Whenever people bring up their favorite TV shows that were canceled ahead of their time, I always mention an obscure supernatural drama series called The Others, which aired for one season back in 2000 as part of NBC's Saturday night 'Thrillogy' programming. As an eleven year-old, The Others was one of the coolest shows around, something which had just as much earnest humanity as it did horror movie ghoulishness. I guess it was tonally all over the place, but it left enough of an impression on me to become that one show that I always talk about despite nobody having heard of it. Last year I re-watched Birds of Prey, another show I was a fan of as a kid, but found I was looking at it through rose-tinted glasses and that it was, in fact, pretty terrible. As a result, I was nervous about watching The Others again, since I would hate to see my opinion of it change. But so far I'm impressed.Some of the dialogue is pretty clunky and the pilot has a real work-in-progress feel to it, but generally this was an enjoyable forty minutes. Holding the show together is its appealing cast, an entertainingly random collection of psychics and mediums led by Bill Cobb's majestic Elmer. Each member has their own little tics and quirks, but it's not overbearing or necessarily phony due to the knowing script. New age nut Satori has the potential to bug, so the script pokes fun at her stinky sage messing up the psychic senses of another one of the group. Old Albert is an argumentative curmudgeon, and John Billingsley's professor is a jittery nerd. They're all just a lot of fun, and it's an ensemble that immediately grabs your attention. The most intriguing is probably Warren, a seer so plagued with visions and thoughts that it's dented his own sanity.
Doctor Mark is superficially the blandest of the group, but I liked the scene where he told Marian about his abilities, and how he brought his pet dog back to life as a kid. Only to intentionally undermine it by following the sentence up with a reference to his parents potentially mending the dog by taking it to the vet, Mark unsure if he actually did anything at all. It's a cute moment.
Marian Kitt probably makes the least impression of the cast, and I'm not sure Julianne Nicholson completely works in the role. Then again, it felt like Marian was the weakest character on paper, used more as a plot device than an actual person. I remember her improving, but I may be wrong.
The pilot straddles two mysteries, one involving a pre-fame Malin Akerman looking pretty ghostly as a zombified dead girl who haunts Marian's dreams, and the other story a smaller subplot about an old lady's inheritance. Both are intriguing, and showcase the distinctive tones the show is reaching out for. Mick Garris directs with a gorgeous color palete, too, especially in those scenes on 'the other side', with Marian and Diane Stillman floating around and trying to find each other in the after-life.
The Others is an intriguing blend of The X-Files and The Sixth Sense, with a winning cast and a chilly atmosphere thanks to the Vancouver location shooting. So far, my memories of this show haven't been tainted. B+
Credits
Guest stars John Aylward (Albert McGonagle)
Writers John Brancato, Michael Ferris Director Mick Garris
I've never heard of, or seen this and even though you gave it a great review, I doubt I'd ever watch it. I don't think I could stick another series cut before it's time!
ReplyDeleteBut I love what you said about looking at shows when you were young and realizing how great or bad they were. I got into 'Charmed' when I was 12, during the fourth season. Reviewing it this time around I saw all of the glaring flaws that I was oblivious too back then. There's a few cancelled-too-soon series like this I'd love to go back and watch again, like 'Point Pleasant'.
I wasn't expecting anybody to comment on this, so thanks. I remember Point Pleasant! I remember sort of liking it, but thought it never got a handle on what kind of tone it was reaching for. It was really O.C.-ish and soapy at points and then became majorly Buffy-ish too. Great cast, though.
ReplyDeleteI think when it adopted a distinctively more sci-fi approach it really worked for them, but it was too little too late. It was amazing in the final couple of un-aired episodes though. True Calling is another that falls into that category for me also. Cancelled far too early.
ReplyDeleteTru Calling was definitely like that. I remember it being so terrible for most of the first season, but as soon as Jason Priestley showed up it became so much more exciting and intense. I really liked the short second season, too.
ReplyDeleteIt probably could have evolved into a really smart show. Ah.