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*Mysterious Ways*
Mysterious Ways
Genre	Science fiction
Created by	Peter O'Fallon
Written by	Peter O'Fallon; Carl Binder; Dawn Ritchie; Steven Barwin; Melissa Byer; Treena Hancock
Starring	Adrian Pasdar; Rae Dawn Chong; Alisen Down
Country of origin	Canada; United States
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	44
Production
Production companies	Crescent Entertainment; Lions Gate Television; Paxson Entertainment
Original release
Network	NBC; PAX TV
Release	July 24, 2000 –; May 14, 2002

Mysterious Ways is a television science fiction drama series. It premiered on July 24, 2000 on NBC, before being aired intermittently on NBC through August 2001. The series also began airing on PAX TV in August 2000, ultimately moving to PAX TV after the series was dropped by NBC. It was produced in-house by Paxson Entertainment, in association with Lions Gate Television and CTV. It was cancelled in 2002 after two seasons.

Plot

The series focuses on the search for explanations of, and evidence for, seemingly miraculous phenomena. This search is carried out by the protagonist Declan Dunn (Adrian Pasdar). Declan is a professor of anthropology at the Northern University of Oregon and is often compared with Indiana Jones due to his energetic enthusiasm for solving a mystery. His passion for miraculous events has its roots in a self-experienced mischance of being caught in an avalanche and getting out alive. He considers this to be miraculous and attributes it as the turning point in his life. In several episodes he makes references to this event and the impact it had on his life.

Always ready to help out with the research, though sometimes they appear slightly reluctant, are Declan's close friends Dr. Peggy Fowler (Rae Dawn Chong), a psychiatrist at a nearby hospital, and Miranda Feigelstein (Alisen Down), a physics graduate student and Declan's research assistant. Peggy is the most levelheaded of the three and is generally the one presenting the mundane alternatives to Declan's theories. Her so-called "rational explanations" often provide no explanation whatsoever, e.g. "It was just a freak occurrence".

Often being assigned to carry out tests of various substances, or operating a range of instruments, is Miranda. She is the second skeptic besides Peggy, with a somber and introvert personality, sometimes with moments of joking banter or sarcastic comments. In the episodes "The Ties That Bind" (1.08) and "Free Spirit" (2.14) another, more open side of her is shown before her social peers, if only temporarily. Being the quiet personality, Miranda is sometimes somewhat of a mystery even to her best friends.

In many cases the episodes conclude with a rational explanation being seemingly validated, then disproven at the last minute; thus leaving the question of paranormal activity open once more.

Cast

Adrian Pasdar as Declan Dunn, the main character of the series. Declan is a Professor of Anthropology at Northern University in Oregon. While skiing, he was caught up in an avalanche. He was left for dead, but miraculously made it out alive. Ever since this incident, Declan has dedicated a large part of his free time to investigating miracles that occur around or to certain individuals in the hopes that it will bring some perspective to the miracle that saved his life. He is assisted in his investigations by his close friends Dr. Peggy Fowler, a psychiatrist, and Miranda Feigelstein, Declan's assistant. Both of these women are strong skeptics and, although they rarely turn down helping Declan, they always attempt to use science to explain the events that surround the miraculous phenomena. Declan has a wry sense of humor that he uses to make jokes even in the face of strange phenomena.
Rae Dawn Chong as Dr. Peggy Fowler, a smart and open psychiatrist who helps victims of strange and unusual events cope with their feelings. Although having a relatively cheerful personality, Peggy is still haunted by her husbands' death and because of this event, no longer believes in miracles but in people. Despite her beliefs, she nearly always helps Declan whenever he requests it, her connections at the hospital being a great help to Declan and his investigations. She often attempts to disprove Declan's theories and is confused and elated when she cannot explain the miracles she witnesses.
Alisen Down as Miranda Feigelstein, assistant to Declan and physics graduate student, Miranda is sarcastic, intelligent and slightly unimpressed. Like her friend Peggy, Miranda has little belief in miracles and nearly always has a contrary position to Declan's theories. Despite this, Miranda is very loyal to Declan and always has time to listen to him and his theories. Their relationship is very special, Declan seemingly being the only one to bring Miranda out of her shell.

Production

Mysterious Ways was created by Peter O'Fallon, who wanted a science-fiction drama that was family-friendly and allowed him to explore humanistic themes.^[1] U2's song of the same name inspired the series' title.^[1]

For O'Fallon, the series' move from NBC to PAX TV was a good development, since it allowed for total creative freedom.^[1]

Episodes

Season 1 (2000–01)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code
1	1	"Amazing Grace"	Carl Binder	Story: Peter O'Fallon Teleplay: Peter O'Fallon, Joel Fields, Carl Binder	July 24, 2000 (2000-07-24)	101
2	2	"The Gray Lady"	Carl Binder	Peter O'Fallon	July 31, 2000 (2000-07-31)	102
3	3	"The Midas Touch"	Alan Simmonds	Treena Hancock, Melissa R. Byer	August 7, 2000 (2000-08-07)	104
4	4	"Camp Sanopi"	Michael Robison	Carl Binder	August 14, 2000 (2000-08-14)	105
5	5	"Spirit Junction"	Steve Anker	Dawn Ritchie	August 21, 2000 (2000-08-21)	107
6	6	"Twins"	Anne Wheeler	Barbara Covington	August 28, 2000 (2000-08-28)	103
7	7	"Crazy"	Alan Simmonds	Barbara Covington	September 4, 2000 (2000-09-04)	106
8	8	"The Ties That Bind"	Ken Jubenvill	Treena Hancock, Melissa R. Byer	September 11, 2000 (2000-09-11)	108
9	9	"Demons"	Allan Kroeker	Gabriel David Tick, Steven Barwin	September 12, 2000 (2000-09-12)	109
10	10	"Crystal Clear"	Brad Turner	Philip Gerson	November 7, 2000 (2000-11-07)	113
11	11	"Stranger in the Mirror"	Ken Jubenvill	Eric Tuchman	November 14, 2000 (2000-11-14)	111
12	12	"Handshake"	Michael Rohl	Carey Hayes, Chad Hayes	November 21, 2000 (2000-11-21)	116
13	13	"Intentions"	Rick Stevenson	Barbara Covington	November 28, 2000 (2000-11-28)	110
14	14	"Reason to Cry"	Brad Turner	Barbara Covington	December 19, 2000 (2000-12-19)	115
15	15	"The Greater Good"	Charles Winkler	Treena Hancock, Melissa R. Byer	January 1, 2001 (2001-01-01)	117
16	16	"Yesterday"	Michael Robison	Carl Binder	January 8, 2001 (2001-01-08)	121
17	17	"19A"	Alan Simmonds	Treena Hancock, Melissa R. Byer	January 9, 2001 (2001-01-09)	112
18	18	"Strike Two"	Ken Jubenvill	Dawn Ritchie	January 15, 2001 (2001-01-15)	114
19	19	"Dead Dog Walking"	Peter O'Fallon	Dawn Ritchie	January 22, 2001 (2001-01-22)	119
20	20	"Wonderful"	Ken Jubenvill	Eric Tuchman	January 29, 2001 (2001-01-29)	122
21	21	"Do You See What I See?"	Rick Stevenson	Eric Tuchman	February 6, 2001 (2001-02-06)	118
22	22	"John Doe #28"	Scott Williams	Treena Hancock, Melissa R. Byer	May 1, 2001 (2001-05-01)	120

Season 2 (2001–02)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code
23	1	"Phoenix"	Michael Robison	Carl Binder	July 13, 2001 (2001-07-13)	201
24	2	"One of Us"	Michael Robison	Melissa R. Byer, Treena Hancock	July 20, 2001 (2001-07-20)	205
25	3	"Pure of Heart"	Rick Stevenson	Barbara Covington	July 27, 2001 (2001-07-27)	204
26	4	"Condemned"	Michael Robison	Dawn Ritchie, Carl Binder	August 3, 2001 (2001-08-03)	207
27	5	"Lost Souls"	Richard Martin	Melissa R. Byer, Treena Hancock	September 4, 2001 (2001-09-04)	210
28	6	"Spike"	Rick Stevenson	Eric Tuchman	September 18, 2001 (2001-09-18)	202
29	7	"Child of Wonder"	Ken Jubenvill	Eric Tuchman	October 2, 2001 (2001-10-02)	206
30	8	"29"	Ken Jubenvill	Deborah Starr Seibel	October 9, 2001 (2001-10-09)	208
31	9	"Love's Divine"	Scott Williams	John Mandel	October 16, 2001 (2001-10-16)	209
32	10	"The Big Picture"	Ken Jubenvill	Philip Gerson	November 6, 2001 (2001-11-06)	211
33	11	"A Time to Every Purpose"	Gil Shilton	Barbara Covington	November 13, 2001 (2001-11-13)	212
34	12	"Doctor in the House"	Brad Turner	Philip Gerson	November 27, 2001 (2001-11-27)	203
35	13	"The Last Dance"	Ken Jubenvill	Dan D'Amelio	December 11, 2001 (2001-12-11)	213
36	14	"Free Spirit"	Ken Jubenvill	Eric Tuchman	January 15, 2002 (2002-01-15)	214
37	15	"Spark of Life"	Rick Stevenson	Melissa R. Byer, Treena Hancock	January 22, 2002 (2002-01-22)	220
38	16	"Face in the Crowd"	M. Robison	Barbara Covington	February 5, 2002 (2002-02-05)	222
39	17	"Logan Miller"	Richard Martin	Barbara Covington	February 26, 2002 (2002-02-26)	217
40	18	"Friends in Need"	Ken Jubenvill	Eric Tuchman	March 19, 2002 (2002-03-19)	218
41	19	"A Man of God"	Brad Turner	Carl Binder	March 26, 2002 (2002-03-26)	219
42	20	"MUTI"	Michael Robison	Treena Hancock, Melissa R. Byer	April 30, 2002 (2002-04-30)	215
43	21	"Listen"	Scott Williams	Deborah Starr Seibel	May 7, 2002 (2002-05-07)	221
44	22	"Something Fishy"	Scott Williams	Carl Binder	May 14, 2002 (2002-05-14)	216

Broadcast

The show's first eight episodes aired in the United States on NBC starting July 2000. The show returned in January 2001 and later on July of the same year, before being pulled in August due to poor ratings. Meanwhile, PAX TV, a channel NBC had a 32% interest in, began broadcasting the show in August 2000, airing through the summer months. PAX would become the show's home for the rest of its run, until September 2002.^[1]

The series had seen success internationally, even after its cancellation.^[1] It currently airs in syndication on VisionTV in Canada.^{[citation needed]}