Enigma Beach

Enigma Beach is an American science fiction television series created by George Rosario and produced by Rosario's October 23rd Productions in association with. It originally aired on RKO from September 25, 1997 to May 13, 2005 for eight seasons for 185 episodes. Set in, —along a section of the referred to as "Enigma Beach"—Enigma Beach's story begins one year after an event known as "the Enigma" caused a substance known as Galaxium to fall to Earth and give citizens exposed to it superpowers. The series focuses on the Acevedo brothers—Dominic (Antonio Benitez), Richard (Benito Mendoza), Justin (Michael Ferrera), and George (Steven Estevez)—as they conduct unauthorized investigations into Galaxium-related supernatural occurances, oftentimes interfering the work of their Special Agent father Eduardo (Bruno Ortiz).

As opposed to other series from the era where the majority of episodes are about the "", those episodes only make up about one quarter of Enigma Beach's run; the rest of the series explores the show's extensive and complex mythology. "Villain of the week"-type episodes were completely abandoned by the fourth season. The series' overarching story includes numerous supernatural phenomena ascribed to elements of and incorporates themes related to government conspiracies,, and.

Earlier speculative fiction series such as ', Machine Dreams, and ' inspired Rosario to create Enigma Beach. While creating the show, Rosario sought to create the first American prime time television series with an all- main cast while also having the show appeal to audiences of all races, particularly fans of science fiction and supernatural fiction. The series was primarily filmed in and the. The show is often noted for its "punk" attitude, making frequent use of, , and songs from the 1980s and early 1990s. It is also noted for using filmed with  to depict antagonists in cold opens.

The series' pilot episode peaked at 28.9 million viewers, an all-time high for a scripted prime time RKO series. The series finale, "Conclusion", peaked at 36.8 million viewers, placing it among RKO's highest-rated finales in the network's history. The series has been praised by critics for its character development, main and supporting cast, worldbuilding, music, and Latino American representation. Since premiering, it has been regarded as a touchstone of. It garnered a large following that includes a still-active fandom. The show was followed by Genesis, a sequel series focusing on the character George Acevedo which aired on RKO from September 24, 2015 to May 18, 2023.

Season 1
Much of the pilot episode of Enigma Beach details "the Enigma", an event that occurred a year before the series' story begins. The incident occurred when hazardous, otherworldly materials known as Galaxium which were "floating" in outer space fell to Earth, along with pieces of what appears to be a spacecraft, leading to increased public interest in otherworldly phenomena and the supernatural.

The series begins with George Acevedo (Steven Estevez) moving in with his brothers—Dominic (Antonio Benitez), Richard (Benito Mendoza), and Justin (Michael Ferrera)—in suburban Los Angeles. George, an investigator journalist who is already "UFO crazed", takes it upon himself to investigate happenings related to the Enigma. Justin, who is an detective, ultimately joins him despite not being assigned to relevant cases. Eventually, the brothers' father, Eduardo (Bruno Diaz), is made aware of George's efforts, and he strongly advises against further conducting his investigation. Already an Special Agent working at the Los Angeles field office, Eduardo decides that the federal agents are more suited for the task than "a news reporter and an off-duty cop". Nonetheless, the two continue to look into supernatural occurrences.

Dominic and Richard show no interest in the incident until it affects their own lives. Starting in "Chapter 3", after having accidently made contact with Galaxium on the beach, Dominic's girlfriend (Natasha Morrison) begins feeling ill, and George quickly links it to poisoning caused by exposure to Galaxium. After she is hospitalized in "Rey del Mundo", it is quickly decided that Marissa has "cancer", and Dominic is kept out of the hospital. Also in "Chapter 3", Richard reunites with his childhood friend, (Kevin Dukes), and finds out that Logan has acquired a dangerous "superpower" which causes him to uncontrollably send out signals that give those around him severe migraines that eventually lead to death. Richard quickly realizes that he must "believe the lie" and seek a cure, but Winston ultimately spirals out of control and reflects one of those migraines onto himself, which then causes him to be ill. "Federal agents" from no specific agency quickly put him in the back of an unmarked bus for "medical treatment" and drive off, and Winston is never seen again. Richard and George later discover that this is part of a series of U.S. government coverups related to the Enigma.

Season 2
In "The Unseen World", the season premiere, George becomes fascinated by a dream he had which leads him to believe that it is possible that the Galaxium's unexplained radioactivity may be the result of activities in a parallel universe. His brothers—even Justin—simply write this off as being pseudoscience at first, but soon enough they recall numerous unexplained incidents in episodes from late season 1 involving beings that "flickered" between shadowy white figures and actual people, and they too believe that a "preternatural occurrence" is causing this.

One evening, Eduardo schedules a visit to his sons' house but enters a traffic collision. Aside from a small forehead cut, he sustains no injuries, but is forcefully removed from the vehicle by "paramedics". He is then knocked unconscious and wakes up in an empty room with no windows or doors. A nameless stranger (Robert Paisley) sitting across from him tells him he has been transported to a base of Genesis Corporation, a technology company, and he will become a test subject for their latest product, a drug called Galaximab which is designed to enhance its user's power but has extremely fatal side effects. Eduardo later discovers a way to escape, but before he can, a Galaximab pill is shoved down his throat. He then begins feeling various emotions and developing heightened senses as he manages to beat the Stranger unconscious and escape.

Several episodes later, Eduardo warns George and Justin of the dangers of their work while also experiencing strange physical mutations. He eventually enlists the help of an old friend, (William Gupta), to find out what is happening. Narendra discovers that he has developed "acute Galaxium poisoning" as the drug was created with the material, and he puts Eduardo through several treatments in search of a cure. Meanwhile, Dominic begins contemplating if George and Justin's interest in the supernatural is affecting his own life and if what happened to Marissa is some form of payback.