Take 4 TV: Miracles and Mysteries

Miracles: The Complete Series (2003)

The Basics: Miracles is one of those ill-fated television series that had maybe six or seven episodes make it on the air, but was cancelled due to poor ratings. It is a drama/scifi/thriller that stars Skeet Ulrich, Angus Macfadyen and Marisa Ramirez.

What’s Going on Here?: Paul Callan works for the Catholic Church, investigating supposed religious miracles, and using stringent scientific method to identify whether the event is indeed miraculous…or if it can be explained through other means. After investigating the case of a young boy who seems to have the ability to heal the sick and wounded, he ends up at odds with the church, and goes to work for a mysterious organization that also investigates strange happenings…but for the purpose of saving mankind.

Random Trivia: The show is based on an original screenplay by Michael Petroni that had been purchased by Spyglass Entertainment. When Spyglass decided to turn the screenplay into a television series, they hired Richard Hatem to adapt it into long-form format. Petroni and Hatem share credit as the shows creators

Curt’s Take: Worth Considering – I really enjoyed this show while it was on TV back in the day, and was glad to have the opportunity to check out all the episodes that had been produced, but weren’t able to make it on the air. It’s sort of like The X-Files, but with a more supernatural bent than science fiction. In The X-Files, you’re always wondering if aliens are involved. In Miracles, the big question is whether evil is involved. Anyway, the main reason I wanted to review this was because of the episode called “The Friendly Skies.” A plane vanishes into thin air right before landing…and then several minutes later it reappears in mid-flight. Upon landing, the plane and its passengers (several of whom are exhibiting strange behavior) are quarantined by the government, and Paul and his colleagues are brought in to aid in the investigation. It’s one of the most moving television episodes of any program I’ve ever seen…do yourself a favor and rent the first disc just to see this one episode.

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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984)

The Basics: This 13-episode British-produced crime/mystery television series stars Jeremy Brett and David Burke as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (respectively).

What’s Going On Here?: If you’re not familiar with who Sherlock Holmes is, I’m afraid there’s no help for you. Each episode is an hour-long dramatization of one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous stories of the great consulting detective, with such famous cases as “The Speckled Band,” “The Dancing Men,” and “The Red-Headed League.”

Top IMDB Plot Keywords: Detective; Sherlock Holmes; Based on Short Story; Private Detective; Victorian Era

Curt’s Take: Not a Priority – Now, I’ve always liked the tales from the Holmes universe. And it was kind of cool seeing dramatizations of some of the stories I’ve read. They are pretty faithful to the original stories, for the most part, but they do move pretty damn slowly. The look and feel is definitely dated to the early 80’s, and it isn’t that exciting to watch. Plus, after you watch enough of these consecutively, you start to be able to be as intuitive as the great detective himself in figuring out what’s going on. I’d really only recommend checking out any part of this series if 1) you’re a fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work and 2) if there’s a story that you’re just aching to see brought to the small screen.