Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal
Encyclopedia
Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal (icon) is a Canadian science fiction
drama
television series which was filmed in and around Toronto, Ontario, Canada
, and aired 88 episodes over four seasons from 1996 to 2000. The presence of Dan Aykroyd
opening and closing every episode and emphasizing the legitimacy of the organization it was inspired by led some viewers to take the show somewhat more seriously than intended, though it was in fact a scripted drama. Partly for this reason, in 1997 the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, then called the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, awarded Aykroyd a "Snuffed Candle" award, for "contributing to the public's lack of understanding of the methods of scientific inquiry."
who presents dramatic stories inspired by the paranormal
investigations of the "Office of Scientific Investigation and Research" (O.S.I.R.).
) and Curtis Rollins (Maurice Dean Wint
), senior data analyst Lindsay Donner (Nancy Anne Sakovich
), physicist Peter Axon (Barclay Hope
), Dr. Anton Hendricks (Colin Fox
) as well as various other investigators that rotate with each new case. The first season uses elements that are later dropped in subsequent seasons, most notably featuring two unlinked cases per episode. The first season features more of a documentary
-style look including hand-held cameras and on-screen interviews with the "experiencers". In the first season finale, "Perestroika", case manager Connor Doyle is killed in an explosion in an attempt to save the team and to kill a deadly virus.
joins the cast as the new case manager, Matt Praeger. Michael Moriarty
joins the cast in the recurring role of Michael Kelly, a conspiracy theorist who is friends with Praeger. The series now focuses on one case per episode and is structured more like a one-hour drama series. The second season features more character development as well as story arcs. After a limited role in the first season, Director of Operations Frank Elsinger (Nigel Bennett
) becomes a more prominent presence and is often believed to have a hidden agenda, mostly by Matt Praeger who questions much of his decisions. Michael Kelly causes problems for Elsinger, as he often involves himself in various O.S.I.R. cases and tries to expose the truth. In the second season finale, "The Egress", part one of a three-part story arc where the team discovers "The Egress", an arch in which you disappear if you step inside. Curtis Rollins returns after being absent since near the end of the first season. Dr. Anton Hendricks is lured into the arch at the sight of his missing wife and daughter, and he disappears. The team is in conflict at the end of the season, as Praeger learns Lindsay has betrayed him by leaking information, as to expose Elsinger's questionable ethical activity. Praeger offers his resignation, and Elsinger offers Peter Axon the case manager position.
as Frank Elsinger and Ray Donahue respectively are added to the opening credits, after having guest roles throughout the first two seasons. Peter Axon and Curtis Rollins continue investigating the Arch and try to get Anton back. As Peter convinces Lindsay to come back to the team, Praegar also returns to the team. Anton eventually comes back from the Arch and is in the hospital in critical condition. It's revealed that Anton's wife, believed to be dead, comes back from the Arch as well. The return of Nicole Hendricks solves a 12-year old case in which Anton's wife and daughter disappeared after a car crash. In the two-part third season finale, "Forever and a Day", Michael Kelley returns and informs the team of The Chairman, a mysterious figure who is believed to be evil and immortal and control a series of interlocking companies, including Veritec, Tessler Industries and the O.S.I.R. They then begin a secret case in which they discover the identity of The Chairman and exorcise the demon. The end of the third season marks the final appearances of many original characters, including Curtis Rollins, Frank Elsinger, Ray Donahue, Lennox Q. Cooper, and Michael Kelly.
as Dr. Claire Davison is added to the opening credits, after having guest roles throughout the first three seasons. Joanne Vannicola
joins the main cast as Mia Stone. With Elsinger apparently gone, Anton Hendricks has taken over the role of Director of Operations and very rarely takes part in the investigations over the course of the season. Hendricks enforces rotating case manager, leading Peter, Lindsay and Mia to take on the case manager position for different cases. In the fifth episode of the season, "883", Matt Praeger is infected with a virus which will lead to his death. The team soon discovers a secret project where a doctor is planning on colonizing a new world. Praeger learns the only way he could live is if he goes to the new world. After agreeing, he shares a tearful goodbye with his daughter Dana as well as the rest of the O.S.I.R. team and leaves a goodbye tape. Beginning with the following episode, Matt Frewer is removed from the opening credits and Nancy Anne Sakovich receives first billing. In episode 18 of the season, "Regeneration", presumed dead Connor Doyle returns and reveals he was pulled out of the building before it exploded and then spent three years in Siberia where he was held prisoner in a research facility in order to study an alien parasite that he had contracted during the original mission. He returns to aid the team in where they investigate "Project Regeneration", where a genetically altered female has the ability to heal herself, but with alien DNA that will take over and make her violent. Lindsay finds out that her cells were used to create Lilith, and that she retains all of Lindsay's memories. Connor suggests a plasma transfusion where Lindsay's cells could be introduced into Lilith to enhance her human side. During the transfusion, it's revealed Lilith is pregnant, and Connor has alien DNA who is trying to save their alien child. Peter and Anton release a toxic gas into the secured lab, killing Connor and Lilith. In the fourth season finale, "Stone Dreams", we learn Mia Stone has been subject to a secret experiment conducted by Anton Hendricks when she first arrived to the O.S.I.R. The experiment, to determine the impact of paranormal investigation on the investigator. Anton tests the technology on Mia, which will enable them to access the images that are seen with the inner eye. During the test, Anton hypnotizes Mia and gets her to remember past events that then are reflected on the monitor. As the test gets more intense, her heart rate increases and her brainwave functions becomes erratic and all the glass in the lab explodes. The last scene of the episode shows Mia first meeting Anton and accepting to be a part of the experiment. It's unknown if Mia died or not as a result of the experiment.
In 2010, Alliance Home Entertainment released the entire series on DVD in Canada.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
television series which was filmed in and around Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and aired 88 episodes over four seasons from 1996 to 2000. The presence of Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
opening and closing every episode and emphasizing the legitimacy of the organization it was inspired by led some viewers to take the show somewhat more seriously than intended, though it was in fact a scripted drama. Partly for this reason, in 1997 the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, then called the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, awarded Aykroyd a "Snuffed Candle" award, for "contributing to the public's lack of understanding of the methods of scientific inquiry."
Plot
The series is hosted by Dan AykroydDan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
who presents dramatic stories inspired by the paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
investigations of the "Office of Scientific Investigation and Research" (O.S.I.R.).
Season one
The first season introduces members of the O.S.I.R. team, including case managers Connor Doyle (Paul MillerPaul Miller (actor)
Paul Miller is a Canadian actor, born on 30 October 1960. He graduated from Montreal`s National Theatre School in 1987 and is best known for playing Conner Doyle on the TV series Psi Factor....
) and Curtis Rollins (Maurice Dean Wint
Maurice Dean Wint
Maurice Dean Wint is a British-born, Canadian-based actor who has starred in several television shows and movies; the most notable ones include "Cube", "Hedwig and the Angry Inch", RoboCop: Prime Directives, Psi Factor and the TekWar movies and television series.Wint moved to Canada in 1969 with...
), senior data analyst Lindsay Donner (Nancy Anne Sakovich
Nancy Anne Sakovich
Nancy Anne Sakovich is a Canadian actress and former model.In 1981, she started studying at Trent University and earned a degree in biology. Discovered by the Elite Modeling Agency, she traveled the world as an international model....
), physicist Peter Axon (Barclay Hope
Barclay Hope
-Life and career:Hope was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is the brother of actor William Hope. Hope appeared in the TV series Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal as Peter Axon...
), Dr. Anton Hendricks (Colin Fox
Colin Fox (actor)
Colin Fox is a Canadian actor. His acting credits include playing Jean Paul Desmond and Jacques Eloi Des Mondes in Strange Paradise , as well as voice work in various animated series, and in other roles in film, television and on the stage...
) as well as various other investigators that rotate with each new case. The first season uses elements that are later dropped in subsequent seasons, most notably featuring two unlinked cases per episode. The first season features more of a documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
-style look including hand-held cameras and on-screen interviews with the "experiencers". In the first season finale, "Perestroika", case manager Connor Doyle is killed in an explosion in an attempt to save the team and to kill a deadly virus.
Season two
Starting with the second season, actors Paul Miller and Maurice Dean Wint are removed from the opening credits and Matt FrewerMatt Frewer
Matthew "Matt" Frewer is a Canadian American stage, TV and film actor. Acting since 1983, he is known for portraying the 1980s icon Max Headroom and the retired villain Moloch in the film adaptation of Watchmen.-Life and career:...
joins the cast as the new case manager, Matt Praeger. Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty is an American-Canadian actor of stage and screen, and a jazz musician. He played Benjamin Stone for four seasons on the TV series Law & Order.-Early life:...
joins the cast in the recurring role of Michael Kelly, a conspiracy theorist who is friends with Praeger. The series now focuses on one case per episode and is structured more like a one-hour drama series. The second season features more character development as well as story arcs. After a limited role in the first season, Director of Operations Frank Elsinger (Nigel Bennett
Nigel Bennett
Nigel Bennett is an English actor/director/writer who has been based in Canada since 1986. He is best known for playing the vampire patriarch Lucien LaCroix in the TV series Forever Knight, for which he won the Canadian Gemini Award for best supporting actor in a dramatic series.-Life and...
) becomes a more prominent presence and is often believed to have a hidden agenda, mostly by Matt Praeger who questions much of his decisions. Michael Kelly causes problems for Elsinger, as he often involves himself in various O.S.I.R. cases and tries to expose the truth. In the second season finale, "The Egress", part one of a three-part story arc where the team discovers "The Egress", an arch in which you disappear if you step inside. Curtis Rollins returns after being absent since near the end of the first season. Dr. Anton Hendricks is lured into the arch at the sight of his missing wife and daughter, and he disappears. The team is in conflict at the end of the season, as Praeger learns Lindsay has betrayed him by leaking information, as to expose Elsinger's questionable ethical activity. Praeger offers his resignation, and Elsinger offers Peter Axon the case manager position.
Season three
Starting with the third season, Nigel Bennett and Peter MacNeillPeter MacNeill
Peter MacNeill is a Canadian film and television actor who has starred in several TV shows and movies.His film credits have included The Hanging Garden , Geraldine's Fortune, Giant Mine, Lives of Girls and Women, The Events Leading Up to My Death, Dog Park, Something Beneath and A...
as Frank Elsinger and Ray Donahue respectively are added to the opening credits, after having guest roles throughout the first two seasons. Peter Axon and Curtis Rollins continue investigating the Arch and try to get Anton back. As Peter convinces Lindsay to come back to the team, Praegar also returns to the team. Anton eventually comes back from the Arch and is in the hospital in critical condition. It's revealed that Anton's wife, believed to be dead, comes back from the Arch as well. The return of Nicole Hendricks solves a 12-year old case in which Anton's wife and daughter disappeared after a car crash. In the two-part third season finale, "Forever and a Day", Michael Kelley returns and informs the team of The Chairman, a mysterious figure who is believed to be evil and immortal and control a series of interlocking companies, including Veritec, Tessler Industries and the O.S.I.R. They then begin a secret case in which they discover the identity of The Chairman and exorcise the demon. The end of the third season marks the final appearances of many original characters, including Curtis Rollins, Frank Elsinger, Ray Donahue, Lennox Q. Cooper, and Michael Kelly.
Season four
Starting with the fourth season, Nigel Bennett and Peter MacNeill are removed from the opening credits, while Soo GaraySoo Garay
Soo Garay is a Canadian actress born in Toronto, Canada. She is best remembered for playing Dr. Claire Davison on the TV series Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal.-Biography:...
as Dr. Claire Davison is added to the opening credits, after having guest roles throughout the first three seasons. Joanne Vannicola
Joanne Vannicola
Joanne Vannicola is a Canadian actress, born in Montreal, Quebec. She is most notable for her role as Dr. Mia Stone in PSI Factor and as the voice of Willy Zilla in Gene Simmons' animated television show My Dad the Rock Star....
joins the main cast as Mia Stone. With Elsinger apparently gone, Anton Hendricks has taken over the role of Director of Operations and very rarely takes part in the investigations over the course of the season. Hendricks enforces rotating case manager, leading Peter, Lindsay and Mia to take on the case manager position for different cases. In the fifth episode of the season, "883", Matt Praeger is infected with a virus which will lead to his death. The team soon discovers a secret project where a doctor is planning on colonizing a new world. Praeger learns the only way he could live is if he goes to the new world. After agreeing, he shares a tearful goodbye with his daughter Dana as well as the rest of the O.S.I.R. team and leaves a goodbye tape. Beginning with the following episode, Matt Frewer is removed from the opening credits and Nancy Anne Sakovich receives first billing. In episode 18 of the season, "Regeneration", presumed dead Connor Doyle returns and reveals he was pulled out of the building before it exploded and then spent three years in Siberia where he was held prisoner in a research facility in order to study an alien parasite that he had contracted during the original mission. He returns to aid the team in where they investigate "Project Regeneration", where a genetically altered female has the ability to heal herself, but with alien DNA that will take over and make her violent. Lindsay finds out that her cells were used to create Lilith, and that she retains all of Lindsay's memories. Connor suggests a plasma transfusion where Lindsay's cells could be introduced into Lilith to enhance her human side. During the transfusion, it's revealed Lilith is pregnant, and Connor has alien DNA who is trying to save their alien child. Peter and Anton release a toxic gas into the secured lab, killing Connor and Lilith. In the fourth season finale, "Stone Dreams", we learn Mia Stone has been subject to a secret experiment conducted by Anton Hendricks when she first arrived to the O.S.I.R. The experiment, to determine the impact of paranormal investigation on the investigator. Anton tests the technology on Mia, which will enable them to access the images that are seen with the inner eye. During the test, Anton hypnotizes Mia and gets her to remember past events that then are reflected on the monitor. As the test gets more intense, her heart rate increases and her brainwave functions becomes erratic and all the glass in the lab explodes. The last scene of the episode shows Mia first meeting Anton and accepting to be a part of the experiment. It's unknown if Mia died or not as a result of the experiment.
Main cast
Main cast per opening credits.- Dan AykroydDan AykroydDaniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
as The Host - Paul MillerPaul Miller (actor)Paul Miller is a Canadian actor, born on 30 October 1960. He graduated from Montreal`s National Theatre School in 1987 and is best known for playing Conner Doyle on the TV series Psi Factor....
as Case Manager Professor Connor Doyle (Season 1, guest star Season 4) - Nancy Anne SakovichNancy Anne SakovichNancy Anne Sakovich is a Canadian actress and former model.In 1981, she started studying at Trent University and earned a degree in biology. Discovered by the Elite Modeling Agency, she traveled the world as an international model....
as Senior Data Analyst Lindsay Donner - Barclay HopeBarclay Hope-Life and career:Hope was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is the brother of actor William Hope. Hope appeared in the TV series Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal as Peter Axon...
as Physicist Peter Axon - Colin FoxColin Fox (actor)Colin Fox is a Canadian actor. His acting credits include playing Jean Paul Desmond and Jacques Eloi Des Mondes in Strange Paradise , as well as voice work in various animated series, and in other roles in film, television and on the stage...
as Dr. Anton Hendricks - Maurice Dean WintMaurice Dean WintMaurice Dean Wint is a British-born, Canadian-based actor who has starred in several television shows and movies; the most notable ones include "Cube", "Hedwig and the Angry Inch", RoboCop: Prime Directives, Psi Factor and the TekWar movies and television series.Wint moved to Canada in 1969 with...
as Case Manager Dr. Curtis Rollins (Season 1, recurring Season 2–3) - Matt FrewerMatt FrewerMatthew "Matt" Frewer is a Canadian American stage, TV and film actor. Acting since 1983, he is known for portraying the 1980s icon Max Headroom and the retired villain Moloch in the film adaptation of Watchmen.-Life and career:...
as Case Manager Matt Praeger (Season 2–4) - Nigel BennettNigel BennettNigel Bennett is an English actor/director/writer who has been based in Canada since 1986. He is best known for playing the vampire patriarch Lucien LaCroix in the TV series Forever Knight, for which he won the Canadian Gemini Award for best supporting actor in a dramatic series.-Life and...
as Director of Operations Frank Elsinger (Season 3, recurring Season 1–2) - Peter MacNeillPeter MacNeillPeter MacNeill is a Canadian film and television actor who has starred in several TV shows and movies.His film credits have included The Hanging Garden , Geraldine's Fortune, Giant Mine, Lives of Girls and Women, The Events Leading Up to My Death, Dog Park, Something Beneath and A...
as Security Co-ordinator Ray Donahue (Season 3, recurring Season 1–2) - Joanne VannicolaJoanne VannicolaJoanne Vannicola is a Canadian actress, born in Montreal, Quebec. She is most notable for her role as Dr. Mia Stone in PSI Factor and as the voice of Willy Zilla in Gene Simmons' animated television show My Dad the Rock Star....
as Dr. Mia Stone (Season 4) - Soo GaraySoo GaraySoo Garay is a Canadian actress born in Toronto, Canada. She is best remembered for playing Dr. Claire Davison on the TV series Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal.-Biography:...
as Dr. Claire Davison (Season 4, recurring Season 1–3)
Recurring cast
- Peter BlaisPeter BlaisPeter Blais is a Canadian actor, born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada who has been in a number of made-for-TV movies and television series. He has won a Golden Sheaf Award for "Best Performance - Male" in The Wager, and in 1999 he was nominated for a Gemini Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a...
as Cryptozoologist Lennox Q. Cooper (Season 1–3) - Lisa LaCroixLisa LaCroixLisa LaCroix is an Canadian actress and fashion model who began her career in Toronto, Canada. After training as an actor in New York City's Circle in the Square Theatre School, she returned to Toronto, and starred in numerous Canadian and American television shows and movies...
as Dr. Natasha Constantine (Season 1) - Tamara GorskiTamara GorskiTamara Gorski is a Canadian actress. She was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba.- Filmography :-External links:*...
as Dr. Alexandra Corliss (Season 1) - Lindsay Collins as Dr. Sandra Miles (Season 1, 3)
- Michael MoriartyMichael MoriartyMichael Moriarty is an American-Canadian actor of stage and screen, and a jazz musician. He played Benjamin Stone for four seasons on the TV series Law & Order.-Early life:...
as Michael Kelly (Season 2–3) - Heather Bertram as Dana Praeger (Season 2–4)
- Anthony LemkeAnthony LemkeAnthony Lemke is a Canadian actor. Lemke is best known in the United States as "Capt. Grisham" from the short-lived television series Queen of Swords and in Quebec as "David Rothstein" from the hit, mulitple award-winning series Les Hauts et les bas de Sophie Paquin.-Biography:Anthony Lemke was...
as Marc Hagan (Season 3)
DVD releases
The entire series has been released in Region 2 format in the UK, Germany and Russia since the show's cancellation. On December 30, 2008, the complete third season was released on Region 1 DVD. Echo Bridge Home Entertainment later released a condensed version of the same season on October 6, 2009.In 2010, Alliance Home Entertainment released the entire series on DVD in Canada.
| Season | Episodes | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 22 | July 13, 2010 |
| Season 2 | 22 | August 10, 2010 |
| Season 3 | 22 | September 14, 2010 |
| Season 4 | 22 | October 19, 2010 |