‘Mysterious Ways’ Is Different, Wholesome Turn for Pasdar

Actor Adrian Pasdar’s first foray into series TV was Fox’s brilliant and ominous 1996 drama “Profit,” in which he played an unscrupulous, amoral executive who had received his education from watching TV and did anything to get ahead. Despite great reviews, the dark “Profit” didn’t attract viewers and was history after three episodes.

Pasdar’s latest series, “Mysterious Ways,” is a show Profit probably would never have watched. The hourlong drama shown Tuesdays on wholesome Pax TV is family-friendly to the max.

The actor plays a quirky, klutzy and endearing anthropology professor, Declan Dunn, who miraculously survived being buried under an avalanche. Since his near-fatal accident, Declan spends his time--in between teaching classes--investigating uncanny phenomena that happen to everyday people. He’s assisted in his quest by a skeptical shrink, Peggy Fowler (Rae Dawn Chong), and his serious-minded aide, Miranda (Alisen Down).

Pasdar didn’t have any qualms about giving series TV another whirl after the demise of “Profit.”

“I went the dark adult route [with “Profit”] and that didn’t work,” says the utterly charming Pasdar over breakfast at Shutters in Santa Monica. “So I thought I would do something on the other side. Let me do something a little more family-oriented.”

“Mysterious Ways” arrived at the right time for Pasdar. Earlier this year, he married Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines, and the two are expecting their first child, a boy, in about four months.

“The show is something that warms the family,” says Pasdar, 35, who has appeared in such movies as “Near Dark.”

“Now that I am having a kid, I don’t see anything wrong with that. I don’t see that as being a bad thing. Some critics called it ‘Touched by an Angel Meets the X-Files.’ It’s just a show about a guy and a girl trying to make it through the world. That’s all. It’s not going to be ‘Ally McBeal.’ It’s not going to be like those sexy, quirky dramas. It’s going to be about people.”

Pasdar acknowledges that “Mysterious Ways” has its shortcomings.

“We don’t have a big budget or the time,” he says. “You have only seven days [to shoot] an episode, and you really need nine. When you are working 17 hours a day, sometimes the quality suffers when you don’t have the time to pay attention to details. But, I think, we have been pretty good about keeping an honest eye on the truthfulness [of the series]. The main thing we try not to let suffer is the honesty, at least between the characters. I think what we might lack in flash, we make up in substance.”

“Mysterious Ways” premiered on Pax in August, a month after its kickoff on NBC. (The Peacock network is part owner of Pax.) During its summer run on NBC “Mysterious Ways’ drew reasonably strong ratings, and while viewership has dropped sharply--to less than 1% of U.S. homes--since the move to Pax with episodes already shown on NBC, that’s still an improvement over Pax’s average audience last season.

The first of 14 new episodes began showing last Tuesday. Though there had been talk about NBC bringing back the series, the network confirmed late last week it wouldn’t be picking it up.

Tim Johnson, executive vice president of programming for Pax, says the network and producers have been trying to “hip up” the series without losing its warmth and heart.

“It’s attracting a younger audience,” says Johnson, “probably 25- to 35-, 25- to 40-year-olds. What is unique about the series is that younger audiences, if given something that they can relate to, will eat up spirituality.”

Johnson says audiences became confused when “Mysterious Ways” disappeared on NBC before the Olympics. A lot of viewers didn’t know it had moved over to Pax. “We are kind of in a zone--the best show [on TV] nobody is watching,” says executive producer Peter O’Fallon. “We are are below the radar at the moment.”

Pax and the producers hope audiences will rediscover the show with its relaunch of new episodes. “People really like the show when they find it,” says O’Fallon, who, along with fellow executive producer Carl Binder, doesn’t want “Mysterious Ways” to become a male version of CBS’ “Touched by an Angel.”

“What we wanted to do was have a lead character who didn’t take himself too seriously or was always the first to say, ‘I don’t know if it’s a miracle,’ ” says Binder. “The idea is this guy can question for the entire episode that which he is investigating and to do so with humor.”

The producers saw about 300 actors for the role of Declan and were surprised when Pasdar walked into the audition because of his ruthless, humorless image from “Profit.”

Both O’Fallon and Binder say their preconceptions of Pasdar were blown away as soon as the actor began to read. “He was able to connect with the part,” says Binder. “He’s got a sense of humor and an irreverence and a passion for the part.”

Every so often, Pasdar checks in on the Pax TV Web site to see what fans are saying about the show. The actor has found to his pleasure that audiences can relate to Declan.

“I am not a great-looking guy,” says Pasdar. “I’m a klutz. I play a guy who has a chunk of celery caught in this tooth. I am just this goofball who happens to have this job as an anthropologist. I am just a regular guy and, in the end, people respond to that.”

* “Mysterious Ways” can be seen Tuesday nights at 8 and repeats Saturday nights at 10 on Pax TV.