Every so often, I think about a TV show from my teen years that I would love to bring back: So Weird. I don’t think about it all the time, but when it strikes, I have the most serious longing. I still remember the premise of many of the episodes, the unique songs written for the show, the supernatural phenomena explored in each episode, and especially Fiona’s story. And even though 25 years have passed, I’m still waiting for Fiona’s Season 3!
Fiona Phillips was a teenager who traveled around with her family while her mother toured the country as a musician. She investigated strange and supernatural occurrences along the way and was particularly drawn to understanding the events surrounding her father’s death. It was a surprising show for the Disney Channel. It wasn’t as cheery as most people imagine Disney shows to be. It was actually dark and scary at times.
The music was a big part of the show’s atmosphere. The songs were written specifically for the show. I still hum or sing some of my favorites - “Rebecca,” “Love Is Broken,” “More Like a River,” and “Another World” - to myself sometimes, and once in a while I’ll pull them up on YouTube.
During the Season 2 finale, Fiona was in New York trying to understand what happened to her father. The events became increasingly supernatural. Fiona finds writing in a secret code on the wall of a building. She reads it, and it leads her to the top of a building where spirits try to get her. She ends up falling off the top of the building. She’s hanging there, screaming, when her father appears from another world and pulls her to safety.
They have a brief exchange about powerful forces that can hurt her and the fact that now she has memories of him. At the same time, her mother is performing, and the song “Love Is Broken” plays over the scene.
It was all so dramatic.
And that was the Season 2 cliffhanger. It was meant to set up Fiona’s quest to the underworld to retrieve her father in Season 3.
Except that Season 3 with Fiona never happened.
Disney decided that the show was too dark and wanted to take it in a different direction. Cara DeLizia, who played Fiona, left the show, and the whole story changed. Fiona’s story disappeared.
A new main character named Annie joined the family. And while she had an incredible voice and the show continued its supernatural theme, the show was lighter and more colorful. It was more episodic, without the driving overarching theme that Seasons 1 and 2 had with Fiona trying to solve the mystery of her father’s death.
And now, 25 years later, I still want a Season 3 that finishes the original story with Fiona. I’m dying to see it!
I eventually learned what the original producers of the show had envisioned for Season 3. Fiona would go to Hell to rescue her father and bring him back. That totally makes sense with the ending of Season 2. And it makes the cancellation of Fiona’s story even more frustrating.
You might wonder why this still bothers me after 25 years.
I liked stories about the supernatural. I watched Ghostwriter and Are You Afraid of the Dark? growing up. As an adult, I liked The X-Files, Medium, and Ghost Whisperer. So So Weird spoke to my soul as a teenager.
Add to that the cliffhanger of a story that was never finished, and the desire to watch Season 3 has stuck with me to this day.
I’m still left hanging!
People often ask what you’d do if you won the lottery. I’d do the usual things: take some great vacations, take care of my family, fund the arts, and help my community.
But I’d also fund Fiona's Season 3 of So Weird.
I don’t even care if everyone is 25 years older. I would happily watch adult Fiona, adult Jack, adult Clu, and all the other original characters return as they are now. They could give whatever explanation they wanted for the passage of time or not give one at all.
I just want them to finish Fiona's story.
There are so many shows I’ve watched since then, and many that I’ve completely forgotten. But So Weird has stayed with me through the years. I’ll still think about it from time to time and sing the songs to myself quietly.
Sometimes I imagine flipping through the Disney Channel and suddenly seeing a commercial:
So Weird Season 3. Coming October 15.
I would lose my mind.
“FINALLY! FINALLY! THEY MADE IT!”
I’d be screaming around the house, putting the date on my calendar, telling everyone I know, and counting down the days. And when it finally came out, I would watch it as quickly as possible.
After waiting 25 years, I think I’d finally be able to exhale.
Until then, there’s no Season 3. And I’m still sitting here waiting.