WACO: VISIONS AND OMENS {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The first in this six-part miniseries, based on eyewitness accounts, about the disastrous 1993 siege at the Branch Davidian complex in Waco, Texas. In this episode, in February 1993, David Koresh, leader of the isolated sect of Seventh-Day Adventists, watches as a barrage of armed government agents arrive at his compound, known as Mount Carmel. He attempts to "work it out" verbally, but a sudden shot rings out. Nine months earlier, Koresh goes for a jog with his son Cyrus and then delivers a sermon to his rapt followers, explaining that one cannot find fulfillment in material goods or accomplishments, but only through personal spiritual growth. Elsewhere, FBI agent Gary Noesner instructs his trainees on crisis negotiation, urging them to "lower the pulse" of heated situations, and his boss Peter Hardwick dispatches him to Ruby Ridge, Idaho, where an ATF agent and a teenager have already been killed in a standoff over illegal weapons. At the scene, fellow FBI agent Mitch Rogers wonders how best to calm the target, anti-government separatist Randy Weaver, without further bloodshed. When he orders his sniper to fire on Randy, however, he ends up shooting wife Vicky instead.
Back in Texas, Koresh instructs followers Steve Schneider and Wayne Martin to reach out to some "lost souls" at local gun shows, and Steve is distressed to learn that his own wife Judy is pregnant. Noesner arrives in Idaho and calmly talks to Weaver, though he is upset to learn that Mitch's rash orders have caused another death. Koresh heads to a local bar for a music gig, learning of Judy's pregnancy from Martin, and he invites aimless young drummer David Thibodeau to join them for a set. Later, Koresh and Thibodeau bond over their troubled childhoods, but Thibodeau is taken aback when Koresh urges him to seek answers in Scripture. Nevertheless, he accepts Koresh's offer to spend the night at the rundown-but-homey Mount Carmel. Steve vents his frustrations about Judy's pregnancy, revealed to be Koresh's child, regretting that he agreed to share his wife with "the lamb of God." Judy angrily reminds him that she asked to leave Mount Carmel some time ago, but is now choosing to see her unborn baby as a "miracle." A cheerful Koresh returns with Thibodeau in tow, introducing a fuming Steve as his "best friend in the world," and congratulates Judy on her child. He invites Thibodeau to stay for as long as he likes, though the Branch Davidians are disturbed by the news reports about Ruby Ridge.
Koresh's "real" wife Rachel seems unfazed by Judy's pregnancy, and Steve tells Thibodeau about his past as a theological scholar and how he was dazzled by Koresh's encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible and his dynamic views on the "Seven Seals," mentioned in the Book of Revelation. Elsewhere, Noesner brings Bo Gritz, a well-known right-wing figure, to the Weavers' home and convinces him to assist them, and Gritz manages to persuade Randy to emerge and surrender to the agents. Six months later, the ATF faces defunding after extreme scrutiny over Ruby Ridge, and Thibodeau remains at Mount Carmel, helping to care for Judy and enjoying a gentle flirtation with Michelle Jones. Noesner is upset when Rogers is not punished for his unlawful actions, though Hardwick admits that the situation is "a little tricky, politically." Koresh tells Thibodeau that "tourists" cannot remain at Mount Carmel indefinitely and asks him to commit to the Davidians, though adds that he will have to remain celibate if he does so, as he, Koresh, has "assumed the burden of sex" for all of the men, feeling that abstinence provides spiritual clarity. The ATF learns that the Branch Davidians have been stockpiling weapons and possibly abusing children, and they decide to mount an investigation against them in order to repair their image. Judy and Steve's tender moment with "their" newborn baby is interrupted by Koresh, who barges in and dubs her "Mynah," and when Noesner learns that Mitch's HRT (Hostage Rescue Team) budget has in fact been raised, he begins to suffer doubts about the Bureau's integrity and the balance of power. Back in Texas, Koresh and Cyrus spot their "new neighbors": the FBI agents. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: Paramount Network
- DATE: 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:48:15
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 131654
- GENRE: Drama, historical
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, historical; Drama, action/adventure; Cults; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Texas
- SERIES RUN: Paramount Network - TV series, 2018
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Taylor Kitsch … Executive Producer
- Michael Shannon … Executive Producer
- David C. Glasser … Executive Producer
- Salvatore Stabile … Executive Producer
- Ted Gold … Executive Producer
- Megan Spanjian … Executive Producer
- John Erick Dowdle … Executive Producer, Director, Developed by, Writer
- Drew Dowdle … Executive Producer, Developed by, Writer
- Sarah Nicole Jones … Co-Executive Producer
- Vlad Wolynetz … Co-Executive Producer
- Jennifer Malloy … Co-Executive Producer
- Kelly A. Manners … Producer
- Skip Schoolnik … Co-Producer
- Anthony Gore … Associate Producer
- Michael D. Leone … Visual Effects Producer
- David Thibodeau … Based on the book by
- Leon Whiteson … Based on the book by
- Gary Noesner … Based on the book by
- Jeff Russo … Music by
- Jordan Gagne … Music by
- Michael Shannon … Cast, Gary Noesner
- Taylor Kitsch … Cast, David Koresh
- Andrea Riseborough … Cast, Judy Schneider
- Paul Sparks … Cast, Steve Schneider
- Rory Culkin … Cast, David Thibodeau
- Shea Wigham … Cast, Richard "Mitch" Rogers
- Melissa Benoist … Cast, Rachel Koresh
- John Leguizamo … Cast, Robert Rodriguez
- Julia Garner … Cast, Michelle Jones
- Christopher Stanley … Cast, Chuck Sarabyn
- Demore Barnes … Cast, Wayne Martin
- Andy Umberger … Cast, Perry Jones
- Annika Marks … Cast, Kathy Schroeder
- Stephanie Kurtzuba … Cast, Carol Noesner
- Steven Culp … Cast, Peter Hardwick
- Samuel Kamphuis … Cast, Sammy Weaver
- Hans Christopher … Cast, Randy Weaver
- Rich Ting … Cast, Lon Horiuchi
- Harrison Sim … Cast, FBI Trainee
- Eli Goodman … Cast, Barry Skinner
- Jackamoe Buzzell … Cast, ATF Agent
- Barbie Robertson … Cast, Waitress
- Vic Browder … Cast, Bo Gritz
- Tait Fletcher … Cast, Brad Branch
- J.B. Tuttle … Cast, Davey Jones
- Kimberly Bigsby … Cast, Jaydean Wendell
- Darcel Danielle … Cast, Sheila Martin
- Cayen Martin … Cast, Jamie Martin
- Duncan Joiner … Cast, Cyrus
- Vivien Lyra Blair … Cast, Serenity
- Kenneth Miller … Cast, Mike Schroeder