Line #93 Series/Kidnapped


1	[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Kidnapped_DVD_5423.jpg]]
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3	A short-lived CopShow that aired on Creator/{{NBC}} for part of one season in 2006. Created by Jason Smilovic, a screenwriter best known for the film ''Film/LuckyNumberSlevin'', and executive produced by David Greenwalt of ''Series/{{Profit}}'' fame, the series lasted just five episodes before being canceled, with the remaining eight episodes eventually broadcast online.
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5	The series follows the investigation into the kidnapping of fifteen-year-old Leopold Cain (Will Denton), the son of Wall Street billionaire Conrad Cain (Creator/TimothyHutton) and his oil heiress wife Ellie (Creator/DanaDelany). Because the kidnappers demand that the police not be called in, the Cains instead turn to the mysterious Knapp (Jeremy Sisto), a shady "retrieval expert," and his assistant Turner (Carmen Ejogo), to help rescue their son.
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7	The FBI is soon involved anyway, however, as it is revealed that Leopold's bodyguard Virgil (Creator/MykeltiWilliamson), who was critically wounded in his abduction, is the brother-in-law of Special Agent Latimer King (Creator/DelroyLindo), the head of the Bureau's anti-kidnapping squad. With sidekick Agent Archer (Creator/LinusRoache) and rookie Agent Atkins (Creator/MichaelMosley) in tow, King sets up shop in the Cain's apartment and gets to work.
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9	Meanwhile, Leopold finds himself chained to a bed and watched over by a pair of goons, the violent sociopath Bellows (Creator/RobertJohnBurke) and the kindly Otto (Creator/OttoSanchez). The resourceful Leopold quickly escapes, only to discover that his captors have spirited him to Mexico. Although recaptured, he redoubles his attempts to escape.
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11	As the series unfolds, it becomes clear that this is no simple criminal gang out to make a quick buck, nor is money even the motivation, as the abduction is eventually revealed to be the work of an international criminal conspiracy of incredible complexity, dedicated to one proposition: the utter destruction of the Cain family.
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13	Not to be confused with the short-lived [[Series/KidnappedMTV MTV game show]] or the [[Literature/{{Kidnapped}} adventure novel]] by Creator/RobertLouisStevenson.
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15	!!Provides examples of the following tropes:
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17	%%* AdorablyPrecociousChild: Alice Cain
18	%%* BestServedCold: The BigBad has been planning his revenge for eight years.
19	%%* BodyguardBetrayal: Deliberately invoked by the kidnappers, who set Virgil up to look like a conspirator, in order to tar Agent King by association.
20	%%* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler:Agent Archer.]]
21	* CluelessMystery: There is one clue, but its significance to the culprit is not explained until his identity has already been revealed to the viewer.
22	%%* ColdBloodedTorture: Gibson threatens Knapp with this.
23	* ContractOnTheHitman: When the Accountant screws up one too many assignments, his employers decide to have him killed.
24	%%* CorruptCorporateExecutive: It is broadly implied that Conrad Cain is one.
25	%%* CowboyCop: Agent King becomes one by the end of the series, after spending too much time around Knapp.
26	%%* CreepyChild: Kellogg's sister, or at least Knapp's hallucination of her in episode nine.
27	* DeadlyEuphemism: The Accountant doesn't kill people. He closes accounts.
28	* DefectiveDetective: Knapp, who escaped from a cult as a child and was eventually kicked out of the FBI and sent to a mental hospital.
29	%%* DetectiveMole: [[spoiler:Agent Archer.]]
30	%%* DiscOneFinalBoss: James Devere.
31	%%* DyingMomentOfAwesome:
32	-->"You listen to me now, kid! RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!
33	* EurekaMoment: The show often likes to have King and Knapp have the same one, at the same time, after arriving at it through two very different methods.
34	%%* EveryoneIsASuspect
35	* FakeGuestStar: Michael Mosley appears in all 13 episodes, and, up until the finale, Agent Atkins has just as much screen time/ storyline (if not more) as Agent Archer, yet Mosley is listed as a guest star, and Creator/LinusRoache is part of the starring credits. Gee, I wonder [[spoiler:which one turns out to be the evil mastermind?]] Lydia Jordan (Alice Cain) gets it even worse... she's in nearly every episode and has decent screen time, yet always gets delegated to the guest star list in the closing credits.
36	* FingerInTheMail: The kidnappers send the Cains an ear in a box. [[spoiler:It turns out not to belong to Leopold.]]
37	%%* FriendOnTheForce: King, to Knapp.
38	* GenderBlenderName: Ellie Cain's actual first name is the rather masculine "Elliot," while her husband, Conrad, frequently goes by the feminine "Connie."
39	%%* TheHandler: The Operator. As it turns out, he has a handler, too.
40	%%* HeKnowsTooMuch: A lot of members of the conspiracy end up dead because of this.
41	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The BigBad arranged for Knapp, King, and Virgil to be involved in the case. This turns out to be not such a smart move.
42	%%* HollywoodSilencer: Most of the bad guys have them.
43	%%* HumanShield: A favorite bad guy tactic. It never ends well for them.
44	%%* HypercompetentSidekick: Turner, who is not just a pretty face. Not just a computer geek, either.
45	%%* InternalAffairs: Agent Vance. [[spoiler:And Agent Atkins.]]
46	%%* TheIrishMob: Conrad Cain's childhood friend now leads one. And may be involved in the kidnapping.
47	%%* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Knapp uses it on the Accountant. It doesn't really work.
48	%%* KarmaHoudini: The Accountant.
49	%%* MagicalComputer: Turner has one.
50	%%* TheManBehindTheMan: And you thought "Mr. Schroeder" was the BigBad? Please.
51	%%* MinionWithAnFInEvil: Otto.
52	%%* MissionControl: The Operator and Turner.
53	%%* TheMole: [[spoiler:Roger Prince.]]
54	%%* MotiveMisidentification: "We don't want your money."
55	%%* MuggedForDisguise: Devere does this to a cop.
56	* MyGreatestFailure: The case that got Knapp kicked out of the Bureau and into a mental hospital. He caught the kidnapper, but never found the girl.
57	* NoNameGiven: The Accountant.
58	%%* OddCouple: Bellows and Otto.
59	* OnlyAFleshWound: [[spoiler:Averted. Virgil eventually dies from his untreated shoulder wound.]] Played straight with Knapp's injuries in episode nine... admittedly we don't see how extensive his torture was, but he looks in pretty rough shape at the end of the episode. Next episode (and keep in mind each episode only covers one day) he says he's in pain and is moving stiffly, but only has some faint bruising, and in the remaining episodes he's perfectly fine.
60	* OnlyOneName: Gibson. Gutman. Bellows. Otto. Mr. Greene. The Operator's name is revealed only to be "Bill."
61	* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Creator/LinusRoache's American accent slips all over the place, particularly when he has to say more than one sentence at a time. He improves a lot by the time he gets to ''Series/LawAndOrder''.
62	%%* PetTheDog: The Accountant and Devere love their wives. The Operator loves his daughter.
63	%%* PlatonicLifePartners: Knapp and Turner
64	%%* PrisonerExchange: When Gutman is captured, a sniper threatens to kill King's daughter unless she is released.
65	%%* PrivateDetective: Knapp and Turner.
66	%%* PrivateMilitaryContractors: The Gracen Group.
67	%%* ProfessionalKiller: The Accountant is an assassin.
68	%%* PsychoForHire: Bellows.
69	%%* PutDownYourGunAndStepAway: Used often.
70	%%* RedHerringMole: [[spoiler:Agent Vance.]]
71	%%* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:Otto.]]
72	%%* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: [[spoiler:Ellie Cain]] pulled this one too many times.
73	* SequelHook: [[spoiler: The final scene of the series features the brother of the girl Knapp failed to recover contacting him with a challenge.]]
74	* ShoutOut: One of the conspiracy's lackeys is a mercenary who also works for a firm called the Gracen Group. Executive producer David Greenwalt was the co-creator of the series ''Series/{{Profit}}'', which was set at a company called Gracen & Gracen.
75	%%* {{Sidekick}}: Turner and Agent Archer.
76	* SinisterSurveillance: The conspiracy has eyes everywhere. Especially on the Cains.
77	%%* SinsOfOurFathers: The BigBad's reason for targetting Leopold.
78	* SpottingTheThread: King flushes a fake FBI agent by telling him to call in a nonexistent code.
79	%%* SpySpeak: The members of the conspiracy converse in code on the phone.
80	%%* StalkerShrine: [[spoiler:Agent Archer]] has one in his basement.
81	%%* SurprisinglySuddenDeath: [[spoiler:Agent Atkins]]
82	%%* ThatMakesMeFeelAngry: The Accountant's reaction to [[spoiler:his wife's murder]].
83	%%* ThatOneCase: Knapp's last case at the Bureau.
84	* TheUnreveal: They never did explain how [[spoiler:Agent Archer]] stole all that money from the Ramone bust without being seen.
85	%%* WellIntentionedExtremist: Gutman.
86	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Or "What Happened to the Monster" in this case... most of [[spoiler:Agent Archer]]'s underlings are killed, a few are captured, but the Accountant is last seen killing [[spoiler:Guttman]] and then... nothing.
87	%%* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: If [[spoiler:Agent Vance]] is the BigBad, why do we have a whole other episode to get through?
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Context Series / Kidnapped