So Weird

Last updated
So Weird
Soweird.jpg
Genre
Created byTom J. Astle
Starring
Theme music composerJon Cooksey
Opening theme"In the Darkness" performed by Mackenzie Phillips
ComposerKen Williams
Country of origin
  • United States
  • Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes65 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Henry Winkler
  • Tom J. Astle
  • Michelle Davis
  • Alec Griffith
  • Ali Marie Matheson (seasons 1–2)
  • Jon Cooksey (seasons 1–2)
  • Larry Sugar (seasons 2–3)
  • John Mandel
  • Bruce Zimmerman (season 3)
Camera setup Film; Single-camera
Production companies
Original release
Network Disney Channel
ReleaseJanuary 18, 1999 (1999-01-18) –
September 28, 2001 (2001-09-28)

So Weird is a television series that aired on Disney Channel as a mid-season replacement from January 18, 1999, to September 28, 2001. The series was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia. In the first two seasons, the series centered on the teenage Fiona Phillips (Cara DeLizia) who toured with her rock-star mom (Mackenzie Phillips), while encountering paranormal activity along the way. The series was compared to the Fox TV series The X-Files since it took a darker tone than any other Disney Channel show at the time. For the third and final season, Disney replaced DeLizia (due to her wanting to pursue future projects outside of Disney) with actress Alexz Johnson playing Annie Thelen. Production ceased after 65 episodes.

Contents

Plot

Season 1

The season begins by introducing the main characters, starting with the protagonist in the series, Fiona "Fi" Phillips, who narrates an introduction to the episode's paranormal topic before the main title sequence.

Fi explains that she lives on a tour bus with her well-known rockstar mother Molly, who is touring to get back on the rock and roll scene after the death of her husband, who was also her musical partner. Fi's brother Jack, Molly's band manager Irene, Irene's husband Ned, and Ned and Irene's son, Clu also live with them on the tour bus, which Ned drives.

Stringing together all of Fi's paranormal encounters was her search to communicate with her father, who died when she was three years old. Fi first "encounters” her father in the second episode titled "Web Sight" where an unknown force sends her internet articles warning her of the future. From alien invasions, time warps and ghosts, Fi faced 13 episodes worth of paranormal activity. Also encountered: one powerful tulpa, a Bigfoot, angels and more significantly, the Will o' the Wisp. The season finale featured Jack becoming possessed by a hyperactive Scottish Will o' the Wisp, also known as a Spunkie. The Spunkie told Fi she could save her brother from his control by speaking his one true name, which was only seven letters. Fi found the spirit's one true name, Bricriu, therefore saving her brother. Bricriu had offered to protect Fi from evil spirits who had battled her father and had also offered to give her contact with her late father in return for being allowed to possess her brother. She thought he was lying therefore rejected his offer. He reappears in later episodes to keep her away from other spirits and people who claims are a threat to her, depending on how one reads it, this may be seen as evidence he was telling the truth but this is questionable at best, especially since in one episode he tried to prevent her from talking to a person who knew her father and wanted to give her information.

Season 2

The second season is darker than the first, playing out over twenty-six episodes compared with the shorter first season with exactly half of this amount. Picking up where last season left off, Molly and the band take time off the tour to record an album. Fi and friend Candy meet a medium who is proven to be a fraud. Ironically, another medium reveals the fake one and assists Fi in contacting her father through music on his old guitar.

Clu is accepted to and goes off to college, reducing his role and introducing his brother Carey. Similar to the previous season, Fi and her gang face another round of legendary creatures including vampires, werewolves, banshees, trolls, sirens and merfolk. In a pivotal episode, Fi discovers that her father also investigated supernatural events and that this was exactly what led to his death. Upon learning this, Fi feels betrayed by her mother who has been covering up the truth about her father. Additionally, Molly is possessed by Bricriu, the same Will o' the Wisp who did the same to Jack in season one. Fi uncovers that Will o' the Wisps or other dark powers may have been involved in the incident surrounding her father's death which police had assumed was an accident. In this episode Bricriu tried to kill a former firefighter who had been present at Rick's car crash and was aware that Fi's dad had been dead, with no apparent cause, before the car crashed. Following this episode, Fi has further contact with her father, as the answer to a troll's question – Faith – was revealed on her computer and a plethora of cell phones. Fi briefly time travels to her childhood, when her father was still alive, in episode 13, titled Fountain.

The season ends with Fi discovering her father's twin sister received encoded messages from him in her sleep. Once decoded the messages lead Fi to a rooftop where she is attacked by a three-headed demon and saved by the spirit of her father. He left her with a message that the spirit world was angry with her and would try to stop her investigation into the paranormal. At long last, now that the mystery around her father's death is solved, Fi is able to have a proper farewell with him. Due to Fi being written out in the next and final season, many DeLizia fans consider this a fulfilling finale.

Season 3

Cara DeLizia, the actress who played Fi, chose to leave the show after the second season, but appeared in the first episode of Season 3 as a way of transitioning the series to the new lead protagonist for the rest of the season and series, Annie Thelen, who is a friend of the family. Carey, first introduced in season 2, becomes a series regular. Due to Annie becoming the protagonist, there is a significant tonal shift in the series, in which it becomes more lighthearted, contains more singing, employs a bright color scheme, and introduces a romantic subplot.

The main arc of the story is the mystery behind Annie's spirit animal, a black panther who has protected her since she was a child. Annie insists that people exercise great respect when learning about Native American culture. When the mystery is unveiled, Annie finds out that when she saved a Native American man in the Amazon, his father returned the favor by shapeshifting into a panther and keeping an eye on Annie in order to help her out when she is in danger.

The returning characters have closure as well. Although Clu was bad at core subjects in high school, he is good at philosophy, and majors in it in college. He tours with the band during vacation times. Carey follows his dream of becoming a guitar player. Jack, who lost his love of singing when his father died, regains a desire to sing with the band. Annie expresses a desire for him to believe in the paranormal, and he slowly becomes more open-minded towards the paranormal.

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 13January 18, 1999 (1999-01-18)April 26, 1999 (1999-04-26)
2 26August 27, 1999 (1999-08-27)August 19, 2000 (2000-08-19)
3 26August 28, 2000 (2000-08-28)September 28, 2001 (2001-09-28)

Main characters

Actor/ActressCharacterSeasons
1 2 3
Cara DeLizia Fiona "Fi" PhillipsMainGuest
Mackenzie Phillips Molly PhillipsMain
Patrick Levis Jack PhillipsMain
Erik von Detten Clu BellMainGuest
Belinda Metz Irene BellMain
Dave Ward Ned BellMain
Eric Lively Carey BellMain
Alexz Johnson Annie ThelenMain

Cast changes and guest appearances

Music of So Weird

The series featured original songs sung by both Mackenzie Phillips and Alexz Johnson. Songs sung by Mackenzie Phillips included the theme "In the Darkness", "Another World", "Rebecca", "The Rock" and "Love is Broken". Each of the songs usually tied into the theme of the episode they were featured in. For example, "Rebecca" was featured in the episode "Rebecca" which dealt with Molly's former best friend of the same name who vanished when she was 13 years old. A compilation of Molly's songs was featured in the episode "Encore."

During seasons one and two, a music video that starts out with a talking scene between Jack and Clu and then Molly asks them and Fi to go to bed while they act jovial and happy, was aired. It featured over 62 clips from seasons one and two. It was the song "In the Darkness". It starts out with Jack and Clu fooling around, Clu howling and someone strumming a guitar. Molly comes to them in the RV and tells them it is time for her second show and that means bed. Fi closes her computer and says goodnight. She looks sad. Jack hugs Molly goodnight. Clu tells Molly to "knock em dead' or something or Break A Leg, Molly mocks his voice and says, "Thank you Clu" and shakes his hand. They leave. She goes out of the RV and starts to sing in a strange set.

"Last Night Blues," was the only occasion Cara DeLizia had to sing during her stint on the show. The song was supernaturally transferred to the characters from a murdered blues musician.

Season 3 mainly used the music of Alexz Johnson. One of Johnson's original songs, "Dream About You", was featured in the episode "Carnival." A music video by Alexz Johnson, "Shadows", was also featured near the end of the show's run on the Disney Channel.

The following is an incomplete listing of music from So Weird. With the exception of "Lorena" and occasional musical guest appearances, all music was original, created especially for the series.

Book series

Novelizations of the first five episodes in Season 1 of So Weird were published by Disney Press as mass-market paperbacks, beginning with Family Reunion by Parke Godwin. [1] The short-lived series ended with Strangeling by Cathy East Dubowski in 2000. [2] The series has long-since fallen out of print, although used vintage copies of the books continue to appear on bookselling platforms.

Broadcast

After 65 episodes, Disney Channel ceased production of the show. Reruns of the series continued to be aired until September 2003 when So Weird was removed from the Disney Channel schedule altogether, and has not aired since.

On October 14, 2019, Disney included So Weird in the list of films and television series that will be available to watch on their streaming platform Disney+ on launch day, November 12, 2019. [3] Having never been released on DVD, this marked the first time So Weird was available to watch legally in the U.S. since 2003. Within a month of its launch, the second season was removed from the service for undisclosed reasons, but was later added back on December 18, 2019. [4] [5]

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References

  1. ↑ Godwin, Parke (1997). Family Reunion (So Weird #1). Disney Press. ISBN   9780786813971.
  2. ↑ Dubowski, Cathy East (2000). Strangeling (So Weird #5). Disney Press. ISBN   9780786814312.
  3. ↑ "So Weird (1999)". Twitter. October 14, 2019.
  4. ↑ Weird, So (November 26, 2019). "Update: User @bumblesweet contacted DisneyPlus support and they said they took down the season because episodes were out of order (?). They will be putting them back up. Not sure when thoughpic.twitter.com/X4m4aRlBpF". Twitter.
  5. ↑ So Weird on Disney+ OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
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