The Nine (2006–2007)

Lucas Dalton (Owain Yeoman) and his brother Randall Reese (Jeffrey Pierce) walk in to rob a bank. It's supposed to be a short hold-up but 52 hours later, the police finally ends the long stand-off. The nine surviving hostages are changed by the incident and regularly meet. Franny Rios (Camille Guaty) and single-mom sister Eva Rios (Lourdes Benedicto) are bank tellers. Eva is killed along with the security guard. Suicidal Egan Foote (John Billingsley) becomes a celebrated hero. Surgeon Jeremy Kates (Scott Wolf) and secretly pregnant girlfriend Lizzie Miller (Jessica Collins) break up. Police detective Nick Cavanaugh (Tim Daly) has a gambling problem. Felicia (Dana Davis) is the daughter of bank manager Malcolm Jones (Chi McBride). Nancy Hale (Susan Sullivan) is at the bank with her ADA daughter Kathryn Hale (Kim Raver).

This needs a more compelling hook at the very beginning. The missing money should be the big reveal in the first episode. There should be a cop character investigating it to heighten the tension. I would like more of a Rashomon method of flashback story telling. It takes too long to have the first exciting extended flashback. It's the third episode when the initial takeover is added to and it's probably too late to hook the audience. The problem is that the slow reveals don't add up to excitement. It's a somewhat meandering way of story telling. With no viewers, this is quickly canceled.