ollege student Marian Kitt (Nicholson) has been having terrifying visions
of a dead woman in her bathtub. Unbeknownst to her, the previous occupant
of her dorm room apparently killed herself the year before--and was found
in the bath. Marian draws the attention of geeky Miles Ballard (Billingsley), a
professor of folklore and mythology. He invites her to a meeting of a group
he oversees: the Others, who purport to have varying degrees of psychic
ability. They're "gifted people," Ballard says. "You know, freaks? Like
you?"
At the meeting Marian meets Elmer Greentree (Cobbs), an 83-year-old man with a
long history of psychic work; Mark Gabriel (Macht), a handsome young empath
and medical student; Warren Day (O'Connor), a homeless clairvoyant; Ellen
Satori (Crider), a professional fortune teller; and Albert
(Aylward), an irascible blind psychic. Elmer senses that Marian has a strong
gift, but she's afraid of it. Mark befriends her in an effort to assuage her
doubts about the Others.
Mark tells Marian that the group came together years ago to explore psychic
phenomena, and that Elmer is the only surviving founder. Mark
walks Marian through a park tunnel, where she has a vivid vision of a
vicious murder. It is a test: Mark wants to see if Marian really has the
gift. "No, thank you, I don't want it," she tells him. He answers, "It's not like we
have a choice."
In "Pilot," the first of two episodes provided for review, Marian must deal
with her newfound psychic powers while unraveling the mystery of
the death in her dorm room. The other Others, meanwhile, work at exorcising
a house whose owner died under mysterious circumstances.
The second episode, "1112," begins with a sudden accident involving a new
father and his young son. The Others must persuade the surviving wife and
mother to let go of her grief. The numbers provide a significant clue to
the Others, who find a creative way to lead the mother through her pain.
An old idea, but better
The Others, NBC's new one-hour drama, feels like a new spin on an old idea: freelance
paranormal experts who solve problems à la Poltergeist: The Legacy.
But it comes with a much higher pedigree: created by John Brancato and
Michael Ferris (The Net), it is co-executive produced by Glen Morgan and
James Wong (Millennium) and guided behind the scenes by Steven
Spielberg, whose DreamWorks Television produces the show with NBC.
This birthright is evinced in the show's generally good writing, feature-film
quality production values, expert performances and creative direction. Mick
Garris directed the pilot, and notable talents such as Tobe Hooper
(Poltergeist) and Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters) will direct
future episodes.
The first two episodes mix effective shocks and scares with warmly intimate
character moments. Each of the main characters is vivid, interesting and
well-drawn. There's the professor, who knows much about psychics, but to his
frustration has no abilities himself. There's new-age Ellen, who isn't
afraid to exploit her talents for personal gain. There's Warren, whose
visions leave him with a very tenuous grasp on reality. And there's Marian,
who is having trouble coming to terms with her power.
The pilot also contains some nice humor, with a few jokes playing off what must
seem like routine miracles to the Others. Elmer yells, "It's open," to no
one in particular, before viewers realize that Marian is at the door. In a
haunted house, Ellen senses anger and frustration. "That
would be me," says a real estate agent, who has arrived unexpectedly.
The actors are uniformly excellent, especially Cobbs as the seen-it-all
Elmer, O'Connor as the gibbering mental case and Aylward as the
truculent blind seer.
If the episodes have a weakness, it's an overly sentimental sensibility.
Mysteries are wrapped up with an extra dose of treacle, and Spielberg's
influence is evident in various pregnant moments and soft-focus sequences of clasping hands.
The Others has a unique feeling that sets it apart from other
paranormal shows, sort of like The X-Files at its beginning. As long
as it reins in the soppiness and keeps up the creepiness, it will be a
winner.
-- Patrick
n the second-to-last episode of Sliders, as the evil Dr. Geiger (Peter Jurasik) lay dying, he gave the intrepid dimension-hoppers the coordinates to Earth Prime. And so, as this final episode opens, the sliders
prepare to make the jump, even though Rembrandt is the only native of Earth
Prime left in the group. Maggie's Earth was destroyed, and Mallory and Diana
have vowed to stick with the others and help fight the Kromaggs, who now
occupy Earth Prime. They leap into the wormhole (flash flash) and tumble out to find--
A cheering crowd. A happy throng carrying signs that say things like, "Welcome Sliders," "Mallory Is the Best," and "Please Stay Here." The bemused and befuddled sliders are greeted with speeches while the police restrain the eager crowd; then they are ushered off to the opulent home of Mark LeBeau, better known as the Seer.
The Seer, it turns out, has for years been having psychic visions of the sliders, and he's followed their trials and travails from the beginning. This is why the sliders were expected--he knew they'd be coming to this Earth. Through his paintings and writings, a fanatical fascination with the sliders arose, which became an inspiring force when the Kromaggs invaded. The Kromaggs were repelled thanks to a Kromagg-killing virus that the local scientists developed.
All fine and good, say the sliders, but they are anxious to journey on to Earth Prime and take on the Kromaggs there, and by the way, that virus sure would come in handy with the fight. The Seer's response is grave. He can also sometimes see into the future, he tells them, and he's seen their future. Although he doesn't know how, he's certain the the next time the group slides, upon arrival they will instantly die.
A dramatic but open ending
The last time Sliders was canceled, the story was left hanging. At least this time around the show's creators had some warning and were able to make a final episode that gives a little closure. But not a lot. This is no cozy ending that ties up all the threads unraveled over five seasons. Instead, this episode marks a transition for the sliders to a new phase of adventures. Their further exploits may never appear on TV, but hopefully can continue in novels, comics, and so on.
What makes this episode a must-see, besides the fact that it's the last one, is how it pokes fun at Sliders itself. The sliders watch a bit of a very popular TV show called The Sliders (which bears a familiar-looking logo), in which their lookalikes run along the very same back-lot set that has dominated the show's fifth season, shooting bad guys, dodging cars that explode for no reason, and sliding out at the last minute through an offstage wormhole. The group also meets a Sliders fan club and--in a wonderful tribute to real Sliders fans--it's the fans who ultimately help them overcome the forces that stand in their way.
There are fun moments, and many poignant ones as well. What the episode lacks, perhaps, is any real sense of danger. But the focus isn't peril. It's about difficult decisions involving risk and loyalty. The episode maintains that good old Sliders feel throughout--slightly campy but always sincere. The end of this series may disappoint people who'd like the story all wrapped up, but it definitely delivers strong drama--ending with a bang, not a whimper.
Perhaps this show never lived up to its full potential, but I'll miss it.
-- Brooks
n the second-to-last episode of Sliders, as the evil Dr. Geiger (Peter Jurasik) lay dying, he gave the intrepid dimension-hoppers the coordinates to Earth Prime. And so, as this final episode opens, the sliders prepare to make the jump, even though Rembrandt is the only native of Earth Prime left in the group. Maggie's Earth was destroyed, and Mallory and Diana have vowed to stick with the others and help fight the Kromaggs, who now occupy Earth Prime. They leap into the wormhole (flash flash) and tumble out to find--
ollege student Marian Kitt (Nicholson) has been having terrifying visions
of a dead woman in her bathtub. Unbeknownst to her, the previous occupant
of her dorm room apparently killed herself the year before--and was found
in the bath. Marian draws the attention of geeky Miles Ballard (Billingsley), a
professor of folklore and mythology. He invites her to a meeting of a group
he oversees: the Others, who purport to have varying degrees of psychic
ability. They're "gifted people," Ballard says. "You know, freaks? Like
you?"
