The Others

I am not the biggest fan of TV shows (particularly "supernatural TV shows), but this one caught my eye last weekend and I thought I would give it a shot. I was not disappointed (nor was I overly impressed, but hey, it was the first episode). This seems like a potentially interesting show about psychics and the supernatural which could achieve some level of respectability if it does not allow itself to get too bogged down in stereotypes and cliches. I like the chick that plays the main character (I think she is cute, and I thought she was wonderful in The Love Letter), and I think that the rest of the cast has potential.

I see that in traditional X-Files fashion they have already planted the seeds for at least one peripheral, continuing plot line (which should be able to hook people), and that they are not afraid to do some genuinely creepy things (the dead chick in the bathtub was pretty intense for TV). With any luck this show will overcome its lame beginnings (anyone remember the first season of STNG?) and perhaps produce a fine serial story line for Saturday night viewing. However, in all likelihood it will be cancelled immediately and no one will even notice.

"The Others" is a curious show. An ensemble cast stumbles their way through a seemingly perpetual stormy night, dabbling in the occult and generally having Scooby Doo hijinks, only with more backlighting and less running around and cries of "Zoinks!"

On the downside, the characters and actors are fairly anodyne and uninvolving, and there are too many of them for the viewer to identify with any of them in particular. The dialogue tends towards the cliched, and the acting is occasionally over the top and verging on the farcical.

Plusses though: the cinematography is excellent, with a genuine sense of tension and claustrophobia. This is difficult to sustain, but "The Others" does a fine job of it. Or rather, *did* a fine job of it, before it was cancelled.

Like "Space, Above and Beyond", Wong and Morgan have created a show that you want to like more than you really do. It's easy to convince yourself that "The Others" is a better show than it actually is. It's good, but not great, the sort of show that you'll happily watch if it's on, but not one that you'll go out of your way to catch if it's in an awkward timeslot, and that was it's bane. Special interest shows have to be much better than average to break out into the mainstream. "X Files" managed it, "The Others" failed.

This rare show should have been showcased for it's cutting edge surrealistic look at paranormalities. Each persona was intriuging and unique. The relationships between the group had my imagination tweaked with what could really be possible. The show was fun to watch and I think the netwoks get spooked too quickly when they find a show like this and just doesn't know what to do. If done the right way, it could have been huge - like what CSI is doing. Too bad it was overlooked. I have the episodes on tape and re-watch the shows frequently. I am a fan!

This show was original and entertaining. I liked the characters and the supernatural basis the show was based upon and i looked forward to each episode.Each character had a specific type of 6th sense and Elmer, the group leader was the most powerful psychic of the group but Marian was quickly becoming a powerful psychic herself yet not in control of her abilities.Souls on board and 1112 are just a couple of favorite episodes but i liked them all.Kristen Cloke made for an interesting villain for the group. The series was too short to continue developing the characters which would have made for an even more interesting show. I agree that this isn't for everybody but for those who like originality, then this is for you. Hopefully, the complete series will hit DVD soon and who knows, Sci-Fi channel may decide to pick up the episodes and resurrect the series after a nearly 4 year slumber (wishful thinking). Thanks to Glen Morgan and James Wong for attempting a great series that a lot of people were unfortunate enough to miss.

I always enjoyed watching this TV-series with a supernatural basis. In my opinion it had lots of potential and could had become the new "The X-Files". The 'low' budget was however painfully notable at times with its special effects and it was obvious that the creators had to restrain themselves with the stories for the different episodes because of the 'lack' of money. I'm positive that with some more money this TV-series could had become a big success but unfortunately they stopped the show after one season.

The characters were all solid and all had their own interesting background. The characters were most definitely strong and interesting enough to carry the series.

My favorite episode most definitely was "Souls On Board", later I found out that that episode was directed by no one less then Tobe Hooper who made the movies "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" (1974) and "Poltergeist" (even though I'm still convinced of it that Spielberg did the most directing on that movie, I think Hooper only did some of the technical aspects on that movie.).

I'm sorry it must have been years since I've watched an episode of "The Others" but I seem to remember that the series had a good opening theme composed by Klaus Badelt, who is now a much better known and acclaimed composer for movies like "The Time Machine" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl". A bit off topic but you should also check his musical score for "K-19: The Widowmaker" out. It's a score worth owning but unfortunately not one easy to get. The score for the series itself was composed by highly underrated composer Shirley Walker, who worked with Danny Elfman as an orchestrator and conductor for years.

If you get the chance of watching "The Others" on TV as reruns, make sure to do so then. The series is worth your time and has solid characters and some good writing. Unfortunately this series will most likely not be easy to catch and I also don't think that they are ever going to give it a DVD release. A shame because this series had tons of potential and is worth to be seen by everyone.

8/10

P.S.: Oh and could someone please remove the Nicole Kidman poster on this page! This series has absolutely nothing to do with the 2001 movie "The Others" starring Nicole Kidman and directed by Alejandro Amenábar.

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