EXORCIST, THE: CHAPTER ONE: AND LET MY CRY COME UNTO THEE {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The first in this dramatic thriller series, based on the book by William Peter Blatty and the subsequent 1973 film of the same name, about two priests' attempts to battle demonic forces. In this episode, Father Marcus Keane arrives in Mexico City and observes a disturbing sight, while in Chicago young Father Tomas Ortega preaches a sermon about doubt and faith and talks briefly with the Rance family, including worried matriarch Angela. Later, his sister Olivia finds that he has been exchanging letters with a married woman, Jessica, and though he swears that they are innocent, she suggests that he is unhappy with the priesthood after all. In Mexico City, a younger priest, Bennett, finds Marcus and questions him about his mysterious disappearance and apparent rejection of a "direct order," but Marcus states that he is "making progress." Bennett declares that he is going against "protocol," but Marcus ends up threatening to shoot him before returning to Gabriel, a young boy apparently possessed by a demon, and continues trying to force the evil spirit from the child's boy – all observed by Tomas, who "visits" the site in a dream.
At the Rance home, Angela hears odd noises as teenage daughter Casey tries to rouse her sister Katherine out of her depressed state. Tomas attempts to repair the church organ and is startled by Angela, who tells him that Katherine has been "different" ever since her involvement in a car accident in which a friend died, finally declaring that it is the work of a demon. Tomas tries to explain that demons are simply "metaphors" for personal troubles, but Angela convinces him to visit the home, and they are both alarmed when a raven crashes through the vestry window. Tomas continues having the strange dreams about Marcus and Gabriel, though when he visits Katherine, she laughs off her mother's fears and says that she is simply trying to find something to blame for the family's recent woes, including her father Henry's strange illness. At dinner, Katherine behaves unkindly towards Henry, who seems to have some form of dementia, and Tomas makes a pointed comment about miraculous recoveries to set her straight. Before Tomas departs, Henry suddenly tells him where to find Father Marcus, though immediately reverts back to his confused state, and a startled Tomas begins to research exorcism, believing that Henry's words may refer to his odd dreams, which culminate with Gabriel's death despite the priest's best efforts.
Tomas drives to St. Aquinas, the parish mentioned by Henry, and meets a strange man who seems to know him and calls him a "rising star" in the church, wondering if he is "asking the right questions." Tomas then finds Marcus and, recognizing him from the dream, asks him about exorcism. Marcus, deducing that he is not asking hypothetically, guesses that Tomas requires help with a specific person. Tomas describes his dream, and Marcus admits that the incident with Gabriel really happened eighteen months previously and orders him to leave, stating that he is being "manipulated" by forces that he cannot handle. Left alone, Marcus furiously demands to know if Tomas is the "sign" for which he has been waiting. Tomas returns to the Rance home and asks Angela about her faith, admitting that he never felt divinely "called" to the priesthood but now feels that God has truly spoken to him and instructed him to help the family. When he ventures into the attic, he encounters a seemingly possessed figure – but it is Casey, not Katherine, and she appears to return entirely to normal when Angela suddenly arrives and turns on the lights. Elsewhere, Marcus prepares to go out, ending his self-imposed exile. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: FOX
- DATE: November 30, 1999 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:45:02
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 127893
- GENRE: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, fantasy/science fiction; Drama, mystery/suspense
- SERIES RUN: FOX - TV series, 2016-2018
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- James Robinson … Executive Producer
- David Robinson … Executive Producer
- Barbara Wall … Executive Producer
- Rolin Jones … Executive Producer
- Roy Lee … Executive Producer
- Rupert Wyatt … Executive Producer, Director
- Jeremy Slater … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Robert M. Williams Jr. … Producer
- Garfield Whitman … Associate Producer
- William Peter Blatty … Inspired by the novel by
- Daniel Hart … Music by
- Alfonso Herrera … Cast, Father Tomas Ortega
- Ben Daniels … Cast, Father Marcus Keane
- Hannah Kasulka … Cast, Casey Rance
- Brianne Howey … Cast, Katherine Rance
- Kurt Egyiawan … Cast, Brother Bennett
- Alan Ruck … Cast, Henry Rance
- Geena Davis … Cast, Angela Rance
- Camille Guaty … Cast, Olivia
- Francis Guinan … Cast, Brother Simon
- Alan Metoskie … Cast, Homeless Man
- Matthew Velasquez … Cast, Luis
- Isaac Linares … Cast, Gabriel
- Ana María Alvarez … Cast, Helena
- Ann Whitney … Cast, Mrs. Finley
- Melissa Russell … Cast, Tara
- Christopher Meister … Cast, Construction Worker