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The character of James Bond might've made Sean Connery a global movie star, but the actor didn't really enjoy the initial nine years he spent playing the MI6 agent. As Michael Caine once observed, "If you were his friend in these early days, you didn't raise the subject of Bond." A big part of the issue, according to Caine, was that Connery knew he had more to offer as an actor than 007, and thus, he bristled every time someone would identify him as Bond when he was out in public. Connery himself made no bones about his annoyance with the character. "I have always hated that damned James Bond," he once remarked (via The Guardian). "I'd like to kill him."

Producers Harry Saltzman and Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, who were sitting on top of a box office goldmine, had no such desire. They were keen to keep knocking out Bond flicks at a once-every-other-year clip,...

Quick Links Alexandra Cabot Was the Svu’s First Permanent Ada Alex Had To Go Into the Witness Protection Program Alexandra Cabot Reappeared in Law & Order: Svu Many Times Stephanie March Wanted To Try Something Else

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is one of the most popular and beloved police procedural dramas. The series, the second in the long-lasting Law & Order franchise, follows the Special Victims Unit in the NYPD, who deal with some of the most heinous crimes. And much like the original Law & Order series, Special Victims Unit focuses on the detectives investigating the cases and the district attorneys who prosecute the criminals. And while there are many memorable and beloved Svu district attorneys, assistant district attorney Alexandra Cabot is easily one of the most popular.

Alexandra "Alex" Cabot joined Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in Season 2. She became the Svu squad's permanent Ada and worked alongside Benson...

This article contains references to gun violence, sexual assault, and murder, including crimes of this nature against children.

Many of Christopher Meloni's Law & Order: Svu episodes are among the series' strongest. Although Meloni took a 10-year hiatus from the franchise before returning to play Elliot Stabler again in Law & Order: Organized Crime, his character was central to the long-running procedural's success in its early years. Many of the best Law & Order: Svu episodes revolved around Benson and Stabler working together to close cases and get justice for victims, and Stabler often also dealt with drama at home on top of his heavy workload.

While Benson has her own team in Law & Order: Svu season 26, in the early days, she was new to the world of investigating sex crimes and was partnered with the more experienced Stabler. Their relationship was platonic until Stabler's wife was killed...

Detective Elliot Stabler was one of the most iconic characters of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Stabler is known for his ferocious dedication to his job, as well as his short temper. His relationship with his longtime partner, the now Svu Captain Olivia Benson, has earned them the reputation as one of the best crime-fighting duos in television history.

With Stabler now fighting a new breed of criminals in Law & Order: Organized Crime, fans have been reminiscing about the character's original series. Stabler played a large role in shaping the success of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. These 10 episodes represent the best of Detective Elliot Stabler in the Law & Order franchise.

"Wrong is Right" Explores the Job's Impact on Stabler's Family Close

Season

2

Episode

1

IMDb score

8.1/10

"Wrong is Right" finds Stabler and the Svu detectives between a rock and a hard place. An internal commission has been...

When Odafin "Fin" Tutuola (Ice-t) showed up in Law & Order: Svu's Season 2, Episode 1, "Wrong Is Right," he was only supposed to be in four episodes. Just over 23 years later, Fin is the second-longest-running character on Svu and the person who has been there the most for Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) over the last two decades. Ice-t's portrayal of the now Sergeant is an iconic part of the Law & Order franchise, especially because of his incredible one-liners.

Fin has had a number of partners, from John Munch (Richard Belzer) to Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish), all of whom have taught him how to be a better police officer and helped him learn to develop a balance between work and life. His relationship with Olivia is one of the strongest on the show, and viewers have enjoyed seeing them grow together as the longest-running members of the team. Though Fin plays...

(Robert Conrad (R) with Ross Martin in "The Wild, Wild West".

By Lee Pfeiffer

Actor Robert Conrad has died at age 84. Conrad's got his first big break with a key role in the 1950s hit TV series "Hawaiian Eye". But it was in the 1960s that he soared to fame in "The Wild, Wild West", one of the more enduring TV series inspired by the James Bond phenomenon. Set in the late 1800s, Conrad and co-star Ross Martin played government agents James West and Artemus Gordon, who employed Victorian-age super gadgets to thwart nefarious megalomaniacs. The show's tongue-in-cheek approach to plots relied heavily on the comedic byplay between Conrad and Martin. The series lasted four seasons and the actors returned in TV movies based on the show many years later. In 1999, the series inspired the poorly-received big screen adaptation starring Will Smith and Kevin Kline. Conrad excelled at stunt work...

Ron Moody as Fagin in 'Oliver!' based on Charles Dickens' 'Oliver Twist.' Ron Moody as Fagin in Dickens musical 'Oliver!': Box office and critical hit (See previous post: "Ron Moody: 'Oliver!' Actor, Academy Award Nominee Dead at 91.") Although British made, Oliver! turned out to be an elephantine release along the lines of – exclamation point or no – Gypsy, Star!, Hello Dolly!, and other Hollywood mega-musicals from the mid'-50s to the early '70s.[1] But however bloated and conventional the final result, and a cast whose best-known name was that of director Carol Reed's nephew, Oliver Reed, Oliver! found countless fans.[2] The mostly British production became a huge financial and critical success in the U.S. at a time when star-studded mega-musicals had become perilous – at times downright disastrous – ventures.[3] Upon the American release of Oliver! in Dec. 1968, frequently acerbic The...

More Movies You Never Heard Of! week begins at Trailers from Hell with director and Tfh creator Joe Dante introducing Richard Brooks' political satire "Wrong Is Right," starring Sean Connery.  Movies set in the near future are sometimes rendered moot by subsequent events, but Richard Brooks' bizarrely prescient political satire makes more sense in a post 9/11 world than it did in 1982. Only nominally based on Charles McCarry's espionage novel "The Better Angels", this adaptation takes a comparatively minor character, newshound Patrick Hale, and inflates him to media hero status worthy of star Sean Connery, heading a large cast of familiar faces.

Directed by: Quentin Dupieux

Written by: Quentin Dupieux

Featuring: Jack Plotnick, Eric Judor, Alexis Dziena, William Fichtner

Two years ago, when working as a translator for the communication department of the Fantasia International Film Festival, I received the synopsis for a film titled Rubber, which was having its North American premiere during the fest. Upon reading it, I immediately called my colleague and the following conversation ensued:

Me: I'm translating the Rubber synopsis and I have a few questions for you.

Programmer: Yes?

Me: Ok, it says "serial killing tire." I'm not sure I get it; is the killer compared to a "tire"?

Programmer: No, it's a tire that kills.

Me: A car tire? Someone is using a car tire to kill people?

Programmer: No. The tire kills on its own.

Me: It's a live-action movie?

Programmer: Yes.

Me: Does the tire speak? Is it a sort of "tire monster"?

Programmer: No,...

Character actor who portrayed smarmy politicians, sadistic generals and unspeakable authoritarian figures

There is a scene in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather: Part II (1974) that crystallises the entire film career of the character actor Gd Spradlin, who has died aged 90. As the corrupt senator Pat Geary, Spradlin asks the mafia boss Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) for a bribe, so that he can grant gaming licences to the "family" for several casinos in Nevada. During the meeting, Geary launches into an attack on the Corleones, a name he pronounces with derision. "I intend to squeeze you. I don't like your kind of people. I don't like to see you come out to this clean country with oily hair and trussed up in those silk suits trying to pass yourselves off as decent Americans. I'll do business with you, but the fact is I despise you masquerading in the dishonest way you pose yourself.