# Persons Unknown (miniseries on NBC) (Spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 8, 2010, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407 "2010-06-08T09:49:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BaconAndEggs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f4b2a3/32.png) [@BaconAndEggs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaconAndEggs)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/1 "2010-06-08T09:49:08Z")
Did anyone watch it on Monday night?? Anyone want to discuss it? The first epsiode has me intrigued. Did anyone notice everyone checked the back of their thigh for that embedded chip except robe lady? What was the point of the Chinese guys and Chinese food? Is the woman going to do what her fortune says and “kill her neighbor to be set free”? Who do you think put them there and why do they want to watch them? Are these all random people? Is it a social experiment? ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/2 "2010-06-08T22:52:58Z")
I watched. It didn’t seem horribly bad or wonderfully good as yet, so I’ll at least give it another try. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2010, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/3 "2010-06-08T22:54:41Z")
[Jim Beaver](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Beaver) just updated his Twitter saying it aired. Is he going to be in it like he was in Harper’s Island? ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/4 "2010-06-09T01:37:00Z")
I’m intrigued. Wondering where they are going to go with it. I did feel somewhat manipulated. Things would happen and I wondered if we were supposed to think those were clues to whatever the mystery is, or simply being misdirected. Why did the robe-lady put her fortune cookie in her pocket and pull out a bogus fortune? Do you keep extra fortunes in your robe just in case the occasion presents itself? What made robe-lady think to look for these drug implants? Are we supposed to think there is something to her since she has done a few different things? So crazy guy who busts down doors (Joe?) seems to know little military signs to signal the Marine. However, earlier he called the Marine a soldier. I don’t think a military guy would do that . A Marine is a Marine and a soldier is a soldier. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/5 "2010-06-09T02:18:15Z")
Another thing that bothered me is what they didn’t do. Like, before you walk out of town, get up on the roof of the highest building – likely the hotel – and take a good look around. Maybe you’ll see some indication of which way you should go. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/6 "2010-06-09T02:54:02Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > Why did the robe-lady put her fortune cookie in her pocket and pull out a bogus fortune? Do you keep extra fortunes in your robe just in case the occasion presents itself? Well, I wasn’t sure what I saw. Did she swap her fortunes, or were they showing us she had drugs? What did you all see? I liked the show. I admit, it could devolve into lameness quickly. Hopefully, they can provide a good beginning, middle, and end. Shows like this often have weak middles. It’d be cool if they could make the middle part intriguing and lead to a compelling ending. I’m in for the whole run, most likely. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/7 "2010-06-09T05:26:31Z")
After getting sucked into LOST for… was it six years (or am I in some “flash-sideways”)?.. I’m leery about committing to a “mysteeeeerious” show. I’ve got things I gotta do! ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/8 "2010-06-09T12:32:28Z")
Why did he beak the down down instead on yelling, “Look in your bible for a key.” He did this later and saved the doors. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/9 "2010-06-09T12:46:57Z")
> [@digs](#): > > After getting sucked into LOST for… was it six years (or am I in some “flash-sideways”)?.. I’m leery about committing to a “mysteeeeerious” show. I’ve got things I gotta do! I watched this with a friend last night and one of her first comments after it was over was that it reminded her of Lost, which she had watched for about half the first season before giving up on. We’re both convinced that the robe lady is one of “them” although we’re not sure why. And does anyone think there’s any significance to the fact that the only person whose disappearance we’re seeing being investigated is the woman with the child? And why is there a surveillance camera at the grandmother’s house? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/10 "2010-06-09T13:30:24Z")
> [@Lanzy](#): > > Why did he beak the down down instead on yelling, “Look in your bible for a key.” He did this later and saved the doors. At that point he thought he was the only one who had been captured, and every other room or person was a potential enemy, not a fellow captive. > [@LurkMeister](#): > > We’re both convinced that the robe lady is one of “them” although we’re not sure why. Don’t fall for that obvious red herring! I think Alan Ruck is the bad guy, because he’s the least likely to be at this stage, and is behaving exactly as you’d expect him to. Trying too hard to fit in, I think. Another possible is they’re all bad guys (except for the main girl, because we’re following her path, though I suspect we’ll get back stories on everyone, in a very Lost-ish way). ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/11 "2010-06-09T13:40:31Z")
Anybody know how much they’ll be answering after the end of this first 13-episode run? I’m willing to go along for a relatively short ride. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/12 "2010-06-09T14:01:36Z")
Yeah, but after LOST\*\*\*, the writers would have to come to my house and promise. - _Hey, I liked LOST, loved all the mysteries… but it would’ve been less frustrating if they’d, oh I don’t know, **answered a few** before inventing twenty more._ A lot of us are still waiting to hear what’s up with Kate’s black horse… ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/13 "2010-06-09T14:44:08Z")
> [@digs](#): > > After getting sucked into LOST for… was it six years (or am I in some “flash-sideways”)?.. I’m leery about committing to a “mysteeeeerious” show. I’ve got things I gotta do! Uh, I thought this was only 13 episodes, though. Like Harper’s Island. Am I wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/14 "2010-06-09T14:49:43Z")
[Here, this article states that the show is only going to be on for 13 weeks and should wrap up.](http://www.sevensidedcube.net/entertainment/2010/persons-unknown-tv-show-premieres-with-a-13-episode-mini-series-on-nbc/) > [@](#): > > Unlike Heroes that ended with a hanging ending, Persons Unknown will only last for 13 weeks, so expect no cancelations[sic] coming from NBC. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/15 "2010-06-09T15:25:24Z")
> [@](#): > > Unlike Heroes that ended with a hanging ending, Persons Unknown will only last for 13 weeks, so expect no cancelations[sic] coming from NBC. Uh. I seem to still remember “Happy Town.” ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/16 "2010-06-09T15:58:45Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Well, I wasn’t sure what I saw. Did she swap her fortunes, or were they showing us she had drugs? What did you all see? She said that she was a “counselor”, but what we (and mom) saw in her pocket when she pulled the fortune out was a patient ID band. She also asked, right at the beginning, if she’d missed her wakeup call- so clearly she’s supposed to have been a patient at a mental hospital, rather than a counselor. Wasn’t she the one who spun the lazy susan for the fortune cookies? Since the fortunes were apparently meant to go to certain people, it implies that someone had to “force” the fortunes. ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/17 "2010-06-09T18:05:38Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > I’m intrigued. Wondering where they are going to go with it. I did feel somewhat manipulated. Things would happen and I wondered if we were supposed to think those were clues to whatever the mystery is, or simply being misdirected. > > Why did the robe-lady put her fortune cookie in her pocket and pull out a bogus fortune? Do you keep extra fortunes in your robe just in case the occasion presents itself? What made robe-lady think to look for these drug implants? Are we supposed to think there is something to her since she has done a few different things? > > So crazy guy who busts down doors (Joe?) seems to know little military signs to signal the Marine. However, earlier he called the Marine a soldier. I don’t think a military guy would do that . A Marine is a Marine and a soldier is a soldier. believe it was Cameron from Ferris Beuller’s Day Off who called the Marine “soldier,” not the dude who broke down the door/the dude who singlaled to the Marien to take down the used car salesman. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/18 "2010-06-12T06:04:38Z")
So…did it get any more interesting after the first 25 minutes? I weighted watching the second half against going to bed, and bed won handily. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/19 "2010-06-12T06:42:43Z")
The fact that it’s by Christopher McQuarrie, the writer of The Usual Suspects, gives me hope that this will be worth watching. I wondered whether the mother of the first woman snatched was in on it but then we saw that she too was being monitored by hidden cameras so maybe not. I’m pretty sure that one of the group is faking it and my first guess is that it’s the party babe, simply because she’s the most unlikely. I will watch this until the bitter end, I badly need a substitute for _Lost_. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407/20 "2010-06-16T13:02:06Z")
Well. I’ll tell you one thing, I hate that Reporter guy. Horrible dishevelled creep. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/persons-unknown-miniseries-on-nbc-spoilers/542407.md?page=2)