Persons Unknown

Originality is a rare concept in broadcast television, which is one of the reasons why Lost was such a breath of fresh air--a show that didn't remind me of several other shows. Of course, once something becomes popular it is copied in many different ways, and over the last few years there have been many shows on the networks that have used the same template--some sort of mystery involving disparate characters.

I haven't watched any of them, but in the afterglow of the end of Lost I decided to give one a shot. It's called Persons Unknown, which airs on NBC. It has the benefit of being a limited-run series, which will end this summer. At least I don't have to commit six years of my life to finding out the solution of the mystery.

What drew me to the show was the premise, which is pretty great, if not completely original: seven strangers awake to find themselves in a hotel, which is part of an empty town. They have been kidnapped (unlike Lost, there is no chance of them being dead and in purgatory). They are watched by cameras, like in Big Brother, and after three episodes have not been able to escape, due to an invisible fence that emits microwaves on contact. A San Francisco reporter is trying to find out what happened to one of the characters, a single mother, but at the end of the third episode a twist is introduced that suggests he knows more than we thought.

This reminds me of countless other movies and shows. A forum on the show has mentioned Silent Hill, Cube, and Battle Royale, but I'm reminded most of a Twilight Zone episode called "Five Characters in Search of an Exit." But it's a premise that can go a multitude of ways, as the characters try to find a way out while also trying to withstand the mind games that are thrown their way (such as being provided three gas masks when there are seven of them).

The actors are all new to me, except for Alan Ruck (the legendary Cameron from Ferris Bueller's Day Off), and are kind of bland so far, but the actors on Lost were mostly knew to me as well. I think the problem so far is that the characters aren't drawn nearly as sharply as they were on Lost, and the show lacks a sense of humor. I'm getting tired of the single mother screaming about getting back to her daughter--it reminds me of the tedious way Angelina Jolie kept screaming "He's not my son!" in Changeling.

But I think I'll stick with the show. It was created by Christopher McQuarrie, who wrote the screenplay for The Usual Suspects. Maybe Keyser Soze will turn up to be behind it all.