Desperate on AllMovie

John Savage stars as a troubled man with a checkered past in the made-for-TV Desperate. Born into wealth, Savage turns his back on his heritage by heading for the high seas as skipper of an excursion ship. In Lord Jim fashion, he betrays his customers' trust by jumping ship during a storm. Years later, he settles down as a charter boat captain in Key West, where he hopes to make amends for his past sins. He partially realizes that goal by scuttling a gang of gun-runners. Meg Foster costars as Savage's lady friend, while Christopher Burke, the Down Syndrome-afflicted young actor who later starred in TV's Life Goes On, plays Foster's mentally handicapped son. Conceived as the pilot for a weekly series, Desperate debuted September 19, 1987.