- Written & Directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Catch ‘Hostages’ on CBS, Mondays 10/9c and catchup at CBS.com
BEWARE OF SPOILERS
Next up on the pilot list is NBC’s ‘Hostages’ a drama which, as you can tell by its title, is about a group of hostages… okay so it’s a little more complicated than that.
This is the kind of show which is likely going to be a turn off for many viewers due to the sheer nature of its premise. Toni Collette plays Dr. Ellen Sanders a doctor at Maryland College Hospital who is picked to operate on the President of the United States. When she arrives home from work the night before the surgery she quickly finds herself and her family held hostage by a gang fronted by a rogue FBI agent (McDermott). Their plan? Blackmail Sanders in to murdering the President during his surgery.
Amongst all the crazy plotting are a pregnant teenage daughter, a drug dealing son and a husband having a secret affair.
There’s masses of plot in this one episode and it’s massively soapy but I actually found ‘Hostages’ to be pretty entertaining. I don’t think there’s much longevity in this series, it feels like the kind of show I will completely fall for only to have it yanked from the air after several weeks.
This is a slick production aside from a dodgy bit of green screen when Agent Carlisle drops his daughter off with her grandfather. It’s a well written show with a well thought out premise, a lot of time has been taken to work on the individual burdens that each of the characters are carrying around with them and with such an out there premise it’s going to be the attention to detail that hooks the viewers and keeps them coming back each week.
Cinematography and sound design is par for the course in this kind of show. It’s not standout but it’s also not disappointing by any respect.
The acting is pretty top notch for the genre; in the wake of shows like ‘Homeland’ and ‘Breaking Bad’ which boast household names Jerry Bruckheimer and the other producers were claiming aiming for the same level of weight to this project.
It remains to be seen whether ‘Hostages’ will catch on with audiences and live beyond its initial thirteen episode run but I would suggest you check this show out and at least come a long for the ride. It will be worth it.
7/10
