Maria Conchita Alonso

A rancher, his clairvoyant wife, and their family face turbulent years in South America in this adaptation of Isabel Allende's best-seller. In mid-20th-century, the impoverished Esteban marries Clara and they have a daughter, Blanca. Esteban works hard and eventually has enough money to buy a hacienda, and he eventually becomes a local patriarch. He becomes very conservative and is feared by his workers. When Blanca grows up, she falls in love with a young revolutionary, Pedro, who urges the workers to fight for socialism. It is unavoidable that Pedro and Esteban are pitted against each other. Esteban tries to stop the love affair between Pedro and his daughter by all means possible, but soon Blanca becomes pregnant and has a daughter. The void between father and daughter seems unbridgeable when Blanca moves in with Pedro. —Mattias Thuresson Humble Esteban vows to marry Rosa and works hard in the gold mines until he has enough money to buy a small farm in the country. He sends for Rosa, and the same day she receives his letter, her sister Clara predicts a death in the family. When Rosa unexpectedly dies, Clara blames herself and takes a vow of silence. Esteban is devastated and goes to live on his farm alone. He works hard and eventually becomes rich. While in town at his mother's funeral he sees a grown Clara and proposes marriage; at this, Clara begins to speak again. They live on his farm and have a daughter, Blanca. They send her to boarding school, but on her summers at home falls for a worker on her father's farm, Pedro, who happens to be a revolutionary. She becomes pregnant by him and her father puts a reward on his head. Blanca and her mother move to the city to get away from the angry Esteban. Blanca has her daughter. Esteban becomes a senator. Eventually, Esteban visits Clara and Blanca and they make up. Surprisingly, the revolutionary party wins an election and Pedro can see Blanca and his daughter. Unfortunately, there is a coup by the conservatives and both Blanca and Pedro are hunted down in connection with the revolutionary party. —Gillian <Cello416@aol.com>

A police veteran and his rookie partner fight Los Angeles gangs. A confident young cop is shown the ropes by a veteran partner in the dangerous gang-controlled barrios of L.A. about to explode in violence in this look at the gang culture enforced by the colors that members wear. —Keith Loh <loh@sfu.ca> A tough, experienced Los Angeles police officer is paired with an over-confident younger officer in a taut police drama. The story takes place in the gang infested areas of Los Angeles' inner city where the colors gang members wear show gang affiliation. —robsturner@earthlink.net

In a dystopian America, a policeman is wrongly convicted and forced to join a TV show where criminals must fight for their lives and their freedom while being hunted by professional killers.

A Texas Ranger and a ruthless narcotics kingpin - they were childhood friends, now they are adversaries. When they were kids Texas Ranger Jack Benteen used to be best friends with drug kingpin Cash Bailey. At present, however, the only element linking them together is Jack's girlfriend Sarita, who used to be with Cash. She returns to Cash as a voluntary hostage to make certain that Jack keeps his hands off the drug lord's operation. On top of that, there is a meticulously planned drug bust, in which both Jack and Cash butt heads with CIA-funded paramilitary Maj. Paul Hackett, following his own agenda. —Anonymous

An ice hockey star is accosted by a youth gang who attempt to rob him; after he chases them off he catches the youngest member and gives him a ride home, where he meets the boy's mother. A romantic plot ensues, as well as a confrontation with the gang leaders. —Michael C. Berch <mcb@postmodern.com>

An actor and a chef fathom a plot to fix a horse race and attempt at capitalizing it, while striving to tackle two of the hitmen responsible for the scheme. Two friends, an actor and a chef, discover a plot to fix a horse race and try to capitalize on it. But they must also deal with the two men who fixed the race, who are trying to silence them. Then there's the mob boss the two guys work for, who planned the fix, and whose wife is having an affair with the actor. —<rcs0411@yahoo.com> While filming on location at a race track, womanizing bit actor Spencer Holden, who lives life on one scam after another, overhears a couple of inept thugs named Binky and Turnip while they dope a race horse with a supposed undetectable super stimulant. The thugs find out that Spence overheard them and will do anything to catch him so that he won't go to the authorities with the information. Spence enlists the help of his best friend, drive-in carhop and aspiring restaurateur Dennis Powell, to bet on the race with that horse so they can make some guaranteed money. Spence and Dennis end up not only having to outrun the thugs, who manage to put a few bullet holes in Spence's car, but also the police when they find Spence's bullet-riddled car and after the race horse, Sorry Sue, dies from the drugs. Add an antique player-piano Dennis acquires, sympathetic but naïve auction-house employee Ellen Frankenthaler who is attracted to Dennis, and exotically beautiful Claudia Pazzo who is interested in buying the piano and in whom Spence is irresistibly drawn, and Spence and Dennis may be in more trouble than they ever imagined. —Huggo

When a Russian musician defects to New York, he finds adjusting to his new life in America more difficult than he could have imagined.