Much like Dan Akroyd's career, this TV show is all over the place. And yet it remained an enjoyable TV show mostly to the efforts of the core actors.It purports to tell the case files of the OSIR, a paranormal investigation group, In reality, even lower budget than Ghost Hunters (before they got a show). In the show, a modern, high budget world class organization with top class personnel and gadgets.In Season 1, it was played fairly straight, with the OSIR team investigating two paranormal cases or events per show. It was perhaps a bit dry, but each case was interesting in its own right.In Season 2, apparently to boost ratings, they brought in Matt Frewer (of Max Headroom fame) to replace Paul Miller. They also changed it to one investigation per hour. And the tone shifted from overall paranormal, to more something like the X-files - conspiracies and such (more corporate than government). In came Michael Moriarity, playing a conspiracy expert.Season 3 scaled back the conspiracy stuff somewhat(and Moriarty's character) but still kept the same sort of focus in terms of what was being investigated. But the focus was also a lot on characterization. But in the season finale, they wrapped up the conspiracy stuff and brought back Michael Moriarty briefly.In the last season, Season 4, Matt Frewer left the show after a few episodes and the focus changed back to more investigating stuff, not conspiracies. They also brought in a new investigator, a woman that is mostly forgettable. Dan Akroyd also pretty much stopped introducing each episode, instead using a generic one for every one.So in a way, the show was sort of a trainwreck. Yet at the same time, it was worth watching thanks to the efforts of the core group of actors - Barclay Hope, Nancy Anne Sakovich, Colin Fox, plus the very lovely Soo Garay as a medical examiner and Peter Blais as a cryptozoologist in recurring roles.

Reading the reviews, I have to wonder if I'm watching the same show! This show has such a cheap, low-budget feel, it is somewhat distracting. The acting is almost uniformly bad. Characters make massive mood swings that look straight out of a bad acting class. Bad acting is, of course, something of a SciFi tradition. Perhaps they were going for a William Shatner feel? All the actors, particularly the men, have that I--AM--SUCH--A--SERIOUS--AC--TOR delivery, it is downright laughable. This is TV folks, second rate TV at that, not an old school Shakespeare production. They should leave the Olivier style posturing behind. Part of what makes the acting so bad is the poor writing. Characters are often given no plot motivation whatsoever for turn-on-a-dime emotional outbursts or epiphanies. So without plot support, their reactions seem particularly bizarre. The production values are also glaringly bad. One episode sticks out in particular: they were supposedly in Bermuda investigating the Triangle, but they were sooo obviously still in Canada. The shoreline looked like a lake, not even the sea. I used to live in Bermuda, so I could go into more detail, but anyone who's seen a postcard of the island would have been distracted by the odd setting. They could have tried just a little bit harder, or left out the more ridiculous scenes. BUT, all that said, I still find myself tuning in. The show is entertaining, in that sort of B-movie way. And it is always funny to watch bad actors "emote." Just to clarify, I am not an X-files fan, so I'm not bitter about the supposed rip-off factor. TV is derivative, I gave up expecting originality! Lack of originality is not the problem here, just lack of quality. But, hey, it is still fairly enjoyable.

Psi Factor rode a rough road in its 4 years as a series. Conceived as a series based on the purportedly real organization of the OSIR, the stories were supposedly inspired by real life incidents investigated by the organization.In its first year, the series used a docudrama format, with two 1/2 hour stories a week. They gave the major facts of a case, and the investigators were mostly there to present the story, and not to be active participants. In a lot of ways, while it was interesting, it was not necessary compelling. In two separate episodes, however, they used a single episode format, and the stories presented offered a great more promise than the rest of the episodes that season.In order to keep the series alive, the producers changed the format for the second season, killing off a major character in the first season finale, and introduced two new character in the first episode of second season. The new characters were Matt Praeger (Matt Frewer) and Michael Kelly (Michael Moriarty)--one, a flippant criminologist with a background in mechanical engineering, and the other, a conspiracy theorist.Matt Praeger took over the "A" team of the OSIR: the characters who survived the cast culling from first season: Peter Axon (Barclay Hope); Lindsay Donner (Nancy Ann Sakovich); Anton Hendricks (Colin Fox) and a myriad of secondary characters: Claire Davidson (Soo Garay); Lennox Q. Cooper (Peter Blais); Ray Donahue (Peter MacNeill) and Frank Elsinger (Nigel Bennett).While the series survived through three additional seasons, more changes were instituted, including fourth season characters going missing, the introduction in fourth season of Mia Stone (Joanne Vannicola) and more intimate storylines [with less investigating team members].The most disturbing change for many fans was the killing off on first season character, Connor Doyle. Many fans were extremely upset at the character's demise, making him very sorely missed for the rest of the show's run. Producers tried to make up for the loss several times, but logistics prevented them from bringing back Paul Miller until near the end of fourth season, where an episode entitled "Regeneration" brought him back to bring some closure to his character's demise.Overall, the series had some promise, and while it didn't live up to its full potential, there were some promising episodes, and characters that were interesting and full of energy.

Since our local station airs Psi-Factor immediately following The X-Files, my acquaintance with this unique Canadian show was inevitable. In the first season, the episodes were split into two separate segments of twenty or so minutes each, and the characters, investigative team members for the O.S.I.R. (Office of Scientific Investigation and Research), did little more than run around muttering techno-babble over their instrumentation. In other words, there wasn't much plot or character development.By the second season, the format changed to a straight hour with one storyline, which improved things considerably; in my opinion, a show that deals with complex--not to mention, paranormal!--situations such as the ones showcased on Psi-Factor should be at least an hour long! The addition of Matt Frewer to the cast was also a big plus. His familiarity with the sci-fi genre made his settling-in time short and smooth while the character he plays, the off-beat, rebellious Case Manager Matt Praeger, injected some much needed fun and energy into what was a sometimes dour and uptight team. An X-Files-esque conspiracy began to develop as well, hinting at the possibility that perhaps those at the top of the O.S.I.R. echelon weren't simply running a legitimate scientific organization in earnest search of tangible proof of paranormal phenomena, but instead, with sinister governmental and corporate ties, shunt the flow of truth into confidential channels just when Matt and the rest of the team are getting close to something big. Which is where Michael Moriarty enters the picture: as the drunken, chain-smoking conspiracy fanatic with connections, Michael Kelly. He does an excellent job, and adds yet more depth to the show.Not only do the relatively well-known Frewer and Moriarty shine, Colin Fox as the grandfatherly yet suave Professor Anton Hendricks, Barclay Hope as the protocol-obsessed and rather dishy physicist Peter Axon, Nancy Anne Sakovich as the modelesque, hacking genius, and Soo Garay as a somewhat necrophilic Dr. Claire Davison all give exceptional performances. Secondary characters such as mysterious good guy Case Manager Curtis Rollins (Maurice Dean Wint), dark man at the top Frank Elsinger (Nigel Bennett), and lovable goofball Lennox "L.Q." Cooper (Peter Blais) the team's cryptozoologist, always lend their own unique flavour to each episode they appear in.With the third season came better effects, even more character development (as well as friction!), and higher quality scripts--which included some more in-depth explorations of the dubious string-pulling up top.This show has really come a long way! Take a look at an early episode of the X-Files, you're bound to be shocked by the vast difference in quality compared to episodes from the most recent few seasons. I believe we're seeing a similar progression with the fantastic--in every way--Psi-Factor. Way to go Dan Ackroyd and crew!