Joel Polis

Joel Polis

Born: October 3, 1951
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
An American television, film and stage actor. He has appeared in over one hundred television programs and films during his career. Polis' first film role was the character 'Fuchs' in the science fiction film The Thing. He appeared in numerous television series including Cheers, Alien Nation, Northern Exposure, Star Trek: Voyager, Roseanne, Seinfeld, Chicago Hope, Boston Legal and CSI. He appeared in a recurring role on the television series Cheers as the mischievous Gary, owner of the rival bar, Gary's Olde Towne Tavern. Polis's theater credits include performances at the Astor Place Theatre, Hartford Stage, Old Globe Theater, South Coast Repertory, Mark Taper Forum, Odyssey Theatre, Laguna Playhouse, Lillian Theater and the Pasadena Playhouse.

Movies for Joel Polis...

Title: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Character: The Banker
Released: September 24, 2013
Type: TV
Agent Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division) puts together a team of agents to investigate the new, the strange and the unknown around the globe, protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary.
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Title: Rizzoli & Isles
Character: Starbridge Warden
Released: July 12, 2010
Type: TV
Perhaps their strikingly different personalities make the relationship between detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles so effective. Jane, the only female cop in Boston's homicide division, is tough, relentless and rarely lets her guard down, while the impeccably dressed Maura displays a sometimes icy temperament — she is, after all, more comfortable among the dead than the living. Together, the best friends have forged a quirky and supportive relationship; they drop the protective shield in each other's company, and combine their expertise to solve Boston's most complex cases.
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Chasing a Dream
Title: Chasing a Dream
Character: Dr. Aldicott
Released: April 24, 2009
Type: Movie
When high school football player Cam Stiles loses his best friend, he decides to drop football and focus on attaining his friend's goal of running a mile in under four minutes. Cam's decision tears apart his relationship with former teammates and his father—who happens to be his demanding football coach.
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Title: Castle
Character: John Raglan
Released: March 9, 2009
Type: TV
After a serial killer imitates the plots of his novels, successful mystery novelist Richard "Rick" Castle receives permission from the Mayor of New York City to tag along with an NYPD homicide investigation team for research purposes.
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Title: The Unit
Character: Administrator
Released: March 7, 2006
Type: TV
A covert team of special forces operatives risk their lives on undercover missions around the globe, while their wives maintain the homefront, protecting their husbands' secrets.
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Title: Bones
Character: Mario Trivisonno
Released: September 13, 2005
Type: TV
Dr. Temperance Brennan and her colleagues at the Jeffersonian's Medico-Legal Lab assist Special Agent Seeley Booth with murder investigations when the remains are so badly decomposed, burned or destroyed that the standard identification methods are useless.
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Title: Boston Legal
Character: Attorney Eric Yavitch
Released: October 3, 2004
Type: TV
Alan Shore and Denny Crane lead a brigade of high-priced civil litigators in an upscale Boston law firm in a series focusing on the professional and personal lives of brilliant but often emotionally challenged attorneys. A spin-off of long-running series The Practice.
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Title: CSI: NY
Character: Prof. Clark Risenhoover
Released: September 22, 2004
Type: TV
Follow the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers identified as "Crime Scene Investigators".
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Title: Stargate Atlantis
Released: July 15, 2004
Type: TV
With the Ancients' city of Atlantis discovered in the Pegasus Galaxy by Stargate Command, Dr. Elizabeth Weir and Major Sheppard lead a scientific expedition to the ancient abandoned city. Once there, the team not only find themselves unable to contact Earth, but their explorations unexpectedly reawaken the Ancients' deadly enemies, The Wraith, who hunger for this new prey. Now with the help of newfound local allies like Teyla Emmagan, the Atlantis Team sets about to uncover their new home's secrets even as their war of survival against the Wraith begins.
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Swallow
Title: Swallow
Character: Agent Miller
Released: February 9, 2004
Type: Movie
Lacking the grades and money for college, a Florida high school senior takes assignment as a cocaine mule.
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Title: NCIS
Character: Ronald Ostrowski
Released: September 23, 2003
Type: TV
From murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines, a team of special agents investigates any crime that has a shred of evidence connected to Navy and Marine Corps personnel, regardless of rank or position.
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Alien Hunter
Title: Alien Hunter
Character: Copeland
Released: July 19, 2003
Type: Movie
Government agents find evidence of extraterrestrial life at the South Pole.
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Title: Mister Sterling
Released: January 10, 2003
Type: TV
Mister Sterling is an American television serial drama created by Lawrence O'Donnell that ran from January to March in 2003. It starred Josh Brolin as an idealistic United States Senator, and featured Audra McDonald, William Russ, David Noroña, and James Whitmore as members of his staff. Despite mostly positive reviews, the show, which aired on NBC on Friday nights, was cancelled after 10 episodes after the show only ranked 58th in the yearly ratings Although it had numerous similarities to The West Wing in style and tone, it was not set in the same universe as O'Donnell's other political show. It is unknown if a cross-over would have ever occurred had Mister Sterling not been cancelled; however Steven Culp played presidential aspirant Sen. Ron Garland on Mister Sterling and House Speaker Jeff Haffley on The West Wing, and Democrats appeared to be in the majority in the US Senate on Mr Sterling, while in The West Wing consistent Republican control of both Houses of Congress was a key plot point. James Whitmore was nominated for a 2003 Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for playing former Governor Bill Sterling, the senator's father.
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Title: Without a Trace
Character: Joel Landers
Released: September 26, 2002
Type: TV
The series follows the ventures of a Missing Persons Unit of the FBI in New York City.
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Title: CSI: Miami
Character: Robert Wynn
Released: September 23, 2002
Type: TV
CSI: Miami follows Crime Scene Investigators working for the Miami-Dade Police Department as they use physical evidence, similar to their Las Vegas counterparts, to solve grisly murders. The series mixes deduction, gritty subject matter, and character-driven drama in the same vein as the original series in the CSI franchise, except that the Miami CSIs are cops first, scientists second.
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Title: The Best Sex Ever
Character: Donald
Released: May 3, 2002
Type: TV
Veronica hosts a midnight radio show called "The Best Sex Ever". Each night "after all the good girls and boys have gone to bed", she invites listeners to call in and share their own personal erotic tale about "the best sex you ever had". In each episode Veronica suggests a theme for that night's show, and one caller's story is presented, with Veronica occasionally interjecting comments or questions.
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Title: The Guardian
Released: September 25, 2001
Type: TV
Nick Fallin is a hotshot lawyer working at his father's ultrasuccessful Pittsburgh law firm. Unfortunately, the high life has gotten the best of Nick. Arrested for drug use, he's sentenced to do 1,500 hours of community service, somehow to be squeezed into his 24/7 cutthroat world of mergers, acquisitions and board meetings. Reluctantly, he's now The Guardian - a part-time child advocate at Legal Aid Services, where one case after another is an eye-opening instance of kids caught up in difficult circumstances.
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Attraction
Title: Attraction
Character: William
Released: April 22, 2001
Type: Movie
A writer/radio advice show host fails to heed his own advice as he stalks his ex-girlfriend and then becomes involved with an actress friend of hers.
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Title: Boston Public
Character: Dawson
Released: October 23, 2000
Type: TV
Principal Steven Harper runs Winslow High School as best as he can while dealing with the demands of the faculty, the students and their parents.
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Title: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Character: Silvio Peters
Released: October 6, 2000
Type: TV
A Las Vegas team of forensic investigators are trained to solve criminal cases by scouring the crime scene, collecting irrefutable evidence and finding the missing pieces that solve the mystery.
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Rocket's Red Glare
Title: Rocket's Red Glare
Character: Col. Mitchell
Released: August 27, 2000
Type: Movie
A troubled 17-year-old Todd Baker restores a Mercury Redstone rocket as a science project with the help of his ex-astronaut grandfather. When a NASA emergency leaves a space shuttle and its crew in danger, Todd's rocket is the only one ready for immediate launch.
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Title: Bull
Released: August 15, 2000
Type: TV
Bull is a short-lived American drama series created by Michael S. Chernuchin, who had worked on Law & Order and Brooklyn South in 2000. It was TNT's first original series, and was cancelled in the middle of Season 1. The show's name is in reference to the bull market, but the airing of the series coincided with the dot-com bubble crash that turned what had until then been a bull economy in the United States into a bear market.
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Title: The Invisible Man
Character: John Castagnacci
Released: June 9, 2000
Type: TV
The Invisible Man is a Sci-Fi American television series starring Vincent Ventresca, Paul Ben-Victor, Eddie Jones, Shannon Kenny and Michael McCafferty. Somewhat more successful than previous television series involving invisible secret agents, it aired from June 9, 2000 to February 1, 2002, lasting two seasons. The plot revolves around Darien Fawkes, a thief facing life imprisonment who was recruited by a low-rent spy organization and given the power of invisibility via implantation of a special "Quicksilver gland" in his head. The gland allows Fawkes to secrete a light-bending substance called "Quicksilver" from his pores and follicles. The substance quickly coats his skin, hair, nails and clothes and renders him invisible. He can consciously release the Quicksilver, which then flakes off and disintegrates. However, the Quicksilver gland was sabotaged at its creation by scientist Arnaud DeFehrn to release a neurotoxin that accumulates in the bloodstream and causes intense pain, followed by antisocial behavior and psychosis. The host requires regular doses of "counteragent" to keep him sane and healthy, which is controlled by said government agency. This series lasted for two seasons, before being cancelled due to cost issues and internal bickering between the Sci Fi Channel and its then-parent company, USA Networks. The show's first season ran concurrently in first-run syndication as well as on Sci Fi.
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Shadows
Title: Shadows
Character: Kapo
Released: March 10, 2000
Type: Movie
Joshua and his father are among the Jewish prisoners in a concentration camp. When the assistant leader of their work crew is gunned down by mistake, the sadistic leader offers Joshua his place. He takes it, but at what price to his heritage and family?
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Tumbleweeds
Title: Tumbleweeds
Character: Vice Principal
Released: November 24, 1999
Type: Movie
Whenever trouble strikes in one of her relationships, single mother Mary Jo Walker and her daughter, Ava, pack up and move to another city, a routine Ava is tiring of. This time, they are helped on their move to San Diego by trucker Jack Ranson. While Ava settles in, getting a leading part in the school play, Jack starts dating Mary Jo but soon reveals himself to be controlling and aggressive. Mary Jo prepares to flee again, angering Ava.
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Title: Angel
Character: Captain Franklin
Released: October 5, 1999
Type: TV
The vampire Angel, cursed with a soul, moves to Los Angeles and aids people with supernatural-related problems while questing for his own redemption. A spin-off from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
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Title: Judging Amy
Character: Dr. Eaton
Released: September 19, 1999
Type: TV
Judging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character is a judge who serves in a family court, and in addition to the family-related cases that she adjudicates, many episodes of the show focus on her own experiences as a divorced mother, and on the experiences of her mother, a social worker who works in the field of child welfare. This series was based on the life experiences of Brenneman's mother.
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Title: Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
Character: Dr. Sapperstein (segment "Morning Sickness")
Released: November 4, 1998
Type: TV
Can you tell the difference between fact and fiction? Several stories of strange, mysterious and incredible occurrences are chronicled during each episode. It is up to the viewer to decide which stories actually happened and which were completely fabricated by the show’s writers. The answer is revealed by Jonathan Frakes at the conclusion of each episode.
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The Thing: Terror Takes Shape
Title: The Thing: Terror Takes Shape
Character: Self
Released: September 8, 1998
Type: Movie
An in-depth look at the making of John Carpenter's cult classic sci-fi horror The Thing, telling the story of a group of researchers in Antarctica who encounter a parasitic extra-terrestrial life-form that assimilates, then imitates other organisms.
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Title: Dharma & Greg
Character: Colonel Glickman
Released: September 24, 1997
Type: TV
Dharma & Greg is an American television sitcom that aired from September 24, 1997, to April 30, 2002. It stars Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as Dharma and Greg Montgomery, a couple who got married on their first date despite being complete opposites. The series is co-produced by Chuck Lorre Productions, More-Medavoy Productions and 4 to 6 Foot Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The show's theme song was written and performed by composer Dennis C. Brown. Created by executive producers Dottie Dartland and Chuck Lorre, the comedy took much of its inspiration from so-called culture-clash "fish out of water" situations. The show earned eight Golden Globe nominations, six Emmy Award nominations, and six Satellite Awards nominations. Elfman earned a Golden Globe in 1999 for Best Actress.
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Title: Ally McBeal
Character: Attorney Woodson
Released: September 8, 1997
Type: TV
Ally McBeal is a young lawyer working at the Boston law firm Cage and Fish. Ally's lives and loves are eccentric, humorous, dramatic with an incredibly overactive imagination that's working overtime!
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Prison of Secrets
Title: Prison of Secrets
Character: Brad
Released: March 16, 1997
Type: Movie
Lynn Schaffer is willfully irresponsible once too often, gets fired and refuses a plea-bargain with her employer. She's now convicted and because of this uncooperative attitude gets the maximum sentence, 10 years in a women's jail wing. Model husband Larry, who wasn't informed of her dumb schemes is left running her appeal, the household and spoiled daughter who now feels abandoned. Since most inmates are junkies or prostitutes, sergeant Ed Crang and fellow corrupt jailers can run a 'favors in kind exchange'. For rebels, it gets worse. Larry however has his own radio show, so it all hangs on gathering proof.
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Title: The Pretender
Character: Agent Russell Gillson
Released: September 19, 1996
Type: TV
Raised in a secret facility built for experimenting on children, Jarod is a genius who can master any profession and become anyone he has to be. When he realizes as an adult that he's actually a prisoner and his captors are not as benevolent as he's been told, he breaks out. While trying to find his real identity, Jarod helps those he encounters and tries to avoid the woman sent to retrieve him.
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Title: 7th Heaven
Character: Ted Jacob
Released: August 26, 1996
Type: TV
Reverend Eric Camden and his wife Annie have always had their hands full caring for seven children, not to mention the friends, sweethearts and spouses that continually come and go in the Camden household.
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Twilight Man
Title: Twilight Man
Character: Harper
Released: December 31, 1995
Type: Movie
Jordan Cooper, a professor in Durham, has everything going for him. A beautiful girlfriend named Kathy, a good job and a nice place to live. But when he goes for his annual check up, things go wrong. Someone is tampering with his computer files and all his tests are bad. He is admitted to the hospital and dragged off to the county hospital late that night for a brain operation that he does not need. His electronic records are changing. He gets cable he did not order and then his girlfriend is murdered in his car. Someone is trying to ruin the life of Cooper, and he has to find out who and why before the police catch up to him.
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Serial Killer
Title: Serial Killer
Character: Jack Blund
Released: October 5, 1995
Type: Movie
As a member of FBI Psychological Profile Unit, Selby Younger tracks Morrano, vicious and intelligent serial killer. Before getting caught, Morrano attacks her leaving serious psychological wounds. Two years later, Morrano escapes and Selby, now working on a desk job, must face her personal traumas again.
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Title: Star Trek: Voyager
Character: Ny Terla
Released: January 16, 1995
Type: TV
Pulled to the far side of the galaxy, where the Federation is 75 years away at maximum warp speed, a Starfleet ship must cooperate with Maquis rebels to find a way home.
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Title: Touched by an Angel
Character: Garland Ketter
Released: September 21, 1994
Type: TV
Monica, an angel, is tasked with bringing guidance and messages from God to various people who are at a crossroads in their lives.
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Title: Chicago Hope
Released: September 18, 1994
Type: TV
Chicago Hope is an American medical drama television series, created by David E. Kelley. It ran on CBS from September 18, 1994, to May 4, 2000. The series is set in a fictional private charity hospital in Chicago, Illinois. The show is set to return in the fall of 2013 on TVGN in reruns.
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Title: One West Waikiki
Released: August 4, 1994
Type: TV
One West Waikiki is an American crime/drama TV show set in Hawaii which ran from 1994-1996. It starred Cheryl Ladd, Richard Burgi and Kayla Blake and was nominated for a Prime Time Emmy in 1995.
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Title: Diagnosis: Murder
Character: Larry Macklin
Released: October 29, 1993
Type: TV
Dr. Mark Sloan is a good-natured, offbeat physician who is called upon to solve murders.
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Deadly Medicine
Title: Deadly Medicine
Character: Dr. George Reardon
Released: November 11, 1991
Type: Movie
A pediatrician becomes trapped in a web of betrayal and guilt when her best friend, a nurse, seems to be a baby-killer.
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Title: Home Improvement
Character: Wes Davidson
Released: September 17, 1991
Type: TV
The daily trials and tribulations of handyman Tim Taylor, a TV show host raising three boys with help from his loyal co-host, domineering wife, and unseen neighbor.
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Title: Eddie Dodd
Released: March 12, 1991
Type: TV
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The Rookie
Title: The Rookie
Character: Lance
Released: December 7, 1990
Type: Movie
Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.
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Title: Beverly Hills, 90210
Released: October 4, 1990
Type: TV
Follow the lives of a group of teenagers living in the upscale, star-studded community of Beverly Hills, California and attending the fictitious West Beverly Hills High School and, subsequently, the fictitious California University after graduation.
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Title: Law & Order
Character: Dr. Joel Friedman
Released: September 13, 1990
Type: TV
In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.
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My Blue Heaven
Title: My Blue Heaven
Character: U.S. Attorney
Released: August 17, 1990
Type: Movie
FBI agent Barney Coopersmith is assigned to protect former Mafia figure turned informant Vincent Antonelli. In the witness protection program one is supposed to keep a low profile, but that is something that Antonelli has trouble doing. Coopersmith certainly has his hands full keeping Antonelli away from the Mafia hitmen who want to stop him testifying, not to mention the nightclubs...
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Burning Bridges
Title: Burning Bridges
Character: Dr. Paletsky
Released: May 6, 1990
Type: Movie
Fact-based story of a woman who suffered a nervous breakdown after having an extra-marital affair.
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Title: Alien Nation
Released: September 18, 1989
Type: TV
Detective Matthew Sikes, a Los Angeles police officer reluctantly works with "Newcomer" alien George Francisco. Sikes also has an 'on again off again' flirtation with a female Newcomer, Cathy Frankel.
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Title: Seinfeld
Character: Reilly
Released: July 5, 1989
Type: TV
A stand-up comedian and his three offbeat friends weather the pitfalls and payoffs of life in New York City in the '90s. It's a show about nothing.
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Those She Left Behind
Title: Those She Left Behind
Character: Kerns
Released: March 6, 1989
Type: Movie
Scott and Sue Grimes are a happily married and affluent young couple who are about to start a family together. Unfortunately, that plan gets turned completely upside-down when Sue dies suddenly and unexpectedly while giving birth to their daughter. Now in the aftermath, Scott not only has to deal with the loss of his wife, he also has the daunting task of raising his daughter all alone.
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True Believer
Title: True Believer
Character: Dean Rabin
Released: February 17, 1989
Type: Movie
Eddie Dodd is a burnt out former civil rights lawyer who now specializes in defending drug dealers. Roger Baron, newly graduated from law school, has followed Eddie's great cases and now wants to learn at his feet. With Roger's idealistic prodding, Eddie reluctantly takes on a case of a young Korean man who, according to his mother, has been in jail for eight years for a murder he didn't commit.
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Title: Matlock
Character: Gary Benton
Released: March 3, 1986
Type: TV
Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of criminal defense attorney Ben Matlock. The show, produced by The Fred Silverman Company, Dean Hargrove Productions, Viacom Productions and Paramount Television originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC; and from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC. The show's format is similar to that of CBS's Perry Mason, with Matlock identifying the perpetrators and then confronting them in dramatic courtroom scenes. One difference, however, was that whereas Mason usually exculpated his clients at a pretrial hearing, Matlock usually secured an acquittal at trial, from the jury.
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Title: The Twilight Zone
Released: September 27, 1985
Type: TV
This 1980s revival of the classic sci-fi series features a similar style to the original anthology series. Each episode tells a tale (sometimes two or three) rooted in horror or suspense, often with a surprising twist at the end. Episodes usually feature elements of drama and comedy.
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Title: Moonlighting
Character: Frank Herbert
Released: March 3, 1985
Type: TV
After being duped and going bankrupt, model Maddie is convinced by David to become a partner in a detective agency. Together they solve various cases, while getting comfortable with each other.
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Title: Fatal Vision
Character: Brian Murtagh
Released: November 18, 1984
Type: TV
A retiree spends nine years relentlessly seeking to prove that his son-in-law, a former Green Beret Army doctor, murdered his pregnant wife and two daughters. Based on the Fatal Vision controversy, and the book of the same name, about the murders of the wife and daughters of U.S. Army officer Jeffrey R. MacDonald at Fort Bragg in 1970.
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Title: The Hitchhiker
Character: Carl
Released: November 1, 1983
Type: TV
A young hitchhiker introduces characters who are about to experience a frightening and sometimes supernatural incident of some kind in this moody anthology series.
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Title: Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Released: October 3, 1983
Type: TV
Scarecrow and Mrs. King is an American television series that aired from October 3, 1983, to May 28, 1987 on CBS. The show stars Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner as divorced housewife Amanda King and top-level "Agency" operative Lee Stetson who begin a strange association, and eventual romance, after encountering one another in a train station.
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Title: St. Elsewhere
Released: October 26, 1982
Type: TV
St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series starred Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd and William Daniels as teaching doctors at a lightly-regarded Boston hospital who gave interns a promising future in making critical medical and life decisions.
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Title: Remington Steele
Character: Eldon Veckmer
Released: October 1, 1982
Type: TV
Laura Holt, a licensed private detective, opens a detective agency but finds that potential clients refuse to hire a woman, however qualified. To solve the problem, Laura invents a fictitious male superior whom she names Remington Steele. Through a series of events that unfold in the first episode, "License to Steele," a former thief and con man, whose real name is never revealed, assumes the identity of Remington Steele. Behind the scenes, Laura remains firmly in charge.
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Title: Cheers
Released: September 30, 1982
Type: TV
The story about a blue-collar Boston bar run by former sports star Sam Malone and the quirky and wonderful people who worked and drank there.
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The Thing
Title: The Thing
Character: Fuchs
Released: June 25, 1982
Type: Movie
In the winter of 1982, a twelve-man research team at a remote Antarctic research station discovers an alien buried in the snow for over 100,000 years. Soon unfrozen, the form-changing creature wreaks havoc, creates terror... and becomes one of them.
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Title: Cagney & Lacey
Released: March 25, 1982
Type: TV
Mary Beth Lacey and Chris Cagney are teamed up as NYPD police detectives. Their opposing personalities (one is tough and the other sensitive) mesh to make this one of the great crime-fighting duos of all time.
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Title: T. J. Hooker
Released: March 13, 1982
Type: TV
Sergeant Thomas Jefferson Hooker is a tough-as-nails veteran police officer with the LCPD who turns his back on a gold badge and goes back to patrolling the streets and training recuits. Along with his young partners in blue, Hooker take on Lake City's toughest criminals.