Customer Reviews

Persons Unknown: Season 1 (4pc)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The major problem that most people have with this series stem from the false advertising associated with it. We were told multiple times that there would be complete answers by the end of summer, and let's just say that there were far more questions than answers, missing plot lines, and plenty of set up for some kind of sequel. Now, we look online and we find out that this was not a "mini-series" as it was billed, but instead, a first season. Add to this the fact that the show was often aired at different times each week, and that NBC completely missed airing one whole episode on TV, and you have one of the most messed-up releases of a new show that I've ever seen. That answers a few of the problems that can be attributed to the show, but certainly not all.

That being said, I was one of the few who tuned in weekly, and who saw the missing episode, and I have to say, I found this series rather intriguing. It works like a combination of "the Prisoner" and "Ten Little Indians" by Agatha Christie, or perhaps you're aware of the movie "Identity", which shared many of the little idiosyncrasies. Basically, it's a bunch of people who are kidnapped and put in a 1950's town, and you have to figure out just what's going on. Various obstacles are thrown their way, from the town randomly shutting down rooms and gassing the inhabitants, to the arrival of six body bags, which was supposed to cause them to start to figure out that only one of them was to be left alive at the end of all this. They try to escape, they try to fight back a bit, but we slowly see "the Program" slipping in and taking over for many of the characters.

There are some things that I still struggle with, even after watching the finale. A number of characters come back from the dead, some storylines tend to go nowhere, and as mentioned, there are very few definitive answers to be found. That said, I felt OK with the finale after learning that this was probably planned as a test run for a series, much like Lost. Anyone who has watched seasons of that knows that you don't solve much over the course of a single season, and yet that show garnered millions of viewers. If you liked that, you'll probably find something to like with Persons Unknown as well, albeit on a much smaller scale.

Overall, the show suffered from a few glaring plot holes, a bit of questionable storytelling, and occasional bad acting, but like I said, I tuned in to watch, every week, and as someone who has limited patience for television, that really says something. And if the show is lucky enough to come back again, hopefully with a little more advertising and a little more consistency from NBC, I'd be happy to watch it again, despite it's shortcomings.

This show was so good it was scary. I have never gotten into a show so quickly or thoroughly. Unfortunately from what I am reading, it may have been the one season. I was worried about that when they kept moving the time slot and it ended up on Saturday night but I followed it whatever slot they moved it to and never missed an episode. When they moved it to Saturday, I bought the Season Pass from Amazon Video On Demand because I was afraid if I didn't I wouldn't get to see the end. Unlike other blowhards that were upset that "all" their questions were not answered, it just made me want to tune in to see the next season. I hope there is one and if NBC doesn't pick it up again, it would be a wonderful addition to SyFy, USA or TNT. I would hate to see something this good go by the wayside due to the shortsightedness of network executives.

I've been hooked on this series since episode one. It is suspenseful, mysterious and unique. You don't know what will happen next with the unexpected twists in the plot line. The main characters were kidnapped and left in an abandoned town from which they cannot escape. It is unnerving for them to be constantly watched by persons unknown who are part of "The Program". They are threatened physically, emotionally and psychologically in every episode. How will they survive? Who can they trust? If anyone? Why are they there? You really care what happens to them.
This series has been a great ride from the beginning. The cast are superb. I can't wait for this to come out on DVD!

I watched the whole 13 episodes in 1 weekend, I just loved it and I thing the finale is very appropriate for a Mystery Drama. The thing about this TV Show is that is not the regular US production, the show was financed by 2 major TV chains from Mexico and Italy and filmed in Mexico, and sold to the market in several countries, in USA NBC ended up acquiring the rights to broadcasted, I guess it was an experiment that in my opinion turned out extremely well. Got love the mystery throughout the series!

Like many other commentators, I think the finale answered absolutely NO questions like it was advertised on the commercials. I watched every episode, faithfully, only to come to no conclusion. I'm supporting P.U. by buying the season because I would really like them to bring the show back for another season, maybe to actually answer some questions. This is a great show and I would definitely recommend giving it a try. I'm not a big t.v. watcher and it takes a lot for me to get into these "lost" type shows. But, if you want a great show with a great cast for great entertainment--this is definitely what you're aiming for.

Seven strangers wake up in an abandoned town, with no way to leave, cameras watching them, and deadly hoops to jump through. "Persons Unknown: Season 1" has a rather simple premise, but it builds up plenty of claustrophobic, nightmarish tension and a looming conspiracy theory -- the only problem is the disappointing ending.

Seven people wake in the bedrooms of a hotel in a dusty ghost town, with no idea how they got there. They are provided with food, shelter, medicine and clothing, but are closely monitored by microphones and hidden cameras. And if they try to leave the town, they are either knocked unconscious or shocked with a microwave gun.

So the people have no choice but to try to figure out a way out of the town, only to discover that "The Program" has anticipated every one of their plans. Even worse, one of their number vanishes and is replaced by a new arrival, while another one turns out to be a plant by The Program.

In the meantime, the ex-husband of one of the abductees becomes obsessed with finding out where these people vanished to. He and his editor/lover end up racing across three continents, searching for someone who can lead them to The Project. And at the same time, the abductees make a final desperate bid for freedom.

"Persons Unknown" is a little like "Lost," except with no magical island and a much more malevolent, terrifying organization. There are lots of plot twists, mysteries and weird things that are going on, and you won't see most of this stuff coming.

The writers do a good job balancing the two main storylines, one about the abductees and the other about the people searching for them. They paint it with a gritty, grimy atmosphere, with plenty of bloody violence and sudden outbursts of powerful emotion. And the Project's constant monitoring of everybody gives the series a very claustrophobic, paranoid feeling.

The downside? The ending answers a few questions, but it definitely doesn't answer ALL of them... or even most of them. Instead it sets up a brilliant, hair-raising cliffhanger that is almost certain to never be handled.

And the actors all give good performances, slowly revealing all the darker layers of their characters -- Tina Holmes as a peaceful mental patient, Chadwick Boseman as a mellow Marine, and Kandyse McClure as a violent ex-con are especially good. Unfortunately, Daisy Betts' Janet is painfully annoying -- you'll want to scream every time she whines about her daughter.

Best performance of all: Jason Wiles gives a brilliant, star-worthy performance as a man with dozens of layers and facets, whose conscience is reawakened by his love for Janet. He's tragic, strong, sensitive and smart.

"Persons Unknown: Season 1" produces some brilliant twists and turns, and it's just a shame that we almost certainly won't get the full array of answers. Horrific, dramatic and twisty.

Let me start by saying that I am not a huge TV watcher, and I never really have been. For some reason, the original ad for this show made me think it might be interesting, so I watched the first episode. It drew me in from the first scene all the way through to the end of the series (or, hopefully, I should say "first season" rather than "series"). Honestly, I have never been this "into" a TV show. The character development is incredible, and I really felt like I got to know each character. Plus, like in real life, your first impression of a character was rarely what you were left with by the end of the series. I find that this is very realistic, but does not happen in most shows (or even many movies, for that matter). Without revealing too many details for those that have not seen the show, the plot is incredibly complex. Every time you think you have some facet of the show figured out, the next episode comes along to make you realize that all is not as you had imagined. Yes, the show provided more questions than answers, but with this kind of show, I think that's the best way to go about it. The show drew me in because of the questions I had, and I think if I knew all the answers, I would be sort of let-down. For those who like to know all the answers, I can see how the ending could be disappointing, but I personally thought it was incredible. The very last scene (which I will not spoil for you) is epic, and definitely leaves this show open for a second season (which has been hinted at by the official Facebook and Twitter for the show, even though this was originally supposed to be a mini-series/summer-replacement). The only aspect of this show I did not like was the way it was marketed. NBC changed the show's time-slot twice which is a lot for a show that only aired on 11 dates. One of the episodes was online-only. I personally didn't have a problem with this since I watched most of the episodes the next day on [...] or Hulu anyway, but I know that a lot of people were kind of left in the dark about that episode. However, the drawbacks mentioned above are irrelevant with a DVD set. I just hope that the poor marketing didn't make this show too unpopular for a second season.

I would love to see this show come back, but if they do they need to change the time slot! How could they ever expect this to be a success with a time slot like that?! Saturday night during the summer? Really? Generally the only people that are home at that time are older people, and people with kids. It's more of a younger persons show and and even though it's not ultra violent or anything like that, it's not really a family orientated show. If they would have put it on at 7:00pm or 8:00pm on a weeknight, it would have been a hit no problem. By putting it on when they did, it was like they wanted it to fail. If NBC doesn't renew it, I hope another station see's it's potential and picks it up and gives it an actual chance. Would love to see HBO or Showtime pick something like this up.
It is a terrific idea, and the concept behind it is really great, they need to give this show another chance, step it up for season two and get really creative with level 2 and the second story line with the new people on level one. And give it a real shot at viewer ship by giving it a good time slot!!!!!
Loved the show, hope it comes back some way,even if not on NBC.

Interestingly enough, this set says Complete first season DVD set. It was only billed as a mini - series. It also had a limited run due to numerous preemptions.

My opinion is that the show was actually really good. It kept you thinking throughout, had interesting actors, and for a concept I figured could only be a mini series when i started watching, It left me wanting more. If it was not for the rather hurried ending I would give it 5 stars, and Im a tough rater. I found myself looking forward to the new episodes every week which is rare on a summer run gap filler show. Usually they are more of a , hey lets half watch the show while I do other things thing. The network should do a second season I think, rating would be better if they actually showed it at the times they were supposed to. Definatly a good watch.

Persons Unknown: Season 1 (4pc)

The 13 episode run of Persons Unknown was not perfect, but it kept me engaged. I came back each week wanting to know exactly what was going to happen. The series stars a lot of faces that you will be familiar with if you watch a lot of TV - faces that have no names to you, but you will recognize. The most familiar to me was Kandyse McClure of BSG fame.

The series is about a group of people who become stranded in a two block town in the middle of nowhere after being kidnapped. They cannot escape and must work together to uncover the mystery of their abductions, hoping to find reason. On the outside, a journalist who is tied to one of the captives, digs to uncover the truth behind several seemingly random disappearances. Both plots are equally fascinating.
Despite being marketed as 'revealing all' at the end of the series, it does NOT - but I really like it that way. Yes, initially I thought the reveal is what kept me watching - but knowing that there was more to discover made me want even more, otherwise it really would just be a mini-series. The series itself was meant to be an on-going story, so I do not blame the writers for continuing with their original plans just because the network didn't fancy it. I would actually consider this a prematurely canceled show, because that's what it really feels like. I have enjoyed a lot of shows that have ended too soon, and this will sadly be another one.

There has been a lot of backlash from viewers because the finale answered none of their questions outright - but I felt satisfied that I could deduce what reasoning and motives were behind the abductions. The characters were rather typical as the show began, but each developed in their own way by the end, and I think that is confirmed by the revelation in the finale. I'm with Stephen King, when I say this show was a "hit", not a miss. Although we both can acknowledge that the viewership was incredibly low and has led to it's demise.
The show is far better and very unique compared to other mystery series I've encountered, including such garbage as Harper's Island and Happy Town. The mystery slowly unfolds, yet keeps it's cards close for what most definitely would have been an on-going series.
Since the show is not continuing on, I would say RENT - not buy, but definitely do check it out.

4/5 stars for a premature ending.