| Persons Unknown |
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| Written by CapricornOne | |||
| Tuesday, 06 July 2010 19:09 | |||
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The premise of NBC's new summer filler, Persons Unknown, is very familiar: Abduct a group of seemingly unconnected strangers, have them wake up in some remote place, and let them try to either work together find a way out ... or force them to kill each other off to win their supposed freedom. This infamous cat-and-mouse game has been told and re-told in various venues and genres: the never-ending SAW franchise, the cult scifi indie CUBE films, and of course, the classic tv series, The Prisoner. And since the ABC series, LOST, has finally found some closure, folks may feel right at home with Persons Unknown (although, there is no plane crash, mysterious island, or a thousand other things that should never be compared to this new series). I wanted to post this on the All 4 Horror website, because I felt like this was the creepiest television show I have seen in quite sometime. And not surprising, as the creator for Persons Unknown is non other than Christopher McQuarrie, who wrote one of the finest mystery films of all-time, The Usual Suspects. And if you are wondering if the hairs on the back of my neck stood up while watching the premiere, just as it had for the aforementioned shows and The Usual Suspects ... the answer is HELL YEAH! If you haven't seen the first episode, the following contains spoilers ... The series kicks off with Janet, a single mom abducted in a public park, after arguing with a private detective over finding her missing husband. She awakes to find herself frightened and alone in a strange, locked hotel room. Here the viewer and Janet discover the first clue to this mystery ... a creepy, black domed-camera on the ceiling in the corner of the room, watching her every move. Get used to the ominous cameras, as they are located everywhere. While trying to find a way to pick the lock out of the room, she meets Joe ... another victim of abduction, and understandably, just as confused, angry and terrified by their situation. As they head down the hotel hallway, they discover several more abducted: Charlie, a corporate exec who is anxious to get back to his mentally ill wife; Miora, found only in her robe and PJs; Graham, a marine Sergeant; and Victoria, a rich, party-girl still hung-over from the previous night's festivities. Each abducted from different areas of the country, very different walks of life, and no connection to each other or why they were taken and put here. Where is here? The group of six strangers begin to figure out that they are on some floor of some hotel. An elevator mysteriously arrives to take them down to the first floor, where they then venture outside to a relatively unknown ghost town. They see many shops and restaurants along a single main street void of any other people, even a Sheriff's office. This is where they meet a seventh victim, the unlikable used-car salesman, Bill. As the phones obviously don't work, Joe and Janet decide to venture outside the town to see if they can find help. As they reach the edge of the main drag, they both drop like a sack of potatoes. Graham tries to recover them, but also falls unconscious. As the rest of the group waits helpless, night falls and a van appears to bring back the 3 strangers ... a van full of Chinese men! Great, first contact is a group of folks who can't speak English. More clues are revealed as the previously mousy Miora, explains that they each might have some sort of bio-implant in their bodies, set to trigger them unconscious, if they attempt to leave the town. Sure enough, each has a capsule-sized implant on the back of each of our strangers' thighs. Back in the real world, a reporter has convinced his reluctant editor to pursue a story on the missing mom, Janet. He interviews Janet's estranged mother, Eleanor Sullivan, who has taken in Janet's daughter, Megan. If the mother wasn't quite creepy enough, the hidden camera in her home pretty much seals it with respect to the extent of this bizarre mystery. Meanwhile, the group is invited to eat at the local Chinese restaurant. The only English speaking among the employees, the restaurant host explains to them that they were brought here to feed them. Still, no explanation of who hired them to work here, or why. The group of seven strangers try to enjoy a fine meal, including a set of mysterious fortune cookies ... each with a specific message for each of our hapless victims. In the final act of the show's opener, they return to the hotel where they began this nightmare, and find it now has a desk manager, who also has no idea who hire him or where he is working. Yeah, we are definitely knee-deep in a recession, when folks will jump at just any chance for any kind of employment. And if the viewers weren't yet convinced just how frightening this whole situation really might be ... as Janet reveals what was actually written on her fortune cookie ...
The Strangers:
Back in the Real World:
As the series has continues, the relationships of the characters or how they fit into this insane situation is slowly revealed. Between attempts to escape, draw in help from the outside, and the never-ending mind games played on the strangers, it's a wonder that they haven't completely snapped ... yet. If you are still on-the-fence, wondering if this new show is worth watching, take a gander at the Directors for some the episodes: Battlestar Galactica's Michael Rymer, Star Trek Next Generation's Jonathan Frakes, and Burn Notice's Tim Matheson. Michael Rymer did not disappoint in the pilot episode of Persons Unknown, and right now this series is shaping up to being possibly my favorite tv show of 2010! Originally aired on Mondays, you'll find Persons Unknown now on Saturday nights (curse you America's Got Talent!) on NBC. For more info, please check out the official site: http://www.nbc.com/persons-unknown/
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| Last Updated on Sunday, 11 July 2010 19:23 |