ABC MONDAY NIGHT MOVIE: DETENTION: SIEGE AT JOHNSON HIGH {A.K.A. TARGET FOR RAGE} (TV)

Summary

This made-for-television thriller/suspense film is based on the true story of the 1992 Lindhurst High School shooting in California. The program begins as twentysomething Jason Copeland roams the halls of his former high school at night and then returns home to his mother, who informs him that she is raising his "rent." Elsewhere, senior Aaron Sullivan slacks off in class, despite knowing the answers, and Sheriff Skip Fine complains to his wife Margaret about his unhappiness with his dead-end job. Samantha Eckert discusses the upcoming prom with her friends, and teacher Mr. Kroft pulls Aaron aside and warns him that he is in danger of not graduating if his grades do not improve. Class clown Frankie Rodriguez shows off in front of a substitute teacher, and Jason pens a drastic letter to his mother as Kroft teaches his students about "social uprising." Samantha ponders attending the dance with Aaron as Travis McGill reads out a well-written composition, but chaos soon breaks out when Jason arrives at the school and opens fire, starting with Mr. Kroft, his own former teacher.

Kip arrives with a fleet of policemen as Jason corrals a large group of students into a classroom, ordering the teachers out and demanding that Frankie and his friend Willie act as guards. Mr. Braddock refuses to abandon his pupils, but Jason angrily declares that he is "in charge now." Some of the injured students are carried out and treated, and groups of terrified parents, including Travis' mother, begin to arrive, begging for news of their children. The cops send in a telephone, which Frankie delivers to Jason, and Skip attempts to serve as a hostage negotiator and assures Jason, who gives the fake name "George," that he wishes to help him. Jason rants that Kroft, and by extension the school itself, flunked him several years previously and ruined his life, explaining that he cannot now get a job without a high school diploma. The cops search through a yearbook in an attempt to divine the shooter's real identity, and Samantha begs Jason to let her friend Kathy use the bathroom, revealing that she is pregnant. He threatens to resume shooting if she does not return quickly, but the cops grab her and hustle her from the building, and Aaron talks to Skip on the phone, trying to provide relevant details.

As Kroft slowly bleeds out from his injuries, Skip falsely tells "George" that no one has died, assuring him that the situation can still be remedied and that he has successfully "made a point." FBI Agent Kyle Brown decides to send a SWAT team in through another classroom while Jason is distracted on the phone, but Jason catches on and shoots at the man through the window. Skip then learns that Jason will only speak to him, and at Margaret's encouragement, he resumes negotiations via Aaron. Jason begins to make demands, including a number of pizzas for all of the hostages, while elsewhere cops storm Jason's mother's home and find his fatalistic note. Kroft dies in his classroom as Jason rants about his unfair lot in life, and Skip urges the other cops to keep pretending that no one has died, afraid that Jason will react badly to learning that he has truly committed murder. The students' parents attempt to comfort one another as Aaron sympathizes with Jason, admitting that he too has poor grades, and Skip is impressed when Aaron convinces Jason to release some of the hostages and let the others write down their names and information. Frankie, sent to retrieve the pizzas with Aaron, is enraged to find Travis' body in another classroom, and Samantha's father Matt, another cop, panics when he does not spot her on the camera hidden in a pizza box.

Jason agrees that Aaron may choose several of "the bad ones" to release, though Samantha offers to stay in order to protect her friends. Jason explodes with rage when he hears a radio report stating that at least six have died, though Skip hastily tells him that the media has invented the figure in order to sensationalize the ongoing story. He assures him that he will serve very little jail time as Samantha and Aaron attempt to rouse a traumatized Frankie, and Jason considers letting several more students go as Skip commiserates with his feelings of alienation. The other cops declare that they intend to use a sniper to kill Jason, but Skip begs for more time, swearing that he is close to getting the killer to give himself up. He convinces Jason to send out half of the remaining students in exchange for a written promise of leniency, but when Samantha goes to make copies of the "contract," she finds Frankie armed with scissors, preparing to seek his revenge on Jason for Travis' death. Aaron intervenes at the last second, throwing himself over Frankie to prevent Jason from shooting him, and an overwhelmed Jason finally lets the rest of the students go. Many parents are overjoyed to be reunited with their children, though Travis' mother breaks down in despair upon learning that her son is dead.

Once Jason is alone, Skip gently convinces him to come outside, telling him to remove his shirt to prove that he is no longer armed, but Jason is violently grabbed and hauled off by several SWAT team members before Skip can address him face-to-face. Shaken, Skip thanks Aaron for his help as Aaron reunites with his tearful mother. The program concludes by revealing that four people died at Lindhurst High School and that the real "Jason Copeland" is still on death row for his crimes. Includes commercials and promos.

Details

• NETWORK: ABC
• DATE: May 19, 1997 9:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 1:55:48
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: B:48773
• GENRE: Drama, action/adventure
• SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, action/adventure; High school; School violence
• SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1997
• COMMERCIALS:
  • TV - Commercials - ACE Hardware stores
  • TV - Commercials - Ballpark beef franks
  • TV - Commercials - Boston Market restaurants
  • TV - Commercials - Breyers ice cream
  • TV - Commercials - Children First Plus organization
  • TV - Commercials - Cortaid itch cream
  • TV - Commercials - Dentyne Ice chewing gum
  • TV - Commercials - Ford automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - French's mustard
  • TV - Commercials - Hyundai automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - JCPenney stores
  • TV - Commercials - Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants
  • TV - Commercials - Lipton Brisk iced tea
  • TV - Commercials - Listerine FreshBurst mouthwash
  • TV - Commercials - McDonald's restaurants
  • TV - Commercials - Mentadent Advanced Whitening toothpaste
  • TV - Commercials - Philips Magnavox Velo travel computer
  • TV - Commercials - Plax mouthwash
  • TV - Commercials - Red Lobster restaurants
  • TV - Commercials - Revlon Age Defying makeup
  • TV - Commercials - Saab automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - Salon Selectives hair care products
  • TV - Commercials - Saturn automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - Sears stores
  • TV - Commercials - Shedd's Spread Easy Squeeze Country Crock spread
  • TV - Commercials - Slim Fast weight loss products
  • TV - Commercials - Sprint telephone services
  • TV - Commercials - Subway restaurants
  • TV - Commercials - Sudafed nasal decongestant
  • TV - Commercials - The Home Depot stores
  • TV - Commercials - Toyota automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - U.S. Satellite Broadcasting services
  • TV - Commercials - Visine A.C. eyedrops
  • TV - Commercials - Zantac 75 heartburn medication
  • TV - PSA - Coalition for America's Children
  • TV - Promos - "Barbara Walters Presents 6 to Watch"
  • TV - Promos - "Diary of a Serial Killer: Murder One"
  • TV - Promos - "Good Morning America"
  • TV - Promos - "High Incident"
  • TV - Promos - "Home Improvement"
  • TV - Promos - "NYPD Blue"
  • TV - Promos - "Nightline"
  • TV - Promos - "Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher"
  • TV - Promos - "Roseanne"
  • TV - Promos - "The Drew Carey Show"
  • TV - Promos - "Vital Signs"
  • TV - Promos - ABC World News Tonight
  • TV - Promos - Daytime Emmy Awards
  • TV - Promos - Indianapolis 500

CREDITS

• Joel Fields … Executive Producer
• Leonard Hill … Executive Producer
• Bernadette Caulfield … Supervising Producer
• Ardythe Goergens … Supervising Producer
• Matt Loze … Producer
• Steve Natt … Producer
• Linda Ferrero … Associate Producer
• Lori Bradbard … Associate Producer
• Michael Watkins … Director
• Larry Golin … Writer
• Brian Adler … Music by
• Rick Schroder (see also: Ricky Schroder) … Cast, Jason Copeland
• Freddie Prinze Jr. … Cast, Aaron Sullivan
• Katie Wright … Cast, Samantha Eckert
• Alexis Cruz … Cast, Frankie Rodriguez
• Patrick Y. Malone … Cast, Travis McGill
• Pat Finn … Cast, Mr. Kroft
• Troy Bryant … Cast, Matt Eckert
• Ren Woods … Cast, Mrs. McGill
• Henry Winkler … Cast, Skip Fine
• Michael Flynn … Cast, Sheriff Randall
• Kip Niven … Cast, FBI Agent Brown
• Curly Green … Cast, SWAT Commander Hansen
• Christy Summerhays … Cast, Margaret Fine
• Marcia Dangerfield … Cast, Mrs. Sullivan
• Greg Kean … Cast, Deputy Manners
• Steve Anderson … Cast, Principal Dresser
• Lynne Van Dam … Cast, Miss Richards
• Joey Miyashima … Cast, Mr. Braddock
• Stephanie Allen … Cast, Miss Davis
• Charles Metten … Cast, Mr. Milo
• Matt Barker … Cast, Willie
• Jacque Gray … Cast, Kathy
• Andrew Noyes … Cast, Jimmy
• Wendy Gardner … Cast, Diana
• Rosie Hayes … Cast, Jennifer
• Bryan Stewart … Cast, Lanky Kid
• Shawn Nottingham … Cast, Deputy Thomas
• Sandra Shotwell … Cast, Mimi Copeland
• Peter Morse … Cast, SWAT Agent