Signs and Wonders 

Claire Palmore (Jodhi May) is caught in the web of a dangerous religious cult. Her mother (Prunella Scales) hires a cult de-programmer (James Earl Jones) who must rescue her before it's too late.

Stars:

James Earl Jones, Prunella Scales, David Warner

1 nomination.

Cast

Series cast summary:
James Earl Jones	...	Diamond 4 episodes, 1995
Prunella Scales	...	Elizabeth Palmore 4 episodes, 1995
David Warner	...	Rev Timothy Palmore 4 episodes, 1995
Jodhi May	...	Claire Palmore 4 episodes, 1995
Michael Maloney	...	Stephen Palmore 4 episodes, 1995
Donald Pleasence	...	Cornelius Van Damm 4 episodes, 1995
David Rasche	...	Brother Nahum 4 episodes, 1995
William Chubb	...	Piers Dearbourne 4 episodes, 1995
Ric Young	...	Father Mercy 4 episodes, 1995
Sean Harris	...	Carl Maynard 4 episodes, 1995
Tim Ransom	...	Scut 4 episodes, 1995
Billie Neal	...	Sidnee 4 episodes, 1995
Ricky Dean Logan	...	Daniel 3 episodes, 1995
Colin Farrell	...	Samuel Gamston 3 episodes, 1995
Alex Norton	...	William Gimble 3 episodes, 1995
Debora Weston	...	Sherry Rossen 3 episodes, 1995
Gavin Harrison	...	Brandon 3 episodes, 1995
Joe Minjares	...	Agent Santamaria 3 episodes, 1995
Lily Mariye	...	Agent Sung 3 episodes, 1995
Colin Bower	...	Geoffrey 2 episodes, 1995
Adam Berman	...	Benjamin Palmore 2 episodes, 1995
Katharine Cohen	...	Lindi 2 episodes, 1995

Storyline

Claire Palmore (Jodhi May) is caught in the web of a dangerous religious cult. Her mother (Prunella Scales) hires a cult de-programmer (James Earl Jones) who must rescue her before it's too late.

---

Plot Keywords:

cult | deprogramming | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 May 1996 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Cinnabar Films, Pinnacle Communications Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (4 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Last television acting performance of Donald Pleasence.

User Reviews

Overlong, but astonishing performances.

Anglo-American co-production focusing on the Palmore family, each of whom has a crisis of faith: the father loses his congregation to a rival preacher and his faith in God; the mother reconsiders her marriage, and the son - a university lecturer - discovers that the philosophy to which he devoted his career is a Nazi sham. The inter-connecting stories each have some extremely powerful moments (Christ appearing to Warner; an extremely eerie confrontation between Maloney and Pleasence), but generally feel plodding; interfering with the main story-line of the Palmore daughter in LA.

Jodhi May plays a member of the Mercy Mission of Divine Revelation, kidnapped by "exit counsellor" James Earl Jones (in her mother's employ), who slowly tries to reverse-brainwash her. May initially hallucinates that he is Satan, but quickly proves herself an extremely quick-witted woman who angrily battles him point by point in logical debate, before collapsing under the emotional strain.

Under chase from the FBI, the American section is fast-paced and nail-biting; scenes between May and Earl Jones are terrifying. May's relationship with her mother is extremely emotionally affecting (such as the scene where she first hugs her then, distraught, beats her, declaring "You're nothing to me") - and the whole series should be watched for Jodhi May's peerless performance. If only it had been a two-hour film focusing on the one plot, however; the writer's only flaw is trying to build up suspense by frequently inserting slow, dull scenes about the Palmore men.