Hostages [CBS - Spoilers]

JP Liz V1

Source

This Jerry Bruckheimer-produced thriller stars Toni Collette as Dr. Ellen
Sanders, a top-shelf D.C. surgeon who in 24 hours is due to cut open the
President of the United States ( James Naughton) — but first, she and her family
are taken hostage by rogue FBI agent Duncan Carlisle (Dylan McDermott) and his
savvy, sleek team of cohorts. The good doc’s horrible dilemma: Facilitate
POTUS’s death during surgery or kiss her loved ones goodbye.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8thzMN2jj6c

Not sure how the show can work beyond one season but I guess 24 did and the premise here sounds interesting to me plus a decent cast too

Watching as I type and really enjoying this. It's strangely reminiscent of The Kill Point and I get the impression that this may well have been envisioned as a one off series but if they play their cards right there are a number of interesting avenues a subsequent series could go down.

The cast is excellent and any excuse for a little McDermott is welcome. One if those actirs who never gets the attention he deserves

Plotwise there's little cutting edge or truly unique here but it's all played with such style and a sense that there's so much more going on that you can't help be swept up in it. I can see becoming one of those shows that quickly becomes my GI to weekly slice of easy to watch trash with a bit or a brain.

So episode one is dumb as hell and tries far too hard to be serious adult drama when it really should be embracing just how ludicrous it all is. The first time we meet McDermott and he shoots a man is one of the most effortlessly cool moments in awhile. It's stupid, ridicolous and unbelievable but that's what makes it do fun. Shame that the rest if the episode doesn't follow a similar trajectory.

The ongoing behind the scenes conspiracy is rather interesting as subsequent seasons could do something a little like American Horror Story and do something completely different and introduce a whole new storyline.

Mr E

Yeah I thought it was fun alright. The ending (to essentially extend the hostage situation for a convenient 2 weeks) was a bit contrived though.... It's also hard to see how this can be more than a one season show.

Even though the same could have been said about Prison Break.

Mr E

Mr E wrote: »

Yeah I thought it was fun alright. The ending (to essentially extend the hostage situation for a convenient 2 weeks) was a bit contrived though.... It's also hard to see how this can be more than a one season show.

Even though the same could have been said about Prison Break.

End the series with the death of the president and then let series 2 play out as a political thriller about the conspiracy behind who would want him dead and why. Could make for something quite interesting if the writers play it right.

mafaa

likely to be a mini series

Mr E

Anyone still watching? Started off really cheesy, but has grown into a very solid show. Bodies were dropping all over the place in the latest episode and there were twists galore!

dark crystal

Just watched the first three episodes there and I have to say I'm finding it rather compelling so far!

Way behind with all my TV bar Sons of Anarchy and a few comedies. Saving up Hostages for some lazy Saturday viewing. Think episode 3 or 4 was the last I saw and it was really shaping up nicely. Nothing ground breaking but a decent bit of fluff.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

Had fallen behind, just caught up with the latest few episodes. Still loving it. I love how the conspiracy grows week by week.

Catching up on this and really enjoying it. It's dumb as hell and the constant twists and rug pulling is a little ott but it's never less than entertaining and the cast are all having fun. Glancing through the avclub and noticed that the reviews for the show range from D- to F- and one A+ score which the reviewer gave as a means of berating the show. Sure there's nothing unique here and the writing is a little on the cliched side but it's still vastly superior to quite a lot of what's airing atm and its always entertaining. Would really like to see this go the distance as each new episode throws in a half dozen more characters and twists.

Mr E

Yeah I'm up to date too. The kiss was a bit shark-jumpy (I won't say who in case you haven't got there, but you'll know when you see it). Let's hope we have a complete story by the end of episode 15, and not another unfulfilled cliffhanger from an inevitably cancelled show.

Mr E

Well that's that.

I was expecting a jumbo cliff-hanger at the end, or even little hook for season 2. Neither happened, and the story was wrapped up properly. It's officially a self-contained season of a great show, and worthy of anyone's time.

Well done CBS.

dark crystal

^^^

Was Monday's episode the finale??

Surely not!



Edit: Aah, seems there were two episodes aired the same night and I only watched the first - doh!

JP Liz V1

Hostages UK premiere this Saturday (January 11) at 9pm on Channel 4

Mr E

If you haven't been watching, set the series link. It's a good one (in a leave your brain outside the door and just enjoy it kind of way)

Catching up with this and it remains amongst the best dumb fun around. The overall arc is really well handled and the soap style flourishes are a nice way to stop the show from getting too serious. It's at it's best when it embraces the ludicrous though its getting to the point where the twists are getting a little too ridicolous but yet I find myself oddly captivated by it all and more than willing to embrace to accept whatever they throw at me next.

FloatingVoter

Just watched the whole lot over three days. I expect this thread will be hopping once it airs this side of the pond. Hope they don't do a Homeland and drag it into further seasons.

Mr E

Ratings weren't great, so a second season is unlikely. The story is finished anyway, so it would probably have to be a different story (maybe along the lines of how American Horror Story works).

aine1980

At least they wrapped it all up nicely!

Finished it up the series over the weekend and really enjoyed it. The final episode was something of a key down, it was far too neat and I would have liked to see a few of the various plot lines let a little ambiguous.

Still over 15 epis

Finished it up the series over the weekend and really enjoyed it. The final episode was something of a key down, it was far too neat and I would have liked to see a few of the various plot lines let a little ambiguous.

Still over 15 episodes it delivered some great moments and the various twists and turns were fun to watch unfold. There was a real sense that nobody was safe and as such there was some nice tension generated. I'm not sure there's much that could be done in a second series as there's little that was left hanging. Though that said it could quite interesting to see the downfall of the president and the various forces at work behind the scenes.

One thing that has baffled me throughout the series has been the AVClubs hatred of the show. They repeatedly attacked it and greased it with D- or F and while ill be the first to admit that the show has huge issues it was never less than thrilling and a hell of a lot of fun. Something that much more celebrated shows often fail at.

bnt

Hostages is being shown again on RTE2, starting 20:40 on Saturday the 20th. I only saw the 1st episode last time, so it's a good thing for me.