Bangitout.com has it all. Up to the minute gossip about the latest Jewish pop culture phenomena, movie reviews, music reviews from 2003, and even a neat bang the rabbi feature. But one service until now not offered, was a fan page for readers to track the evolution of one of these season long serial TV shows. A place where fans of a show like 24 or Lost can go the morning after to share ridiculous unsupported theories about the potential story arch. Now, Bangitout presents our choice for this year's big new thriller that will have America at the edge its seat every week, and our readers can follow on this page by posting comments and arguments all season long. Why Kidnapped? Well, it's filmed in NYC, they invited us to their Long Island City set, and we got to speak a bit with the cast. We also took a look at the pilot episode airing September 20, 2006. Although it is completely unfair to judge a show based on its first episode, read the review and interviews below and then try to check out Kidnapped and begin posting here on the 21st.
KIDNAPPED (NBC)
In the sea of slickly produced, cold, calculated, one hour television crime dramas with fading movie star cats, it is difficult to distinguish oneself. In a season where Gary Sinise, Ron Livingston, Ray Liotta, and Keifer Sutherland will all be doing their darndest to pump some adrenaline into your system through the old idiot box, Kidnapped, starring Timoty Hutton (Ordinary People), Dana Delaney (Exit to Eden), Jeremy Sisto (Clueless) and Delroy Lindo (Malcolm X), has its work cut out for it. The pilot is very much a product of today's tastes; sharp editing, sharper melodrama, hero posturing, eccentric children and villains, and of course a trendy soundtrack. Kidnapped's greatest hurtle as the new kid on he block is not simply to define itself as separate from other new (and returning) shows, but even more difficult, to separate itself from other shows about kidnapping. Without a Trace on CBS is already a hit and this season introduces Vanished on Fox.
Based on the pilot, Kidnapped will need more to draw a loyal audience. The expected twists written by Jason Smilovic (Lucky Number Slevin) either come later or simply don't twist enough to raise an eyebrow. The characters are shamelessly dry and straight out of the workshop. Delaney is the together, power mom; Hutton, her good guy husband (though the relationship has grown formulaic); Sisto is every dark, mysterious, no-nonsense, renegade hero ever assembled; and Lindo is the well meaning FBI agent called in on the case on (yup) on his last day on the job. When Lindo is asked by his under age rookie partner, “What about your retirement?”, Lindo replies while staring off into the night, “Yeah