Forgotten Television: Persons Unknown

Seven people all with diverse backgrounds and lives wake up, locked in a strange hotel in a nearly deserted town, with no memory of how they got there.  The group consists of Joe Tucker (Jason Wiles), a mysterious forceful and direct man with a past; Janet Cooper (Daisy Betts), a day care owner from San Francisco; Sergeant Graham McNair (Chadwick Boseman), a levelheaded combat marine; Moira Doherty (Tina Holmes), a mental ward patient; Tori Fairchild (Kate Lang Johnson), a spoiled wealthy socialite; Bill Blackham (Sean O’Bryan), a used car salesman  who only thinks of himself; and Charlie Moarse (Alan Ruck), a CEO of a successful investment firm.  Later in the series, Tori disappears and is replaced by Erika Taylor (Kandyse McClure), a tough as nails ex-con single mother. As the show progresses the characters are manipulated by “The Program” as they try to find a way of surviving and escaping the town. It is never really revealed who “The Program” really is and what their motives are, but we do see some of the people who work for them.

The show was first broadcast on NBC starting on June 7, 2010 with the series finale airing on August 28.  The series had 13 total episodes and the final episode did set up the plot for season two, which never happened.  Throughout the shows initial broadcast it was often pre-empted on many NBC stations for preseason football games which added to the shows demise.  The critical response was mixed with the positives commenting on its clever plot and moody atmosphere, while the negatives believed the lack of compelling characters detracted from the shows interesting premise.

I remember when the show originally aired and thinking that it was unique in its plotline.  There have been many movies in a similar vein, but not a lot television shows have a group of unrelated and diverse people, kidnapped and placed in a manufactured town for the soul purpose of manipulation and character breakdown.  There is a constant nagging feeling that you don’t know who to trust or who to like. Although the critics are correct in that we don’t get deep characters, the archetypal character types is what is important for the story, and I do think that the actors did a great job in conveying who they were and what they represented.  Jason Wiles must be strong and likeable, tough and show love all at the same time and does this very well. Daisy Betts as Janet does match his level with her own type of strength and emotional tenderness. As the two leads, both create good connections to the audience and allow the watcher to empathize with them. The rest of the cast are equally excellent and represent their characters and the things they symbolize expertly including the late (and great) Chadwick Boseman, who of course goes on to play the Black Panther in the MCU.  The epilogue of the final episode may not have been needed and the show should have remained in a more limited series type of format, but instead they set up a new set of abductees, but also show the surviving cast members being sent to “Level 2”.  Overall, I enjoyed watching this series when it was originally broadcast and having just rewatched the pilot think it held up well over the last decade still feeling fresh and new.