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.
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wiltshire73 June 2016
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asoupfullofbees8 June 2010This show really surprised me! With very little advertisement and on a Monday night line up its actually a very promising show. The few previews I did see kind of made it out to seem like some Saw rip off made for TV. The show was actually quite the opposite, it may be considered a horror TV show by some people but I believe it is more of a thriller.
The basic premise revolves around a group of strangers kidnapped and dropped off in a weird town in the middle of nowhere. No one really knows what's going on, so the main plot is to uncover why and who has placed them there. It definitely gives a Lost type of confusion which leaves you with more questions.
So far only the pilot has aired but I was very impressed and hope some people check it out. It's on Mondays on NBC. A lot of good shows like this go unnoticed and get canceled so if you're looking for a good new show check it out. -
I'll be honest; I enjoyed this show. I love the concept. Random strangers all together in some place they can't escape? It sounds terrific. However, they didn't really explain anything at all. WHY were they being kidnapped? The most I seemed to understand was they were testing a theory about why people acted like they did. I don't understand why they were testing that theory though. And what happens to the people when they finish everything? From what can be seen, Janet's mother was a member of this organization. We're never told anything about *that* though either!
Besides the many plot holes and the unanswered questions, there was one other problem with this show. The characters themselves. They are all very shallow, if you ask me. The only one I even cared for at all was Tori. Besides Janet, who was a pretty unlikable character in my opinion, Tori was the only one given any background where we get to know her. We learned things about the others, yes. We never really understood them though. This is a problem with the writing itself. the writers assumed the reader understood the characters as well as they did, so they never really explained anything too detailed about them.
I know, I know. This makes it look like the show was bad. Don't get me wrong, it is. I loved watching it though. It kept me interested. I found myself sitting there one night and watching every episode. If you're looking for something that is going to fill your mystery needs, this show probably isn't it. However, if you want to watch something you can't stop watching and find yourself loving, I recommend this show. You can fill in the gaps yourself, if you really want. Don't listen to the one star people; this show isn't that bad. You just need to remember there are plot holes. Many movies and TV shows have them. If you watch this show for fun, you won't be disappointed. -
Max_Lucas10 October 2013Why is it whenever there is a great show it gets canceled? And many are left unfinished. This story could of went on for many seasons. Great cast and story line. So many shows get a lot of hype months before premiere and then bomb. Yet the network will drag it on for a few more seasons trying to convince us that it will eventually get better.
This show isn't like that. A great show that silently gets cut. Who are these people who make these decisions? Too many shows get canceled without closure. Tera Nova was another great one. Jericho could of ran for years! Yet, they hype up Revolution, which was a bomb, that I'm sure they will try to run with it for years.
I really liked Persons Unknown. Last episode left me wanting to see more. Too bad the network didn't see it that way. Now days, if you don't have "C.S.I.", "reality show" or dumb slap stick comedy in it, it won't make the cut. It's sad! -
chicagorob128 August 2010When the show first started I had really high hopes. The ads kept promising everything would be answered by the end of the summer. With so many disappointments over the last few years it was refreshing to have a complex and mysterious series actually complete it's run. I was snookered in by Invasion, Threshold, Flash Forward, Daybreak, etc., etc. But a promising miniseries with real answers and a definite conclusion was something I looked forward to.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The initial premise was promising and provocative, but the show, episode by episode, fell apart so quickly it was like watching a train wreck.
The plot about a worldwide conspiracy to kidnap random people, throwing them into deserted towns in the middle of nowhere, where they are tortured/tested and observed, goes nowhere quickly.
We're never given a reason why 1. This vast all-powerful organization kidnaps and tortures innocent people for no reason. 2. Those working undercover in the "The Program" are so invested and committed that it doesn't bother them the test subjects are tortured and usually killed. 3. Why The Program have so much worldwide control after only 50 years of existence. 4. What Robert Picardo was thinking when he showed up during the last few minutes of the series. He wore a stupid long white wig and his only scene involved asking the chairwoman pointless questions as slowly as possible. 6. What the whole point was anyway.
The last show was made up of random scenes of the captives on the run. For some reason, some of them are suddenly in Morocco, an impossibility since they had had no money or IDs.
In fact, even though the series definitely ended with the thirteenth episode, there were so many new unanswered, cliff-hanger questions - it seemed like the writers just wanted to spit in our faces with the unsatisfactory and pathetic finale.
This series made Lost's recent finale look like Shakespeare, with every tiny question answered and every plot point nicely tied up. Of course, that didn't really happen, but Persons Unknown botched their responsibility far, far worse than that. How did this ever get green-lighted, and is the NBC executive who approved the show still working in television?
In the end NO questions were answered, other than what else I will be doing if this garbage gets renewed (doubtful) - I'll be doing something else. -
edwinemeyer28 November 2016If you are looking for a children's storybook beginning, middle and end, Then this 13 episode series is not for you. The story grabs you from the moment the opening credits finish. All of these people waking up in an unfamiliar environment, an almost surreal setting..with no knowledge of how or why they are there. Just when you begin to think that you have one "guest" figured out, the writers magically whisk the rug from under your feet... SPOILER ALERT......Tick tock......Tick tock......Tick tock......Tick tock...OK I have given you ample time to make up your mind whether you want to read my final entry.... Some stories end just as mysteriously as they begin... Realism and not fantasy makes this mini series well worth watching.
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photo-301 October 2010Not 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.
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cherold16 November 2010****Non-Spoiler Review**** I watched all of Persons Unknown. It was a fairly intriguing show that managed to keep coming up with new ideas for what seemed like a rather thin premise. There were some very effective moments. I was very curious to learn what it was all about but, as other people have noted, that was not to be. Because of the ending, I wish I had never heard of this series, as I feel it was basically a waste of my time. Some people on this board are talking as though there will be a second season, but this was a miniseries (and apparently a poorly-rated one at that) so this ending is it. With a better ending I would have given this a somewhat better rating even though it had numerous problems throughout (see below).
*****Spoiler Section Below***** While the ending was clearly the biggest problem with the show, there were some really big issues earlier on. The first involves the time when some of the prisoners come up with the theory that if they drag the hotel manager through the pain wall it will be turned off, because he's one of them. Other prisoners insist he's an innocent stooge and free him, whereupon he runs right through the pain wall. So the prisoners who grabbed the guy now know that they were right. The hotel manager comes back, and the prisoners DON'T RETRY IT, even though they now know it could work. They know he is one of them, but they make no further attempt to beat the truth out of him, or use him as a tool, or anything else. It is even brought up again as something that was ruined by the more soft-hearted prisoners, but it is never tried again.
Another issue is when they realize that Joe is one of them. At this point, the show does a major cheat: it is clear that Joe explains at least some of what is going on to the prisoners, but he does it off camera. Also, Joe keeps saying he believes in the program, as though it is a worthy cause. But as we learn, the program forces the prisoners to kill each other. How could otherwise decent people see this program as anything other than evil? And everything you see of the program suggests it is an evil, evil organization that shows no mercy for anyone.
Then there is the ending. First off, the ending is emotionally unsatisfying, leaving everyone in terrible situations, which is not what you want in a miniseries. There are also things that just don't make sense. At the end the survivors are placed together again. Clearly the way the process would normally work is there is one survivor, and he would go on to be with a new group of prisoners. Since all these people survived, it would make sense to put them each in a separate track, rather than have them basically continue their initial thing in a new place.
Thought about more deeply, one has to conclude that the premise of The Program makes no sense. How is finding out who in an organization is most likely to kill other people to survive going to get you exceptional people? And what are these exceptional people to be used for? Unless they're looking for killers, and it does not appear that they are, then it's a senseless way to do things.
The story was simply poorly constructed and not well thought out. It works neither on the metaphorical level of something like The Prisoner or as a mystery-suspense story. -
chrisjmcg5 July 2010It'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. -
I had no idea what this series was about but decided to start watching it from the trailers on youtube. The pilot episode really drew me in, and reminded me of the films Identity with John Cusack and Ray Liotta, and "Triangle" which most people probably haven't watched. The Story is about 7 strangers who get kidnapped from the around the States seemingly at random and get thrown together in a little town in the middle of nowhere and are under constant surveillance, kind of like a sick reality show of sorts. I'm really looking forward to whether they will throw in the whole paranormal side, kind of like Lost, or if they'll keep it Sci Fi or Conspiracy oriented. For those of you who like the whole mystery/thriller genre i definitely recommend this!
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andrastea30 August 2010And that is the fall-back of this show. All goes relatively well till episode 11, but the last two are just disastrously badly written. They obviously had to cut the story short, so short that some dialogues and events literally drop down from nowhere without introduction. Also irritating advertisement of last two episodes answering all the questions is complete b. Perhaps they were hoping for the second season? There was a nice start but in the end the whole thing went way too complicated. Sometimes less is more.
This story could have worked as a mini series if they had made a proper ending. The show has been compared to Lost, but somehow the atmosphere reminded more of that in the Lost Room or even the 4400. The setting is quite traditional following human behaviour in isolated and confined environment; in this case seven strangers wake up to find themselves locked in their hotel rooms in a small town build to look like it is from 50s. They know nothing about how or why they were taken or even by who. But they soon learn through the hard way that there is no way out. They are been watched continuously through surveillance cameras, they eat only at the Chinese restaurant, and they have a "night manager" at the hotel. The town part is more mental rather than physical in nature. The second story line provides more action following two journalists who find out the connection between disappearances and mysterious Organization that seems to see and be everywhere. And of course everything and everyone is somehow connected, and everyone has something dark in their past.
Some characters play well together like Jason Wiles' mysterious Joe Tucker, Alan Ruck's rich tormented Charlie Morse, Sean O'Bryan's used cars salesman Bill Blackham and Lisa Holmes' "how can she know so much of medicine if she is a teacher?" Moira Doherty. Unfortunately the lady lead Janet Cooper played by Daisy Betts is severely one dimensional, and the fact why there is something about Janet that makes everyone falling for her and question their lives doesn't open up for a viewer. This is obviously somehow important as Joe is somehow special, but 13 episodes created more questions than answers.
Overall the whole thing left bad taste to mouth. Without those last two episodes even 8 stars, but with them it goes down to 4-5. -
Personally, I loved the show. I watched it when it was on originally and, while I don't compare the acting to "Lost", I can compare the show and the premise to it. I HATE a TV show where I can figure out what is going on, or "who did it" within the first 15 minutes, as I can with most shows. "Lost" kept me guessing for 6 years, and I didn't miss one single episode. I plan on watching "Persons Unknown" if it's brought back for a second season for that exact reason. I'm sorry that you didn't like it, but I still want to know something. Did it take you the entire season, all 550 minutes to realize that you didn't like it, or did you just watch it so you could come on here and complain about it?
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SnoopyStyle18 July 2015Janet Cooper (Daisy Betts) hired a P.I. to find his deadbeat husband who disappeared on her and her daughter. She's utterly broke and then is kidnapped in broad daylight. She wakes up in a nameless hotel in a nameless town. She is helped by mysterious Joe Tucker (Jason Wiles). They are joined by soldier Graham McNair (Chadwick Boseman), camp counselor Moira Doherty (Tina Holmes), party girl Tori Fairchild (Kate Miner), wealthy investment banker Charlie Morse (Alan Ruck) and car salesman Bill Blackham (Sean O'Bryan). There's a field around the town that makes the abductees pass out. There is endless Chinese food and messages from their abductors. Newsapaper reporter Mark Renbe (Gerald Kyd) investigates Janet's kidnapping with his editor Kat Damatto (Lola Glaudini).
It starts with an interesting premise but the viewer is left frustrated waiting for the whys. It's a mistake to show the 'real' world. The reporter, the investigation, her kidnapping and her daughter are all problematic. Without them, this could be purgatory, supernatural, a dream or aliens. With them, it can only be orchestrated by people. Then it becomes nothing more than simply asking why and those are limited questions. The show really is left with only one card and it can't actually play that card. In the end, the show loses steam by constantly hinting at the card without actually showing it. It becomes a bore. -
Rob-O-Cop2 September 2010More fool me for being tricked into watching this badly written and executed soap opera. It actually had something resembling a premise at the beginning but the ham-fisted shambles of a story and direction couldn't pull a worthy moment out of it and we're left with episode 13, which leaves all of the cast in exactly the same position as they were in in episode one, implying that there will be a second series but we know that's not going to happen. So what do we get from this series? 550 mins of wasted time, peppered with 'are you serious???' moments of utterly jaw dropping bad set ups, mind numbing plot holes and inconsistencies. I felt sorry for the actors having to deliver lines and scenes which were so embarrassingly bad they must have cried themselves to sleep at nights for the steep downward turn their careers must have taken to get them into the mess of a show they were acting in.
Bad, oh so very bad, but packaged like it had something to offer. Don't be fooled. -
ziolkoj169 June 2010I heard about this show from a few friends who said it was kind of like LOST. So naturally I decided to check it out and it was amazing. Before I go any further, to the above reviewer, LOST was on ABC and by JJ Abrams. This show is on NBC and made by a completely different person. Therefore it wasn't something thrown together as LOST concluded.
Moving forward, the beginning was good but I hate how they only show one person being kidnapped and they focus in completely on that person. It's too early to tell who is telling the truth but hopefully we'll get a lot of answers as we progress through the storyline.
It is definitely a great show to watch if you like to be held in suspense. It does have a LOST feeling to it, but still very different. (especially when the other inhabitants aren't attempting to kill our 7 main characters every chance they get.) -
icdoan30 June 2010Most TV programs last 60 minutes and anyone with intelligence (IQ of 100 or higher) can determine the "who done it" in about 15 minutes. Its refreshing to find a show that you can only get some answers on a weekly basis and these answers we compile them throughout the weeks and eventually it all becomes clear. Some people want the answer immediately and some will never get the answer. Its not about how intellectual the characters are and if they are intelligent enough to look out a window, its about how they react with each other. Some will click with another and will only be an accquantance with others; each has his or her own purpose. Has of the last episode, it is becoming clear that there is no escape, even if the "people" send a taxi and allow it; and now Joe is becoming a colorful character. Don't try to make more out of it than there is, take each episode and build upon what you know.
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etormos4 July 2011I really enjoyed it. In the beginning it gave me a kind of "Lost Room" feel, although definitely not the same premise. I thought the show was intriguing, smart and well planned.....up until the very end. I really enjoyed the characters and dissecting who was in on it, and who wasn't. It was a fun show and I love watching shows that keep you wanting to know what happens next. This show had that. We all had our favorites, our ideas on the program, and who not to trust. It never once got boring to me.
With that being said, I have to say the ending left too many questions unanswered. Thus, having so many viewers who were loving the show turn around and say that hate it. The ending is supposed to leave you with the big picture.....here it was just leaving us wanting to know what the truth was. Why did they choose the people they chose for this elaborate program? What happens to the ambassador and reporter? These are questions we will never know... They give a little bit..but not quite enough. Still, I give the show as a whole a good review and think the show is worth watching for the ride. It was very entertaining to say the least. -
bhailu02151 November 2011I didn't read all the reviews here but I'm sure people mentioned "Lost". This is a good show and stuff but they need to work on their suspense thing. Compared to Lost, this story has no suspense. For example, in first few episodes we already knew who the inside mole is, we knew about director, the reason they do this, etc.
The reason Lost was a VERY successful show was because they keep their suspense for some time. It makes audience come back for that answer. On the other side this story reveals its secrets too quick.
But overall, the idea of keeping it LIKE a "game" with "levels" is pretty smart. If the show is successful, they can make many more seasons because "levels" could be unlimited. -
Dexter_prog19 September 2010I think that this show started off pretty good. I got hooked really quickly and waited eagerly for the next episode. This happened till little before half-season. From that point everything started to become really far-fetched. Things began happening too fast and everything became abrupt and out of the blue. It was evident that they wanted to rush things to make them fit into those 13 episodes.
So the second half of the season was kind of silly and I kept wondering how worse it could get. Surprisingly, I did like the ending. Sure, they didn't explain anything, and honestly, I'm happy they didn't because I think it would have been as dumb as the last episodes were (I bet I am not the only one that laughed when the night manager's head exploded)
I think that this show's main flaws were: - Half-cooked ideas: As I said, the show had potential, but it seems that they took it out of the oven a couple of minutes before it was done. - Some bad actors: I don't know the actors' and actresses' real names, but I think that the best ones were Joe (he's a good actor, I remember him from Third Wave), Janet, Blackham, Charlie and the night managers. The rest where kind of bad and overacted on certain scenes - Lack of consistency: if they where all held captive and they had already realized that there were cameras and microphones everywhere, why did they make all their strategies and plans out loud?! That was the dumbest thing of the show in my opinion, specially when they had a trained US soldier among them...
In conclusion, I think that they could get away with another season (if they decide to continue this and not make it a mini-series), but they will have to work hard on a more consistent script. Also they gotta get rid of the bad actors/actresses. -
vloiki18 June 2010I watch a lot of TV shows, but this really is something.
I have just watched the first 2 episodes. The story is really good. Yes, they are a few small things that could be done better(for instance why didn't Janet hit the door wit the chair in the first episode trying to escape?). But there are small things.
I wish I saw more of the town when the recon was being made. But they kept the mystery.
Also, why Moyra didn't had an implant? If she is a mole than -2 points for the show.
Lets hope that they wont screw up this. It would really be sad. -
ComedyFan201023 November 2011I think the one mistake this show made was to use advertising claiming that all the questions will be answered at the end. Because of this some people were literally expecting all questions to be answered. How is this even possible? If they would be able to answer all the questions it would only be in case the show was not very good and didn't have enough mystery in it.
I personally was very satisfied with the ending. It gave me all the answers I wanted. I know what it is about and yet it gives me room for imagination.
One can see that while it was supposed to be a one season show from the start, at the end of the season they were considering or hoping for more episodes. This why they ended with a few cliffhangers, which by the way were done in a very good way. Yet, I wish they would have stuck to the original idea of just ending it after 13 episodes. This would give one the idea of it being over.
My main problem with the show were the characters. There were too many that I didn't like and a few who started to become interesting only towards the very end. While characters are not the main thing for this kind of show it is hard to maintain a perfect interest just by action. So for me the interest in and satisfaction with the show could be described as a curve: I was very interested in the beginning, towards the middle it started to feel a bit old and then came the amazing final episodes.
I would recommend the show to anyone interested in this genre. It had good actors, an interesting and eventful story and a very interesting ending. Just don't expect every little thing explained to you -
amyksch30 August 2010I wish I could give this a vote of something less than 1. I agree with the other reviewer who felt like they had been urinated on after viewing this series. The creators of this show should be ashamed of themselves. The only reason I bothered watching it was because NBC promised that all answers would be revealed by the end of the summer. Well, this was a blatant lie. What a waste of time. The dialog was laughably bad, but I kept watching because I wondered how the writers were going to wrap things up. Here's how they did it: They wrapped up absolutely nothing. The story just keeps on going. All the same people are still trapped in the stupid unexplained "program" like every other episode. Nothing changed after 13 episodes. How uncreative and mind-numbingly stupid and boring is that? Seriously, worst writing ever. Which is fine, fair enough, except they lied about revealing any answers. I should have known not to trust a television network. And here I was thinking television was my friend. On well. I really wish I hadn't invested one hour per week on this crap. I wish I had saved all the episodes so I could go back and find all its advertisers and boycott each and every company that helped pay for this series.
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angvii7 July 2010Please don't leave us hanging' like some other programs do. I like this show and I'm telling others about it. I don't think there has been enough hype or advertisement about it though because I only discovered it while browsing through Comcast's On Demand late one night. I was pleased with it and watched every episode. Now i cannot wait for the new episodes! I was intrigued by the last episode but a little disappointed by some things that took place. I never watched the psycho-thriller Lost much and actually just never could get "into it". But I like this one. It's different. My favorite Character is Joe. As most girls probably feel the same I'm sure - He's just HOT. Don't get rid of Joe!
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mark-879-72366027 February 2011The premise promises a mystery: a group of seven seemingly random people are kidnapped and wake up in a fake town, with no idea who has kidnapped them or why. It's clearly nothing as simple as ransom.
And the series had a lot of strong points, building the mystery and gradually revealing the secrets step by step.
But ... the only thing that keeps the story going at many points is that the characters are too stupid to believe. Like -- minor spoiler here -- at one point one of the group reveals that he is, in fact, in league with the kidnappers, there to observe, but he has had a change of heart. And so, naturally they all ask him how they can escape and why there were kidnapped in the first place, right? They have someone right there who is ready and able to give them all the answers. But no. NOT ONE of the other six ask him the obvious questions. Several beat him up out of revenge, the rest just yell at him. I was left wondering, How stupid can these people be? A few episodes later he tells them "You're all in danger!" And so naturally they ask what the danger is and how to escape, right? Umm, no. One character explicitly tells him that she doesn't want to hear it. The rest ignore him.
Okay, I understand that people under stress may not behave in the way that a disinterested observer would say was the wisest course of action. But really now, this was just silly.
At another point -- big spoiler here -- two reporters are investigating the kidnappings, and so the people behind the Vast Conspiracy buy out their newspaper and fire them to shut them up. Okay, plausible I guess. But the reporters figure out who is behind the conspiracy when the conspirators have the front page of the newspaper changed to add, beneath the name of the paper, "A subsidiary of XYZ Corporation" (whatever the name of the company was, I forget). Let me give a hint here to anyone plotting a secret conspiracy: Don't print your name on the front page of the newspaper! Then the reporters come up with the brilliant plan of going to the headquarters of this organization and screaming at everyone in sight that they release the victims. Like, um, yeah, that would work. Of course the conspirators just have their security people throw them out of the building. But along the way one of the conspirators says to another, "No one has ever gotten this far before." Yes, these reporters certainly engaged in brilliant detective work, reading the front page of their own newspaper to see your name! How did they ever think of that? Okay, I've concentrated on the low points here. The series was good enough that I watched every episode. I'm just not sure why. -
The writing sucks -- blank stares from Joe is not "good writing!"
I'm sick and tired of poor writing presented under the guise of "character driven." Who's the idiot who thinks we, the viewers, want stupid unexplained, mysterious, unending plots with REALLY INTERESTING CHARACTERS?!?!?
NBC lied to me -- nothing was explained -- what was the purpose of The Program? The Director could have slipped that in at the Board Meeting, but I doubt the writers knew what the point was themselves!
I will not be watching NBC shows and I will SPECIFICALLY NOT BE PATRONIZING NBC ADVERTISERS!!!
They promised they would explain "the point or purpose of The Program." BUT THEY DID NOT! WHY have these characters been chosen? To what end? What has Janet's mother promised? THERE ARE FAR MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS -- and many stupid inconsistencies (like, how do you cut off the thumb of a "live" person in a body bag without realizing they were alive!)
The reality is we could "debate" the meaning of the show, BUT I DOUBT THERE REALLY IS ONE -- I don't think the writer knows what the F*CK he was trying to say...
Let's make a show where a gunman goes into schools (after we get attached to the kid's "characters") and just kills them all for the fun of it -- yeah, that would be a really great show... (You can only get away with that in "disaster" movies because "acts of God" are beyond our control or explanation -- but some person "created" and thought up The Program and we ALL wondered WHY?)
UNLESS it's a metaphor for how "life" is really just a prison that we can't escape from -- but we don't kill ourselves to escape because of the "illusion of free will..."
(P.S. free will is NOT an illusion -- its a LIE -- when you are a prisoner and you have no control over your situation -- except the "illusion" that you can choose your "purpose" in life, and "choose" to be happy, etc.)
Yeah, THAT must be it!