Miracles
Network: ABC
Years Aired: 2003 – One Season – 6 Episodes Aired (7 unaired)
Many discussions have been had, in both the outside world and internet message boards about shows that were cancelled before they were given their due justice. Instances easily come to mind: Firefly, Twin Peaks, Joan of Arcadia. Somewhere lost in the shuffle of these are the shows that were forgotten about being forgotten about.
Miracles is certainly one of these shows. Though its storylines seemed to draw heavy influence from The X-Files, there was still something unique about this spiritual-seeded show, something that made it interesting, and engaging…whenever you could manage to catch an airing of it.
Paul Callan (Skeet Ulrich) investigates modern miracles for the Archdiocese of Boston, but grows tired of the job and the strain it puts on his faith, so he retreats to an Indian reservation in Arizona. There, Father Calero calls him to give him a new job, the investigation of a boy named Tommy Ferguson, who appears to have the ability to heal people. A sceptical Paul is proven wrong when he meets with the boy, who appears to be healing others, at the expense of his health. When Paul and Tommy are involved in a car crash, Tommy uses the last of his health to heal Paul, dying in the process as Paul notices his blood spelling out “God Is Now Here” on the windshield.
The monsignor dismisses his findings, so Callan sets off on his own, meeting a strange man by the name of Alva Keel, inviting him to join Sodalitas Quaerito, and offering as evidence the other six instances of hemography, in which all six saw not “God Is Now Here”, but “God Is Nowhere”. Along with Alva and former police officer Evelyn Santos, Sodalitas Quaerito investigates increasing instances of miracles, while at the same time dealing with signs that a large event may be on the way.
Although it certainly seemed that the casting of Skeet Ulrich would be enough to sink the show, imagine the shock of some viewers when they found Miracles to be excellently-written and directed, capturing the sense of fear, wonder and other various emotions with great aplomb. In fact, the only weakness that this show seemed to have was its inability to be seen on a consistent enough basis.
The show started innocently enough in the midseason of ABC’s 2003 fall line-up, showing on Monday’s at 9 PM, against CSI: Miami and Crossing Jordan. Not much of a competition, as Miracles managed to get a respectable viewer ship in this timeslot, mostly based on powerful word of mouth and raving reviews from critics. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before the war in Iraq began, pre-empting Miracles and other shows in the line-up to show coverage of the war. As with so many new shows, pre-empting it will kill it dead, and this show was certainly not an exception, cancelled by ABC after only six episodes shown in the United States.
Miracles has recently been released on DVD as “The Complete Series”, with seven of the thirteen episodes ordered by ABC but not shown included. These episodes have apparently been shown overseas, but the last known showing of Miracles in the United States was on December 26th, 2003.
In the end, the Twin Peaks, Fireflies, and Joans of Arcadia will be remembered over shows like Miracles, but as long as the DVD media is around to give credence to such a wonderful show, I suppose that’s all I can ask for.
