"Captive Heart: The James Mink Story" is a true story. Up to a point.
The movie comes with sort of a credit/disclaimer - "Based on historical records."Which basically means that the first part closely follows an actual case, while the rest of it is pure fiction.
But that's really almost inconsequential. "Captive Heart" is a pretty good TV movie.
Louis Gossett Jr. stars as the title character. In 1850s Canada, James Mink is a son of freed American slaves who has established himself as a wealthy and prosperous businessman. He's married to - and very much in love with - Elizabeth (Kate Nelligan), an Irish mail-order bride.
And James and Elizabeth are the parents of a beautiful and intelligent 17-year-old daughter, Mary (Rachael Crawford). But while Mary wants to go to college and become a teacher, her father wants her to marry. And as a child of mixed race, he knows that won't be easy for her.
So he offers a little inducement. A $10,000 dowry for the right white man. And this was in the mid-19th century, when a dollar amounted to something.
Even James isn't impressed with the caliber of the prospective bridegrooms. Until along comes William Johnson (Peter Outerbridge), who - to all appearances - is smart, charming, well off and tolerant. So, at James' urging, Mary marries William.
Big mistake. William is really a louse who rapes his wife, prostitutes her and then sells her into slavery.
(Parents beware - while not graphic, there is a rape scene that's rather shocking.)
Up to this point, the movie closely follows actual events. But beyond this point, it's all just story telling.
And pretty good story telling. James immediately sets out to rescue his daughter. But it's a kick in the pants when he's forced to play the part of a subservient slave to his wife in order to effect the escape.
There's some scenes of brutality on the plantation, an exciting rescue and a satisfying (if predictable) conclusion.
Gossett is particularly good, and the rest of the cast - which includes Ruby Dee and Michael Jai White - does fine. All in all, "Captive Heart" is an above-average TV movie.
"ALL SHE EVER WANTED": Many actors who star in weekly TV series do TV movies that broaden their range. That allow them to play a completely different character.
Not so Marcia Cross of "Melrose Place." She's totally nutso on "Melrose," and she brings her maniacal behavior to ABC's "All She Ever Wanted" (Sunday, 8 p.m., Ch. 4).
What her character, Rachel, has always wanted is to have a baby. One problem - she suffers from bi-polar disorder (what used to be called manic depression), which is controlled with lithium. So, against her doctor's advice, she goes off lithium and gets pregnant. And, while she's still on her medication, Rachel leaves a notarized letter stating that she refuses to go back on her medication until after her baby's birth.
The movie doesn't start off badly. Rachel's behavior is merely manic. But as time goes on, she's screaming and ranting and raving and attacking people - which, apparently, is not your typical bipolar behavior.
And the movie goes from sort of absurd to way over the edge when the hospital attempts to force her to have an abortion, leading to a courtroom confrontation.
There are some fine actors here, from James Marshall as Rachel's husband to CCH Pounder as her doctor to Leila Kenzle as her best friend to Carrie Snodgrass as her mother. And Cross herself gets at least a bit of a chance to prove that she can play someone who's not wacko.
But, all too often, Rachel comes across an awful lot like the cartoonishly mad Kimberly of "Melrose." Chances are, you'll appreciate this movie more if you've never seen that series.
TRADING PLACES: As of Tuesday, April 23, "Wings" and "3rd Rock from the Sun" will switch places on NBC's schedule. "3rd Rock" moves to 7 p.m. and "Wings" slides back to 7:30 p.m.
That's because "3rd Rock" has turned into the only real hit of the season, and NBC is trying to take advantage of the show's popularity to boost its Tuesday ratings.
I must confess, I'm perplexed about this. Not that NBC would make the move, which makes a lot of sense. But that "3rd Rock" is a hit despite being offensive, unfunny and generally stupid.