90 replies to this topic

[Mr. Sobell]

If it's coverage of Kidnapped, reviews of the show, interviews with the actors, and other such argle bargle, feel free to discuss it here.

[catperson]

The only thing I keep seeing is the comparison between this and Vanished and, luckily, the almost unanimous opinion that Kidnapped is a superior show.

[lavigne]

According to www.madchenamick.net, Madchen Amick will have a recuring role in 'Kidnapped', but no further information is given. The guy who runs the site has contact with her manager, so it should be true.

Also, see below on a further three recuring guest stars.

FROM 'Backstage':

Kidnapped

A serialized thriller, NBC's Kidnapped explores what happens when the teenage son of a well-heeled Upper East Side family is, well, kidnapped. Troubled family relations escalate, as does the high-risk three-sided game between the kidnappers, law enforcement, and the private team hired by the family.

The show is a kind of hybrid, both a family drama and unfolding crime story, says casting director Bonnie Finnegan. "But I don't think it's like anything that has been done before," she says. "Murder One was a serialization, but this is such a specific story, set in New York City, and that makes it very special," not least because of "the talent pool of New York actors that are available. We're looking for actors with that New York flavor, and if they have -- or can do -- that New York accent, it's even better."

The cast is impressive, with Dana Delany in the role of Mrs. Cain, Timothy Hutton as Mr. Cain, Jeremy Sisto as Knapp, and Delroy Lindo as the steely FBI man Latimer King. Finnegan explains what each actor brings to the role. "Delroy has a tremendous presence that's just right for the FBI man. And it's his first TV series," she says, adding that a number of actors who will appear in later episodes are relative newcomers to the medium. "Jeremy has a dark presence, and he's very much his own man, which is perfect for Knapp. As for Timothy, we're lucky to get him. He's an Academy Award winner and a phenomenal actor. He's completely believable as a man who grew up in blue-collar Queens and has made a huge success and can now live on Park Avenue. He can straddle both worlds. Dana is the heart of the show. The audience will identify with what she is feeling at the loss of her son."

Actors slated to appear in recurring roles or guest spots include Terry Kinney, Robert Foxworth, and Amy Ryan. "We are looking for good actors who are believable New Yorkers. Like New York itself, the casts will be multiethnic and represent a range of ages," says Finnegan. "We read a lot of people for each role, and we like to find new faces and give them their first film experience." Casting: Bonnie Finnegan, c/o Topanga Productions, Silvercup East, 34-02 Starr Ave., Long Island City, NY 11101.

[brightman73]

I watched the pilot today via Netflix.

It looks good and I am in LOVE with Jermey (Knapp)
He was stellar on Six Feet Under

[catperson]

Still no new articles, but nbc.com has some new video interviews of the main actors up.

[catperson]

Has anyone gotten the new Entertainment Weekly Fall TV Preview issue? There is a HUGE "spread" - read pull out, 6-page section that's very cleverly designed to look like Latimer King's manila folder on the kidnapping. It has the "note" that says "don't call the police" that's stuck to the inside, "photos" of Leopold and his room, fake Post-It notes, file reports on the parents (and suspicions on them), "handwritten" notes, a report on Knapp, a fake Finance Magazine cover of Conrad Cain, all kinds of pictures, King's badge...all kinds of cool stuff!

They're spending a fortune advertising this, like here, and on tv, and in the movie theatres (I've seen promos for it there 2 or 3 times already)...I think they're gambling on the public loving the show despite what the critics say about it being against too stiff of opposition.

What a cool, promo, though!

[catperson]

I apologize for not remembering the site (it was late), but I was on some site last night and the "folder" for Latimer King (from Entertainment Weekly) showed up on the top in the ad section, and it was interactive! You could click on it to open the manila folder, then click and drag and enlarge the individual pages in the folder, to read them. You can also click on a voice recorder and you hear the ransom message! And one of the previews plays on the right side.

These people are spending a fortune to push this show, which means they have a lot of faith in it, but I think all the potential viewers (and reviewers) see is a kidnapping, which sounds boring. I think what they need to do is start showing some scenes from future episodes to show people there's more to it than just a kid waiting for a ransom payment.

[jayseyfield]

Broadcast schedule for Kidnapped.

[catperson]

I found this brief interview video on tvsquad.com of a few of the people involved, pretty good stuff.

[catperson]

On tvsquad.com there's a contest to guess which show will be the first to be cancelled, and out of 120 guesses so far, only 2 guessed Kidnapped. While about 50 or 60 guessed Vanished, with most people commenting how bad it is, so that's probably good news for Kidnapped.

[catperson]

Not much of an article, but it least it's one. From Reality TV World.

[valancy17]

I watched the pilot a couple weeks back on Netflix on a DVD hat had the "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" pilot. Now I'm seeing ads with Timothy Hutton as Conrad Cain, but I could swear the pilot I saw on the DVD had someone else in that role. Am I going nuts? If not, anyone know who it was and what happened to him?

Thanks, Melissa

[catperson]

No, it's always been Timothy Hutton. He was signed on last winter to play the part.

NBC now has a whole slew of new clips up, scenes from future episodes past the pilot! Awesome stuff! Don't know if it counts as spoilerish, since they're actually just previews, but they show a lot of great potential stuff. youtube also has one new one, similar to what NBC has.

[jayseyfield]

The Kidnapped pilot is on MSN.com if anyone wants to watch it. I was kinda mixed on it, there were some good parts for sure but there wasn't one thing that made me want to stick around.

The fake apartment and explosion I knew before it happened and I thought it was way unrealistic. I mean wouldn't the kidnappers want to keep a low profile? Blowing up like 9 SWAT guys is not the way to go. Also I never once felt sorry for Leopold, I just kept thinking how he could use a haircut.

Edited by jayseyfield, Sep 18, 2006 @ 2:17 PM.

[catperson]

Found this report of a reporter who got to tour the set in a group thing. Get to see some of the set pictures and hear interviews. Also had link to premiere party stuff.

[jayseyfield]

Great negative review on Kidnapped. It's negative but makes really good points.

While Kidnapped won't be the gutter trash Vanished is, it's just not built for a 22 episode season. There's no way you can do a show like this within that premise without throwing in some mind-boggling plot twists and red herrings.

Take the exploding apartment at the end of the pilot for example.

[jayseyfield]

Same goes for many other shows. Friday Night Lights? They win, they loose, they win, they...already bore me to tears.

That's simply not true, there are tons of real life stories from high school athletics like steroids, aggressive parents and sneaky college recruiters they can use on the show not to mention the various relationships of the characters. Conversley if Kidnapped were to use real-life kidnappings as a model than there would be an exciting one hour episode followed by 20 episodes of people just waiting while nothing happens. Because of that the writers have to make up one contrived storyline after another to keep the show rolling.

I still standby what I said about Kidnapped, it's like stretching an average Law & Order SVU episode into a whole season. While this show is better than Vanished I'm pretty sure what happened to Vanished; crazy storylines that make no sense, secondary characters that nobody cares about getting a lot of screentime in a tertiary storyline to chew up clock (because this show is going to have a LOT of time to kill).

This show is not a tv show, it's a glorified miniseries.

Plus Leopold really needs a haircut...

Edited by jayseyfield, Sep 20, 2006 @ 12:02 PM.

[catperson]

I happen to love his hair like that. My 16-year-old daughter's friends all have hair like that (except her boyfriend, who just got his buzzed for ROTC) and I think they're cute. I also think the actor is very appealing.

I was looking forward to FNL until I saw clips of it, and the only thing they showed in the clips was this teenage guy sleeping with that teenage girl, then another set of kids making out, then another...I don't want to watch Laguna Beach on the football field, I want to see games. Plus, Kyle Chandler's not hard on the eyes, either. :)

[catperson]

You know, I tend to worry about the 22-episode thing, too, but in all the cast interviews, they keep talking about how the show isn't going to be what we think it is. I guess they're talking about everyone's skeletons in their closets, but I get the feeling that there's so much "plot" lined up that's going to keep us guessing, that we won't even notice 22 episodes going by. For instance, I just know Mykelti Williams will show up again, they wouldn't use someone like that just for one episode, so there's the whole storyline of the bodyguard showing up somehow (probably to look for and/or rescue Leopold), one for the mother, one (or more) for the father, one for Knapp, the daughter who's gone missing, the kidnappers, etc. I picture a pretty action-packed season. I just hope people don't leave because the first few episodes are slower because they have to set the stage, like they did for Invasion.

[SnippyScholar]

The Washington Post gave a very good review of the show today.

[jayseyfield]

The ratings for Kidnapped were not good.

In other series-premiere news, the debut of NBC’s Kidnapped out of The Biggest Loser failed to make the grade, with a third-place finish in the overnights (6.0/10), total viewers (7.53 million) and adults 18-49 (2.8/ 8) at 10 p.m.

[Booklord]

Ratings for Kidnapped

5.1 fast Nationals
2.8 18-49 Demographic

That's worse than Heist did and a whole lot worse than the ratings Law&order was getting.
Barring a sudden ratings jump, it'll be axed before November sweeps.