The Others
"1112"

Airdate: March 4, 2000

Marian, Satori, and Elmer try to help a grieving woman.

This week on The Others... Man loves woman (and hockey). Woman loves man. Man and Woman have a Baby. Man takes Baby for a ride in the car. Car crashes: kills Baby, turns Man into Vegetable. Woman is overwhelmed with grief and can't get over it. Man uses The Others to help him try to get his wife to move on -- from the other side.

"1112" takes a relatively conventional situation (as far as tragedies go) with a high potential of 'sappiness' factor, but still retains a sense of intrigue by adding an unexpected twist. It takes a brute sport like hockey and an annoying appliance like a cellular phone and somehow turns them into something poignant and heart-rending. It also finally proves that this show isn't just about leading a path towards scaring its audience.

Warren puts some of the pieces together.

Not that it's perfect. In fact, the repetition of the numbers '1112' gets a little tiresome, the mood almost too low-key, bland and downbeat. I started to remember that although Bill Condon won an Oscar with Gods and Monsters, he was also the man behind Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh. But then the climax of the episode arrived, and I saw that the wait is worth it. At this point, Elmer must show Kathy (the bereaved mother and wife) what her life would have been like had her husband not gone out for that fateful car ride. We watch with her as an alternate family life flashes before her eyes. There is only one word can describe this dream-like sequence -- beautiful. I may not have been all that sympathetic to Kathy's grief for the first half of "1112", but from these five minutes, my eyes were glassy, threatening to pool over in tears.

Now that I've gotten that of the way, I do have to admit something. While everything I've said is true, it took me at least two extra viewings to come to this satisfactory conclusion. Ever have that feeling once in a while when some stupid detail ends up taking valuable space in your brain? You can't help but fixate on it and before you know it, the significant material has gone through one ear and out the other. Well, when I watched '1112', my mind got stuck on one thing.

Hockey: Not just a key to the mystery, but also to the entire universe.

Forget focusing on the important details -- things like Bill Condon's direction, the script, the rather tepid performance of Kristina Haag who played Kathy (a less attractive, less talented version of Kristen Cloke, without the sultry voice). What was the real reason I liked this episode on first viewing? The fact that Toronto Maple Leafs captain, Mats Sundin gets a screen time of at least ten seconds!

You see, there are very few things I make an effort to watch on TV, but Hockey Night in Canada is definitely one of 'em. Every Saturday night for as long as television has existed in the Great White North, a Toronto Maple Leafs game is aired every Saturday night. For the past few weeks, I've sacrificed the last five minutes of the 3rd period to watch The Others. I regularly channel flip between commercials. Who knows? Perhaps I subconsciously resent having to do this, which results in me giving lukewarm reviews to episodes of The Others.

Kathy's husband and child are ready to move on, but she won't let them go.

The night '1112' aired, again I was torn. The Leafs were trying desperately to hold a one goal lead over those wretched Montreal Habs. I was so caught up in the game, I forgot about The Others and missed a chunk of the first act. But imagine my disorientation when I did flip back, only to hear the established voices of Bob Cole and Harry Neale commentating a Leafs-Bruins game over one of the Others group meetings! Imagine my delight to hear the line, "His life-long hatred for the Montreal Canadians!" (that was the clincher). I never flipped back to the game. Oh, that sneaky writing team of Morgan and Wong! They found my weakness and went in for the kill.

For either reason, when it's all said and done, "1112" is easily the best Others episode so far. And as sure as I am that Ray Bourque will never win a Stanley Cup with Boston, I know that I will never again miss an episode of this series.

-- Julie Ng

The Others changes timeslots starting Saturday, March 11, to 9pm EST/8pm MNT, on NBC.

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