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LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- As a follow-up to its upfront presentation, ABC has detailed its upcoming slate of theatrical movies, original productions and specials for the 2004-05 season.
Here's a breakdown of each, via press release:
Theatrical Movies
About a Boy
Bringing Down the House
Bandits
Catch Me If You Can
The Count of Monte Cristo
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
K-Pax
The Mexican
Minority Report
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Reign of Fire
The Ring
Signs
Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams
Sweet Home Alabama
The Tuxedo
The Wonderful World of Disney
George Lopez Christmas Movie -- world premiere
Growing Pains Reunion: Home Equity -- world premiere
Little House on the Prairie -- world premiere
Monsters Inc.
The Rookie
Snow Dogs
Once Upon a Mattress -- world premiere
Highlights of the World Premieres:
George Lopez Christmas Movie:
2 Hours
Cast
George Lopez: Henry Garcia
Credits:
Production Company: Von Zerneck-Sertner Films
Executive Producers: Ann Lopez, Robert Sertner, Frank
Von Zerneck, Jerry Vukas
George Lopez stars in this made-for-the-holidays movie
about Henry Garcia, a popular, Chicago Sports Radio DJ
who assumes a persona of sarcastic nastiness. As
Christmas approaches, a young boy with a life
threatening disease challenges Garcia into changing
his banter style from negative to positive. To Henry's
surprise, his uplifting new approach seems to inspire
the entire city and helps the young boy heal, as his
own life falls apart.
It's not always a wonderful life for Henry when his
ratings fall and he nearly gives up all that he has
worked for - until his fans unite behind him and he's
shown that miracles can happen.
Growing Pains Reunion: Home Equity
2 Hours
Cast:
Kirk Cameron: Mike Seaver
Brandon Douglas: Scott Kaufer
Tracey Gold: Carol Seaver
Ashley Johnson: Chrissy Seaver
Joanna Kerns: Maggie Seaver
Jeremy Miller: Ben Seaver
Chelsea Noble: Kate Seaver
Alan Thicke: Jason Seaver
Credits:
Production Company: Green-Epstein-Bacino Productions
Executive Producers: Mark Bacino, Jim Green
Director: Joanna Kerns
As the lyrics to the Growing Pains theme song said,
"We're nowhere near the end. The best is ready to
begin." Growing Pains II: Home Equity finds Jason and
Maggie Seaver ready to start a new chapter in their
lives. The nest is finally empty, they've put the
family home up for sale, and they're preparing to
spend their retirement years traveling. (Maggie longs
for a villa in Tuscany, while ever-thrifty Jason wants
to tour the USA in a Winnebago.)
But all that's easier said than done as Mike and a
very pregnant Carol, each with their own agenda for
wanting their parents to stay put, team up to sabotage
the move. At the same time, little brother Ben, now a
realtor, needs the big sale of his parents' home to
please his boss. Meanwhile, Chrissie, an aspiring
singer, just wants to get out from under her parents'
watchful gaze so she can launch her career as a rock
star.
Little House on the Prairie
6 Hours
Cast:
Cameron Bancroft: Charles Ingalls
Kyle Chavarria: Laura Ingalls
Danielle Chuchran: Mary Ingalls
Erin Cottrell: Caroline Ingalls
Credits:
Production Company: Touchstone Television
Executive Producer: Ed Friendly
Director: David L. Cunningham
For nearly a decade (1975-1983) the long-running hit
series Little House on the Prairie was appointment
viewing for the entire family. Now ABC retells the
engrossing story of the pioneering Ingalls family in
an exciting three-part series that remains true to
Laura Ingalls-Wilder's classic book series, Little
House.
For young Laura Ingalls and her family, traveling to
rural Kansas to start a new life after the Civil War
is filled with life-threatening challenges. They brave
dangers from wolves, disease, cowboys and Indians, as
well as overcome battles with storms and prairie
fires.
Through it all, the family pulls together as they
re-build their lives while learning to depend on their
neighbors. This wholesome series is sure to bring
families back to television together again.
Once Upon a Mattress
2 Hours
Cast:
Carol Burnett: Queen Agravain
Credits:
Production Company: ABC Entertainment
Executive Producers: Carol Burnett, Marty Tudor
Carol Burnett, who starred as Princess Winifred the
Woebegone in both the original 1959 Broadway musical
hit and the 1972 made-for-television movie, returns
this time to control the kingdom in the role of Queen
Agravaine for ABC's re-make of this classic tale based
on Hans Christian Andersen's story The Princess and
the Pea.
As a shrew and the overbearing mother to Prince
Dauntless, Queen Agravaine insists that each of his
potential brides-to-be pass an impossible gauntlet of
tests. Further, no one else in the kingdom may marry
until the Prince does. When Princess Winnifred
declares herself a contender for the Prince's hand,
the Queen devises a clever sensitivity test to
determine whether this self-proclaimed princess is
worthy of her son.
Set in 1428, the story takes odd twists and turns,
interspersed with songs that give a whole new look at
the popular fairy tale. It's based on the book by Jay
Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer with music
by Mary Rogers (daughter of Richard Rodgers) and
lyrics by Marshall Barer.
Original Movies
Dynasty: Behind the Scenes
2 Hours
Cast:
Melora Hardin: Linda Evans
Bart John: John Forsythe
Alice Krige: Joan Collins
Pamela Reed: Esther Shapiro
Ritchie Singer: Richard Shapiro
John Terry: Vince Peterson
Credits:
Production Companies: Once Upon A Time Films, Village
Roadshow Productions, Nitelite Entertainment
Executive Producers: Stanley M. Brooks, Greg
Gugliotta, Robert Sertner, Frank Von Zerneck
From 1981-1989, ABC broadcast the
phenomenally-successful primetime drama serial,
Dynasty, a series that reflected the Reagan years of
excess and glamour. Now ABC takes viewers
behind-the-scenes with a satirical, yet poignant, look
at the show that allowed people to forget about their
ordinary lives and drink in the champagne and caviar
existence of the Carrington's - a TV family dripping
in jewels but short on basic morality.
Dynasty was not an instant hit series when Esther and
Richard Shapiro first created the show, but it
eventually dazzled audiences around the world with one
of TV history's most notoriously wicked female
characters, Alexis Carrington; revolutionized the term
'cat fight' as Alexis and Krystle went at it through a
lily pond and mud puddle; and inspired millions of
women to beef up their shoulder pads. With success
came bigger salary demands from the stars and an
over-inflated budget, making it one of the most
expensive shows on television at that time.
Dynasty: Behind The Scenes tells of the sometimes
desperate, and frequently hilarious, efforts to keep
the show at the top of the ratings. No plotline was
too outrageous or inconceivable for the show that left
an indelible imprint on the '80s
Oprah Winfrey Presents: Their Eyes Were Watching God
3 Hours
Cast:
Halle Berry: Janie Crawford
Michael Ealy: Tea Cake
Ruben Santiago Hudson: Joe
Credits:
Production Company: Harpo Films, Inc.
Executive Producers: Kate Forte, Oprah Winfrey
Academy Award�-winning actress Halle Berry stars in
this timeless, lyrical and passionate story of love,
marriage and justifiable homicide: the drama of a
strong woman's quest for sensual and spiritual
fulfillment, and of her refusal to conform to
expectation.
Based on the classic novel by Zora Neal Hurston, this
Oprah Winfrey special follows 16-year-old Janie
Crawford, reared in the backlands of West Florida by
her ex-slave grandmother, as she defiantly sets out to
find her own identity.
Mini-series
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
3 Hours
Cast:
John Voight: Eddie
Ellen Burstyn: Ruby
Blue Man: Jeff Daniels
Marguerite: Dagmara Dominczyk
Credits:
Production Company: Hallmark Entertainment
Executive Producers: Robert Halmi, Jr. & Robert Halmi,
Sr.
Director: Lloyd Kramer
Writer: Mitch Albom
"All endings are also beginnings. We just don't know
it at the time."
From the author of the international bestseller
Tuesdays with Morrie comes an original story based on
his latest bestseller, The Five People You Meet in
Heaven. It's a story that will change everything
you've ever thought about the afterlife and the
meaning of our lives here on earth.
On his 83rd birthday, Eddie, a grizzled war veteran
who feels trapped in a meaningless life of fixing
rides at a seaside amusement park, dies in a tragic
accident trying to save a little girl from a falling
cart. With his final breath, Eddie feels two small
hands in his - and then nothing. He awakens in the
afterlife where, one by one, five people in his life
illuminate the unseen connections of his time spent on
earth.
Was Eddie's life a heroic success or a devastating
failure? Only heaven knows in this larger-than-life
tale filled with warmth and wisdom from a gifted
storyteller.
Specials
The 77th Annual Academy Awards
The 32nd Annual American Music Awards
Miss America
An American Celebration at Ford's Theatre
The Barbara Walters Specials
Charlie Brown Specials
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve
Nick and Jessica Christmas Special
Winnie the Pooh Specials
Highlights of the Specials:
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown -- This Peanuts gang special has become a holiday
must-see tradition at Halloween as Linus, yet again,
waits out the Great Pumpkin.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving -- In Thanksgiving tradition, the entire Peanuts gang
heads to Charlie Brown's house for Thanksgiving.
Snoopy and Linus dress the part as we all are reminded
of the true meaning of Thanksgiving.
A Charlie Brown Christmas -- Linus once again comes to Charlie Browns rescue in
this Christmas favorite as he teaches others the real
meaning of Christmas. Charlie Brown directs the school
Christmas pageant in this Charles Schultz favorite.
A Charlie Brown Valentine -- Charlie Brown makes a turn on his road to love when he
dials Peppermint Patty instead of the red-haired girl
he wanted to ask to the Valentine's Day dance.
Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown -- In what is sure to be a summer television classic,
this recently-created Peanuts special focuses on the
spirit of baseball and winning - in friendship and in
the game.
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown -- This newly-created special is sure to be another
Christmas television tradition as Rerun struggles with
his quest to receive his mom's approval to own a dog -
and to learn to handle the responsibility of one.
The Barbara Walters Special: 24th Academy Awards� Edition -- Over the years she has made celebrities of film and
television share more than they ever have before - and
Academy Awards� night will be no exception. Barbara
Walters returns as host of the 24th edition of her
Academy Awards� special on February 27, 2005, with
interviews of three extraordinary Hollywood talents.
Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2004 -- As 2004 comes to an end, Barbara Walters and ABC News
examine some of the most celebrated, infamous, and
talked-about names of the year. The most fascinating
person of 2004 is a closely guarded secret until the
special airs in December.
Boo! To You, Too, Winnie the Pooh -- Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, and Rabbit join together to try
to get Piglet to leave his tree by creating
'Hallo-wasn't.' When Piglet goes missing the gang is
led on an adventure in Hundred Acre Wood, and towards
Piglet overcome his fears.
Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too! -- Pooh needs to personally deliver the Christmas list to
Santa to save the holiday for Rabbit, Eeyore, Tigger
and Rabbit. Pooh and the gang realize Christmas is
about spending time with those you love the most.
A Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving -- Thanksgiving dinner is served in the Hundred Acre Wood
as Winnie the Pooh and friends celebrate and learn the
true meaning of the holiday.
Winnie the Pooh, A Valentine for You -- Featuring three original songs, this special
celebrates Valentine's Day as a day to celebrate love
and friendship.
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