Culture Blues

Every month in "Why didn't you watch...?" we will take a look at a television series that was criminally and irresponsibly canceled before its time; taking a critical look at the show while also delving into what was wrong with all of you people that you couldn't tune in for 30 or 60 minutes each week. The rules are simple: the show must have been canceled, it can't have lasted for two full seasons, and we have to like it. So, why didn't you watch...

After Lost's surprise success in 2004, the networks immediately rushed to fill the airwaves with as many rip offs as they could. But Lost was so out-of-left-field, that they weren't sure how to copy it. The networks were absolutely certain that people were tuning in for that loveable and unseen “monster.” So they gave us three different shows about alien invasions which absolutely no one watched. Invasion, Surface and Threshold were all miserable failures.

After Lost’s second season, the networks realized that the monster wasn’t the key and, in a rare bit of sound insight, decided Lost was popular largely due to the simple fact that it was different. So, in an all out blitz, they unleashed an army of shows with “original” premises. The 2006 TV season gave us:

The Nine – Lost in a bank robbery

Day Break – Lost on repeat

Jericho – Lost on Main Street

Traveler – Lost in a terrorist attack

Six Degrees - Lost in a drama

Heroes – Lost with super powers

Vanished – Lost in a high profile kidnapping – with Freemasons!

While all of these shows were ignored and promptly canceled (except Heroes which inexplicably survives to this day), there were also some shows that unjustly got lumped in with these Lost imitators. If you had action, serialized stories and mysterious occurrences, it was tough to distinguish yourself. But Kidnapped was far from a Lost clone, and with its pulpy characters, sharp dialogue and action packed plots, it's closer in tone and look to comic books like 100 Bullets than it is to anything else on TV. And it's closer to these crime comics than Heroes will ever be to the super hero ones it blatantly rips off (mostly X-Men).

"Hey, fuck your uncle."

The first (and only) season of Kidnapped starts with the abduction of Leopold Cain, the teenage son of a very wealthy Manhattan family. Leopold’s parents, Conrad and Ellie, played by Timothy Hutton and Dana Delaney, turn to Jeremy Sisto’s freelance kidnapping/retrieval specialist Knapp rather than go to the authorities. But it isn’t long before Delroy Lindo’s FBI agent Latimer King is on the case anyway. Naturally, Knapp and King used to work together. Knapp is assisted by electronics expert Turner (Carmen Ejogo) and King by his second in command Andy Archer (Linus Roache). Throw in Leopold’s bodyguard Virgil (Mykelti Williamson), who was injured by the kidnappers and is VERY disappointed in himself for failing the young man, and there you have the good guys of Kidnapped.

The acting is top notch. Obviously the principals are all bona fide, but the smaller roles are uniformly filled by good actors you've seen other places (mostly HBO dramas – always a good sign). Characters and situations that could easily come off as tired and cliche come to life thanks to the stellar cast.

Many of the characters are exaggerated examples of archetypes we’ve seen many, many times before. Knapp is a brilliant but damaged hero. Conrad Cain is the self-made man who has never fully escaped his past. Latimer King is the veteran agent on the verge of retirement. They are too tough, too well connected and too knowledgeable to be real. They are essentially action heroes, but that's not a bad thing. They are the perfect characters to pursue this labyrinthine case. While the characters are not terribly original, what will stick with you is the truly bad ass stuff they do and say.

Doesn't he just look like a brilliant but damaged hero?

Kidnapped features witty, stylized dialogue that will be immediately familiar to people who saw creator Jason Smilovic’s 2006 feature screenwriting debut Lucky Number Slevin. After watching the pilot, I was convinced that David Mamet was involved because of the literate and playful tough talk. At times, the tough guy poses are a bit much and the dialogue doesn’t sound as clever as intended. Mostly though, it’s head and shoulders above what other shows offer. And the writers are smart enough to tone it down where appropriate. When Turner feels the FBI agents are invading her work space, she comes to Knapp and complains, “It’s stupid and it's redundant... and it's just completely stupid.” While the dialogue is still clever, the character isn't trying to be.

While the characters may sometimes seem superhuman, their process of uncovering clues in the case is undeniably human. They follow the leads they have, and when they hit a dead end, they take a step back and try a new approach. There are no massive, impossible leaps of logic and as the show progresses, the viewer can actually look back and see what the big breaks in the case were. Kidnapped’s handling of the actual investigation is one of my favorite parts and it will be a treat for anyone who appreciates deductive reasoning and detective work in their crime dramas.

The viewer will always have a better handle on the mystery than the heroes though. In the first episode, we find out that Leopold is alive and are shown where he is being held and by whom. We are also introduced to quite a few of the bad guys involved in the planning and execution of the kidnapping. Of course, there are big reveals to be had, but the show never conceals more than it has to and, right from the start, it gives the bad guys more screen time than you might expect.

The face of a very determined man.

While the investigation and action come first, the writers take the time to develop all the players involved (the victim, the family, the investigators, the captors, the conspirators). The characters all behave according to understandable motives and priorities, which often brings them into conflict with each other. There really are no unimportant characters and everyone get a moment to shine. There is plenty going on if you want to dig deeper than the explosions and gunfire.

The show moves at a great pace. It doesn't waste time. The abduction (and subsequently the first shootout) occurs in the first 10 minutes and that momentum is never really sacrificed. It's also very economical. It's impressive that in a story this complex, the characters and the audience never lose sight of the original crime. The suspense builds steadily as the case nears it conclusion.

Stories this complex make a satisfying resolution difficult. It has to be complicated enough to make the audience feel like it was worth all the intrigue, but if it's too complicated and unbelievable, it doesn't have much resonance. The plot has to expand to create something far reaching, and then it has to contract so that the resolution doesn't come out of nowhere. Often, people forget the latter and end up with a Kansas City Shuffle, which can be very frustrating.  In this regard, Kidnapped does just about as well as any show could. Which is to say it’s very good but not quite perfect, and it probably would have been even better if the writers hadn’t had to suddenly adjust to 13 episodes instead of 22. As you get close to the end, you will definitely feel like Knapp and King are closing in. And in a very pleasant surprise, the ending thematically ties in with something that has already come up time and time again.

Man on fire, indeed.

There were plenty of easy reasons to dismiss Kidnapped back in 2006. The premise and parts of the pilot episode make it look like a clone of Denzel Washington’s 2004 action revenge flick Man on Fire. It was the second show of the season to center on a kidnapping with conspiracy implications (seriously, fuck you Vanished). There were all those other shows striving to melt your brain with connections, coincidences and hokey storytelling gimmicks. And shit, Lost was on.

The reasons to ignore Kidnapped in 2009, however, aren't nearly as plentiful. It features better detective work than you’ll find on any Law & Order, CSI or NCIS this season. Better acting than admirably acted shows like Bones, House and Lie To Me. And a conclusion already exists, which is more than we can say for this year’s crop of serials – Flash Forward and V. But most importantly, Lost isn’t on yet. So why not catch a show that wraps up its storylines in a satisfying manner to get ready for the inevitable letdown that is Lost: The Endgame.

I wish Kidnapped had come back for another season and another abduction, but as it stands it's a tremendous portrayal of one extraordinary case from start to finish.