Customer Reviews

Kidnapped - The Complete Series

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kidnapped told the story of a wealthy New York City couple (Timothy Hutton and Dana Delany) whose teenage son (Will Denton) is abducted and, the investigative team assigned to find him (headed by an ex-FBI operative played by Jeremy Sisto).

The series debuted back on September 30, 2006. NBC cancelled it after just three episodes. The network told the writers to wrap up the storyline in thirteen episodes but it was pulled off the air after five.

The network posted the unaired episodes online but a lot of people missed them -- slow connections, older computers, etc.

How many other shows have been pulled off the air and will likely never be released? Smith, 3lbs., Reunion, The Nine, Six Degrees, Runaway and on and on...

The fans have been incredibly supportive of this show from the beginning and it is only because of their constant letters, emails and calls that this show is being released on DVD.

Congrats you Knapp-heads!

Kidnapped is "Without A Trace" crossed with "24" with, IMO, better actors. Jeremy Sisto, Delroy Lindo (movie star caliber), Timothy Hutton (ditto), Mykelti Williamson (ditto again), and Dana Delaney (probably most famous for "China Beach") lead the cast.

If you like drama, if you like shows that don't wrap everything up in one episode, you will like "Kidnapped." The production values are high and the story grabs you in the very first episode. It's almost like a 10 hour movie thriller.

I do have to mention a few minor negatives. For one, the telling of the story (the plot and excellent actors) is better than the resolution. You'll know "who did it" by the second to last episode (if not possibly sooner) which takes some air out of the tires for the final hour or so. Secondly, the resolution is done adequately, but not with a slam dunk like they had in the very first episode with the kidnapping. Perhaps this is due to the fact that they knew at time of filming the final episode that the show was going to be canceled and they just needed to get the thing in the can and move on. But these are minor quibbles. If you the enjoy the ride more than the destination it makes the show worth your time.

So with such a great cast and story, we have to wonder why it was canceled.

"Kidnapped" came out after the unexpected success of "Lost" and "24." When ABC showed that you could create and keep a solid audience base with a story that took multiple episodes if not multiple seasons to resolve everyone tried to copy the format. There were probably at least ten such shows. Some of them just weren't that good in my opinion. Most of them certainly did not have the high tension and stellar cast of "Kidnapped."

I've complained about Fox canceling such programs as "Wonderfalls," "Firefly," and "Kitchen Confidential" because they were the type of show that didn't require a viewer to catch every episode to become a fan. If Fox had just had some patience those shows would have caught on and probably stayed on the air for several years.

But "Kidnapped" was different. You had to catch the very first episode to get hooked. People knew in advance that the show was going to require an investment of their time so many just didn't even bother watching. I know I didn't when it aired. I saw a few ads, but it didn't catch my attention enough for me to bother. Some of that is NBC's fault.

This is essentially a high tension mini-series drama, not a typical program like "Without a Trace" or "Cold Case." It needed to be marketed as such. NBC needed to put more effort in hyping the show and they really didn't. This was a show that needed that effort because it didn't have the fantasy/sci-fi hook that great shows like "Lost" and "Battlestar Galactica" have that set them so far apart from other programs. A kidnapped child, rich parents, a rogue private eye who uses illegal tactics, and the FBI . . . doesn't sound that interesting does it? Sounds cliche. But it worked on the screen because of the great actors, the plot was dense, and there was a real mystery behind who was behind the crime.

With that said, it wasn't all NBC's fault. This show was, for the most part, too good for network TV. It's called the lowest common denominator. That's why shows like "According to Jim" get created and stay on for years.

Let me start off by saying that this show was a complete surprise. The show landed on my radar simply because I like to watch all the pilots I can and I had a Wednesday night free. With that said, Kidnapped is the season's best new show, and not just of the ones that were cancelled.

Kidnapped looks like your run of the mill show at first glance. With a name like Kidnapped and previews that showed nothing special, it would seem that this show would change the climate of television about as much as another CSI spinoff, but that's not the case, starting with the actors.

Jeremy Sisto does an excellent job as the kidnapping specialist, gelling with every scene and situation. Timothy Hutton and Dana Delaney work well as the grieving parents, giving out little hints of what is going on inside in every scene. Delaney especially excels in this category. Finally, Delroy Lindo plays the experienced cop to perfection. The rest of the cast is just as good, making every scene work.

Good actors are to be expected in such a series, but good writing is not, and this is where Kidnapped launches itself to new heights. The writing is outstanding in every way possible. The dramatic scenes and emotional dialogue are aced with ease while Sisto's Knapp is given witty and humorous dialogue at all the right times. Not to mention the kidnapping story is done extremely well, handing out surprises around every corner.

It is so rare that a show like this be so good. With shows like Lost and 24 steadily losing viewership it would have been nice to see this show thrive, but the show didn't find an audience and was cancelled after just three weeks, even after being moved to the artic tundra of Saturday. Luckily the show was given a thirteen episode commitment, which is the only reason this DVD exists. Buy it, rent it, watch it. It's worth it.

I don't know who to blame more NBC for not sticking with this show or the audience that would rather watch Reality shows like Deal or no Deal instead of great Television like this. You can't beat the cast, Academy Award winner Tim Hutton, the underrated Dana Delaney (why she didn't become a big star after China Beach, I do not know) and the always interesting Jeremy Sisto. The writing is top notch and the mystery is compelling.
What more could you ask for.
Hopefully this will find a bigger audience on DVD.

Kidnapping--it's every family's nightmare, and every child's worst fear.

No matter how powerful you are, or how wealthy, a crime like this teaches you that you are truly powerless in the face of evil. But there are people who can show you how to fight back.

This show explores every emotion, every tribulation, every pitfall and every necessary evil involved in trying to find and retrieve a lost loved one. It's gritty, believable and yet so very touching. The hard edges are softened by performances of such depth that you find yourself drawn in from Day One (the pilot episode).

The plot is dense and well-thought out; the banter witty and emotionally charged.

And please, don't miss one of greatest performances ever by a teenage actor on a serialized television drama. Will Denton's Leopold Cain is fascinating--brilliance, determination and fierce self-mastery masked by vulnerability and helplessness. You will not truly know who he is until the last few episodes--Leo's that complex.

His parents, played by Timothy Hutton and Dana Delany, were masterfully acted as well, written so that you never know their true motives or the real motive behind the kidnapping until the end.

Who kidnapped Leopold Cain and why? You have 13 episodes to figure it out! Maybe you will. I was *totally* blind-sided by the true culprit, and that's a sign of brilliant writing.

Like a lot of current series TV, Kidnapp has an elaborate, complex and perhaps inplausible plot with a lot of tributaries that turn out to be dead ends, but it keeps your interest through compelling characters and some nifty writing.

I started watching the show because of the actors--Hutton, Delany, Lindo--and was frustrated when the network dropped it. I am pleased with the opportunity of being able to follow the story through to its completion. The actors all acquit themselves well. I was not familiar with Jeremy Sisto but he made an adequate hero and I will look for more of his work in the future. Hutton is especially strong, as he always is, and Delroy Lindo deserves more work. It is always a pleasure to see Dana Delany.

I recommend this series.

Like cult-fave "MURDER ONE" before it - this was another attempt at a season-long story-line. No matter how good it was - or may have become - it was doomed from the get go becuase of this. Most viewers don't have the patience to sit through something this involving, without letting go after a few episodes. Despite "24" seeming to do this - that show is in reality several 2-3 episode arcs, rather than a true continuing story - while shows like KIDNAPPED & MURDER ONE - you had to follow what was happening episode by episode or be lost forever.

The cast -let by Sisto - was spectacular. Strangely, the weakest link of the cast was Timothy Hutton, though I blame this shortcoming on the networks cramming the show into fewer episodes than they originally planned on - making some of the ongoing plots and sub-plots weaker than they should have been ( or abandoned all-together ).

My one complaint about this set - is that the "documentary" included on the 2nd disc of the set of 3, does BLOW the mystery/ending of the whole series. In my eyes, it should have been included on the final disc in the series, not the middle one.

The series is yet another perfect example of how incredibly clueless network executives are.
Apparently this series was one of the first casualties of the 2006-2007 season. After only five episodes they gave it the axe.
Whichever NBC executive pulled the plug on this series, take heart you are stuck on stupid.

Well I just finished watching and then rewatching this on DVD and let me tell you. It is hands down one of the best first season's in the history of television.

It stars the brilliant Dana Delaney and Timothy Hutton as Ellie and Conrad Cain a very wealthy society couple who seem to have everything. But then their teenage son Leopold is kidnapped on the way to school one morning and thus begins their season in hell.

As a result of the kidnapping they engage the services of a man named Knapp (played by the amazing Jeremy Sisto) to find their son. His only priority is to find abducted children, regardless of the means.

The concept is rather cliche'..the desperate rich parents (what skeletons lurk in their closets? is there anyone who doesnt have a skeleton?)and the rogue wildcard working outside the system to bring justice.

But this show was far far far from cliche'.

What sets this apart is the simply brilliant plotline. The incredibly talented cast, and a pace that kept me from getting anything else accomplished today.

I don't want to include any spoilers, nor any hints of spoilers. But I swear to you. Invest your time in this series and it will take you on a ride that you will feel exhausted and exhilarated at the end.
And then you will curse NBC.
Who STILL continues to flog that Law and Order franchise for every drop of watered down blood there is, but pulled the plug after five episodes on a show that was simply genius. GENIUS.

Kidnapped is a series that respects the audience and delivers the goods; every performance has a depth seldom seen in television series, and one cannot easily outguess the whodunit element: who kidnapped the kid and why? You being by wondering how a thirteen hour movie is going to revolve around a simple kidnapping, and by the end of the second episode, it's difficult to stop watching. Jeremy Sisto carries the film with a skewed, attractive, literate performance, and Delroy Lindo, as an FBI agent about to retire, but drawn back in by the challenge of the hunt, matches him, scene for scene: even Audra McDonald, who has the capacity to enrich any project she chooses, puts in some brief appearances--but it is the action and suspense of a well-written plot that will keep you watching, and perhaps even catch the odd mythical references swirling around the character Virgil, that are thrown in as depth. Warning: do not watch the "extras" on disc two until you have finished the entire series, as they give away important keys to the plot.

My husband and I were RIVETED when this television program came on the air. It was edgy and suspenseful and we were totally invested right out of the starting gate. The cast in general is an exceptional one for network television: Dana Delany, Timothy Hutton, the ever-engaging Jeremy Sisto, but the standout is definitely Will Denton. I look forward to seeing how his career develops.

Sadly, in their infinite wisdom, the most poorly-managed television network in the industry cancelled this show after only four episodes. It was replaced with some moronic reality-show slop about ruining people's weddings. Way to go! However, I am extremely pleased that it appears the ENTIRE first season is now being shown on television again. Though I have little faith, COULD this bode well for the possibility of a second season? In my wildest dreams that same network would revisit that OTHER edgy and unique drama they killed after only THREE episodes, "The Black Donnellys".