# The Others (TV series)

The Others is an American science fiction television series created by John Brancato and Michael Ferris, and produced by Delusional Films, NBC Studios, and DreamWorks Television. It ran for thirteen 40-minute episodes from February 5, 2000, to June 10, 2000, airing on NBC. It concerned a group of people with various psychic talents as they encountered different, and often evil, paranormal forces. It was an ensemble series. It featured in the third attempt by NBC to air a Saturday night supernatural/paranormal programming block, joining The Pretender and Profiler as the Thrillogy, but all three shows were canceled by season's end.

## Premise

Marian Kitt, a university student, is forced to come to terms with her frequently unwanted paranormal abilities, attempting to do so by joining The Others, a group with similar talents. The series gradually built up an overall storyline of a strong evil power targeting the group.

## Cast

* Julianne Nicholson as Marian Kitt
* Gabriel Macht as Mark Gabriel
* Missy Crider (credited as 'Melissa Crider') as Ellen "Satori" Pawlowski
* Bill Cobbs as Elmer Greentree
* John Billingsley as Professor Miles Ballard
* Kevin J. O'Connor as Warren Day
* John Aylward as Albert McGonagle

## Episodes

Note that the episodes were not always broadcast by NBC in the correct story order. For the correct story order for the episodes, refer to the order from the production codes.
List of The Others episodes :
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code |
| 01 | "Pilot" | Mick Garris | John Brancato and Michael Ferris | February 5, 2000 (2000-02-05) | 26-99-100 |
| 02 | "Unnamed" | Brian Trenchard-Smith | John Brancato and Michael Ferris | February 12, 2000 (2000-02-12) | 26-99-104 |
| The Others must rescue an abducted young boy from a murderer exploiting his supernatural powers. Guest starring J. E. Freeman and Zachary Quinto. ||||||
| 03 | "Eyes" | William Malone | Glen Morgan and James Wong | February 19, 2000 (2000-02-19) | 26-99-102 |
| After receiving laser eye surgery, a man develops the ability to see demons. ||||||
| 04 | "Souls on Board" | Tobe Hooper | Daniel Arkin | February 26, 2000 (2000-02-26) | 26-99-105 |
| When the Others take a flight to a paranormal conference, they find their aircraft haunted by the dead crew and passengers of a plane that crashed on the same flight path. Guest starring Dale Dye and Adam Gierasch. ||||||
| 05 | "1112" | Bill Condon | Glen Morgan and James Wong | March 4, 2000 (2000-03-04) | 26-99-103 |
| 06 | "Luciferous" | Mick Garris | Glen Morgan and James Wong | March 11, 2000 (2000-03-11) | 26-99-101 |
| 07 | "Theta" | Tom McLoughlin | Fred Golan | March 18, 2000 (2000-03-18) | 26-99-109 |
| 08 | "Don't Dream It's Over" | Mick Garris | Mick Garris | March 25, 2000 (2000-03-25) | 26-99-107 |
| Mark falls in love with a mysterious woman who haunts his dreams. Guest starring Clive Barker. ||||||
| 09 | "The Ones That Lie in Wait" | Thomas J. Wright | Glen Morgan and James Wong | April 22, 2000 (2000-04-22) | 26-99-106 |
| The Others are trapped by a mysterious entity with a history with Elmer. ||||||
| 10 | "Till Then" | Bryan Spicer | Glen Morgan and James Wong | April 29, 2000 (2000-04-29) | 26-99-110 |
| Elmer wrestles with his past after the government hires him to find a pilot shot down and stranded in the Iraqi desert, something complicated by the ghost of a World War II airman. Guest starring Tucker Smallwood. ||||||
| 11 | "$4.95 a Minute" | Sanford Bookstaver | Richard Whitley | May 6, 2000 (2000-05-06) | 26-99-111 |
| A phony psychic comes to the Others for help when his predictions start coming true - with terrible consequences. Guest starring James Morrison, Darin Morgan, and Randy Stone. ||||||
| 12 | "Life Is for the Living" | Thomas J. Wright | Daniel Arkin | May 13, 2000 (2000-05-13) | 26-99-112 |
| 13 | "Mora" | Jake Paltrow | John Brancato and Michael Ferris | June 10, 2000 (2000-06-10) | 26-99-108 |

## Production

The series' writers included Glen Morgan and James Wong, who were also executive producers for the series along with Brancato and Ferris. Morgan's wife Kristen Cloke played the significant role of Allison/The Woman in the episodes "The Ones That Lie in Wait" and "Life Is for the Living". Tobe Hooper directed one episode, "Souls on Board", and Bill Condon directed the episode "1112".
The series was filmed at Paramount Studios. The pilot episode was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Writing of the series, Brancato stated in his personal blog in 2009 "Mike and I'd had a dismal few years. We'd created a TV show, only to have it run into the ground by a pair of loathsome show-runners."

## Broadcast

The series aired on Five in the UK, and on Nine in Australia.

## Reception

Michael Speier of Variety was lukewarm on the first episode of the series, noting that "the roles here are one-note: no humor and no sparks, just a lot of paranoia", but adding "Bill Condon ("Gods and Monsters) and Tobe Hooper ("Poltergeist") have already wrapped upcoming episodes, and it’s hoped their styles will generate bigger oohs and aahs than the Mick Garris-helmed pilot." Howard Rosenberg of Los Angeles Times was more openly critical of the series, declaring "There’s nothing especially thoughtful or suspenseful here, for example, and Episodes 1 and 2, after raising expectations of creepiness, both end with soft thuds." By contrast, Bruce Fretts of Entertainment Weekly gave the series a favorable review, commenting that The Others "has a bewitching cast that mixes appealing up-and-comers (including Melissa Crider...) with reliable old-timers (like the always-wonderful Bill Cobbs...)", adding that the series was "compellingly creepy".