# TVMs: The Best, The Worst, Your Favorite(s) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 31, 2018, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953 "2018-12-31T01:04:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/1 "2018-12-31T01:04:36Z")
While posting in [this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=868048), it occurred to me there were/are a ton of made-for-TV movies (TVM) that I’d like to see again, if possible. Some really good, some really awful. List some and tell us why? (Only rule: Stand alone TVMs only; no, “MacMillan & Wife,” no, “Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island,” you get the picture.) **The Night Stalker** (1972) - They just don’t get much better. **Bad Ronald** (1974) - Creepy, well done. Kim Hunter _sans_ ape make-up. I got a million of 'em, but you do, too. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/2 "2018-12-31T01:30:01Z")
[How I Spent My Summer Vacation](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061788/reviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt) A young Robert Wagner pursues Jill St. John and ends up in a battle of wits with her father, Peter Lawford. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/3 "2018-12-31T01:37:21Z")
- Welcome Home, Johnny Bristol\* with Martin Landau as a returning Vietnam vet who stumbles on a conspiracy… or is it? _Rehearsal for Murder_, a nice little murder mystery set in a theater, with a great cast. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/4 "2018-12-31T01:49:53Z")
Do two-parters count? If so, I really enjoyed the TV movie version of Stephen King’s “Rose Red” (which really only existed as a TV movie–there wasn’t a corresponding novel, only a companion book). I know it’s not considered the best or anything, but I liked it a lot. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/5 "2018-12-31T01:57:34Z")
_Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232_ (retitled, “A Thousand Heroes”) - Excellent true life story of airliner crash in Sioux City, Iowa, and the rescue team that saved almost 200 passengers. Uses real-life footage of the crash. Surprisingly non-exploitative, well acted, a few big names in cast, written by Harve (Star Trek II thru V) Bennett. A dog of a movie: _A Cry in the Wilderness_ (1974) - George Kennedy is a wilderness family dad bitten by a skunk, who chains himself in the barn in case Pepe Le Pew is rabid. Will his wife find a doctor before she’s raped by locals? Will the local dam burst and kill them all? Can you be cured of rabies by exposure to “too much” water? Is there a more ridiculous ending to a movie? **Infovore** : Sure, works for me. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/6 "2018-12-31T02:25:51Z")
“Requiem for a Heavyweight” was pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/7 "2018-12-31T02:32:37Z")
I love, “_Killdozer_.” There, I’ve said it. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/8 "2018-12-31T02:42:24Z")
In with the inevitable mention of _Duel_. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/9 "2018-12-31T02:51:00Z")
[Gargoyles](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068622/): cheesy but enjoyable B-movie complete with meme-worthy slo-mo effects. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/10 "2018-12-31T02:54:09Z")
^ Thank you, Queeksdraw! _A Cold Night’s Death_ - Something is really going wrong at Robert Culp’s polar primate research station. _Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark_ (1973) - Young couple inherits old house with small demon creatures supplying a twist ending. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/11 "2018-12-31T02:57:02Z")
I’ll be the first to post an obvious one: [_Duel_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067023/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_46) (1971) Can you wring terror and suspense out of a car, an old truck, and a lonely stretch of highway? Steven Spielberg can. _[Tribes](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066490/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_75)_ (1970) What happens to a hippie marine recruit (hint: its’ not a jolly as Stripes)? Darren McGavin and Jan-Michael Vincent give top notch performances. And one that has stuck in my mind a long time, mainly because it has two Linda Ronstadt songs (available nowhere else as far as I can tell) in the soundtrack. [_Maybe I’ll Come Home In The Spring_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066062/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_214) (1971) A somewhat balanced picture of the “hippies vs. straights” split and what it did to families. Sally Field, still struggling to break out of the Gidget stereotype and David Carradine as the siren call boyfriend. eta: Ninja’d by **El Kabong** ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/12 "2018-12-31T03:25:53Z")
_Trilogy of Terror_ starring Karen Black. And a creepy little doll. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/13 "2018-12-31T03:40:28Z")
_Goodnight My Love_ (1972) – Richard Boone and dwarf Michael Dunn make an unlikely but amusing detective team in this enjoyable ‘40s throwback. _Frankenstein: The True Story_ (1973) – James Mason steals the show as Dr. Polidori, though the standout scene has the bride of the monster (Jane Seymour), uh, losing her head at a party. _The Questor Tapes_ (1974) – Roddenberry and Coon come up with a great concept – android looking for its creator - that was apparently too cool to become a series. See also:\* Genesis II\* (1973) and _Planet Earth_ (1974). _Helter Skelter_ (1976) – Charlie and his gang abuse their 15 minutes of fame. _Scum_ (1977) – BBC TV movie of prison life and the different approaches taken by two newbies. _Dr. Strange_ (1978) – Guilty pleasure. _Mysterious Island of Beautiful Women_ (1979) – Guilty pleasure. _The Scarlett O’Hara War_ (1980) – Reasonably enjoyable story of casting the female lead of _Gone with the Wind_, with about a dozen impersonations of stars. _The Incredible Hulk Returns_ (1988) – Guilty pleasure. I recall that the dude playing Thor was really good. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/14 "2018-12-31T03:48:50Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > _The Incredible Hulk Returns_ (1988) – Guilty pleasure. I recall that the dude playing Thor was really good. “I’m looking for a particular man.” “_I_ am a particular man, mush-spine!” ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/15 "2018-12-31T04:09:21Z")
[PROMISE](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091795/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_101) - James Garner protects and cares for his schizophrenic younger brother played by James Woods. [A THOUSAND MEN AND A BABY](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133231/) - John ‘Chick’ Hayward (Gerald McRaney), captain of a Korean war era US Navy destroyer shelters a mixed heritage orphan aboard his ship and transports the child to a new life and family in America. Bonus fact: Hayward’s Law - “Regulations are perfect - for perfect situations. In an emergency, regulations are to be intelligently disregarded.” ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/16 "2018-12-31T15:20:32Z")
A great one is “Nuts in May”. From Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > Nuts in May is a television film devised and directed by Mike Leigh, filmed in March 1975, and originally broadcast as part of the BBC’s Play for Today series on 13 January 1976.[1] It is the comical story of a nature-loving and rather self-righteous couple’s exhausting battle to enjoy what they perceive to be the idyllic camping holiday. Misunderstandings, awkward clashes of values and explosive conflicts occur when less high-minded guests pitch their tents nearby. Bonus – the entire movie is availble on Youtube: [Nuts in May](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pxN2BADHwk) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/17 "2018-12-31T15:31:05Z")
[Guyana Reagedy: The Story of Jim Jones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guyana_Tragedy:_The_Story_of_Jim_Jones). Powers Boothe deserved wining an Emmy for thi sone. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/18 "2018-12-31T15:34:45Z")
_Count Dracula_ (1977) - Louis Jordan is You-know-who in this British version. Great cast with Frank Finlay a stand-out as van Helsing. Arguably the version closest to the novel. Some flaws, but I’d give it 9.97/10. Beware edited version. _Dracula_ (1974) - Jack Palance is You-know-who in this Dan Curtis version. Some major changes from the novel, but so what? Typically well done Dan Curtis production. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/19 "2018-12-31T16:19:06Z")
[The Boy in the Plastic Bubble](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boy_in_the_Plastic_Bubble) with a young John Travolta - saw it as a child and still remember most of the movie to this day. [James at 15](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_at_15) - I remember the movie more than the series it spawned. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953/20 "2018-12-31T16:33:02Z")
_Brian’s Song_ (1971) - There won’t be a dry eye in the house; the ladies, either. James Caan, Billy Dee Williams; a masterpiece. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tvms-the-best-the-worst-your-favorite-s/826953.md?page=2)