The Others: Life Is for the Living (1.13)

As a group, the Others were drawn together because of their own outcast nature. While each member was easily dismissed as eccentric and unusual by the outside world, they all possessed one key similarity that pulled them towards one another -- they were psychics, tortured souls who repeatedly fall victim to communication from the other side, used as sounding-boards for messages from the great beyond. But like so many groups of outcasts, there is still that undeniable desire to pursue separate things away from the team. It's most evident in the uncomfortable Marian character, desperate to become an ordinary young woman. But this episode, which ended up being the series finale, proves that every member of the group is similarly eager to escape. And it's that desire that leads to their eventual destruction.

The Others: $4.95 a Minute (1.12)

It's hard to watch this episode without thinking of the X-Files masterpiece Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose, since both feature everything from eccentric psychics and their unwanted premonitions of death, to the various discussions of fate and the uglier side of supernatural phenomena. Further cementing that is the guest spot from Darin Morgan, the writer of that very episode. So maybe the connections are intentional? Regardless, $4.95 a Minute is another unheralded classic from this series, an episode that constantly upturns expectations and develops into something that is by turns humorous as well as surprisingly moving.

The Others: Till Then (1.11)

Glen Morgan and James Wong's X-Files background folds nicely into Till Then, an episode that smashes together real-life events with the regular supernatural phenomena depicted on this show every week. It's an interesting and ambitious episode which dispenses of most of the cast early on, giving way for a flashback-heavy hour all about Elmer's involvement in World War II, in which British intelligence used his psychic abilities to help soldiers cross over to the other side. That in itself is such a great idea, and the show conveys it pretty well. There are some awful accents along the way, but Thomas Silcott gives a strong central performance as the young Elmer, and some of the more profound elements of the script grant Bill Cobbs extra material to flesh out his character. He's a fascinating guy, but hasn't been given a whole lot to do lately.

The Others: Theta (1.10)

It's become clearer over the course of the season that Marian Kitt isn't the most interesting character around. Ten episodes in, and she's still very much depicted as a catalyst for spooky mysteries, and she hasn't yet had the opportunity to drive the action of her own accord. Of course, this is a problem that could have been fixed if the show had ran for longer than it did, but the fact that they were never given that opportunity is another lingering disappointment.

The Others: Mora (1.9)

Broadway legend Marian Seldes' interesting performance as a seemingly immortal ballerina is the best thing about an episode which feels somewhat routine in nature, while at the same time convoluted in its attempts to handle too many different subplots at once. Like always, Mora has a wonderful central idea, with Seldes as a hospital patient at the center of a series of unusual deaths that have trickled out through her neighboring wards. The finale, in which it's revealed that her determination to live and reunite with her long-lost son is responsible for the supernatural events of the hour, is remarkably powerful, but the script itself feels a little too busy to truly work.

The Others: Don't Dream It's Over (1.8)

Don't Dream It's Over is all about the accidental folding over of two time periods, dreams blurring into one another and people from two radically different worlds finding common ground and falling in love. It's the first episode that really puts Mark center stage, and it makes sense that his story is more romantic and tragic than any other so far. Mick Garris does a great job in setting up Mark and Mary Jane's romance, all the while providing that tonal undercurrent of menace, the audience keenly aware that something is a little 'off' and that rapid doom is right around the corner.

The Others: The Ones That Lie in Wait (1.7)

This was the episode that made me fall for this show. Before I even began re-watching the season, this was the episode that had stuck with me the longest, right down to specific scenes that gave me chills years ago. The Ones That Lie in Wait is an uncomfortable ghost story grounded in the simple conceit of a demonic presence stalking the Others one-by-one over the course of a stormy night. It features real character-driven horror as well as a remarkably sinister guest performance from Kristen Cloke, who creates one of the most effective antagonists I've ever seen in genre television.

The Others: Souls on Board (1.6)

I've always thought planes are a great location for horror movies, since you're naturally confined into this tiny bubble, surrounded by people you don't know, and have no means of escape. It's just a cool environment for creating fear among a group of characters, and it's no real surprise that The Others sets an episode almost entirely on board one. Being this show, spookiness naturally occurs, and while most of the jump moments aren't particularly groundbreaking, there's an energy to the hour that proves effective.

The Others: Unnamed (1.5)

This was originally the second episode aired, and it's disappointing that the first post-pilot hour was something so conventional. Unnamed begins strong, with a striking series of opening scenes concerning a mother and her lost child, and spirits that are still lingering within her home. There's also some likely-polarizing conflict between the woman and Satori, and you can't help but side with the grieving mother over the intrusive medium trying to get through to her. But Unnamed quickly devolves into something a little too procedural to totally work, thrusting Marian center stage and forcing her to weep in an abandoned warehouse for the last twenty minutes of the episode.

The Others: 1112 (1.4)

So far The Others has been clever with its use of tone. Last week was a chaotic monster episode full of gore, FX gargoyles and eyeballs. This week we have an entirely human-driven episode all about the afterlife and emotions crossing over from the great beyond. With that in mind, it's probably one of my least favorite from the season, if only because so much of the script veers perilously close to melodrama and corn. But it's an interesting experiment, radically different to regular Morgan/ Wong work and given real life by the two guest stars at the heart of the episode.

The Others: Eyes (1.3)

One of the many things that's making The Others so different and interesting as a show is that so much of each episode is taken up by the titular ensemble smuggling their way into the lives of people in need. Unlike the protagonists of The X-Files, this show's spiritual cousin of sorts, the Others have no official reason for getting involved with victims of hauntings or whatever, and have to go out of their way to convince folks of their own helpfulness. It's another example of this show being a little different to anything else around, and Eyes proved that sometimes people, no matter how spooked they may be, just aren't open to a bunch of wacky psychics telling them how to fix things.

The Others: Luciferous (1.2)

Settling into episode two, one of the key attractions that already leaps out at you is how still and silent this show is. The Others is built around atmosphere, and it's usually achieved through slow-paced steady cam, lingering still shots and just a faint scattering of a music score. It's even evident in scenes that aren't filled with foreboding and supernatural phenomena, like the brief scene with Mark at the hospital. It's an emergency room with a dying kid on a gurney, but it's still dark and moody and filled with quiet intensity. It creates something radical and distinctive compared to other series around, but probably sealed the show's fate in the long run, audiences too quick to change the channel and ignore something low-key and atmospheric.

The Others: Pilot (1.1)

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.