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6.8/10
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Several strangers awaken and find themselves imprisoned inside a small ghost town. They quickly search for answers and along the way start to question each other's motives.Several strangers awaken and find themselves imprisoned inside a small ghost town. They quickly search for answers and along the way start to question each other's motives.Several strangers awaken and find themselves imprisoned inside a small ghost town. They quickly search for answers and along the way start to question each other's motives.
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Persons Unknown was a very respectable series with a few shortcomings in writing and some inconsistent acting. If you enjoy psychological thrillers this is absolutely worth a shot but I do warn you, NBC made some very false promises that this show would wrap up and that any lingering questions would be answered. Apparently, the plug got pulled on this series after the first season leaving it to the viewer to decide on a lot of the outcome. That being said, it's really not difficult to draw one's own conclusions and enough content was answered to leave one feeling somewhat fulfilled. I will not punish a show for the networks shameful behavior, Persons Unknown was a solid 7.5 with a perhaps even more promising future had it been given the chance and NBC's lack of honesty was an abysmal 1. If you read through a few more reviews you'll see this tends to be the consensus, some are just punishing the show with a bad rating when it was not the writers/directors/actors fault it was so short lived.
Let me just start off by saying that I really think that people are wrong when they say that this show is the new Lost, or that it was simply made as a "follow up" because Lost ended. I really feel that is has NOTHING to do with Lost.
That being said, I enjoyed the first episode. It was really good. My entire family watched all first six episodes in one day. And I'm really looking forward to the end since the guy who did Persons Unknown also did The Usual Suspects. I think that it's a good thriller/mystery, and I like the fact that I still don't know who it is, or why it is happening, and that I can't just randomly guess. That's what makes it a good mystery.
So if you have time on your hands, and want to watch a mystery TV series - which there aren't a lot of, I would recommend Persons Unknown. Just give it a chance. You won't regret it.
That being said, I enjoyed the first episode. It was really good. My entire family watched all first six episodes in one day. And I'm really looking forward to the end since the guy who did Persons Unknown also did The Usual Suspects. I think that it's a good thriller/mystery, and I like the fact that I still don't know who it is, or why it is happening, and that I can't just randomly guess. That's what makes it a good mystery.
So if you have time on your hands, and want to watch a mystery TV series - which there aren't a lot of, I would recommend Persons Unknown. Just give it a chance. You won't regret it.
While slow at first I think this show is a keeper ! better than a "the Prisonner" clone, different than Lost, this show has potential. Are there bad guys in the team ? why are they there etc... the lack of info makes it all the more compelling, but you have to get over the first two episodes... then you're hooked ! It seems you can't defeat the defenses of the town easily. They kill you if you try too hard, and yes, they are underground as well.. but are they in the air ? the delivery of the gas masks by helicopter suggests otherwise.. where is the town ? when they escape for a bit, you can see rolling hills with hand-made hay stacks, the type to be expected in an Amish community or in eastern Europe, or the middle east (arabic speaking taxi driver)...
Not sure why so many people were disappointed in and even hated this series. They even blasted the production and writing. The whole point of this story is that there is no end, no exit. It's like life, it just keeps changing with some new and some same people, and different levels of "evolution". There is no way out. We are stuck with who we are and how we work it all out. The writing is concise, to the point, and doesn't get bogged down in misdirection. People answer with immediate understandings, and the action moves quickly. And the photography and, lighting, and camera work is excellent. I know because I'm a professional photographer who has worked on some high end productions. The acting is true and heartfelt. It's a great metaphor for life on so many levels. The resistances to what is, the paranoia, the struggles with questions of doing what it takes, survival, and compassion in the face of distrust. The dynamics are great to watch. There are of course some aspects that are easy to criticize because, hopefully, the conspiracy is contrived and nothing like this could happen. But perhaps on some levels, we actually live in this kind of world. So yes some plot lines are unexplained and far-fetched, but are they really. There is a lot of mystery around all kinds of corporate and govt activity.
It's really a shame that this great mini-series - as I have heard it advertised several times now - fell to the bumbling NBC, and then got moved from a "safer" 10:00 slot to a very early summer time of 8 eastern. Regardless, I've been trying to recruit as many friends and family as I can - particularly "24" and "LOST" fans - as Persons Unknown has given me at least one reason to look forward to Mondays.
Created by Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie), this show provides non-stop suspense while keeping you in the dark plenty enough as to WHO is watching these poor folks attempt to keep their sanity, among other things. As a couple of other posters alluded to, I also was worried after weeks one and two if the show would be able to keep providing adequate suspense. After watching episode 5 tonight, the answer is a resounding yes: one could almost argue that there is an overload of questions for the viewer. That is not a problem that I mind, and each week has built on the last, making the show stronger as it progresses.
If you have not checked out this show yet, it's not too late, but at the same time, catch up if you can. It'd definitely be worth your while to see why this bizarre town is about as creepy as the woods from The Blair Witch Project and the island of Lost combined into one.
Created by Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie), this show provides non-stop suspense while keeping you in the dark plenty enough as to WHO is watching these poor folks attempt to keep their sanity, among other things. As a couple of other posters alluded to, I also was worried after weeks one and two if the show would be able to keep providing adequate suspense. After watching episode 5 tonight, the answer is a resounding yes: one could almost argue that there is an overload of questions for the viewer. That is not a problem that I mind, and each week has built on the last, making the show stronger as it progresses.
If you have not checked out this show yet, it's not too late, but at the same time, catch up if you can. It'd definitely be worth your while to see why this bizarre town is about as creepy as the woods from The Blair Witch Project and the island of Lost combined into one.
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- Persons Unknown: Evolution
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime43 minutes
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- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
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