In 1995, ABC presented a telemovie version of the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie produced by RHI Entertainment. It starred Seinfeld's Jason Alexander and Vanessa Williams of Desperate Housewives. While this version remained mostly faithful to the original musical (Michael Stewart remains the only credited author of this version), several songs were added and re-arranged, and dialogue was slightly rewritten to smoothly facilitate the musical changes. The musical revolves around an Elvis Presley-type rocker who's about to join the Army. To mark the occasion, his manager's secretary arranges for him to kiss a random fan goodbye on The Ed Sullivan Show. Bye Bye Birdie earned four Tony awards in 1961, including Best Musical and Best Actor in a Musical for its original star, Dick Van Dyke. In addition to Alexander and Williams, ABC's production starred Tyne Daly, George Wendt, Chynna Phillips and Mark Kudisch.
Since self-made immigrant Nico Podaras's death, widow Elenie runs his lucrative garage, with an illegal side business, generously using the profits to keep control of their three sons' lives. Simpleton Dan is happy to sire the crucial heir without hesitation to keep unruly, immature wife Charlene in line, but goes to far, so she absconds pregnant. Firstborn John gave up his dream, fishery, to work in the garage. When he marries Kathryn, she starts questioning and resisting Elenie's matriarchal manipulation, but bares her a grandson. The conflict escalates, leaving John torn between loyalties.
Ex-showgirl and part-time hooker Rogers looses her legitimate job at a casino because of an abusive trick. She gets revenge when she is blacklisted and her son is threatened.
After saving Casey, a daughter of his friend, from hired assassins, Jack Devlin is hit with a strange phobia - fear of white color. But when his other friend, who works as a bodyguard for a supermodel, is wounded, Jack decides to step in for him. Now he must confront his fear and the assassin, who seems to be well aware of Jack's problem.
Leon Bronstein is not your average Montreal West high school student. For one thing, none of his peers can claim to be the reincarnation of early 20th century Soviet iconoclast and Red Army hero, Leon Trotsky. When his father sends Leon to public school as punishment for starting a hunger strike at Papa's clothing factory, Leon quickly lends new meaning to the term 'student union', determined as he is to live out his pre-ordained destiny to the fullest and change the world.
Survivors of a tragic shipping collision are rescued by a mysterious black ship which appears out of the fog. Little do they realise that the ship is actually a Nazi torture ship which has sailed the seas for years, luring unsuspecting sailors aboard and killing them off one by one.
Four kids and a dog embark on the adventure of a lifetime -- the search for the end of the Rainbow. With the aid of computers and an irrepressible belief, they achieve the impossible, finding and riding the multicolored arc.
James Hatcher embezzles ten million dollars from a joint mafia/CIA operation, leaving them squabbling with each other. Unemployed Lewis Kinney gets caught up in the intrigue, and must try to recover the money, while saving the beautiful Lise Hatcher (hopefully for himself).
Threatened with recapture after a prison escape, Martin Stechert grabs a 12-year-old as hostage. He proves to be named Martin, too a quiet "good little boy" always obeying the rules, whom life has given only dismal loneliness and frustration in return. Soon he begins to admire "Stech" for his cheeky pranks against society and his desperate mission to make dreams come true. In a climactic moment, he chooses to stay with the man even though he could run away. Via hijacks and hijinx, they flee to the idyllic peace of the older Martin's childhood home, a cabin on a lake. But the police are close behind, impatient and trigger-happy.