Target Earth (1998)
Alien Invasion
Alien invasion tv movie that mostly consists of cliches borrowed from the then success of tv’s The X Files
TV Movies
TV Movies refer to films specifically made for television as opposed to theatrical release. These can range from original self-contained dramas to pilots for potential tv series, which may or may not be picked up. This also includes the British tradition of the tv play, self-contained televised works (often adapted from plays) usually for arts audiences. For more long-form televised works, which are self-contained stories split into multiple episodes, see TV Mini-Series.
The Golden Age of TV Movies was during the 1970s, which produced a number of classic works, some of which received theatrical release outside the USA. US TV Movies tended to be tamer than theatrical releases due to being made for public broadcast audiences. This is not the case in the UK and its tv plays, which often contain more adult content
The notion of the tv movie has been largely erased by the advent of cable and streaming services where it becomes difficult to tell the dividing line between a work intended for theatrical, video/dvd or televised release where in many cases a film’s intended destination may have nothing to do with the way it is eventually released. There are still some works that can be regarded as made-for-tv, notedly a number of psycho-thrillers made for the Lifetime network.
Tarzan in Manhattan (1989)
Tarzan Comes to Civilisation Comedy
Comedy take on the Tarzan character with Joe Lara playing Tarzan who comes to New York and promptly proves to be a fish out of water. The filmmakers were likely inspired by the then recent hit of Crocodile Dundee
A Taste of Evil (1971)
Psycho-Thriller
TV movie psycho-thriller produced by Aaron Spelling (plus assorted Anglo-horror veterans) where heiress Barbara Parkins thinks she is going crazy. Barbara Stanwyck goes the Baby Jane route
The Tempest (1998)
Shakespeare Adaptation Updated to the US Civil War
A retelling of the Shakespeare play, which had been updated to the midst of the American Civil War with some interesting results
The Testament of Dr Cordelier (1959)
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Adaptation
Jean Renoir is considered one of the greatest of all film directors – this is his only venture into genre material, a version of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Though Renoir seems disinterested in making a horror film, he offers up the most faithful interpretation of the story on screen to date
The Thief of Baghdad (1978)
Arabian Nights Adventure
The fourth film version of the Arabian Nights adventure, a tv movie released theatrically in some parts.
Thirst (1998)
Plague Outbreak
Rather dull plague outbreak drama tv movie based around a deadly outbreak at a water filtration plant
Thoughtcrimes (2003)
Telepath Recruited by Law Enforcement
This comes with the undeniable influence of the then recent Minority Report in its story about a telepath recruited by law enforcement
Threads (1984)
Nuclear War
UK tv movie that sets out to offer an unflinching depiction of a nuclear strike. About as bleak as it is possible to get
The Time Machine (1978)
Time Travel/H.G. Wells Adaptation
Largely forgotten adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel made for tv. While other versions place the story in Victorian England, this has been Americanised – where the time traveller is a weapons designer and journeys back to the Wild West. What kills the film is a painful cheapness
The Time Travelers (1976)
Time Travel
Unsold tv pilot that was a collaboration between Irwin Allen and Rod Serling where time travelers visit the Great Fire of Chicago
Too Good to Be True (2003)
Stalker Ex-Husband
British tv movie variant on Fatal Attraction where a woman is stalked by her ex-husband Peter Davison
Trilogy of Terror (1975)
Horror Anthology
Classic tv movie that is a horror anthology offering a trio of tales all featuring Karen Black. The first two items are okay but the one that made the film into a cult item was the third episode with Black being chased through her apartment by an evil doll
Trilogy of Terror II (1996)
Horror Anthology
Sequel to the classic Karen Black-starring horror anthology tv movie with Lysette Anthony starring in a trio of horror tales
Trucks (1997)
Vehicles Amok/Stephen King Adaptation
Remake of the same Stephen King short story that formed the basis of Maximum Overdrive about trucks turning against humanity … Why remake a work that was poorly regarded first time around is a good question but this actually emerges as the better version
The Turn of the Screw (2009)
Psychological Ghost Story
A BBC adaptation of the classic oft-filmed Henry James ghost story in which we cannot be sure whether the ghosts are real or exist inside the heroine’s imagination. This treats some aspects of the story liberally but gets the essence of the story right
Twitches (2005)
Twin Sister Witches
Inane Disney Channel film with twin sisters Tia and Tamera Mowry as sisters who didn’t know it who discover they are witches. A film that has zero interest in its fantasy elements and is entirely taken up by airhead teenage airhead natter
Twitches Too (2007)
Twin Sister Witches
Having to sit through the Mowray twins airhead natter again in a sequel to their early Disney Channel film feels the equivalent of nails being scratched on a blackboard
The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan (1979)
Time Travel Romance
Classic tv movie in which Lindsay Wagner travels back to the 19th Century to romance Marc Singer. Classic what is the question – what we have is a weepy romantic version of a time travel film that eliminates any of the interesting things like culture clash, advanced knowledge and time paradox
U Be Dead (2009)
True-Life Female Stalker
A British-made tv movie about a female stalker. What sets this above Fatal Attraction and the other copies is that it is based on a true story
The Unquiet (2008)
Haunted Building/Rival Paranormal Investigators
There is a certain potential to the concept of two rival teams, parapsychological debunkers and a tabloid tv crew, researching a reputedly haunted prison. Only a couple of years later, this would have been mandatorily made as a Found Footage film but suffers from a director with no aptitude for atmosphere
A Valentine Carol (2007)
Romantic Redemption Fantasy
Lifetime Channel Valentine’s Day movie that rewrites A Christmas Carol to have Emma Caulfield visited by the ghosts of relationships past, present and future
Vampire (1979)
Modern-Day Vampire
A vampire movie from the creators of Hill Street Blues, the greatest tv cop show ever made??? The mind boggles as to the possibilities and wonder what amazing creative possibilities they could put on it – alas, the show only ends up staying with the tried and true
The War Game (1965)
Nuclear War Mockumentary
Peter Watkins stark, brutal mockumentary about a nuclear strike on England, this was banned from the BBC and still makes for harsh viewing today
Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior (2006)
Teenage Girl Martial Arts Warrior
Disney Channel film where a modern teenager finds she is the reincarnation of a martial arts warrior
The Werewolf of Woodstock (1975)
Werewolf Film
Another bizarre werewolf movie title collusion from the 1970s era that produced such as Werewolves on Wheels and The Boy Who Cried Werewolf. The film is never quite up to making the notion of hippies vs werewolves work with the amusement of its title
Wheels of Terror (1990)
Road Games with a Killer Car
A blatant copy of Steven Spielberg’s Duel in which school bus driver Joanna Cassidy pursues a muscle car with never-seen driver who has abducted her daughter. Two-thirds of the film is taken up by an extended car chase scene where the stunt people seem to be having a field day
When Good Ghouls Go Bad (2001)
Children's Halloween Film
Halloween film for children from the pen of horror author R.L. Stine of Goosebumps fame. The children’s horror story (and tv movie) is filled with many insipid and formulaic entries but this is a decent one that is not unafraid to scare people
When Michael Calls (1972)
Phone Calls from a Dead Child
TV movie that comes with a great opening hook – a family receive phone calls from a brother who died 15 years earlier
Where Have All the People Gone (1974)
Mysterious Catastrophe/Last People on Earth
One of the first films about a mysterious catastrophe that empties the world of all but a handful of survivors that formed the template of later films like The Quiet Earth
The Wind in the Willows (2006)
Talking Animals/Absurdist Adventures
Amiable live-action adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s classic children’s work made for the BBC with an all-star cast
Without Warning (1994)
Live TV Broadcast/Possible Alien Arrival
Made for the anniversary of the Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds broadcast, a tv movie that simulates a a live newscast as alien craft arrive around the world
The Woman in Black (1989)
Ghost Story
The revived Hammer Films had with the ghost story The Woman in Black. This is the original version of the story made as a movie for British tv with a script from Quatermass creator Nigel Kneale
WW 3 (2001)
Biowarfare Outbreak Thriller
A routine biowarfare outbreak thriller that holds a fascination in that it imagines the attacker to be al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden two months before 9/11
The Wyvern Mystery (2000)
Gothic Thriller
BBC tv adaptation of Gothic potboiler by J. Sheridan Le Fanu with newlywed wife Naomi Watts facing an evil squire and mad women in a big gloomy house
The Year of the Sex Olympics (1968)
Media-Controlled Future
Film from Quatermass creator Nigel Kneale well ahead of its time in its prediction of a populace controlled by television
The Year Without a Santa Claus (2006)
Christmas Film
Dull live-action tv remake of the Rankin-Bass stop-motion animated Christmas special