The Ferguson Syndrome

Infobox Television episode
Title =The Ferguson Syndrome
Series =Miracles


Caption = "I think the dark is its own thing too...and sometimes I think it wants something..."
Season =1
Episode =1
Airdate =January 27, 2003
Production =101
Writer =Richard Hatem
Michael Petroni
Director =Matt Reeves
Guests =Jacob Smith
Tamara Taylor
Scott Allan Campbell
Phyllis Lyons
Sybil Temchen
Episode list =
Prev =None
Next =The Friendly Skies

"The Ferguson Syndrome" is the first episode of the television series "Miracles". Its only airing in the U.S. was on January 27, 2003 on ABC. It first aired on Canada's VisionTV on October 3, 2003.

ynopsis

The series begins at the grave of one Sister Alice Fulton (1834-1861). Workers are exhuming the bodies there in the cemetery, preparing them to be moved before the end of the year. After an accident, Alice's coffin spills open in front of a trapped worker, revealing the corpse of a woman whose eyes are as white as snow, and whose body has simply not decayed one day since her death over 140 years ago.

Paul Callan is dispatched to investigate. The absence of decay in Sister Fulton's body can be a sign of her ascension to Sainthood, and Paul is there to investigate on behalf of the Catholic Church. He finds that this preservation is due to chemicals in the soil, going so far as to have another grave exhumed to prove this, before leaving for the Archdiocese. Paul confides in his mentor, Father "Poppi" Calero, that he has becomed disillusioned with disproving 'miracles', and is convinced to take time off to rediscover his faith.

During his time off, Paul has a dream of himself and a young boy on a train. As the train goes by, Paul notices a water tower with the words "God is Coming" spraypainted onto it. As the young boy tosses a baseball into a glove, the sound becomes louder until he looks up at Paul with his red eyes, tearing up with blood. The boy tells Paul, "I'm waiting for you".

Three months later, Paul is working in the desert to build homes for the poor when he is contacted by Poppi, asking him to Ferguson family on behalf of the Monsignor. On arriving, Paul encounters a child, Tommy, who he previously saw in a nightmare. Tommy suffers from Fanconi anemia, a rare genetic blood disorder with no cure. However, Tommy is claimed to have cured a woman of cancer and another of blindness, although a local doctor indicates that both were undergoing treatment at the time.

Tommy's father arranges for Tommy to heal an infant with a weak heart. When doing so, he passes out. Paul figures out that Tommy's illness is not anemia, but is caused by healing others; they get better while he gets worse. Paul has a dream where Tommy is hit by a train.

Awakening to find Tommy's mother sneaking him out of the house, Paul follows their car and sees a water tower at the side of the road with the words "God is Coming" written on it. Distracted by this, Paul looks back in time to see he is about to ram the Ferguson's car into the path of an oncoming train. He swerves around the car, and Paul's car is hit by the train, leaving him in a state of near-death. Tommy gives his life to heal Paul, and Paul witnesses words forming out of his own blood: "God is now here". After Tommy's funeral, Paul learns that the case would not be investigated further, despite the evidence, and that Poppi had not contacted him to take the case. He is contacted by a mystery man who appeared at the accident site, who indicates that Paul's witnessing of the blood-words has only happened to six other people, all of whom saw "God is Nowhere". Paul is given the contact details for a group called "Sodalitas Quaerito".

Visiting the address given, Paul is greeted, and enters the building.

Cast

*Main Cast
**Skeet Ulrich as Paul Callan
**Angus Macfadyen as Alva Keel
**Marisa Ramirez as Evelyn Santos

*Guest Cast
**Jacob Smith as Tommy Ferguson
**Tamara Taylor as Dr. Linda Qualey
**Sybil Temchen as Kate Armstrong
**Phyllis Lyons as Oliva Ferguson
**Scott Allan Campbell as Robert Ferguson
**Hector Elizondo as Father "Poppi" Calero [ [http://www.tv.com/miracles/the-ferguson-syndrome/episode/224857/summary.html?tag=ep_list;ep_title;1/ TV.com] .]

Trivia

* The church in which Tommy's funeral is held had previously been used in an episode of The WB's "Charmed", and was later used in the 2005 FOX drama Point Pleasant. [ [http://www.tv.com/miracles/the-ferguson-syndrome/episode/224857/summary.html?tag=ep_list;ep_title;1/ TV.com] .]
* Had over 10 million viewers. [ [http://www.tv.com/miracles/the-ferguson-syndrome/episode/224857/summary.html?tag=ep_list;ep_title;1/ TV.com] .]

References

External links

* [http://www.tv.com/miracles/the-ferguson-syndrome/episode/224857/summary.html?tag=ep_list;ep_title;1/ "The Ferguson Syndrome"] at TV.com
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0648897/ "The Ferguson Syndrome"] at the Internet Movie Database