''Mayday'' is a 2005 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

based on the 1979 novel by American author Thomas Block. The novel was updated in 1998 by authors Thomas Block and Nelson DeMille and re-released as a paperback. The film was directed by

T. J. Scott TJ Scott is a Canadian film and television director, screenwriter, producer, and former stuntman and actor. He is primarily known for his work directing television series such as ''Orphan Black'', '' Xena: Warrior Princess'', '' Gotham'', '' St ...

and stars

Aidan Quinn Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an American actor who made his film debut in '' Reckless'' (1984). He has starred in over 80 feature films, including ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' (1985), '' The Mission'' (1986), ''Stakeout'' (1987), ''Aval ...

Gail O'Grady Gail Ann O'Grady (born January 23, 1963), an American actress and producer, is best known for her roles on television. Her roles include Donna Abandando in the ABC police drama '' NYPD Blue'', and Helen Pryor in the NBC drama series ''American Dre ...

Dean Cain Dean George Cain ( Tanaka; born July 31, 1966) is an American actor. From 1993 to 1997, he played Clark Kent / Superman in the TV series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. Cain was the host of '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' a ...

, Charles Dutton,

Michael Murphy Michael, Mick, or Mike Murphy may refer to: Artists and entertainers * Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor * Mike Murphy (musician) (1946–2006), American drummer for the Bee Gees and Chicago * Michael Bryan Murphy, lead singer ...

and

Kelly Hu Kelly Ann Hu (born February 13, 1968 ) is an American actress, voice artist, former fashion model and beauty queen who was Miss Teen USA 1985 and Miss Hawaii USA 1993. Hu starred as Dr. Rae Chang on the American television soap opera '' Sunset ...

. It aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

in the United States on October 2, 2005.

Plot

A state-of-the-art supersonic passenger jet is flying from San Francisco to Tokyo. At 12 miles () above the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

, the Pacific Global Flight 52 is struck by an errant U.S. Navy missile that cripples the aircraft. The missile has killed the flight crew, and left almost all of the other crew and most of the passengers dead, near death, or psychologically deranged. A handful of survivors on the airliner must now have to achieve the impossible: to land the aircraft despite weather, intrigues and technical problems. While terror and hysteria begin to increase for those on board, John Berry (

), a weekend pilot is forced to take control of the airliner and navigate it to safety. Meanwhile, the U.S. military, Anne Metz (

), a representative from the insurance company and executives from the Pacific Global Airline are all working to keep the incident a secret. U.S. Navy Commander James Sloan (

) sends Lt. Peter Matos (James Thomas) to destroy the crippled airliner, but the pilot disobeys his orders. U.S. Navy Admiral Randolf Hennings ( Charles S. Dutton) also defies his superiors and pledges to tell the true story of the accident in his report to

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a meton ...

. Berry and flight attendant Sharon Crandall (

) survive another attempt to down the aircraft and eventually manage to control the stricken airliner and bring it back to a safe landing in San Francisco.

Cast

as John Berry *

as Commander James Sloan *

as Sharon Crandall * Charles S. Dutton as Admiral Randolf Hennings *

as Captain Randall Williams *

as Anne Metz *

Sasha Roiz Sasha Roiz ( he, סשה רויז; born October 21, 1973) is an Israeli-born Canadian actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Sam Adama in the science-fiction TV series ''Caprica'' and Captain Sean Renard in the American fantasy TV series ' ...

as Wayne Johnson * Richard FitzPatrick as Jack Miller *

Tamara Hope Tamara Lindeman (born November 2, 1984), also known by the name Tamara Hope, is a Canadian actress and musician. Her starring roles include ''Guinevere Jones'' and ''The Nickel Children'', as well as a recurring role on CTV's ''Whistler'' as Le ...

as Linda Farley *

Gabriel Hogan Gabriel Hogan (born 17 May 1973) is a Canadian-born American actor. He is best known for his continuing role on the hit cable television firefighter comedy series ''Tacoma FD'', CBC/Up TV/Netflix’s ''Heartland'' and the drama ''Condor''. ...

as Daniel McVary *

Victoria Pratt Victoria Ainslie Pratt (born December 18, 1970) is a Canadian actress, author, and fitness model. Early life Pratt grew up in Chesley, Ontario, a self described "tomboy at heart." She attended the kinesiology program at York University in Tor ...

as Simms *

Ron Lea Ron Lea is a Canadian actor, best known for his roles in '' Doc'', '' Street Legal'', and '' This is Wonderland''. Lea also served as a director on some episodes of ''Doc''. Filmography Film Television External links *Lea bio {{DEFAUL ...

as Harold Stein * Matt Aquin as David Henderson *

Martin Roach Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

as Carl Fessell *

Matt Gordon Matt Gordon (born 1969) is a Canadian actor, perhaps best known for playing Doc in the sports sitcom ''Rent-a-Goalie'', and for his portrayal of Officer Oliver Shaw in the drama series ''Rookie Blue ''Rookie Blue'' is a Canadian police d ...

as Carson Evans * Carin Moffat as Lieutenant Robin Ballantine *

Richard Yearwood Richard Yearwood is a British-Canadian actor, television host, director and producer, who is best known for providing the voice of Donkey Kong in '' Donkey Kong Country''. Career Yearwood began his acting career in 1980, in the television ser ...

as Ensign Kyle Eggers * Michael McLachlan as Ensign Sam Nichols * Sarah Orenstein as Amy Stein *

Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman is a Canadian playwright, screenwriter and actress. Her 2008 play, ''Scratch'', was nominated for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play in 2009, was a prizewinner in the Herman Voaden Playwriting Competitio ...

as Erica Stein *

Deborah Odell Deborah Lee O'Dell (born October 5, 1973) is a Canadian actress and singer. She has appeared in various films and TV series. Early life Deborah O'Dell was born in St. John's, Newfoundland on October 5, 1973. Career Deborah made her acting deb ...

as Rahcel Seymour * Jonas Chernick as Mickey King * Vick Sahay as Talk Ito * Mike Realba as Stuart Henderson *

Jonathan Keltz Jonathan Lippert Keltz (born January 17, 1988) is an American actor known for his role as Jake Steinberg in the HBO series ''Entourage'', and his work in the films ''Prom'' (2011) and '' 21 & Over'' (2013). He starred as Leith Bayard in The CW ...

as Dough Berry * Karen Robinson as Marlene Cobb * Darren Hynes as Barry Townley Freeman * Leigh Bianco as Barabara * James Thomas as Lieutenant Peter Matos * Katie Bergin as Lieutenant Owen * Brian Kaulback as Ground Controller * Bryon Mumford as Paramedic * Jane Luk as Attendant

Production

Originally developed with TNT Network for the 2003-2004 season, the ''Mayday'' project was picked up for production for the 2005-2006 CBS season. Principal photography took place in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada by Chautauqua Entertainment and the Jerry Leider Co. in association with Paramount Network TV, at the Toronto Film Studios. Filming took place from July 9, 2005 with shooting completed on August 6, 2005.

Reception

''Mayday'' was reviewed by Brian Lowry for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''; he said: "Although "Mayday" is based on a bestselling novel, it's hard to escape the distracting sense that it feels like a sober-minded update of "

Airplane! ''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American parody film written and directed by the brothers David Zucker, David and Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams in their directorial debuts, and produced by Jon Davison (film prod ...

," what with a weekend pilot and attractive stewardess forced to land a wounded plane filled with incapacitated passengers."Lowry, Brian
"Review: ‘Mayday’."
''Variety'', September 28, 2005. Retrieved: December 22, 2015.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayday (2005 film) 2005 television films 2005 films 2005 thriller films 2000s American films 2000s English-language films American aviation films American thriller television films CBS network films Films about aviation accidents or incidents Films based on American thriller novels Films directed by T. J. Scott Films scored by Sean Callery Films shot in Toronto Television films based on books