Rachel River (1987)

Zeljko Ivanek, Pamela Reed, Craig T. Nelson, James Olson, Alan North ... see more  , Viveca Lindfors , Jo Henderson , Jon De Vries , Ailene Cole , Courtney Kjos , Ollie Osterberg , Wellington Nelson , Richard Jenkins , Michael Gallagher , Richard Riehle , Ron Duffy , Don Cosgrove , Stephen Yoakum , Cliff Rakerd , Patricia Mary VanOss , Mary Colquhoun

Rachel River is a small town in Minnesota. When local "looney tune" Aileen Cole dies, the town comes to the slow realization that the reclusive Cole has in fact touched the lives of virtually every ci... read more tizen--and nearly always in a positive manner. That realization is so slow because, immediately after Cole's demise, everyone is more concerned with scrambling to recover a buried treasure rumored to be on the old woman's property. The very thin plotline is fleshed out by individual episodes involving some of the town's more visible denizens: Cole's slobbish nephew Craig T. Nelson, Nelson's viper-tongued sister Jo Henderson, elderly Viveca Lindfors, local radio personality Pamela Reed, covetous undertaker James Olson, and "village idiot" Zeljko Ivanek, whose top billing in the opening credits is justified as the story develops. Rachel River premiered in June of 1989 as a PBS American Playhouse telecast, then enjoyed a brief theatrical distribution. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi