"Kidnapped": Not Quite Right
This fall, ABC, NBC and even FOX will have a “24” clone. NBC’s is “Kidnapped,” the pilot of which is included on the Netflix DVD with “Studio 60.”
“Kidnapped” already has one strike against it since FOX’s “24” clone is called “Vanished” and also follows one kidnapping throughout the season. But sadly, that’s not its only problem.
The show stars Dana Delaney and Timothy Hutton as Ellie and Conrad Cain, a wealthy New York couple with three children. The middle child, Leopold, has a bodyguard, Virgil, played by Mykelti Williamson (best known as Bubba from “Forrest Gump”). One morning on the way to school, Leopold is kidnapped.
The Cains hire Knapp (Jeremy Sisto), a professional who specializes in rescuing kidnapping victims. Knapp tells the Cains not to call the FBI, but a retiring agent on his last day of work, Latimer King (Delroy Lindo), gets involved anyway (I can’t tell you how because the show doesn’t really explain it.). And of course, Latimer and Knapp have a bit of a history and conflicting views on how things should be done.
We also get a brief look at the kidnappers themselves, including one who calls himself “The Accountant,” because he closes accounts (aka kills people who know too much). We also see Leopold as he hides the drugs the kidnappers give him and then decides to use his plastic knife to plan an escape route.
“Kidnapped” is meant to be a thrilling on-the-edge of your seat drama, but it just never makes it. You almost get the impression that Knapp is intended to be a Jack Bauer-type character; but if that’s the show’s intent, it fails miserably. There’s a good twist toward the end that revs things up a little, but the show ruins it by adding additional scenes after the twist. Apparently, the writers have not yet discovered the meaning of a good cliffhanger.
To give things a more frantic feel, the show uses strange effects of lights and colors and clips from previous scenes. They not only don’t work, they completely distract from what’s going on.
The biggest problem with the show is how it plans to sustain itself for an entire season. Can we really follow one kidnapping from beginning to end? Delroy Lindo and Jeremy Sisto are good combatants, but can we really stand their constant bickering for an entire season? There’s going to need to be a lot of stalling and for this show that will probably lead to people turning the channel.
And if you’re wondering about what the show will do for next season—don’t. I’m pretty sure that’s not going to be anything NBC will have to worry about.
As I said, Lindo and Sisto are both good and Dana Delaney is adequate as the mother; but I have never been impressed with Timothy Hutton’s acting skills and he does nothing to change my mind here.
Again, I applaud NBC for using this new method to promote their shows. Now I can cross this one off my list for the rest of the year.
“Kidnapped” will air Wednesdays at 10 p.m. beginning in September on NBC.
