Harvard astrophysicist Dr. Richard Massey returns home from Chile after hunting down Isaiah Haden, a Satanist cult leader that murdered Massey's daughter Lucy after his public comments disparaging both God and Satan. Massey remains a stolid man of science and only wants to see Haden punished by his crime, but the whole ordeal will prove harder than expected due to Haden's influence from prison and the sheer reach of his cult.
Meanwhile, Catholic nun Josepha Montafiore, member of a wealthy traditionalist organization that operates without support from the Vatican, visits a girl rendered comatose by being struck twice by lightning. Montafiore feels something really big is coming after the girl starts mumbling Bible verses in Latin and drawing cryptic symbols.
The girl's visions bring Josepha and Richard together, who form an improbable duo to document and unravel signs of the End of the Days, an event which Haden's followers are trying to bring about, all while hot on the trail of a child who may be able to save them all.
Though not lacking in TV awards, it was cancelled after one season, leaving the story unfinished.
Tropes found in this work
- Agent Mulder: Massey always tries to seek scientific explanations for everything. Some things have, some... don't.
- Agent Scully: Montafiore, a Catholic nun, is firmly convinced of the visions being an act from God.
- Ambiguously Human: Haden is all but stated to be actually one of the Satanic spirits in human form described by Bugenhagen.
- The Antichrist: In the final episode, Haden's cult conducts a ritual to birth the Antichrist out of a pregnant she-goat. It works, and the cultists spirit the baby to safety while Massey and Montafiore are busy fighting Haden.
- Artistic License – Medicine: According to the warden, Haden boasted to the prison's priest that he only needs to breath once per minute when entering trance. This does set Haden as an experienced Yoga practitioner, but is actually far from uncanny or superhuman; even yoga moms with decent practice in sama vritti should be able to reach 2-3 breaths per minute compared to the 12-18 breaths humans routinely take. Of course, it could be simply that Haden knows priests aren't typically into this stuff and will not know this record doesn't make Haden a wizard.
- Be Yourself: This is how Haden eventually attracts the other prisoners to his cult, by telling them that "his god" (Satan) loves them how they are and for all their actions, both good and bad.
- Big Bad: Isaiah Haden, the Satanic cult leader, although it's implied he is following orders from above (or rather from below).
- Consummate Liar: Haden, a master of meditation, demonstrates biofeedback abilities powerful enough to fool the polygraph. This is doable in real life, but not quite easy.
- Dark Messiah: Haden pictures himself as the true savior of mankind.
- Enlightened Antagonist: Haden is a spiritual person, practicing meditation and claiming to be a servant of mankind.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Being a charismatic, wheelchair-bound physics professor who gives pop culture lectures, Jonah Lampley seems to be trying to evoke Stephen Hawking.
- Psychic Powers: Haden has telepathic abilities which he powers by meditation.
- Shout-Out:
- The Posthumous Character of Anatol Bugenhagen and his seven Enochian daggers are references to Seltzer's other and more famous The Omen (1976).
- Possibly although not likely by coincidence, there is a Cardinal surnamed Laveigh, which sounds like Anton Lavey, the real life founder of the Church of Satan.
- Sinister Minister: Haden accuses the prison's priest of having some "disgusting secrets", and the latter's expression implies it is definitely the case.
