Whiter Shade Of Pale
Season One
US Airdate : 26 January 2002
UK Airdate : 20 February 2002
Adam (John Shea) has developed a prototype Genetic Sequencer. If his associate, Dr. Hollis, can replicate it, the technology can be used to help restore the DNA of ailing mutants. Before it gets to Hollis, however, an invisible stealth mutant steals the Sequencer. Aldous Berkley (Christopher Bolton), a feral new mutant hoping for a steady gig with Genomex, alerts Eckhart (Tom McCamus) of the heist. The stealth mutant, not the Sequencer, piques Eckhart's interest.
Meanwhile, Adam conducts a blood test on a sample found at the crime scene. It indicates that the perpetrator is a female whose DNA is in an advanced stage of deterioration. Via the device's tracking system, Adam discovers the thief is his long lost lover, Danielle Hartman (Guylaine St. Onge). They had met at Genomex 16 years before, when Danielle was struggling with her developing mutancy. Adam fell in love with her, but she mysteriously disappeared. In actuality, it was a jealous Eckhart who suggested to Danielle that she would spend her life as Adam's lab experiment if she stayed with him.
Adam tracks down Danielle and the Sequencer, but Berkley and his GS agents interrupt their reunion. Danielle makes herself invisible to avoid capture, but not before hastily arranging a rendezvous with Adam, then leaving him to battle Berkley alone. Although Berkley escapes with the Sequencer, Eckhart berates him for letting the stealth mutant slip through his fingers, especially when he learns it is his beloved Danielle.
When Danielle and Adam reconnect, she asks him about Ephenol, a drug proven to halt DNA mutation. Adam warns her that the side effects can be severe, but Danielle is willing to risk it, as she has a 15-year-old daughter, Catherine (Sarah Gadon), to consider.
The news comes as a shock to Adam who secretly wonders if he could be the girl's father. Eckhart is also informed about Catherine, and wonders about the girl's paternity. He reasons that Catherine should be the focus of their search, as Danielle is nearing the end of her life. Emma (Lauren Lee Smith) and Shalimar (Victoria Pratt) have already found Catherine, however, and brought her back to Sanctuary where Danielle is reeling after an injection of Ephenol.
Sadly, Adam knows that the drug has merely bought Danielle some time, and refuses her pleas for more. Danielle sees no choice but to seek out help from Eckhart. Eckhart turns down her request when she refuses his duplicitous offer to help Catherine as well. Realizing she was wrong to trust Eckhart, Danielle tries to escape, but quickly finds herself overcome by GS agents.
Back at Sanctuary, Adam has figured out a way to help Danielle and Catherine. If he can recombine Catherine's DNA with her mother's, he might be able to arrest and reverse Danielle's breakdown and save Catherine from the same fate. He needs to find Danielle and the Genetic Sequencer. With help from Brennan (Victor Webster) and Jesse (Forbes March), Adam rescues Danielle, while Emma tracks the Sequencer to a local hotel bar and seduces the clueless Berkley into handing it over. Adam's experiment on Danielle and Catherine works perfectly. As the women prepare to relocate to a new home where they'll be safe from Eckhart, Danielle gently tells Adam that Catherine is not his daughter. She promises, however, that once she has raised her child, there will be plenty of time for them to rekindle their relationship.