (Megan Gallagher) and Ellen get along well and share in each other's lives. So very modern, you see...