FAMILY REUNION
First Season
First Episode
January 18, 1999
Disney Channel.

Fiona Phillips, or 'Fi' to her friends, is a 14 year old girl who is a paranormal investigator. Fi's mother, Molly Phillips, is a 70's Rock Star touring across the country. On the road with her are her brother, Jack, and best friend, Clu. As her mother tours across the country, Fi always finds the weird and unusual at every stop. She investigates and solves these mysteries with the help of Jack and Clu.

Molly's tour brings Fi to Chicago. While at the Club, Fi and the others experience strange events. The owner of the club tells them that the place is 'haunted'. Upon hearing this, Fi is intrigued and begins to investigate by going up to the top of the club by herself with a camcorder. As she's walking along an empty hallway, she spies a young boy, not aware that he is a ghost. They see each other, Fi is startled and as a result she drops her soda to the ground. The boy runs away and Fi tries to go after him, but he disappears at a dead end! She later explains what happened to Clu, Molly and Jack, but they think it's just imagination getting the better of her.

Fi goes online, searches her website and looks up Chicago. During her search, she reads about the Eastland, that sank at its dock before it even set sail! She also discovers that some of the unidentified bodies were stored in a warehouse, which happens to be where the club is now located! During her search, she also finds a picture of the little boy that she met in the hall, he turns his head, and looks at her from her computer screen. Water begins pouring out of her laptop and it goes flying across the room. Fi is quite startled. She tries to explain this phenomenon to her mother, but Molly doesn't believe her.

Later, while the others are performing on stage, Fi continues her investigation, but this time takes Jack and Clu along. While searching they decide to split up, thinking they might have a better chance of spotting this ghost. As Fi wanders slowly down the hall, she feels something grab her that leaves wet hand prints on her sleeve!

She screams as the ghost boy pulls her to the same dead end wall of the corridor. Jack and Clu come running when they hear Fi scream. She tells them what happened and they begin to search for a way to get behind the wall. They find a loose board, and climb through into a small room that contains mounds of old items. Fi, confronts the spirit and asks what it wants, while Jack and Clu doubt his existence.

The the room begins to shift and tilt... capsizing just as the ship did, tossing Jack and Clu to the back of the room! Fi climbs an uphill battle on the deck of the Eastland as she witnesses what happened to the boy and his family. The boy slips from the ship's railing as his parents are reaching for him. Fi attempts to catch him as he slides down the deck, but misses. The scene abruptly stops and everything is back to normal. A stunned Fi lays on the dusty floor, clutching a small jacket in her hands. She examines the jacket and finds the name of the boy sewn on its lining! With this name, Fi is able to locate the family and give a proper burial to the boy beside his family. The boy and his family are reunited!

BOOK INFORMATION
SO WEIRD - FAMILY REUNION
by Cathy Dubowski, Julia Richardson (Editor), Tom J. Astle

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover - 160 pages 1 Ed edition (March 2000)
Hyperion Press; ISBN: 0786813970;
Dimensions (in inches): 0.40 x 7.89 x 5.35

COMMENTS
We receive quite a bit of correspondence regarding this episode, asking specific questions. While the story as a whole is not historically accurate, the concepts and general information presented about the Eastland are accurate. The Eastland Memorial Society is quite pleased that this episode has sparked Eastland interest in today's youth. Bravo Disney!

The most frequently asked question is in regards to the boy and his family. They are fictional characters and were not on the Eastland in real life. The boy's story is loosely based on Willie Novotny, or Number 396 as the unidentified boy was known for a week. Willie's entire family perished, which left no one to immediately identify him. Finally, his grandmother recognized the boy and he was buried with his family. Dwight Boyer spins Willie Novotny's story into the tale of 'The Little Feller' in a chapter of his book, 'True Tales of the Great Lakes.'

Another question frequently asked is the name of the night club where the unidentified bodies were taken after the disaster. It is rumored that this night club is the Excalibur in downtown Chicago. While the Excalibur sits near the disaster site, it was not used to house any of the injured or dead. The unidentified were placed at the Second Regiment Armory. During rescue efforts, the Reid-Murdock Building directly north of the disaster site was used as a make-shift hospital and morgue. The steamer Theodore Roosevelt also participated in these activities as well.

If you have any further questions about this episode, please contact us.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE UNOFFICIAL SO WEIRD WEBSITE AND © DISNEY CHANNEL.